Thai army chief wants elections to end crisis

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand's army commander urged protesters Wednesday to leave Bangkok airport and called for elections to end the country's political crisis after a day of chaos in which thousands of travelers were stranded.

A protest spokesman said new elections alone would not solve the crisis, calling for Prime Minister Somchai Wongsarat to resign unconditionally. He added that they would not leave the airport.

All flights were canceled and frustrated passengers bused to hotels, as protesters shut down Suvarnabhumi Airport in a major escalation of their four-month campaign to oust Somchai.

"The government should give the public a chance to decide in a fresh election," Gen. Anupong Paochinda said at a news conference after meeting with high-level government officials, academics, economists and security officials.

Somchai returned to Thailand on Wednesday from a summit in Peru, but there was no response from the government to the army chief's call for new elections.

However, government spokesman Nattawut Sai-gua said, based on the prime minister's previously stated positions, "it is unlikely he will change his position by resigning or dissolving Parliament."

He stressed that he had not spoken to the prime minister since Somchai landed. Somchai is expected to speak later Wednesday night.

The protest group, the People's Alliance for Democracy, known as the PAD, appears intent on forcing the military to intervene and bring down the elected regime.

"We sympathize with the passengers but this is a necessary move to save the nation," top protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said on a makeshift stage at the besieged airport amid resounding applause. "If he doesn't resign, I will not leave."

Suriyasai Katasila, a spokesman for the alliance, added later that the group would also continue to hold the other two locations they have overrun, the prime minister's office compound and another airport.

He added: "Dissolving the Parliament does not solve the problem.... We do not want Somchai's government, even as acting government before a fresh election is called."

By late afternoon, most of the 4,000 travelers, some who had been camped out since the night before, had left, a Thai tourism official said.

That left the protesters, a sea of matching yellow shirts, and they appeared to be settling in for the long haul.

They spread blankets on the floor, used luggage trolleys to carry boxes of water around the sprawling terminal and set up stands selling food and the plastic hand-clappers they use at rallies.

There was no word on when flights might resume. The U.S. Embassy advised Americans to stay away from the airport, while the Philippines and Singapore recommended that nonessential travel to Thailand be canceled.

Tempers frayed at sprawling Suvarnabhumi Airport, a major hub in Asia that averages 700 flights a day.

"I understand nothing, nothing, nothing," said French tourist Denis Hapard. "We don't understand what's happening. We're really upset."

Among those stranded were Americans trying to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

Cheryl Turner, 63, of Scottsdale, Arizona, had asked neighbors to pull an 18-pound turkey from her freezer a day ahead of time to defrost so she could cook it for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

"My turkey is sitting in the sink at home," she said.

Protesters distributed flyers trying to explain their action.

After reading the flyer, Clay Judd, 30, of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said he didn't know what to make of the situation.

"For us to be upset because we can't have a huge turkey dinner — so what?" Judd said, waiting in a crowd inside the terminal to get bused to a hotel.

Support for the protesters has been waning, and the group appears to be edging toward bigger confrontations — involving fewer though more aggressive followers — to challenge the government.

Early Wednesday, assailants threw four explosives at anti-government demonstrators, including one targeting a group about a half-mile (one kilometer) from the airport.

A second was tossed into a crowd of anti-government supporters gathered at the domestic Don Muang airport, injuring three others, police said. Two other explosives were thrown in Bangkok, but no one was injured. It is unclear who staged the attacks.

The bold takeover — carried out while the prime minister was abroad — raised the stakes in a standoff that has seen a spike in violence in recent days and has given the tourism-dependent country a massive black eye.

Airport director Serirat Prasutanont, who had tried to negotiate with the protesters to allow passengers to fly out, said the takeover "damaged Thailand's reputation and its economy beyond repair."

The airport, the 18th-busiest in the world, handled over 40 million passengers in 2007.

Demonstrators had swarmed the international airport overnight, breaking through police lines and spilling into the passenger terminal.

Group Capt. Chokchai Saranon, a control tower official, said 50 masked protesters armed with metal rods demanded to enter the control tower Wednesday, seeking the prime minister's flight schedule. Three were allowed in, but with flights canceled, there were no controllers to provide the information and the protesters eventually left.

The People's Alliance for Democracy has been trying to topple Somchai, accusing him of being the puppet of a predecessor, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who was convicted of corruption and other charges. The alliance said protesters would keep the airport closed until Somchai quits.

The alliance has staged a number of dramatic actions in recent months. It took over the prime minister's office in late August and twice blockaded Parliament — one time setting off street battles with police that left two people dead and hundreds injured.

The airport blockade is a fresh blow to Thailand's $16 billion-a-year tourism industry, already suffering from months of political unrest and the global financial crisis.

"We don't have an estimate of financial loss, but it is greatly damaging," said Vijit Naranong, honorary chairman of Tourism Council of Thailand.

___

Associated Press writers Ambika Ahuja, Jocelyn Gecker and Michael Casey contributed to this report.

news source

Obama to name Geithner, Summers to economic postsNEW YORK – President-elect Barack Obama will announce the leaders of his economic team Monday, naming

NEW YORK – President-elect Barack Obama will announce the leaders of his economic team Monday, naming Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers to direct the National Economic Council, transition officials said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Geithner, 47, president of the New York Federal Reserve, would be the top Cabinet official in charge of leading the administration's response to the global economic crisis. Word of his likely selection Friday helped send the Dow Jones Industrials soaring 500 points after several days of steep losses.

One top Democrat said John Podesta, a leader of Obama's transition team, had told Senate aides on Friday that Obama hoped for speedy confirmation so the new administration could get to work quickly thereafter.

Geithner (pronounced GITE-ner) served as a Treasury Department official during the Clinton administration, where he played a major role in negotiating assistance packages for South Korea and Brazil.

Summers, 53, a former treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and one-time president of Harvard University, will advise Obama from the White House. Officials said he would coordinate the federal response to the economic meltdown across several agencies, including a plan Obama announced Saturday to create or save 2.5 million jobs by rebuilding infrastructure and modernizing schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars.

During the Clinton administration, Summers helped craft the U.S. support program for Mexico during its 1995 financial crisis. He later helped lead the U.S. response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997.

Geithner and Summers were scheduled to appear with Obama at a press conference in Chicago Monday morning.

