No fitness concerns for Team India, says Dhoni

Last updated on: December 24, 2011?15:06 IST

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday said injury-prone pacers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are expected to be fit for the first Test against Australia and precautions have been taken to ensure that they don't break down in the middle of the series.

"We've missed Zaheer quite a few times in the past. We did give them (Zaheer and Ishant) some time off, they bowled in the practice game as well as in the practice session. They are shaping up well. There are two more days and we know a lot can happen in two days. Hopefully, they would all be available for selection," Dhoni said in Melbourne.

"We've tried to take as much precaution as we could (regarding Zaheer and Ishant). We've tried our best whatever we could do. Players have also played their part, they worked outside the field also, in the gym and the rehab sessions they needed to do. They have put in a lot of effort in practice. Hopefully, they wouldn't have any injury.

"Everyone's fit for the game. All players are looking fit which you need for the format of the game. We don't need to be worried (on fitness count)," he added.

Image: Zaheer Khan (right) with Ishant Sharma
Photographs: Getty Images

Last updated on: December 24, 2011?15:06 IST

Dhoni said the fireworks would only be limited to on-field action, promising that his side would ensure a controversy-free series without compromising on the intensity.

"Individuals do make mistakes. But as a professional cricketer, you don't want it. There is a lot at stake, people look up to you, so you want it controversy-free. Still, it's important you make it interesting," said Dhoni referring to the 2008 series when ugly exchanges between the two sides almost led to the tour being abandoned midway.

All hell had broken loose during the second Test at Sydney when India was at the receiving end of a few controversial decisions, capped by the "Monkeygate scandal" which dragged a few players of the two teams into the chambers of a court.

Dhoni also hoped the tour would be different in respect that India has never prepared as well as they have for the present tour.

"We've taken care of the preparation -- if 12-14 days are not enough then even one month wouldn't be enough. We've worked and looked at preparation from all angles so that once we are on the field, we can play by instinct and not worry about other factors.

"Our batters have toured here in the past. They know these conditions well. The first practice wicket (in Canberra) was very different, a bit on the slower side. But this one in the nets here has a bit more bounce which is useful," he said.

Image: Australia captain Ricky Ponting (left) speaks to Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh during the Sydney Test in 2008
Photographs: Getty Images

Last updated on: December 24, 2011?15:06 IST

Dhoni is conscious of the fact that everyone expects his team to win the present Test series but he doesn't want to lose sight of the immediate task.

"How we start in the first Test is important. We want to be in the moment. Break the match into sessions, try to win more sessions than the opposition team. If we win enough sessions, we will win the Test. Our emphasis would be on small things, not where we want to be at the end of the fourth Test.

"There's no point in taking that extra pressure. It will not help us. We need to keep it simple."

The India skipper then went on to speak about a few individuals of the side, including Sachin Tendulkar, who everyone expects to get his 100th international century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

"He (Sachin) keeps it simple. He would get it, sometime in this or the next Test, this or the next series. It is on the way. It isn't something he wouldn't achieve. But if he gets it soon, everyone would feel relieved.?

"Getting 100 hundreds is something really big. If you ask me, he's played more international cricket than we have even practiced. He also shares a lot with youngsters who are new to the side. Everyone in the world would cherish the moment when he gets his 100," Dhoni said.

Dhoni also said that opener Virender Sehwag's form would also be a key factor for the team.

"Virender Sehwag is also a key player for us. We rely on him to give a good opening start. He scores at a quick pace, puts the opposition bowlers under pressure. When he is at the crease, you can't bowl warm up deliveries.

"If it's the first delivery or the last ball before stumps, he would score. It doesn't matter as long as it is in his areas. It's good to have him in the side. He enjoys the way he plays. He backs himself to play those shots," he said.

Image: Sachin Tendulkar
Photographs: Getty Images

Last updated on: December 24, 2011?15:06 IST

On the speculation surrounding Ishant's fitness, Dhoni said, "Ishant is a very honest player. He works really hard at the nets. In a few years he has been with the team, he's someone who turns up on the field and gives his 100 per cent. He has a good attitude.

"He plays 60-70 per cent of his cricket in India where it's difficult to motivate yourself for even if you bowl 140kmph, the ball hardly reaches the wicketkeeper."

Dhoni also had words of praise for young off-spinner R Ashwin, whom he expects to do well in the series.

"It's good to have him, he has few variations. Even when wicket is not helping him, whether he is getting help or not, he adapts well. That's a big positive. The wickets here would be different from the sub-continent as he would get good bounce. He can capitalise on it but he needs to be patient.

"Spinners have key roles in longer format especially. As the game goes and the wicket becomes slower, you need spinners to make use of the foot marks. You need them to keep things tight, give time off to fast bowlers and give crucial breakthroughs. They have a very crucial role."

Image: Ishant Sharma
Photographs: Getty Images

Last updated on: December 24, 2011?15:06 IST

About his own batting, Dhoni admitted this it hasn't been a very great year for him in terms of batting at number seven but also pointed out that he missed out on big scores a few times because he ran out of partners.

"It's not been a brilliant year for me at number seven. But I've score a lot of 80s. Sometimes I have run short of partners, as it was in South Africa. All of a sudden, I didn't have batsmen batting with me. I tried to score runs and got out. However, I would like to improve as an individual. Great players are helping me."

Dhoni didn't want to run down Australia's young cricketers only because they are inexperienced.

"People talk a lot about inexperience. Even McGrath and Shane Warne made debut. They hadn't played many games but in due course, they became legends. Youngsters can also do so. Inexperience will nto count as long as you can adapt to the condtions."

One concern, Dhoni was candid enough to admit, was the massive size of the MCG which can test the fielding ability of cricketers.

