Sequoia-Backed Piazza Takes Q&A Platform For Students Mobile With iOS And Android Apps

piazzaPiazza, a Q&A platform for students and instructors, is debuting iOS and Android mobile apps, allowing students to share ideas and get answers on the go. Piazza's platform helps classmates share their questions and answers in a format that?s a mixture between a wiki and a forum. Each class gets its own hub for Q&A, and students can bookmark any questions if they?re also eager to find out the answer. Multiple students can contribute to each answer in a wiki style but there?s a version history that shows what each student wrote.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/EScy7eiDZQs/

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PFT: Rivers having 'off year,' Chargers owner says

New York Giants v New England PatriotsGetty Images

1.? Packers (No. 1; 8-0):? Halfway to an undefeated season, the Packers? defense is suddenly alarmingly porous.

2.? 49ers (No. 2; 7-1):? The Niners have a better formula than the Packers to win games in January.

3.? Giants (No. 6; 6-2):? The good news for the Giants is that quarterback Eli Manning truly has become elite.? The better news is that the whole team is, too.

4.? Ravens (No. 7; 6-2): ?If the offense that showed up late in the Steelers game had shown up against the Titans and Jaguars, the Ravens would be undefeated.

5.? Lions (No. 5; 6-2): ?In 16 days, they get their crack at the Pack.

6.? Steelers (No. 3; 6-3): ?Sunday night?s finish gave Steelers fans nausea-like symptoms.

7.? Bengals (No. 8; 6-2): ?The next two games (vs. Steelers, at Ravens) will tell us everything we need to know about this team.

8.? Patriots (No. 4; 5-3): ?Chad Ochocinco never dreamed he?d have to look up to see the Bengals

9.? Saints (No. 9; 6-3): ?The key to more wins is more Darren Sproles.

10.? Texans (No. 12; 6-3): ?If/when Andre Johnson returns, this team could be ready to compete for a first-round bye.

11.? Jets (No. 17; 5-3): ?If the Jets keep winning, it?ll shut up Joe Namath. ?If they start losing, it?ll shut up Rex Ryan. ?Either way, one of them will hopefully shut up.

12.? Bears (No. 13; 5-3): ?Maybe Matt Forte?s two fumbles will take some steam out of his campaign for a contract.

13.? Falcons (No. 15; 5-3): ?Falcons fans are jonesing for more Julio.

14.? Bills (No. 10; 5-3): ?The Bills Mafia could be seeing their playoff chances get whacked.

15.? Cowboys (No. 20; 4-4): ?No team manhandles bad teams and struggles against good teams like the Cowboys.

16.? Raiders (No. 11; 4-4): ?The team that once owned the AFC West apparently was only renting it.

17.? Buccaneers (No. 14; 4-4): ?With two games to play against the Panthers, the up-and-down Bucs need to worry about ending up down in the basement of the division.

18.? Chiefs (No. 16; 4-4): ?Todd Haley?s beard was done in by Reggie Bush.

19. Chargers (No. 18; 4-4): ?Philip Rivers? ?off year? apparently has extended to his ability to assess his own performance.

20.? Eagles (No. 19; 3-5): ?As a PFT commenter has observed, Juan Castillo is a great offensive line coach. ?Never before has the Bears? offensive line looked so good.

21. Vikings (No. 21; 2-6): ?Monday night?s game against the Packers will be very close. ?Before the opening kickoff.

22.? Panthers (No. 22; 2-6): ?Their record doesn?t reflect how potent this team is.

23.? Titans (No. 23; 4-4): ?It?s a sad day when 64 yards rushing from Chris Johnson is regarded as an improvement.

24.? Broncos (No. 27; 3-5): ?If coach John Fox runs Tim Tebow until he breaks, Fox will never have to bench him.

25.? Redskins (No. 24; 3-5): ?To apply the term ?rebuilding? to this franchise implies that there?s actually been something in the past 15 years that had been built.

26.? Cardinals (No. 30; 2-6): ?Kevin Kolb didn?t realize he had a Skelton in the closet.

27.? Browns (No. 25; 3-5): ?The Big Show could soon be looking for the nearest exit from the theater.