The announcement comes as Obama moves quickly to fill slots for his incoming administration. On Saturday, he named longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary.

Ellen Moran will be director of communications in charge of getting Obama's message out. Her deputy in the White House will be Dan Pfeiffer, the communications director for Obama's presidential transition team.

In other positions, Obama is virtually certain to offer Congressional Budget Office chief Peter Orszag the job of directing the White House Office of Budget and Management, and Orszag is likely to accept, Democratic officials said Saturday.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton also is in line to become secretary of state, while Obama's choice for attorney general is Eric Holder. He held the No. 2 slot in the Justice Department in President Bill Clinton's administration.

Officials said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had emerged as a likely pick as commerce secretary, although he had hoped to be secretary of state. Like Clinton, he was a rival of Obama's for the Democratic presidential nomination last winter. He dropped out after the early contests, though, and soon threw his support behind the eventual winner. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the anticipated appointments.

The president-elect has largely stayed out of public view since his election on Nov. 4, preferring to work quietly with aides and Vice President-elect Joe Biden in a suite of offices in downtown Chicago.

Obama faces unusual challenges and has moved quickly in assembling his team. Former President George H.W. Bush made his first Cabinet pick the day after his election in 1988, but former President Clinton did not name any members until after Thanksgiving. President George W. Bush's transition was delayed by the contested result in Florida.

While speculation has been rampant about most top-level appointments, there has been relatively little about Obama's choice for defense secretary. His aides encouraged speculation before the election that Robert Gates, who now holds the position, would remain in office for an interim period.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota has been chosen as secretary of health and human services and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is likely to be named as secretary of the Homeland Security Department.

Napolitano was an early supporter of candidate Obama among the ranks of Democratic governors, as was Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Sebelius has figured prominently in recent days in speculation as possible secretary of labor.

Additionally, retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander, was among those under consideration for national security adviser. James Steinberg, an Obama campaign aide who served in Clinton's White House, was another possibility, according to officials.

Obama has repeatedly referred to the economic crisis as the top priority for his new administration.

Geithner held posts in the Treasury Department under three administrations and five secretaries before moving to the New York Fed in 2003. He also held positions at the International Monetary Fund and was employed at the private firm of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. source

Bolante son seeks father’s house arrest

Bolante son seeks father’s house arrest

MANILA, Philippines -- The son of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante has asked the Court of Appeals to allow his father to be placed under house arrest.

In his omnibus motion and compliance report, Owen Vincent Bolante told the appeals court that pending its decision on the petition for habeas corpus he filed on behalf of his father, the former agriculture official be placed under house arrest instead of being detained at the Senate.

The young Bolante also submitted a compliance certificate from his father’s doctor, Dr. Romeo Saavedra, that the former official was confined at St. Luke’s Medical Center from October 28 to November 8.

It also indicated the medical examinations conducted on Bolante and their results.

In his petition, Owen Bolante claimed his father's detention is unlawful and his immediately release is necessary.

He said the arrest order issued by the 13th Senate in 2005 is no longer valid because the chamber is not a continuing body.

Bolante added that while the Senate has the power to cite in contempt and order the arrest of individuals, this power is not absolute.

He said at present, the Senate is not conducting any inquiry and is not even in session. source

Five oil firms to roll back prices by P1/liter on Thursday

With the continued drop in world oil prices, five oil companies announced a price rollback for their petroleum products on Wednesday.

The price reductions will take place Thursday.

The five oil firms - Eastern Petroleum, Petron Corporation, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Total Philippines Corp., and PTT Philippines - said they will reduced the price of their gasoline, kerosene and diesel by P1 per liter.

Petron, announced it will also roll back oil prices for its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rates by P2 per kilogram.

Petron, Eastern Petroleum and Shell said the price rollback will take effect 12:01 am of Nov. 20 while PTT and Total said it will impose the rollback 6 a.m. of Thursday.

Peso affects rollback

Fernando Martinez, president of Eastern Petroleum and head of the Independent Philippine petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) said the decline in the prices of crude in the international market is seen to reflect in "an across the board P1 per liter rollback".

"We have to give this rollback," Martinez said in a telephone interview adding that the P1 price cut this weekend will bring to P8 the total rollback implmented by the oil firms for this week.

"If no one will roll back (their prices), I will definitely implement the rollback," Martinez added.

He also noted that had it not been for the peso depreciation, the rollback could have even be higher at P5 per liter.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the continued drop in the world oil prices should also result in the decline in the domestic prices and this should also cover until next month.

Monitoring conducted by the Department of Energy indicated that as of Nov. 17, 2008, the average Dubai crude, dropped to US$54 per barrel from October average of US$ 67.

Unleaded gasoline based on Mean of Platts Singapore, price gauge of oil importers, also went down to US$ 54 per barrel as against the US$ 80 per barrel average price last month.

MOPS for diesel prices similarly dropped to US$ 78 per barrel in Nov. 17 from US$ 89 last month.

Not enough

While the recent pump price rollbacks are welcomed, “these are still not enough," said Socioeconomic Planning secretary Ralph G. Recto said, echoing a similar call by the Department of Energy (DOE).

“In our estimate at National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the pump prices of gasoline should now be at P35.86 per liter and diesel at P31.77 per liter based on Dubai crude oil prices of $56.00/bbl," Recto, who is also NEDA's director general, said.

At $67/bbl of Dubai crude using the same exchange rate, Recto said gasoline should be about P40.86 per liter while diesel at about P35.22 per liter. As of November 8, the DOE monitored the average retail price of gasoline at P43.96 per liter while diesel stood at P40.94 per liter at an exchange rate of P48.54 to the US dollar.

“It is important to be mindful of the actions of the oil companies because every peso rollback counts for the ordinary Filipino consumer as this should translate into lower prices of transportation, food, and other commodities," the NEDA chief said.- with Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV

Indian navy destroys pirate boat, more ships taken

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international naval presence off their lawless country.

The buccaneers have taken a Thai fishing boat, a Greek bulk carrier and a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading to Iran since Saturday's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the biggest ship hijacked in history.

The explosion of piracy off Somalia this year has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies divert around South Africa and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others.

"The pirates are sending out a message to the world that 'we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected'," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, told Reuters in Mombasa.

India's navy said one of its warships, INS Tabar, fought Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and destroyed their vessel after a brief battle late Tuesday.