"It's massive, a really big ground. We have seen batsmen have run four, even five is possible if fielder is slow. Because the outfield is lush and green, the shots get slow and you run a lot of singles which puts pressure on the fielders in the outfield.

"It's a bit of concern for fielding is very important. We've got quite a few good fielders in the outfield. What we want to achieve though is good catching in the slips. I think that would be important."

Image: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Photographs: Getty Images

? Copyright 2011 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/cricket/slide-show/slide-show-1-australia-tour-india-fitness-concerns-dhoni-ishant-zaheer-first-test/20111224.htm

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'In The Land Of Blood And Honey': The Reviews Are In!

'No one should be surprised that Angelina Jolie is as capable behind the camera as in front of it,' one critic says of globetrotting Oscar winner.
By Kara Warner

Zana Marjanovic in "In the Land of Blood and Honey"
Photo: GK Films

For her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," Angelina Jolie chose to helm a harrowing, unrelenting drama set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that highlights the horrors of the ethnic conflict that ravaged the region in the 1990s. To say that it is not a feel-good film is an understatement.

The critics are almost completely divided on whether Jolie's effort, which scored a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film, is a success. Read on as we sift through the reviews of "In the Land of Blood and Honey."

The Story
"Eight years ago Jolie starred in a film, 'Beyond Borders,' in which she sashayed around global hot spots in elegant outfits like a fashion model on a shoot. Almost as if in atonement, 'Blood and Honey' is nothing like that, quite the contrary, in fact, as it centers on the queasy relationship between a captor, a Serbian army officer responsible for rounding up Muslims or otherwise making them disappear in Bosnia, and a female prisoner, a woman he was interested in prior to the war and is now able to exploit, but also protect, as his 'personal property.' " — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

The Direction
"Because Jolie is known for her very public passions, which have progressed from the relative simplicity of the carnal to a globally-oriented expression of the maternal, the relatively sedate tone of 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' is unexpected. The systematic use of rape as a weapon of war is depicted with discretion (the brutality was far more vivid in 'The Whistleblower,' another 2011 Bosnian war-themed release). Jolie might show a shrieking woman being carried away by a soldier in the background, but she keeps much of the horror offscreen, at a remove from Ajla. Meanwhile, her scenes with Danijel read as lovers taking pleasure in each other's company, legs and limbs tangled languidly in the sheets. ... No one should be surprised that Angelina Jolie is as capable behind the camera as in front of it; why wouldn't she be? Here's an Oscar winner who travels the world on behalf of the United Nations listening to horror stories from refugees; processing pain is a regular sideline for her." — Mary Pols, Time

The Performances
"Jolie's actors [Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Vanesa Glodjo], all from the former Yugoslavia and unknown in the West except for the superb veteran character actor Rade Serbedzija, give magnetic, raw performances. Their commitment helps us through a movie that is often harrowing, never less than intense but important, one unafraid of moments too many have chosen to forget." — Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

The Final Word
"Considering the historical, ethical and technical challenges in the mix — a first-time director recreating a war of ethnic cleansing on a bombs-and-bullets level, with charged issues or power and abuse, along with the challenge of shooting in a second language in a foreign land — it is not patronizing to suggest that Ms. Jolie's first film is an ambitious step forward that promises more, and better, in the future. The film may have more in ambition than it does in execution, but it deserves to be taken seriously as a debut by someone who may yet be as natural and assured behind the camera as she seems to be in front of it." — James Rocchi, MSN.com

Check out everything we've got on "In the Land of Blood and Honey."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676450/in-the-land-of-blood-and-honey-reviews.jhtml

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Mexico's Copper Canyon is gorgeous ? and safe

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico (AP) ? I won't lie: I had some qualms about traveling alone to the Copper Canyon, a series of awe-inspiring gorges bigger than the Grand Canyon that happen to be in the same northwestern region of Mexico consumed by drug-trafficking violence.

At the same time, I knew from being in the news business that tourists are seldom, if ever, the target of such violence. I also was aware of the tendency to paint an entire region with a bleak brush when only small pockets are actually affected.

I'm glad I shrugged off the doubts. My trip to Las Barrancas del Cobre, as they are known in Spanish, was a great adventure. And I can confidently say that traveling here is safe ? especially if you stick to the route of el Chepe, the government-run train that this year celebrates its 50th anniversary depositing tourists and commuters along a 400-mile (650-kilometer) stretch from Los Mochis in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa to Chihuahua city, capital of Chihuahua state. The canyons themselves are all located within Chihuahua state's borders.

There were moments off the train that gave me pause, such as when a native in the old silver mining town of Batopilas remarked, "Here, we see nothing, we hear nothing and we say nothing if we want to wake up alive each morning." In that same town, where the drug-fighting military keep a high profile, I took pictures of attractive colonial-style building facades before realizing that at least two of them bore more than a dozen deep holes that could only have been rendered by the bullets of a high-powered weapon, the kind favored by Mexican drug traffickers.

And yet, during my brief stay, Batopilas was peaceful to the point of being comatose.

As I wandered through the narrow streets, men tipped their cowboy hats in deference, young couples and children posed amiably for photographs, and museum guides and hotel owners alike were eager to educate me on the town's rich mining and Indian cultural history.

Frankly, the scariest part of my trip was getting there, in a small van that for much of the 4?-hour trip swerved, bounced and braked as it made a precipitous descent from nearly 7,900 feet (2,400 meters) to 1,840 feet (560 meters) on unpaved, switchback roads with no guardrails.

Then there was a different type of scare, one that I chose: I ziplined at heights of up to nearly 1,500 feet (450 meters) over the Copper Canyon and tap-danced across two wobbly hanging bridges, albeit while wearing a helmet and being firmly attached to a steel cable that would prevent me from catapulting over the edge and into the depths below.