28.? Jaguars (No. 28; 2-6): ?G.M. Gene Smith turned down a contract offer. ?Presumably, he didn?t want to work for minimum wage.

29.? Seahawks (No. 29; 2-6): ?Maybe Pete Carroll opted to coach in Seattle so that, when his return to the NFL flops, no one will notice.

30. Dolphins (No. 32; 1-7): ?If Tony Sparano keeps screwing up the team?s shot at Andrew Luck, Sparano definitely will be getting fired.

31.? Rams (No. 26; 1-7): ?The Rams apparently didn?t get the memo that the easy portion of the schedule had begun.

32.? Colts (No. 31; 0-9): ?The true definition of ?rats who lie about people?? ?Anyone who would suggest that the Colts aren?t the worst team in the league.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/07/spanos-says-rivers-is-having-an-off-year/related/

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Paul says friendship best way to deal with Iran

Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during the Iowa Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. Paul decried Washington's spending and the nation's military actions abroad in his remarks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during the Iowa Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. Paul decried Washington's spending and the nation's military actions abroad in his remarks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

(AP) ? GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul says "offering friendship" to Iran, not sanctions, would be a more fruitful to achieving peace with Tehran.

The Texas congressman says fears about Iran's nuclear program have been "blown out of proportion." He says tough penalties are a mistake because, as he says was the case in Iraq, they only hurt the local population and still paved a path to war.

When asked on "Fox News Sunday" what he would do to deter Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions, Paul said "maybe offering friendship to them."

Paul's remarks put him at odds with both the Bush and Obama administrations; U.S. policy has relied heavily on sanctions and diplomacy to try to convince Tehran to abandon its atomic program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-11-06-Paul-Iran/id-3c168191ad5547f59680d66612442fd1

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In GOP campaign cooperative tone arises amid risks (AP)

CONCORD, N.H. ? Republican presidential contenders courting an intensely partisan GOP primary electorate are promoting their experience in working with home-state Democrats to tackle big problems.

With most voters craving an end to intense polarization in Washington, the message of bipartisan collaboration is seeping into debates, interviews and other campaign appearances. The candidates, particularly former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, are trying to broaden their appeal to independents, whose support will be critical in the general election next fall against President Barack Obama.

The president ran as an across-the-aisle dealmaker, but he hasn't lived up to that image in his first term. His top Republican rivals seem to sense an opening, even though they, too, have mixed records when it comes to working with the opposition party.

"This is not the Democrats' country or the Republicans' country. This is our country," Perry said during a recent campaign stop in Iowa, arguing that the country's troubles are ideologically blind and not Democratic vs. Republican.

Romney often tells supporters that compromise was necessary in Massachusetts, where Democrats dominated. At a recent debate, he jabbed at Obama and said: "The real course for America is to have someone who is a leader, who can identify people in both parties who care more about the country than they care about getting re-elected."

Such talk of compromise isn't usually popular in the Republican primary campaign, where the usual emphasis is on bashing government regulation, illegal immigrants and anything Obama.

Conservatives who make up the party's base don't like the two signature issues in which Romney and Perry have demonstrated an ability to work with Democrats and Republicans: Massachusetts' health care overhaul and the Texas law giving in-state college tuition to some illegal immigrants.

But public polling suggests that strong majorities of Republicans and Democrats favor political leaders who work together. A recent CBS/New York Times poll found that 85 percent of Americans say they want to see both parties compromise some positions to get things done.

All that explains why Romney and Perry, seen as the candidates most likely to win the nomination, are trying to courting ideologically diverse general election voters without angering the passionate partisans who dominate the primary season.

Critics say the Republicans are trying to have it both ways, sometimes in the same speech. The GOP candidates hammer Obama and congressional Democrats while also promising to bring the nation together.

Calls for bipartisanship do invite more scrutiny on claims of cooperation. History suggests that the candidates often collaborated only when politically convenient.

Texas state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a 20-year veteran of the Legislature and the Senate Democratic leader, said Perry is ready to work with Democrats on popular issues such as veterans' benefits and human trafficking, but won't hesitate to ignore their opposition in many cases.

Van de Putte, author of the law allowing illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to pay in-state tuition, said Perry worked with her because of the economic argument behind the policy.