"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel," the navy said, adding that two speed boats sped away.

The International Maritime Bureau said pirates from the Horn of Africa nation had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew. That followed the capture of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain bound for Iran.

Mwangura's group said a Greek bulk carrier had also been seized, but an official at Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry told Reuters in Athens that no such incident had been recorded.

The sharp increase in attacks at sea this year off the poor and chaotic country has been fueled by a growing Islamist insurgency onshore -- gun battles broke out again in Mogadishu Wednesday -- and the lure of multi-million-dollar ransoms.

Somalia's Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein told Reuters naval patrols would not stop piracy and appealed for more help to tackle criminal networks with links beyond his country.

No ransom has been demanded so far for the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which the pirates seized after dodging international naval patrols in their boldest strike yet.

A spokesman for the owners, Saudi Aramco, said the company hoped to hear from the hijackers later Wednesday. One Somali website said the attackers were demanding $250 million.

The Sirius Star was seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, far beyond the gangs' usual area of operations. It was believed to be anchored near Eyl, a former Somali fishing village that is now a well-defended pirate base.

TANKER SPOTTED

"Eyl residents told me they could see the lights of a big ship far out at sea that seems to be the tanker," Aweys Ali, chairman of Somalia's Galkayo region, told Reuters by telephone.

Local officials said it had been sighted further south on Tuesday near Haradheere, in Mudug central region.

The Sirius held as much as 2 million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports, and had been heading for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope.

More of the world's big shipping firms are diverting their fleets via the Cape, experts say. But there is little evidence that big oil tanker firms carrying most of the world's crude are avoiding the Suez Canal, although many are expressing deep disquiet about Somali pirate activity.

Somali gunmen are believed to be holding about a dozen ships in the Eyl area and more than 200 hostages. Among those vessels is a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 tanks and other weapons that was captured in another high-profile strike earlier this year.

Chinese state media said Wednesday a Hong Kong cargo ship taken in September had been freed and all 25 crew were safe.

The Sirius Star was seized despite an international naval effort, including by NATO, to guard one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Warships from the United States, France, Russia and India are stationed off Somalia.

But experts say deep pessimism over the prospects of any peace process onshore, bitter memories of disastrous past interventions, and the need to put out fires elsewhere -- from Afghanistan to Congo -- have snuffed out any real will to act.

"There are no discussions in NATO on dealing with what is the root cause -- which is political instability," an alliance spokesman said of the Islamist insurgency.

Given that the pirates are well armed with grenades, heavy machineguns and rocket-launchers, most foreign navies have steered clear of direct confrontation once ships have been hijacked, for fear of putting hostages at risk. In most cases, the owners of hijacked ships are trying to negotiate ransoms.

British Royal Navy Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, said coalition forces could not be everywhere.

"The pirates will go somewhere we are not," he told shipping weekly Fairplay, part of Jane's Information Group. "If we patrol the Gulf of Aden then they will go to Mogadishu. If we go to Mogadishu, they will go to the Gulf of Aden."

Tiny, long-lost primate rediscovered in Indonesia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On a misty mountaintop on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientists for the first time in more than eight decades have observed a living pygmy tarsier, one of the planet's smallest and rarest primates.

Over a two-month period, the scientists used nets to trap three furry, mouse-sized pygmy tarsiers -- two males and one female -- on Mt. Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park in central Sulawesi, the researchers said on Tuesday.

They spotted a fourth one that got away.

The tarsiers, which some scientists believed were extinct, may not have been overly thrilled to be found. One of them chomped Sharon Gursky-Doyen, a Texas A&M University professor of anthropology who took part in the expedition.

"I'm the only person in the world to ever be bitten by a pygmy tarsier," Gursky-Doyen said in a telephone interview.

"My assistant was trying to hold him still while I was attaching a radio collar around its neck. It's very hard to hold them because they can turn their heads around 180 degrees. As I'm trying to close the radio collar, he turned his head and nipped my finger. And I yanked it and I was bleeding."

The collars were being attached so the tarsiers' movements could be tracked.

Tarsiers are unusual primates -- the mammalian group that includes lemurs, monkeys, apes and people. The handful of tarsier species live on various Asian islands.

As their name indicates, pygmy tarsiers are small -- weighing about 2 ounces (50 grammes). They have large eyes and large ears, and they have been described as looking a bit like one of the creatures in the 1984 Hollywood movie "Gremlins."

They are nocturnal insectivores and are unusual among primates in that they have claws rather than finger nails.

They had not been seen alive by scientists since 1921. In 2000, Indonesian scientists who were trapping rats in the Sulawesi highlands accidentally trapped and killed a pygmy tarsier.

"Until that time, everyone really didn't believe that they existed because people had been going out looking for them for decades and nobody had seen them or heard them," Gursky-Doyen said.

Her group observed the first live pygmy tarsier in August at an elevation of about 6,900 feet.

"Everything was covered in moss and the clouds are right at the top of that mountain. It's always very, very foggy, very, very dense. It's cold up there. When you're one degree from the equator, you expect to be hot. You don't expect to be shivering most of the time. That's what we were doing," she said. source

Electing Cebu leaders with sustainable views

BY: Antonio V. Osmeña

INSTEAD of merely criticizing, an increasing number of Cebuanos who are fed up with waiting for government to act wants our politicians to redefine politics.

For example, a growing number of citizens are disgusted with elected officials who continue to argue over the use of provincial lots in Cebu City. They wish the public officials would implement their plans accordingly instead of magnifying the issue to the public. Many citizens are now more concerned about the elected officials’ way of politics.

Today, politics can be as much concerned with how you live your life as with what you think about national security issues

or energy policy. We now expect leaders to emphasize long-term planning with all short-time planning done in relation to intermediate and long-range goals. The elected official must talk about where we must go instead of where he or she has taken us.

Obviously, citizens love politics and politicians. Unfortunately, politicians who loved so much politics are having health problems. We have other types of politicians, though, like Mayor Eulogio Borres, Florentino Solon and many others who have learned to have the right attitude in curbing anxiety and stress in the environment of politics, and have remained healthy.

Majority of today’s citizens belong to the young generation and they expect that politics of the seemingly impossible or improbable is made possible by use of vision, cybernetic politics and outstanding leadership. They believe that politicians should be willing to propose solutions for complex and controversial problems instead of useless arguments.