The scenery was thrilling too: The cliffs of the 5,900-foot-deep (1,800-meter-deep) Batopilas Canyon glowed red in the sun, sharp-edged mountain peaks repeated themselves in a visual bluish echo far into the distance, and a brown river that from above looked to be the width of a thread twisted its way across the canyon floor.

During my one-night stay at the Copper Canyon, a gorge named for the entire range, a full white, button-size moon rose above cliffs darkening into silhouettes of themselves as a dying sun infused horizontal cloud strips with pink and orange blush.

The Posada Barrancas Mirador hotel is literally built on the rim of the canyon. In the past, it was jammed with tourists, but I was one of only 17 guests on a night in early November. That meant the Mirador's "happy hour with a view" felt less like a moneymaking diversion for tourists and more like a small, pleasant gathering of friends. As I sat in a comfy leather chair sipping a local grain alcohol known as Sotol in front of a fireplace, I could fantasize that this was my own private lodge to which I had invited a few guests for a quiet evening.

"Usually this time of year, we'd have about 120 people here," said the hotel's client services manager, David Varela, referring to the large groups of U.S. tourists who have always been the region's biggest clients. Back in the good days, Varela noted, every season was "high season," with the exception of August and September.

But the global economic crisis, the 2009 swine flu scare, and a steady increase in and attention to Mexico's drug-related violence have devastated tourism throughout the entire Copper Canyon. Now Americans stay away while Mexicans, who never had much interest in visiting the region, are starting to respond to a nationwide campaign urging citizens to explore their country, Varela said. Still, he says this isn't nearly enough to make up for the overall loss.

To those who stay away out of fear, I would simply say: Don't.

First of all, el Chepe (the train) is patrolled by heavily armed state police officers who are there to stop any potential robberies or assaults. You take one look at them and you know they mean business. One of them, Hugo Sergio Guerrero Lazo ("guerrero" means warrior, by the way), told me he hasn't seen any problems during the 2? years he's been on the job.

Second, if you decide to take one of the hundreds of hiking trails or to camp in canyon sites far from the train tracks, hire a guide who knows the area. There are plenty of them and they are all looking for work.

In the lovely colonial city of El Fuerte in the Pacific state of Sinaloa, a guide led me down the El Rio River in a small wooden boat he rowed himself while rattling off the names of myriad winged species ? egrets, blue herons, hawks, cardinals, ospreys and cranes among them ? that literally flock to this internationally known bird sanctuary.

He tied the boat to a tree overhanging a riverbank and led me traipsing through bush and bramble until we reached hilltop boulders marked by petroglyphs, symbolic drawings of sun gods, plumed serpents, mystical coyotes and shamans believed to have to have been etched by the Nahautl Indians hundreds of years ago.

For my zipline tour, I and a half-dozen others took transportation arranged by the Mirador hotel to a state-run park, where we were met and escorted by guides.

In the town of Creel, The 3 Amigos tour company connected me with a guide descended from the Tarahumara Indians, who live in large numbers throughout the Copper Canyon. He took me to see giant stones sculpted by nature into whimsical shapes in the aptly named Valley of the Mushrooms and Frogs and Valley of the Monks.

If you're feeling adventurous, The 3 Amigos and other outlets rent bikes, scooters and four-wheel drives and provide maps for self-guided trips. I met a U.S. and Australian man, each traveling separately, who'd run into each other the day before and decided to ride mountain bikes together down the dusty switchbacks into the Batopilas Canyon. They arrived hours later than expected due to multiple punctured tires, but agreed the trip was amazing.

As a woman traveling alone, however, I found the best way to explore the Copper Canyon was to jump on and off el Chepe and stay in hotels built specifically along the route for train travelers.

Nearly every day of the journey, I met people from all over the world who agreed with me: This trip is worth taking.

___

If You Go...

COPPER CANYON: http://www.visitmexico.com/en-us/copper-canyon

EL CHEPE: http://www.chepe.com.mx/english/index.html. In late fall and early winter, take the route that starts in Los Mochis and ends in Chihuahua; otherwise it will be too dark to see some of the best canyon views.

TOUR GROUPS:

The 3 Amigos: http://www.amigos3.com/

Balderrama Hotels & Tours: http://www.mexicoscoppercanyon.com/index.html

HOTELS: Hotels include:

?Torres del Fuerte in El Fuerte, http://www.hotelestorres.com/ing/index.php

?Posada Barrancas Mirador in Posada Barrancas, http://hotelesbalderrama.com/mirador.htm

?Casa Real de Minas in Batopilas: http://www.sierramadrelodges.com/Real_de_Minas_Hotel.html

?Best Western The Lodge at Creel http://www.thelodgeatcreel.com/

?Quality Inn San Francisco in Chihuahua: http://www.qualityinnchihuahua.com/

BATOPILAS: http://www.visitbatopilas.com/

TIPS: Due to the Copper Canyon's wide range of altitudes, weather varies dramatically, from hot summerlike temperatures to near freezing. Some tour groups only accept cash, so be sure to get it in Chihuahua, Los Mochis, or El Fuerte; don't count on ATMs.

Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Mexico-s-Copper-Canyon-is-gorgeous-and-safe-2414781.php

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Koch apologizes for relationship (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/177768334?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Last troops exit Iraq in subdued end to 9-year war (AP)

AT THE IRAQ-KUWAIT BORDER ? Outside it was pitch dark. The six American soldiers couldn't see much of the desert landscape streaming by outside the small windows of their armored vehicle. They were hushed and exhausted from an all-night drive ? part of the last convoy of U.S. troops to leave Iraq during the final moment of a nearly nine-year war.

As dawn broke Sunday, a small cluster of Iraqi soldiers along the highway waved goodbye to the departing American troops.

"My heart goes out to the Iraqis," said Warrant Officer John Jewell. "The innocent always pay the bill."