But in other debates, Perry used the power of his office to ignore Democrats and even Republicans in the Legislature. During his first legislative session, for example, Perry vetoed more than 80 bills without warning, and that infuriated lawmakers. He also ordered mandatory vaccines for girls without legislative approval, a decision he later said was a mistake.

"He kind of listens to you, and he works with you when he agrees, and we come to a common goal," Van de Putte said. "If it's a disagreement, it's going to continue to be a disagreement."

Romney gets similarly mixed reviews.

Phil Johnson, the Democratic Party chairman in Massachusetts during Romney's only term, tells a tale of two governors.

"During the first two years of his administration, he was relatively moderate, even in some cases a progressive governor, who understood that that was the profile that fit Massachusetts," Johnston said. "But about halfway through the administration, he clearly made a decision to go national, and he made a very sharp break with his previous moderate self."

Romney worked with the Democratic Legislature, for example, to pass the state's landmark health care package about midway through his four-year term. He signed the bill into law to great fanfare in a public ceremony, but later returned to his office and vetoed several provisions.

"It was sort of a cheap political act," Johnston said. "He was not held in high esteem by Democrats in the Legislature."

As a presidential candidate, Romney often says he collaborated with Massachusetts Democrats to establish a $2 billion rainy day fund by the time he left the governor's office. Building the fund was a particular priority of Democratic leaders, however, even before Romney took office. While Romney had veto power, legislative Democrats ultimately controlled the budget process.

Despite holes in their records of bipartisanship, expect to hear more from Romney and Perry about compromise in the coming months.

"It is part of the culture and it'd be naive to think it would change overnight," said Tom Rath, a New Hampshire-based Romney adviser. "But the fact is, (Romney) is acknowledging it and saying, `I've got to create an atmosphere in which results can occur.' That's something that is very appealing to voters."

___

Associated Press writer Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111105/ap_on_el_ge/us_perry_romney_bipartisanship

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Volunteers end simulated mission to Mars

ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2011) ? The record-breaking simulated mission to Mars has ended with smiling faces after 17 months. Mars500's six brave volunteers stepped out of their 'spacecraft' Nov. 4, 2011 to be welcomed by the waiting scientists -- happy that the venture had worked even better than expected.

Mars500, the first full-length, high-fidelity simulation of a human mission to our neighbouring planet, started 520 days ago, on 3 June 2010, at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

The international crew were isolated in their interplanetary spacecraft mock-up, faithfully following the phases of a real mission: a long flight to Mars, insertion into orbit around the planet, landing, surface exploration, return to orbit, a monotonous return flight and arrival at Earth.

During the 'flight', the crew performed more than 100 experiments, all linked to the problems of long-duration missions in deep space.

To add to their isolation, communications with mission control were artificially delayed to mimic the natural delays over the great distances on a real Mars flight.

The crew of three Russians, one Chinese and two Europeans have performed exceptionally well. They have kept together and showed that motivation and team spirit can keep humans going under very difficult conditions. Scientists are pleased at their exceptional discipline.

"Thank you very much for your outstanding effort," said the European Space Agency's Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain in his greeting from Paris after the crew stepped from their module.

"I welcome the courage, determination and generosity of these young people who have devoted almost two years of their lives to this project, for the progress of human space exploration."

Touching reunions

The hatch was opened at 14:00 local time (11:00 CET, 10:00 GMT) and the 'marsonauts' walked out from their modules and greeted the mission directors.

After their first taste of freedom, they were led to meet doctors and their families and close friends.

"It is great to see you all again," said Diego Urbina, ESA's Italian crewmember, after emerging.

"On the Mars500 mission we have accomplished on Earth the longest space voyage ever so that humankind can one day greet a new dawn on a distant but reachable planet.

"And, as a European Space Agency crewmember, I am honoured to have been part of this remarkable challenge together with five of the most professional, friendly and resilient individuals I have ever worked with.

"I'll be forever thankful to those who, even from a distance, always stood close to me during this space odyssey."

Romain Charles, ESA's French crewmember, noted: "One year and a half ago, I was selected by the European Space Agency to be part of the Mars500 crew. Today, after a motionless trip of 520 days, I'm proud to prove, with my international crewmates, that a human journey to the Red Planet is feasible.