A good leader operates openly to ensure maximum and accurate information flow to the people. For example, the property of Cebu Province along Gov. Manuel Cuenco Ave. in Banilad, leased by Ciudad to be developed into a multi-million commercial complex, was abruptly stopped by Mayor Tom Osmeña on the flimsy reason that the project would cause traffic congestion.

Mayor Tom should have assessed all technological solutions to determine possible long-range side effects of the traffic in Banilad. He should have determined how these solutions, as well as the quality of life in the area, would be affected by the Ciudad project.

Other Province-owned properties located in Cebu City have also been subjected to childish arguments between Gov. Gwen Garcia and Mayor Tom.

Political leadership should believe that in a finite world nearing its limit of resource availability, the problem of social justice must be solved by a more equitable distribution of wealth. Tenants who have failed to pay their monthly amortization for the provincial lots allotted to them might have lost trust in the previous administration so it might be lenient for Gov. Gwen Garcia to restructure their term of payment.

It must be strictly stipulated that only the original tenants and its direct heirs are entitled to such restructuring. Those tenants who have sold their rights should no longer be qualified to own the lot through restructuring.

Obviously, political leaders of today choose advisors who say only what he or she wants to hear. The citizens now insist that the best minds develop plans for projects and evaluate major alternatives.

Cebuanos have long realized that a free and accountable press is essential to uncover and prevent information blockage and distortion. They have recognized that politicians have seized or controlled the press in many countries. Our elected officials should operate openly to ensure maximum and accurate information flow to the people. The constant argument among elected officials is the use of secrecy to block information flow to the people.

The historic events now happening in United States should now send a clear message to our politicians to work together instead of squabbling over their political egos.

House Bill 5229 or the proposed Tourism Act of 2008 should provide politicians an ecosphere view. Political leaders should think in terms of preserving the ecosphere and our country’s resources for everyone now and in the future, as well as our foreign guests. Thinking about ecosphere loyalty is the only viable approach in the long run.

It is now urgent to evaluate growth on the basis of long-term ecosphere goals. A dynamic and sustainable economy for Cebu and the rest of the country is the only viable long-term goal.

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Gaza food shortage

While Israel threatens renewed attacks, the residents of the Hamas controlled region face desperate conditions. Over one quarter of the residents of Gaza are living in the dark – and half (750,000) are now without food supplies due to a continuing blockade imposed by Israel beginning on November 6. Medical supplies are also in short supply and the lack of fuel means there is no power for water and sewage processing.

The UN, which distributes the food aid to 750,000 Palestinians in Gaza has had to close it's distribution centers:

In the Shati refugee camp, hundreds of people sought food at a U.N. distribution center but were disappointed. A note taped to the center's gate said handouts were put off until Dec. 13 "because of a lack of food to distribute."

Even without the new threat of large scale attacks, Oxfam is warning “that Gaza faces a humanitarian catastrophe unless Israel’s blockade is lifted:

"World leaders must step up and exercise all their political might to break the blockade of Gaza,” Oxfam’s executive director Jeremy Hobbs said. “As a matter of humanitarian imperative, Israeli leaders must resume supplies into Gaza without further delay.

source

Three months after merger, Sirius XM struggles

DENVER - Barely three months after the long-delayed merger of satellite radio companies Sirius and XM, the newly combined Sirius XM Radio is struggling to stay afloat.

The company has just another three months to start paying down more than $1 billion in debt that's maturing in 2009 at a time when credit markets are freezing up. It remains heavily dependent on automobile sales for new subscriber additions just as U.S. car sales are tanking. And its stock price is in a yearlong free-fall that has sparked an investor lawsuit.

For the music industry, the fate of Sirius XM looms larger than before. Under a U.S. Copyright Royalty Board decision made last December, satellite radio broadcasters like Sirius XM pay performance royalties for sound recordings based on a percentage of adjusted gross revenue. That means the better Sirius XM does, the more money labels and publishers make.
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That rate currently stands at 6 percent and is set to increase by half a percentage point every year until 2012, when it will reach 8 percent. Neither SoundExchange — which collects those fees and distributes them on behalf of the music industry — nor Sirius XM will reveal exactly how much the company is paying in royalties. According to Sirius XM's quarterly reports, the company paid out a combined $92 million in revenue-sharing and royalty payments during the first half of 2008. That includes payments to SoundExchange and other partners, like equipment suppliers.

But while the music industry is poised to collect a growing percentage of Sirius XM's revenue, that revenue is in trouble. Subscription fees account for about 95 percent of Sirius XM's revenue. To increase income, the company needs to add subscribers and squeeze more revenue out of existing ones. The company reported 18.6 million subscribers as of June 30, up from 15.3 million for Sirius and XM combined a year earlier.

But Wall Street is deeply pessimistic about the road ahead. On Nov. 3, Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen cut her previous forecast for net subscriber additions by almost 50,000 for the third quarter to 409,000 — which would represent a 51 percent smaller increase from the same period last year. She also cut her third-quarter revenue prediction for 2008 to $611 million, up from $528.8 million a year earlier but down $7 million from her previous forecast.

Slowing auto sales are driving some of the problems, since about half of Sirius XM's current subscribers — and about 80 percent of new subscriber additions in the second quarter — received satellite radios when they bought new cars.

A Sirius XM spokesman says that will be offset by an increase in the number of cars carrying its receivers as a factory-installed option. Its penetration rate among Mercedes-Benz vehicles, for example, is nearing 90 percent.

The company hopes to attract new subscribers by adding short-term, artist-specific channels dedicated to the likes of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, which a representative hinted would be an ongoing initiative.

In the meantime, the company faces urgent financial challenges, in particular the $1.1 billion in debt that will mature in 2009, about $300 million of which is due in February. That, among other concerns, has caused the company's stock price to fall from a 52-week high of $3.94 per share last December to 26 cents on Friday. Meanwhile, a group of 500 shareholders dubbing themselves "Save Sirius" filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the board and CEO Mel Karmazin.

Ever the pitch man, Karmazin spoke at Nielsen and Dow Jones' Media and Money conference in October, insisting that Sirius XM is "one of the top 25 media companies today" and predicting that it will be "the most successful company in the audio entertainment industry."