When they finally crossed the sand berm that separates Iraq from Kuwait, illuminated by floodlights and crisscrossed with barbed wire, the mood inside Jewell's vehicle was subdued. No cheers. No hugs. Mostly just relief.

His comrade, Sgt. Ashley Vorhees, mustered a bit more excitement.

"I'm out of Iraq," she said. "It's all smooth sailing from here."

The final withdrawal was the starkest of contrasts to the start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003. That morning, an airstrike in southern Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein was believed to be hiding, marked the opening shot of the famed "shock and awe" bombardment. U.S. and allied ground forces then stormed from Kuwait toward the capital, hurtling north across southern Iraq's featureless deserts.

The last convoy of heavily armored personnel carriers, known as MRAPS, left the staging base at Camp Adder in southern Iraq in Sunday's early hours. They slipped out under cover of darkness and strict secrecy to prevent any final attacks. The 500 soldiers didn't even tell their Iraqi comrades on the base they were leaving.

The attack never materialized. The fear, though, spoke volumes about the country they left behind ? shattered, still dangerous and containing a good number of people who still see Americans not as the ally who helped them end Saddam's dictatorship, but as an enemy.

About 110 vehicles made the last trip from Camp Adder to the "berm" in Kuwait, the long mound of earth over which tens of thousands of American troops charged into Iraq at the start of the war.

The roughly five-hour drive was uneventful, with the exception of a few vehicle malfunctions.

Once they crossed into Kuwait, there was time for a brief celebrations as the soldiers piled out of the cramped and formidable-looking MRAPs. A bear hug, some whooping, fist bumps and fist pumps.

The war that began eight years and nine months earlier cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The bitterly divisive conflict left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover. For the United States, two central questions remain unanswered: whether it was all worth it, and whether the new government the Americans leave behind will remain a steadfast U.S. ally or drift into Iran's orbit.

But the last soldiers out were looking ahead, mostly, and not back. They spoke eagerly of awaiting family reunions ? some of them in time for Christmas ? and longing for Western "civilization" and especially the meals that await them back home.

The 29-year-old Vorhees was planning a Mexican dinner out at Rosa's in Killeen, Texas. Her favorite is crispy chicken tacos. Another joy of home, she said: You don't have to bring your weapon when you go to the bathroom.

Spc. Jesse Jones was getting ready to make the 2 1/2 hour drive from Ft. Hood, Texas, where the brigade is based, to Dallas. His quarry: an In & Out Burger.

"It's just an honor to be able to serve your country and say that you helped close out the war in Iraq," said Jones, 23, who volunteered to be in the last convoy. "Not a lot of people can say that they did huge things like that that will probably be in the history books."

In the last days at Camp Adder, the remaining few hundred troops tied up all the loose ends of a war, or at least those that could be tied up.

The soldiers at the base spoke often of the "lasts" ? the last guard duty, the last meal in Iraq, the last patrol briefing. Even the last Friday was special until it was eclipsed by the last Saturday.

Spc. Brittany Hampton laid claim to one of the most memorable "lasts." She rode the last vehicle of the last convoy of American troops leaving Iraq.

Hampton was thinking of her dad, also a soldier who has served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I can't wait to ... call my dad and tell him about this," she said. "He's not going to believe it. He's going to be so proud of me."

She joked that no one was going to believe her back home when she told them she was in the very last vehicle to leave.

"But we really, truly were the last soldiers in Iraq. So it's pretty awesome," she said.

In the final days, U.S. officials acknowledged the cost in blood and treasure was high, but tried to paint it as a victory ? for both the troops and the Iraqi people now freed of a dictator and on a path to democracy. But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes? And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats?

President Barack Obama stopped short of calling the U.S. effort in Iraq a victory.

"I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future," Obama said in an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, recorded Thursday.

Saddam and his regime fell within weeks of the invasion, and the dictator was captured by the end of the year ? to be executed by Iraq's new Shiite rulers at the end of 2006. But Saddam's end only opened the door to years more of conflict as Iraq was plunged into a vicious sectarian war between its Shiite and Sunni communities. The near civil war devastated the country, and its legacy includes thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and infrastructure that remains largely in ruins.

In the past two years, violence has dropped dramatically, and Iraqi security forces that U.S. troops struggled for years to train have improved. But the sectarian wounds remain unhealed. Even as U.S. troops were leaving, the main Sunni-backed political bloc announced Sunday it was suspending its participation in parliament to protest the monopoly on government posts by Shiite allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"We are glad to see the last U.S. soldier leaving the country today," said 25-year-old Iraqi Said Hassan, the owner of money exchange shop in Baghdad. "It is an important day in Iraq's history, but the most important thing now is the future of Iraq," he added.

"The Americans have left behind them a country that is falling apart and an Iraqi army and security forces that have a long way ahead to be able to defend the nation and the people."

The convoys that left Sunday were the last of a massive operation pulling out American forces that has lasted for months to meet the end-of-the-year deadline agreed with the Iraqis during the administration of President George W. Bush.

On Saturday evening at Camp Adder, near Nasiriyah and about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, the vehicles lined up in an open field to prepare, and soldiers went through last-minute equipment checks to make sure radios, weapons and other gear were working.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commanding general for Iraq, walked through the rows of vehicles, talking to soldiers over the low hum of the engines. He thanked them for their service.

"I wanted to remind them that we have an important mission left in the country of Iraq. We want to stay focused and we want to make sure that we're doing the right things to protect ourselves," Austin said.

Early Saturday morning, the brigade's remaining interpreters made their routine calls to the local tribal sheiks and government leaders that the troops deal with, so that they would assume that it was just a normal day.

"The Iraqis are going to wake up in the morning and nobody will be there," said Spc. Joseph, an Iraqi American who emigrated from Iraq in 2009 and enlisted. He asked that his full name be withheld to protect his family.