"We have all acquired a lot of valuable experience that will help in designing and planning future missions to Mars.

"We're ready to embark on the next spaceship going there!"

During their first few days of liberty, the crew will undergo extensive medical checks and psychological evaluation. They will also enjoy some private time and relaxation before talking to the media on 8 November in Moscow.

Their mission continues into early December, as they go through an exhaustive series of debriefings, tests and evaluations to collect the mission's final data.

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111106142036.htm

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Top U.S. companies urge new Internet trade rules (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, IBM, GE and other top-tier American companies on Thursday urged the United States to push for trade rules that protect the free flow of information over the Internet.

The unveiling of principles hashed out by the companies over the last nine months "is almost an historic moment," Rick Johnston, senior vice president for international government affairs at Citigroup, told reporters.

While past trade agreements have largely focused on eliminating tariffs on manufactured and agricultural goods, "we're now in an era where the economy is literally driven by the Internet. It's a digital economy," Johnston said.

The business coalition says it wants future U.S. trade pacts to "reflect the new realities of the global economy: specifically, the contribution of the Internet toward economic growth, toward job creation and exports," said Bob Boorstin, director of public policy for Google, which has battled Internet restrictions in China and other countries.

One "very dangerous trend" is a requirement by an increasing number of governments for companies to locate data centers within a country's borders in order to provide services, Boorstin said.

Such laws are discriminatory and contrary to the notion of cross-border trade, the coalition said in its paper, which also criticized actions "governments around the world" have taken to block access to information services such as Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and YouTube.

The companies said they hope their ideas will be reflected first in the proposed Transpacific Partnership, a free trade agreement that the United States is negotiating with eight countries in the region.

But they said the United States also should push for a new international consensus on ensuring cross-border data flows in other forums such as the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which is holds its annual summit this month in Hawaii.

"We want the free flow of data just like we want the free flow of goods and services," said Nuala O'Connor Kelly, chief privacy leader at General Electric.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/wr_nm/us_usa_trade_internet

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Orly Taitz Senate Campaign: 'Birther Queen' Running As GOP Candidate For U.S. Senate Seat In California

Orly Taitz is running for U.S. Senate. Taitz, who made a name for herself questioning the veracity of President Obama's birth certificate, will run as a GOP candidate in an effort to unseat Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Taitz, sometimes referred to as the "Birther Queen," told The Daily Caller, "I'm very confident that I'll be able to get the Republican nomination and I will be able to win the general election." She continued, "I'm best known of the candidates who have announced that they are running." The Caller reports that Taitz's campaign "is, perhaps surprisingly, almost entirely focused on economic issues."

The Sacramento Bee reported in September that Taitz, a dentist and attorney in Irvine, CA, was "absolutely" considering a run against Feinstein. "I think I do have a chance specifically because I do speak Spanish and I speak Hebrew," Taitz told the Bee.

This is not Taitz's first attempt to run for public office. In 2010, she attempted to run as the Republican nominee for California Secretary of State. Taitz was defeated for the nomination by former NFL player Damon Dunn.

Taitz has made it something of a mission to prove that Obama is not eligible to be President. She has unsuccessfully attempted to prove in court that Obama's presidency is not legitmate. The description on her own website reads, "World's Leading Obama Eligibility Challenge Web Site."

She also perceives herself as a victim of the mainstream media because, in her words, "I dare to be the only person who brought to court not only the issue of lack of the original birth certificate for Obama (not that piece of garbage he posted on the Internet without the name of the doctor and the name of the hospital), but also the issue of his use of multiple social security numbers, none of which was issued in HI." Taitz elaborates, "I know that sooner or later the truth will be out and my legal efforts will be vindicated and probably will be part of history books."

The White House released Obama's long form birth certificate in April.

Soon after the release of the long form birth certificate, Taitz appeared on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" and got into a shouting match with O'Donnell. The host, frustrated that Taitz would not address the release of the document, cut off the interview halfway into the conversation.

Taitz appeared at an Arizona Tea Party meeting in late October with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio is investigating Obama's birth certificate and explained to the group, "there could be a shock there somewhere that my guys came up with. I can't talk too much about it. It's in the process." Taitz also spoke and received applause from the crowd after talking about her belief that Obama was not born in the U.S.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/orly-taitz-senate-campaign_n_1075280.html

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Mississippi's tough new abortion amendment: 'Personhood' at conception? (The Week)

New York ? Next week, Mississippi voters are poised to legally decide if "personhood" begins when an egg is fertilized. What will the Supreme Court say about that?