Should that come to pass, the music industry stands to make a decent buck. But in the present, there's not much to count on. source

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USGS: 6.5-magnitude quake strikes northwest China

BEIJING – A strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck remote northwestern China on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The quake struck the Qinghai province at a depth of 6.2 miles on Monday morning, the agency said. The USGS said the quake's epicenter was located 1,120 miles west of Beijing.

China's Earthquake Administration confirmed the earthquake, but said it had a magnitude of 6.3 on its scale. There were no immediate reports of casualties, said Zhang, a spokesman for the earthquake administration in Qinghai.

"We contacted the local authorities, but we are still investigating the situation for any damage or injuries," said Zhang, who gave only his surname as is common with Chinese officials.

China's far west is fairly earthquake-prone. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake on May 12 devastated parts of Sichuan province, just east of Tibet, killing 70,000 people and leaving 5 million homeless.

Basics of Starting a Home Bases Business

The are multiple advantages to starting your own home based business. You can become independent or just attain particularlly further supplemental income. You property busines will create new tax deductions which you can take advantage of thereby reducing your taxable income. Your own industry can also create a sense of purpose and accomplishment for having created something of your own.

It really is fairly easy to get began and there are an endless number of resources out there to guide you through the process.

1. Decide how type of business interests you. This is the most difficult part of the process as you do not want to jump to anything and everything too quickly. Consider your interests and what things you are good at. You may decide on a help that you can provide which people will pay for. This might be front yard moving, photography, or house cleaning. Or you might be interested in a retail sales business. The Internet now makes it possible for just about everyone to start an online retail key in and the marketplace is global. By using the internet you can battle on a quantity playing field amidst huge companies. Are you a collector? Maybe you would enjoy selling select collectible items.

2. Develop a sector plan. This does not have to be complicated. Simply spit out down your plan for causing your economy work. Determine what you will sell, how you will market your business, who your potential customers will be, etc.

3. Decide on the name of your business. If you are going to and cr your business something other than your own legal name then you will be able to need to file a fictitious busines name statement amongst the local Recorders Office in your county.

4. Check with your county and state for local requirements for housing centered business. If you will be selling merchandise then you will need to get hold of the department of revenue for your state to craft a Retail Merchant Certificate or Sales Tax ID number. This will aide you to colect sales tax on merchandise sold.

5. Set up a separate bank account for the business. This will help you stay track of business revenue and expenses.

6. Set Aside an place in your home where you will work on your business. If you look for to be profitable you must treat your business like a business.

7. Work, Work , Work.

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CBCP head rejects Arroyo's call for ‘political ceasefire’

MANILA, Philippines - The head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) rejected over the weekend Malacañang's call for a political ceasefire, once again stressing that the issue was about corruption.

CBCP president and Jaro archbishop Angel Lagdameo said the call for a change in government that he and four other bishops made is not for political but for moral change.

"Kung ang ating sinasabi ay pagpuna sa mga maling gawain, hindi lang naman yan sa government kundi sa lahat na pati sa lahat ng antas or level ng ating society. Sapagkat ang corruption ay hindi lang naman nasa gobyerno kundi maging sa iba't-ibang antas ng ating society,” Lagdameo said over Church-run Radio Veritas.

(“Our calls against corruption apply not only to government but also to all sectors of society. Corruption is not only in government but also in many places in society.”)

Excerpts of the interview were posted Saturday on the CBCP website.

Lagdameo added what is needed is ceasefire on corruption currently plaguing not just in the government but in the society as a whole.

He said the uphill battle against corruption should continue and should not only be limited to government and political institutions.

President Arroyo earlier called for a "political ceasefire" amid left and right criticisms from the opposition, militant organizations and civil society groups.

She said the coming Yuletide season should encourage the Filipinos to "set aside personal differences and focus on improving the lives of the people."

Last week, Lagdameo and four bishops issued a statement calling for a radical form in government, which he said is already stricken by a social and moral cancer called corruption.

"Itong pagtalikod sa gawang masama, pagtalikod sa pagawa ng korupsyon, pagtalikod sa kasalanan, yan ay patuloy na dapat na gawin. Ang call for conversion, call for change of mind, conversion of mind, conversion of heart ay dapat ipagpatuloy hanggang makarating tayo ng langit," Lagdameo said.

(“Turning your back on evil and corruption should be done. This is a call for conversion of heart and mind.”)

But Lagdameo agreed with President Arroyo in saying there is a need for a ceasefire in politicking especially with the Christmas season just around the corner.

"Hindi lang dapat dahil sa nalalapit na ang Pasko. It should be for all times. Kinakailangan natin ay kapayapaan. Kinakailangan natin ay magandang pakikitungo at pakikiisa," Lagdameo said.

(“The political ceasefire should not apply only during Christmas but the whole year round.”) - source

How much money is hiding in your house?

Financial expert Farnoosh Torabi shows you how to find out if you're sitting on a gold mine. Literally.

The Computer
More than 15 million women post at least one blog entry a week, according to one 2008 study. If you're one of them, entice advertisers to your blog by suggesting products or adding a technical function -- two website traits desirable to advertisers, suggests Real Simple Real Life financial expert Farnoosh Torabi. Advertisers usually pay a CPM -- a rate based on 1,000 page views -- which can run from $10 to $20 per CPM.

The Closet
Sell retired handbags, scarves, and shoes to a consignment store. (A Prada messenger bag originally worth $500 could go for $150 on consignment.) To find a store near you, look under Consignment Services at auctionbytes.com. (Watch a video on How to Organize Your Closet.)

The Jewelry Box
Turn gold scraps -- one hoop that's missing its mate, a broken bracelet -- into cash. Go to sites like Kitco and Monex Precious Metals to figure out the value of gold and how to sell yours. (Watch a video on How to Organize Jewelry.)

The Bookshelf
Sites such as eBay, AddALL, and Bookfinder.com allow you to sell used books.

The Couch
A study by Coinstar, which operates coin machines in supermarkets, estimates that the average American family has about $90 in change lying around the house. So tip over that couch and watch the quarters fall out.

The Toy Chest
Your old My Little Pony collection could be worth hundreds of dollars on auction sites like eBay. (Farnoosh recently found a My Little Pony circa 1986 selling for $100 on it.) Check out the value of toys up for auction and see whether you have hidden treasure in your toy chest.