Camp Adder is now an Iraqi air force base, although they don't have any planes yet. Many of the Americans spent their last day sweeping out the trailers that housed thousands of troops and contractors while Iraqi officers came by to inspect their future domain.

Little by little, the U.S. military gave up pieces of Camp Adder. Soldiers closed down guard towers, turned over checkpoints leading into the base and left hundreds of vehicles, oil tankers and trucks in vast lots with the keys on the dashboard.

The volleyball and basketball courts stood empty. And no one worked out at the gym called "House of Pain."

The roughly 13-square-mile base had at one time been a major way station where troops and supplies often stopped on their way south or north.

But by the time the Americans pulled out for good, their numbers had dwindled so low that the wild dogs that used to be too afraid to come near the living quarters now wandered freely through the rows of trailers and concrete blast walls.

Sgt. First Class Hilda McNamee was the truck commander in the last MRAP to drive out of Iraq. The 34-year-old said when she gets back to Texas, she plans to take her son to the International House of Pancakes.

For her the significance of the last convoy driving out was immediately apparent.

"It means I won't open a newspaper and find out that one of my friends passed away," said McNamee.

She welled up but didn't want to go any deeper. Some memories will always be too fresh.

Going home will also bring new dangers for the troops.

Col. Douglas Crissman, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said one of his biggest concerns now was making sure that all his soldiers who survived this deployment also survive their re-entry into what is supposed to be a safer world.

"Quite frankly, we lost more soldiers in peacetime in the nine or ten months before this brigade deployed due to accidents and risky behavior ... than we lost here in combat," he said.

His brigade, which controlled the four provinces in southern Iraq, lost three soldiers during this tour. Two were killed by roadside bombs and one was killed by a rocket, likely as he was trying to get to a bunker.

But in the roughly 10 months leading up to their deployment, they lost 13 people. At least one was a confirmed suicide.

The U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, hoping to foster a lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region. Obama met in Washington with Prime Minister al-Maliki last week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship.

U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.

In the end, many of the departing troops wrestled with a singular question: Was it worth it?

Capt. Mark Askew, a 28-year-old from Tampa, Florida, said the answer will depend on what type of country Iraq turns into years from now ? whether it is democratic and respects human rights.

"People are asking themselves: `Was this worth it?'" he said, speaking to his troops before they set off to Kuwait. "I can't answer that question right now."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111219/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_the_end

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I wanna talk like you (oo)

Friday, December 16, 2011

The role of social structure in animal communication is hotly debated. Non-human primates seem to be born with a range of calls and sounds which is dependent upon their species. But overlying this there seems to be some flexibility - you can tell where a gibbon lives by its accent. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology used Campbell's monkeys to look in detail at the nature versus nurture question and showed that non-human primate 'language', like humans, is learnt.

Researchers studied free-living Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus campbelli campbelli) from the Ta? National Park, Ivory Coast. They observed social interactions (time spent grooming) and recorded 'contact calls' made while the females were travelling, foraging or resting. Genetic similarity (family relationships) was determined by microsatellite analysis of DNA isolated from droppings. These monkeys have lived close to the Ta? Monkey Project Research Station for more than 10 years so their social structure and family groups are well known. Groups consisted of one male, four or six females, along with their offspring.

Dr Alban Lemasson who led the multi centre team explained, "Each female has its own distinctive vocalisation but they appear to pick up habits from each other. Similarities between 'contact calls' were dependent on the length of time adult females spent grooming each other (and who their grooming partner was) rather than genetic relatedness. This means that while the general call repertoire of non-human primates is dependent on genetic factors, the fine structure within this is influenced by the company they kept. This behaviour also fits with the theory that human speech has evolved gradually from ancestral primate vocalisations and social patterns."

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Social learning of vocal structure in a nonhuman primate?
Alban Lemasson, Karim Ouattara, Eric J Petit and Klaus Zuberb?hler
BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116104/I_wanna_talk_like_you__oo_

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Kim Kardashian Most Ill-Mannered Person of 2011, Kate Middleton Best Mannered!

The best and worst mannered people of 2011 have been revealed. The honors go Kate Middleton and Kim Kardahsain. It is not hard to figure out which honor went to each lady. According to The National League of Junior Cotillions Kate Middleton is the best mannered person of the year and Kim Kardashian is the worst mannered person of the year, who knew there was such a thing right? Not me but boy it is highly entertaining. It really is a no brainer as to why the NLJC chose Prince Williams wife for the top manners honor, if you will. According to the group Kate was ?chosen for the exemplary manner in which she has conducted herself, before and after her marriage.? Can?t really argue with that logic. On the other hand there is Kim Kardahsain, who the group has named basically the worst mannered person of the year. Not really a shocker as to why but Kim was chose but the offically reason being given is tha she was ?chosen for making a private matter public and disrespecting the institution of marriage.? So what exactly are the best and worst decisions based on? Well according to the NLJC National [...]

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Delta to launch new service between Rochester and LaGuardia (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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Britney Spears engaged to marry Jason Trawick (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Britney Spears is ready to walk down the aisle for the third time. The 30-year-old pop star has agreed to marry her longtime boyfriend and former agent Jason Trawick.

Trawick announced Friday on "Access Hollywood" that he and Spears are engaged. The two have been dating since 2009.

Spears hinted at the big news with a tweet Friday morning that read, "OMG. Last night Jason surprised me with the one gift I've been waiting for. Can't wait to show you! SO SO SO excited!!!!"

Spears was previously married to Kevin Federline, with whom she has two sons: 6-year-old Sean Preston and 5-year-old Jayden James. The couple divorced in 2006. Spears also briefly wed childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004, but the marriage was annulled after 55 hours.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_en_mu/us_people_britney_spears

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Text of the Federal Reserve's statement Tuesday (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Below is the statement the Fed released Tuesday after its policy meeting:

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some apparent slowing in global growth. While indicators point to some improvement in overall labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated.