Next Tuesday, Mississippi voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution by casting ballots on a?one-sentence bombshell: "Should the term 'person' be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?" The "personhood" measure is being pushed by Colorado-based anti-abortion group Personhood USA. The amendment is expected to pass, and would presumably outlaw all abortion in the state. Here's what you should know:

The amendment would outlaw abortion?
Abortion rights are the most obvious casualty, and that's how proponents of the measure are selling it to Mississippi's socially conservative voters. If a fetus is legally considered a person, abortion would fall under homicide laws. "Will personhood end abortion in Mississippi?" says Jackson-based OB-GYN Dr. Freda Bush. "Yes. Because we believe abortion is the taking of an innocent human life."

Would this affect practices besides abortion?
Yes. It would almost certainly ban in-vitro fertilization, "which often involves discarding unused (fertilized) embryos," says Jon Fasman in The Economist. Popular types of birth control like the IUD, which can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman's uterus, would also likely be prohibited, perhaps along with the pill. The measure could also prevent doctors from terminating ectopic pregnancies, where the unviable egg implants in the fallopian tubes or outside the uterus, endangering the woman. "Perhaps most worryingly," says Sarika Bansal at?The Huffington Post, "personhood may begin to criminally implicate some women for having stillbirths and miscarriages."

Are these fears realistic?
Legally, the measure is so "profoundly ambiguous" that it's impossible to know, say law professors I. Glenn Cohen and Jonathan F. Will in The New York Times. At what point on the "fertilization" continuum does the law kick in? Is the amendment a set of "first principles" that need legislative action to take effect, or is it a self-executing law that will "immediately redefine thousands of references to 'human beings' or 'persons'" in Mississippi's penal code? Adding to the uncertainty, says in-vitro fertility specialist Dr. Randall Hines, is the fact that the law would "leave it to a local prosecutor to decide who he's going to prosecute and which issue he's going to prosecute on."?

Who's for the measure, and who's against it?
Both men vying to replace term-limited?Gov. Haley Barbour?(R)?on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) and Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree (D), back the measure, as do the American Family Association and a broad selection of other anti-abortion groups. The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and some medical organizations oppose it. But many anti-abortion advocates are also opposed, or at least on the fence: Some, like Barbour, worry about the unintended consequences; others, like Mississippi's Catholic bishops and the National Right to Life Committee, are warning that the personhood amendment could harm efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Speaking of which, doesn't this amendment violate federal law?
It almost certainly runs afoul of?Roe v. Wade?? but that's the point,?says?The Economist's Fasman. "Advocates wish to provoke a series of court challenges leading all the way up to the Supreme Court, whose current composition is far less favorable to abortion-rights advocates than was the early-1970s Burger Court, which decided?Roe." But if the Supreme Court strikes Mississippi's law down, warns the National Right to Life Committee's?James Bopp, it "would jeopardize all current laws on abortion." The anti-abortion movement succeeds when it forces its opponents to defend extreme practices, like late-term abortions, Bopp says. Personhood proposals are a harder sell.

Sources: Washington Post (2), New York Times, Economist, NPR, Huffington Post, CBS News, U.S. Catholic

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Oz police probe suspected sabotage of Qantas jet

A Qantas jet prepares to land at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Qantas Airways planes returned to the skies after an Australian court ruled on a bitter labor dispute that had prompted the world's 10th-largest airline to ground its entire fleet. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A Qantas jet prepares to land at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Qantas Airways planes returned to the skies after an Australian court ruled on a bitter labor dispute that had prompted the world's 10th-largest airline to ground its entire fleet. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

(AP) ? Australian police are investigating the suspected sabotage of the entertainment system on a Qantas Airways airliner during an ongoing bitter labor dispute between the airline and the aircraft maintenance union, officials said Wednesday.

Engineers noticed several wires were cut on the in-flight entertainment system of a Qantas Boeing 767 undergoing maintenance at Brisbane Airport on Australia's east coast on Oct. 26, Qantas said in a statement. The entertainment system on Qantas 767s consists of individual screens on which passengers play videos, games and music on demand.