More from Real Simple:
Save Money When Dining Out
Save Money When Shopping
Savings Plan Checklist

Obama calls for swift action on economy

CHICAGO – President-elect Obama assembled his economic team Friday and soberly told the nation that strong action is needed to confront "the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime."

In his first news conference since being elected Tuesday, Obama called on Congress to extend unemployment benefits and pass a stimulus bill. But his more ambitious remedies, he said, must wait until he takes office Jan. 20.

Obama displayed an air of authority and confidence, standing before a dozen economic advisers and rows of American flags as he spoke for 20 minutes. He mixed lighthearted remarks about family pets (even calling himself a "mutt") with grim-faced assessments of the nation's economic predicament.

"Some of the choices that we make are going to be difficult," he said, reading a statement before taking several questions. "It is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in. But America is a strong and resilient country."

Obama urged Congress to pass an economic stimulus measure and extend unemployment benefits either before or just after he takes office. As for bigger decisions, he said, the nation has "only one government and one president at a time," and now it is President Bush.

However, he said, "immediately after I become president, I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity."

"I'm confident a new president can have an enormous impact," he said.

Obama said he would focus on producing jobs, and he mentioned actions to help the auto industry, small businesses and state and local governments.

He left open the possibility that economic conditions might prompt him to change his tax plan, which would give a break to most families but raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 annually.

"I think that the plan that we've put forward is the right one," he said, "but, obviously, over the next several weeks and months, we're going to be continuing to take a look at the data and see what's taking place in the economy as a whole."

Obama said he will review a congratulatory letter from Iran's leader and respond appropriately. It's not something "that we should simply do in a knee-jerk fashion," he said. Obama said he wants to be careful to send the signal to the world that "I'm not the president and I won't be until Jan. 20."

He said he appreciated the cooperation Bush has offered in smoothing his transition to the White House and the president's "commitment that his economic policy team keep us informed." He expressed gratitude to Bush for inviting him and his wife, Michelle, to the White House on Monday.

Obama said he expected to have a substantive conversation with Bush. "I am not going to anticipate problems," he said.

As he prepares to join an exclusive club of presidents, Obama said, "I've spoken to all of them that are living."

"I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances," he said with a grin, an apparent exaggerated reference to the former first lady's fondness for astrology.

Also in a lighter vein, the president-elect said his family is looking for a dog that will not trigger his daughter Malia's allergies. Ideally, he said, it would come from an animal rescue shelter, "but obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."

He presumably was referring to his heritage: his father was from Kenya, his mother was from Kansas.

Obama and Biden met before the news conference with the transition economic advisory board, a high-powered collection of business, academic and government leaders. They included Lawrence Summers, who some have mentioned as a candidate for Treasury secretary, a post he held in the Clinton administration; Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose state has been hit hard by losses in the auto industry; Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Others attending included executives from Xerox Corp., Time Warner Inc.; and the Hyatt hotel company. Investor Warren Buffett called in by telephone.

Obama has been meeting privately with his transition team, receiving congratulatory phone calls from foreign leaders and intelligence briefings, and making decisions about who will help run his government.

One person frequently mentioned for a Cabinet post, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, will not be available until 2011, officials close to him said Friday. Rendell has two years left of his term, and Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, a Democrat, is ailing. Next in line to be governor is the Republican president pro tempore the state Senate.

Rather than take the chance that the GOP would gain control of the governor's office, Rendell has signaled he will stay put for the time being.

On Friday morning, Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended a parent-teacher conference at the University of Chicago Lab School where their daughters, Malia and Sasha, are students.

Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout on news announcements so he and his staff can rest after the grueling campaign. He is planning a family getaway to Hawaii in December before they move to the White House, and to honor his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died Sunday at her home there. source

Haitian school collapses, at least 30 killed

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A church school collapsed on the outskirts of Haiti's capital on Friday, killing at least 30 people and burying dozens under rubble, rescue workers said.

The three-story La Promesse school building collapsed while class was in session and some of the walls and debris crushed neighboring residences in the Nerettes community near Port-au-Prince.

"Thirty have already been killed and there are many others under the debris," said Philippine Army Maj. Donald Hongitan, who was among U.N. peacekeeping troops working with police to rescue survivors.

At the scene, crying and screaming parents searched desperately for their children while bodies of students lay crushed under blocks of concrete.

"It's like an earthquake," said Brazilian Maj. Gen. Carlos dos Santos Cruz, the commander for U.N. troops in Haiti.

One boy was trapped by debris that pinned his legs beneath the rubble. He begged the rescuers to "please cut my feet off," a firefighter told Reuters.

Police commissioner Carl Henry Boucher said more than 25 people had been hospitalized in very serious condition.

The roads around the school were so jammed with people looking for loved ones that some of the rescuers had to be brought in by helicopter.

"My son who is 15 years old, he's dead. He's my only son," sobbed 40-year-old Josiane Dandin. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Another woman screamed for her missing 12-year-old daughter. "I don't know if she is dead or alive," she said.

More than 9,000 multinational troops and police currently make up a U.N. peacekeeping force sent to stabilize Haiti after its former president was driven out in a bloody rebellion in 2004.

The impoverished Caribbean nation lacks sophisticated rescue equipment. Haiti is still struggling with the destruction wrought by four tropical storms and hurricanes that hit in quick succession this year, killing more than 800 people and destroying 60 percent of the crop harvest.

"We don't have a number ... but it could be very high," CNN quoted Haitian Red Cross President Michaele Gedeon as saying when asked about the likely death toll.

"What we need right now is heavy search and rescue equipment."source

Yang 'disappointed' after Google deal collapses

Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo. Photograph: Frank Baron Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang says he felt let down by Google's decision to pull out of a controversial advertising agreement between the two internet rivals. The $800m deal – which would have enabled Google to sell advertising on some parts of Yahoo's search engine listings - had been subject to a over potential antitrust concerns. However, despite recently renegotiating some of the terms to allay fears, Google that it would pull the...source

At least 40, including 12 kids, die as ferry sinks off Masbate

(Update) MANILA, Philippines - An inter-island ferry packed with commuters overturned Tuesday while being buffeted by sudden monsoon winds and waves southeast of Manila, killing 40 people, officials said.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sodusta, the regional army commander, said 76 people were rescued and taken to two hospitals for treatment after the MB Don Dexter Cathlyn was battered shortly after leaving port in central Masbate island for nearby Sorsogon province.