Household spending has continued to advance, but business fixed investment appears to be increasing less rapidly and the housing sector remains depressed. Inflation has moderated since earlier in the year, and longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.

Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee continues to expect a moderate pace of economic growth over coming quarters and consequently anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate.

Strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook. The Committee also anticipates that inflation will settle, over coming quarters, at levels at or below those consistent with the Committee's dual mandate. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations.

To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with the dual mandate, the Committee decided today to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities as announced in September.

The Committee is maintaining its existing policies of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate.

The Committee also decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions--including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run--are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through mid-2013.

The Committee will continue to assess the economic outlook in light of incoming information and is prepared to employ its tools to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Richard W. Fisher; Narayana Kocherlakota; Charles I. Plosser; Sarah Bloom Raskin; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Janet L. Yellen. Voting against the action was Charles L. Evans, who supported additional policy accommodation at this time

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111213/ap_on_bi_ge/us_federal_reserve_statement_text

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What makes Florence and her band unique (AP)

NEW YORK ? Florence + The Machine are more like FLORENCE + the machine: There's no question who dominates.

Florence Welch was first signed as a solo artist, and the CD booklet for their latest album, "Ceremonials," has 14 pictures of Welch, none of anyone else.

But her band plays an integral part in her otherworldly sound: "She has definite ideas about what she wants and she feels like she can trust us to deliver the goods," said harpist Tom Monger.

And if the band ever has a breakout player, Monger might be it. Welch calls his addition to the band, which now stands at seven, "a total fluke": Shortly after recording the "Dog Days Are Over" from the band's album "Lungs," which included a keyboard sound simulating a harp, Welch was sitting in a studio when Monger walked by, carrying something that Welch said "looked like a telephone box wrapped in a blanket."

She wondered what it was, and Monger told her it was a harp. She quickly invited him in, and The Machine soon had a new member.

But he's not your parents' kind of harp player. He takes the instrument out of the parlor and plays with strength and aggression.

"There is still this kind of stigma or stereotype to the harp being a romantic instrument played by ladies in long dresses and very regal settings," he said. "That doesn't have to be the case."

Leave all that to Welch, who has drawn comparisons to Stevie Nicks for flowing onstage outfits and a witchy woman persona. The "Ceremonials" opening track, "Only If For a Night," is about a ghost (the singer finds it "so strange, so surreal, that a ghost should be so practical"). In "Seven Devils," she talks about how "all your love will be exorcised." She proclaims on "Shake it Out" that "it's hard to dance with the devil on your back."

Florence + The Machine's first album, which sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, was a quilt with a number of different producers, including Paul Epworth, whose work with Adele helped take the British singer to the top of the pop world this year.

"I wanted to make a sound that was cohesive, that was a whole, rather than a collection of songs that sounded quite separate," the 25-year-old Welch said. "I wanted a sound that floated through the whole album."

She and Epworth took a different approach for "Ceremonials," which was released last month. Welch feels it represents her varied influences, which range from Hole and Nirvana to Kanye West and Jay-Z, and Beyonce. Rihanna and Lady Gaga are also favorites, as are Spiritualized. And Kate Bush.

"There's a real sense of people being into loads of different stuff at once," she said in a recent interview. "I think you kind of get that from this record, the fact that I've been into so much different stuff. Style-wise, it touches on so many different things."

Welch said she and Epworth "kind of geek out together on drum sounds." They frequently sound like miniature bomb blasts on top of music that might otherwise be considered ethereal, reminiscent of Bush's work.

Rolling Stone described it, without really defining it, as "a very British record," a point that was echoed by VH1 music executive Rick Krim.

"It's not American, whatever that means," said Krim, executive vice president for talent and music programming. "It feels like it's from the hills of England somewhere."

Krim and VH1 have signed Welch to participate in its upcoming "Divas" special, where she will represent British soul music. Next year, MTV will air an "Unplugged" episode with the band. Krim said he was impressed by the distinctiveness of Florence + The Machine's second disc.

"She's not trying to make cookie-cutter Top 40 music," he said. "She does one thing and hopes the audience gravitates toward her instead of doing something that will fit a format."

____

Online:

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_en_mu/us_music_florence___the_machine

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Tommy Thompson opponents say he isn???t conservative enough (Daily Caller)

A decade ago, if Tommy Thompson had entered a Senate race in Wisconsin, the Republican primary would have been over. But when the state?s only four-term governor announced his candidacy for the Senate on Thursday, he was met with a barrage of attacks claiming that his record was not conservative enough.

?With Thompson, you have a governor whose positions were certainly seen as conservative at the time he took them,? explained University of Wisconsin, Madison professor Charles Franklin.?But those positions, staked out more than eleven years ago, ?may not look conservative [anymore],? he said.

Two Republican candidates in the primary are running to the right of Thompson: former Wisconsin Rep. Mark Neumann and State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has yet to do much campaigning, as the state assembly is still in session, but Neumann is already actively positioning himself as the true conservative in the race, and has garnered endorsements from Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The day Thompson announced, the Club for Growth ? also a vocal Neumann supporter ? released a press release attacking his conservative credentials, and pointing specifically to statements that he made in support of President Obama?s health care reform law.

?Tommy Thompson joined hands with the labor unions, [Democratic Rep.] Tammy Baldwin, and President Obama to pass the largest expansion of government-run health care in a generation,? said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola in the release.

The release focuses on Thompson?s membership on the board of America?s Agenda, a group whose website touts that its ?health reform campaign had the privilege of making substantial contributions to shaping and winning passage of this historic health insurance reform law,? and lauds the passage of the law as a ?breakthrough.?