Further investigation by the engineers revealed more cut wires had been covered up, the airline said.

"Given the nature of the incident, we immediately referred it to the Australian Federal Police," Qantas said.

"There was no operational safety risk at any stage," it added.

A police statement confirmed that an investigation was under way, but said no further comment would be made.

The incident occurred days before Qantas grounded its entire fleet at the weekend and threatened to lock out unions whose rolling strikes and work bans cost the Australian airline millions of dollars in recent months.

An Australian court on Monday ordered the airline to end the lockout and unions representing engineers, pilots, baggage handlers and caterers to halt their strike action. The Qantas flight schedule was back to normal by Tuesday.

The engineers' union said it was unlikely the plane was sabotaged because of the labor dispute.

Steve Purvinas, federal secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that the damage was more likely accidental. Purvinas did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Australian regulator Civil Aviation Safety Authority did not intend to mount its own investigation, spokesman Peter Gibson said.

Also Wednesday, Qantas promised to compensate the tens of thousands of passengers stranded around the world by the sudden grounding for "all reasonable losses incurred."

It also said in a statement it will soon announce "further measures as an apology to affected customers."

Qantas was responding to Australia's fair trade watchdog, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which said in a statement that the airline's policy does not yet "go far enough" to compensate affected travelers.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-02-AS-Australia-Qantas-Investigation/id-a23c0b9e58a249e5a4ed076d9e01ddbb

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Italian borrowing rates soar (AP)

MILAN ? Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government teetered Thursday after its failure to come up with immediate growth measures to present to G-20 leaders in Cannes exposed growing fissures in the governing coalition and sent Italian borrowing rates again to dangerously-high levels.

Berlusconi met with his Cabinet late into the evening in an attempt to agree on a decree that would give immediate effect to emergency measures. Instead, Berlusconi goes to Cannes with proposed legislation, requiring approval by a divided Parliament , that would, among other things, sell off government property and privatize a limited category of local public services.

The yield on Italy's 10-year bonds jumped to 6.4 percent on the secondary market at one point, 4.62 percentage points higher than the rate on the German equivalent bund. Speculation that the European Central Bank was back in the markets buying up Italian bonds took the yield back down to 6.30 percent.

The ECB has been buying up Italian bonds for weeks in an attempt to keep borrowing rates at manageable levels. Borrowing costs of 7 percent are widely considered unsustainable, which could cause a default on public debt. With a debt of euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), or 120 percent of GDP, Italy is considered too big to bail out.

Berlusconi is under growing pressure to step down, although the Italian leader has insisted that his government will survive its mandate until 2013. Even his coalition partners, the Northern League, doubt that.

"It is difficult to avoid the impression that this government's time is numbered in days, or weeks, and that the legislature will finish at the beginning of 2012," Corriere della Sera, a moderate daily, wrote in a front page editorial.

After raising expectations of a decree, the government announced legislation reportedly after President Giorgio Napoletano suggested they would enjoy more legitimacy if passed by the full Parliament. They include amendments that include divesting government-owned real estate, privatizing local public companies, measures to encourage investment in infrastructure and liberalizing the labor market.

The measures must be approved by the end of the year, the government said in a statement.

Berlusconi outlined such measures in a letter to the EU last week after coming under European and market pressure to come up with solid proposals to boost anemic growth. Doubts were growing that Berlusconi had the political muscle to push reforms through.

President Giorgio Napoletano has been meeting with leaders of Italian parties to take the political temperature. In the event Berlusconi's government falls, it would be up to Napoletano to decide if a technical government or another of the center-right would run the country before new elections could be organized.

The government has been further weakened by reports of discord on emergency measures between Berlusconi and his finance minister Giulio Tremonti. Lawmakers in Berlusconi's party have increasingly voiced discontent.

"Berlusconi has become a puppet in the Italian political theater," the speaker of the lower house and former Berlusconi ally, Gianfranco Fini, told state TV.

He urged Berlusconi to show his leadership by seeking a broad alliance to see the country through the crisis. But if Berlusconi continues the present course "Italians will judge him," Fini said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111103/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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