Masbate provincial police chief, Sr Supt Reuben Sindac, said that 40 bodies have been recovered, the last one that of a four-year-old boy.

"The recovery of the body of a four-year-old boy brings the number of fatalities to 40," Sindac told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

At least 13 are believed missing but Sindac said that there may be more as they received reports that some were on board the boat but their names were not on the manifest.

The ship's manifest listed 119 passengers and a crew of six on board, though ferries frequently carry more people than are officially listed.

"We brought the dead to the plaza," said police senior inspector Arturo Estopare, police chief of Dimasalang town, about three miles (five kilometers) from the accident site.

The bodies were lined up and covered, with wailing people checking them for missing loved ones.

Sindac told Manila radio station DZBB that the ferry had been sailing in relatively clear weather.

Police officer Roy Almine, who helped in the rescue, said huge waves and strong monsoon winds suddenly hit the boat, causing it to overturn and tossing passengers into the sea.

"There was some kind of whirlwind," Sindac said. "There was no rain, no typhoon; the waters were calm when it happened.

"The ferry was not passenger-friendly. There were high railings and tarpaulin on the side so when the vessel overturned, these may have helped to trap the passengers."

Such accidents frequently happen in the Philippine archipelago due to tropical weather, badly maintained passenger boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

The typhoon-prone country was the scene of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

In June, the 23,800-ton Princess of the Stars went belly up during a typhoon close to Romblon province, near Masbate, killing more than 800 people on board.

The discovery of several drums of toxic chemicals held up the retrieval of bodies inside the ship until last week. The chemicals have been removed by marine experts.

PO2 Bernardo Pajalla Jr of Masbate police identified the fatalities as of 10 p.m. as:

1. Michelle Ramirez, 1
2. Ritchinel Andaya, 3
3. Nathaniel Andaya, 6
4. Maricel Ornopia, 30
5. Silvina Gabriel, 58
6. Auria Pasas, 66
7. Rosalie Atabay, 26
8. Rosalina Atabay, 50
9. Crisilda Atabay, 7
10. Cizzia Atabay, 6
11. Joy-joy Atabay,6
12. In-in Nueva, 16
13. Grace Capellan, 48
14. Larganie Capellan, 5
15. Lean Capellan, 2
16. Teresita Abejuela, 40
17. John Paul Abejuela, 6
18. Nenita Matos, 36
19. Charlene Leastardo, 19
20. Jimmy Banaag, 22
21. Filipina Anman, 66
22. Ana Nerbis, 59
23. Consolacion Baybayon, 78
24. Lanie Mahinay, 18
25. Sonia Cordera, 40
26. Adelina Adobas, 74
27. Reynaldo Arcueno, 42
28. Jennifer Mantal, 34
29. Nerie Badillo, 44
30. Jessica Marsonia, 36
31. Benita Hermosa, 67
32. Olympio Blaso, 64
33. Rosalina Pilapil, 50
34. Marichu Apao, 5
35. Parcy Abenir, 6
36. Salud Abenir, 65
37. Rossie Belarmino, 57
38. Marilyn Lleness, 43
39. Christian Ramos, 4
40. Francisca Rondina, 50

source

Obama, McCain both promise change on election eve

TAMPA, Fla. – Barack Obama radiated confidence and John McCain displayed the grit of an underdog Monday as the presidential rivals reached for the finish line of a two-year marathon with a burst of campaigning across battlegrounds from the Atlantic Coast to Arizona.

"We are one day away from change in America," said Obama, a Democrat seeking to become the first black president — a dream not nearly as distant on election eve as it once was.

McCain, too, promised to turn the page of the era of George W. Bush, and he warned about his opponent's intentions. "Sen. Obama is in the far left lane" of politics, he said. "He's more liberal than a guy who calls himself a Socialist and that's not easy."

Republican running mate Sarah Palin was even more pointed as she campaigned in Ohio. "Now is not the time to experiment with socialism," she said. "Our opponent's plan is just for bigger government."

Late-season attacks aside, Obama led in virtually all the pre-election polls in a race where economic concerns dominated and the war in Iraq was pushed — however temporarily — into the background.

Early voting, more than 29 million ballots cast in 30 states, suggested an advantage for Obama as well. Official statistics showed Democrats who have already voted outnumbered Republicans in North Carolina, Colorado, Florida and Iowa, all of which went for President Bush in 2004.

Democrats also anticipated gains in the House and in the Senate, although Republicans battled to hold their losses to a minimum and a significant number of races were rated as tossups in the campaign's final hours.

By their near-non-stop attention to states that voted Republican in 2004, both Obama and McCain acknowledged the Democrats' advantage in the presidential race.

The two rivals both began their days in Florida, a traditionally Republican state with 27 electoral votes where polls make it close.

Obama drew 9,000 or so at a rally in Jacksonville, while across the state, a crowd estimated at roughly 1,000 turned out for McCain.

One day before the election, no battleground state was left unattended.

But Virginia, where no Democrat has won in 40 years, and Ohio, where no Republican president has ever lost, seemed most coveted. Together, they account for 33 electoral votes that McCain can scarcely do without.

Democratic volunteers in Maryland, a state safe for Obama, called voters in next-door Virginia, where McCain trailed in the polls. The Democratic presidential candidate's visit to Virginia during the day was his 11th since he clinched the nomination.

Unwilling to concede anything, McCain's campaign filed a lawsuit in Richmond seeking to force election officials to count late-arriving ballots from members of the armed forces overseas. No hearing was immediately scheduled.

Several hundred miles away in Ohio — the state that sealed Bush's second term in 2004 — voters waited as long as three hours in line to cast ballots in Columbus, part of heavily contested Franklin County. Poll workers handed out bottles of water to sustain them.

Lori Huffman, 38, a supervisor at UPS Inc., took the day off to vote early for her man, McCain. "It's exciting isn't it?" she asked, gesturing toward the long line of waiting voters.

"This is happening all over the state, from Cleveland to Dayton," said Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat trying to deliver his state to Obama.

Obama hoped so, after more than a year building an elaborate get-out-the-vote operation, first for the primary campaign, now for the general election.

The Democrat flew from Florida to North Carolina to Virginia, all states that went Republican in 2004, before heading home to Chicago on Election Eve.