The Club for Growth points out that members of America?s Agenda include a number of labor unions. It also points to various statements that Thompson made praising the health care law.

Darrin Schmitz, consultant to Thompson for Senate, points out that ?Mark Blum, America?s Agenda executive director, said Thompson never endorsed the health-care law (Obamacare).?

According to a report in the Examiner in May, ?In October 2009, as the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of the health care bill, Thompson and former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt issued a joint statement praising the legislation as another important step toward achieving the goal of health care reform this year. They wrote: It moves us down the path of providing affordable high-quality health care for all and expanding coverage for millions. While expressing some concerns, Gephardt and Thompson warned, failure to reach an agreement on health reform this year is not an acceptable option.?

Schmitz dismissed the Club for Growth attacks.

?Mark Neumann?s former chief of staff and top fundraiser now work at the Club, and they?re orchestrating the attacks and lies on Governor Thompson,? said Darrin Schmitz, consultant for Thompson for Senate. ?Neumann has a history of tearing down fellow Republicans like Scott Walker and Tommy Thompson to promote himself.?

?Neumann came under fire from conservatives in Wisconsin for the smear campaign he ran against Scott Walker. Neumann is hiding behind his former employees at the Club and letting them do his dirty work for him. Their attacks will backfire badly on Neumann,? Schmitz added.

The ex-governor?s support for the health care overhaul could be a ?potentially potent issue against Thompson,? said Franklin, but he cautions that Thompson ?can probably fairly say that his support was not as open-ended as some of his opponents want to make it sound. He will say he thought it was time for health care reform, but that didn?t mean he embraced all the parts of the reform that passed.?

Brian Schimming, the first vice chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party and a former member of the Thompson administration, echoed that sentiment.

Thompson is ?very much a market-based guy,? said Schimming. ?He was for reform, there?s no doubt about it. He wasn?t for Obamacare. He isn?t for Obamacare, and he never has been. Is he for reform? No doubt he?s for reform. But he?s not for Obamacare.?

?Tommy Thompson publicly stated his opposition Obamacare long before it passed, and he?s called for the law to be repealed and replaced with market-based solutions. The Club?s attacks are totally false,? said Schmitz.

The biggest issue for Thompson, said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor for the Cook Political Report, could be his absence from state politics since 1994.

?Campaigning has changed a lot,? Duffy pointed out, adding that moreover, ?there?s a whole generation of voters who never voted for him and don?t really remember his tenure.?

The question will be, ?does he run the kind of campaign that you run in 2012, as opposed to 1994?? she said.??And then of course you?ve got the whole ideological angle.?

Duffy said that ?in the last two cycles ? ideological purity got a little more important than electability.? If that trend continues in 2012, then it could be problematic for Thompson.

For Franklin, the primary sets the stage for a battle between the old and the new within the Republican Party.

?It signals a battle between Thompson and the modern conservative movement in the Republican Party,? said Franklin.??It?s going to be Fitzgerald versus Neumann, who are both clearly to the right of Thompson, with Thompson trying to say, ?I?m conservative enough but I?m also a get-things-done operator who wants to really solve problems, not just talk about them.??

?The strongest critique? of the former governor, said Franklin, is ?how the state government grew under Thompson.?

?He may have been a conservative, but he was a big government conservative, with the state taking on more spending for more programs, even if it was spending money for? programs favored by conservatives, Franklin said. For instance, in pursuit of school choice, an issue popular among conservatives, ?Thompson increased the state?s share of K-12 school funding,? Franklin noted, adding that this was also in pursuit of decreasing property taxes in the state.

Another attack that has come up against Thompson is his position on stem cell research, on which opponents say he has flip-flopped.

In 2006, the late David Broder of the Washington Post described Thompson as an ?outspoken advocate of stem cell research.? But in November, he addressed a conference organized by the Vatican supporting stem cell research that did not use human embryos. ?(RELATED: Democrats? embryonic stem cell strategy hits scientific wall)

?Thompson believes the science has moved on. As a pro-life Catholic, he has always sought to protect new and existing life. He fully supports adult stem cell research, which does not require the destruction of embryos and has yielded new advancements in regenerative therapies,? said Schmitz.

But for all that, Thompson has a lot going for him. He is still quite popular in the state ? a Public Policy Polling poll found him with a 63 percent approval rating.

?People look at him a different way in this state,? said Schimming, who said he is a Thompson supporter. ??He?s kind of an institution in the state, and one that people like,? he added.

Even though Thompson has been out of office for so long, Schimming argued, he?s still very well-known in the state. ?If you step back and think about it, if you were anywhere into your mid teens, you knew who Tommy Thompson was,? Schimming said. ?And while he may have been out as governor, he?s still got tons of recognition from being in the Bush cabinet ? you?re not going to go out and find a bunch of 25-year-olds who don?t know who the guy is.?

?Tommy Thompson was one of the best politicians and governors the state has ever seen, so for anyone to underestimate his ability to sense what the electorate wants ? he?s just proven time and time again that he has that ability,? said Brett Healy of the MacIver Institute, a conservative Wisconsin-based think tank.

?Unless he?s lost his touch, he has always had the ability to seize on an issue that no one else realizes is important to your average citizens and he?s been able to capitalize on that sort of stuff,? Healy added.

Thompson is also seen as the most electable candidate in the general election.

?I ran into a very prominent Democrat the other day, who knows Wisconsin politics as well as anybody I know on that side, and ? I said, ?What do you think?? And he said, ?[If] Tommy gets through the primary, it?s over,?? recounted Schimming.

?They?re going to try to attack him on that, and stem cells, and go at him every way they can,? said Schimming, but Thompson has a ?unique way of being very up front with people of how he was on issues. They?re going to need a lot more than that to beat him.?

Thompson?s position as a beloved institution in Wisconsin, Schimming said, would cause attacks to harm the attacker.

?That is essentially, in this state, saying Tommy Thompson?s a liar, and that is not going to go over well in this state,? he said.

Thompson?s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Video: Mindy McCready fighting for custody of son

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Former Brazil captain Socrates dies at 57 (AP)

SAO PAULO ? On and off the field, former Brazil star Socrates stood out above the rest.

His elegant style and his deep involvement with politics made him a unique figure in Brazilian soccer, setting him apart from the players of his time and even of today.

He was mostly known for captaining Brazil at the 1982 World Cup, regarded by many as the best team ever not to win football's showcase tournament.

But he was also widely known for his heavy drinking, which he publicly admitted caused the health problems which eventually helped lead to his death on Sunday.

The Albert Einstein hospital said in a statement that Socrates died of septic shock at 4:30 a.m. Brazilian time (0630 GMT). He was 57.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Brazil lost "one of its most cherished sons."

"On the field, with his talent and sophisticated touches, he was a genius," she said in a statement. "Off the field, ... he was active politically, concerned with his people and his country."

Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also expressed his sadness for the loss.

"Socrates' generous contribution to Corinthians, to football and to the Brazilian society will never be forgotten," said Silva, an outspoken fan of Corinthians, the club where Socrates thrived in the 1980s.

Socrates had been rushed to the hospital a few days ago and had been in critical condition in an intensive care unit with an intestinal infection. He was breathing with the help of a ventilator.

It was the third time in four months that he was hospitalized and placed in intensive care, most recently in September. The first two times he was admitted for a hemorrhage caused by high pressure in the vein that carries blood from the digestive system to the liver.

Socrates never denied his fondness for drinking from the time he was a player in the 1980s, but said he stopped drinking earlier this year after his stints in the hospital.

"Socrates seemed like a player from another era," former Italy forward Paolo Rossi told the ANSA news agency. "You couldn't place him in any category ? on the pitch and even more so off it. Everyone knew about his degree in medicine and he had a lot of cultural and social interests as well. He was unique from every point of view."

Indeed, Socrates was like no other on and off the field. He became a doctor after retiring from football and later became a popular TV commentator and columnist, always with unique and controversial opinions.

Since his playing days, Socrates never kept his political ideas to himself and often wrote about the subject in his columns. Known as Dr. Socrates because of his practice of medicine, he was constantly in demand from local media for interviews on varied subjects.

While with Corinthians, Socrates spearheaded a movement called the Corinthians Democracy, in which players protested against the long periods of confinement required by the club before matches. It quickly became a broader protest that coincided with Brazil's fight to overturn a military regime in the 1980s.

The clever, tall full-bearded playmaker also was a member of the Brazilian squad in 1986 in Mexico, but it was in 1982 in Spain that he made history with Brazil, which is known to have had one of the greatest teams in World Cup history but failed to win the trophy. With players like Zico and Falcao, it fell to Italy 3-2 in the second round despite needing only a draw to advance to the semifinals.

"He was a very dynamic player with a sublime foot but most of all great intelligence," added Rossi, who scored a memorable hat trick in that match against Brazil. "Along with Zico and Falcao he was the symbol of that Brazil squad.

Zico said he was honored to have been Socrates' friend and teammate.

"He was a spectacular guy," Zico told the website GloboEsporte.com. "As a player, there is not much to say, he was one of the best that I ever played with. His intelligence was unique, you always expected something good out of him."

Dozens of Brazilian footballers expressed their sadness on Twitter moments after Socrates' death was announced.

"Sad start to the day," retired Brazil striker Ronaldo wrote. "Rest in peace Dr. Socrates."

Former Brazil and Barcelona playmaker Rivaldo added on his Twitter page: "Sad to wake up and find out that Socrates has died."

Reaction came from those outside of football, too, including three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

"Great guy," Castroneves tweeted. "A Brazilian who will be greatly missed."

NBA player Steve Nash called Socrates a "legend."

"RIP Socrates," the Phoenix Suns' point guard tweeted. "Fascinated by him as a kid. Brazilian World Cup Legend. Playmaker. Goal scorer. Doctor. Philosopher."

The Brazilian football federation said the final round of the Brazilian league on Sunday will be played in Socrates' honor. All matches will be preceded by a minute of silence. Corinthians, the team that featured Socrates at the height of his career, needs a draw against rival Palmeiras to win the title. Corinthians' main fan group said it will honor its former star throughout the day.

Fiorentina, another of Socrates' former clubs, held a minute of silence and players wore black armbands in his honor in Sunday's Italian league match with Roma.

Socrates wrote a series of columns for The Associated Press during the 2011 Copa America in Argentina, expressing his views on all aspects of the tournament, including economic and political issues in Latin America.

"It's not just about the game itself," Socrates said before the competition began. "Before anything, (football) is a psychological battle, the human aspect plays a significant role."

Socrates, whose full name is Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, also played for Flamengo and Santos.

Socrates was included in FIFA's list of the best 125 living soccer players in the world, a list compiled by countryman Pele. Socrates played 63 matches with the national team, scoring 25 goals.

He was known for his great vision on the field. Always clever with the ball at his feet, his trademark move was the back-heel pass, and he set up and scored many goals with it throughout his career.

Socrates briefly coached and played for Garforth Town in England in 2004.

Socrates' younger brother Rai was another great Brazilian midfielder, and he helped Brazil win the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Funeral services will take place in his home town of Ribeirao Preto, in the interior of Sao Paulo state.

He is survived by his wife and six children.

___

Associated Press sports writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.

___

Tales Azzoni can be followed at http://twitter.com/tazzoni

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_sp_so_ne/soc_obit_brazil_socrates

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