Twenty-one months after he launched his campaign, he allowed, "You know. I feel pretty peaceful ... I gotta say."

On a syndicated radio program, the Russ Parr Morning Show, he said, "The question is going to be who wants it more," he added. "And I hope that our supporters want it bad, because I think the country needs it."

If wanting it were all that mattered, the race would be a toss-up.

McCain, behind in the polls, set out on a grueling run through several traditionally Republican states that he has failed to secure. Florida, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico and Nevada were on his itinerary, as was Pennsylvania, the only state that voted Democratic in 2004 where he still nursed hopes. His last appearance of the long day, past midnight, was a home state rally in Prescott, Ariz. Obama has been running television commercials in Arizona in the campaign's final days.

The surrogate campaigners included Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democrats and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republicans. Both lost races for their party's presidential nomination earlier in the year, and both could be expected to try again if their ticket loses the White House.

Not so, President Bush.

Deeply unpopular, the man who won the White House twice was out of public view, an effort to help McCain.

Palin was racing through five Bush states Monday — Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada — in an effort to boost conservative turnout for McCain. The Alaska governor has been a popular draw for many GOP base voters, and already, there was speculation about a future national campaign should Republicans lose in 2008.

Joe Biden, Obama's running mate, campaigned in Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. "We are on the cusp of a new brand of leadership," he assured supporters.

Biden didn't say so, but he was as close to guaranteed a victory as any politician in America. Whatever the fate of the Democratic presidential ticket, he was heavily favored to win a new Senate term from Delaware on Tuesday. source

Obama's grandmother dies a day before election

HONOLULU – Barack Obama's grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic presidential contender, has died, Obama announced Monday, one day before the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86. Obama announced the news from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. The joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died peacefully late Sunday night after a battle with cancer.

They said: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."

Obama learned of her death Monday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He planned to go ahead with campaign appearances.

The family said a private ceremony would be held later.

Last month, Obama took a break from campaigning and flew to Hawaii to be with Dunham as her health declined.

Obama said the decision to go to Hawaii was easy to make, telling CBS that he "got there too late" when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at 53, and wanted to make sure "that I don't make the same mistake twice."

The Kansas-born Dunham and her husband, Stanley, raised their grandson for several years so he could attend school in Honolulu while their daughter and her second husband lived overseas. Her influence on Obama's manner and the way he viewed the world was substantial, the candidate himself told millions watching him accept his party's nomination in Denver in August.

"She's the one who taught me about hard work," he said. "She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me."

Obama's nickname for his grandmother was "Toot," a version of the Hawaiian word for grandmother, tutu. Many of his speeches describe her working on a bomber assembly line during World War II.

Madelyn and Stanley Dunham married in 1940, a few weeks before she graduated from high school. Their daughter, Stanley Ann, was born in 1942. After several moves to and from California, Texas, Washington and Kansas, Stanley Dunham's job landed the family in Hawaii.

It was there that Stanley Ann later met and fell in love with Obama's father, a Kenyan named Barack Hussein Obama Sr. They had met in Russian class at the University of Hawaii. Their son was born in August 1961, but the marriage didn't last long. She later married an Indonesian, Lolo Soetoro, another university student she met in Hawaii.

Obama moved to Indonesia with his mother and stepfather at age 6. But in 1971, her mother sent him back to Hawaii to live with her parents. He stayed with the Dunhams until he graduated from high school in 1979.

In his autobiography, Obama wrote fondly of playing basketball on a court below his grandparents' 10th-floor Honolulu apartment, and looking up to see his grandmother watching.

It was the same apartment Obama visited on annual holiday trips to Hawaii, a weeklong vacation from his campaign in August, and his pre-election visit in October. Family members said his grandmother could not travel because of her health.

Madelyn Dunham, who took university classes but to her chagrin never earned a degree, nonetheless rose from a secretarial job at the Bank of Hawaii to become one of the state's first female bank vice presidents.

"Every morning, she woke up at 5 a.m. and changed from the frowsy muumuus she wore around the apartment into a tailored suit and high-heeled pumps," Obama wrote.

Obama warns of more attacks to come

WASHINGTON — Democrat Barack Obama held onto his solid lead in the polls and appeared confident of capturing the US presidency in the historic race, but steeled his supporters for a crescendo of vicious attacks in the final hours of the campaign.

With just four days to go after a marathon contest, the Obama campaign went on the offensive in several solidly Republican states Friday. Democrats announced they would air television ads in Georgia, North Dakota and even Arizona, which Republican John McCain has represented in the US Senate for 22 years.

"We are four days away from changing the United States of America," Obama told voters Friday night in Indiana, one of about a half-dozen Republican states remain up for grabs late this election season.

The underdog McCain, meanwhile, spent a second day touring Ohio in his "Straight Talk Express" bus, and appeared with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fellow Republican, in a last-ditch effort to win a state critical to his hopes for victory.

No Republican has ever been elected president without winning Ohio, but McCain trails in the polls there by a wide margin.

"We're closing, my friends, and we're going to win in Ohio," McCain said during a stop in the state Friday. "We're a few points down but we're coming back and we're coming back strong."

McCain's campaign argued that he was closing the gap in the final days and that he was closer than reflected than in public polling. Privately, McCain's aides said he trailed Obama by 4 points nationwide in internal polling.

An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll of likely voters put the Democrat well ahead nationwide, 51 to 43, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The same survey gave McCain reason to hope — one in seven voters, 14 percent of the total — said they were undecided or might yet change their minds.

But McCain may be running out of time to turn the tide.

Obama, who is seeking to become the first black US president, has tapped public concern about two long-running US wars abroad and a faltering economy at home.

He has also raised hundreds of millions of dollars more than McCain for his campaign.

McCain and his supporters have fought back by accusing Obama of associating with radicals, advocating surrender in Iraq and supporting socialist economic policies.

"Sen. Obama's economic policy is from the far left of American politics and ours is in the center," McCain said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America" television program.

In Iowa, Obama accused the Republicans of practicing "slash and burn, say-anything, do-anything politics that's calculated to divide and distract; to tear us apart instead of bringing us together."

He said he admired a presidential candidate who said in 2000: "I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land."

"Those words were spoken eight years ago by my opponent, John McCain," Obama said. "But the high road didn't lead him to the White House then, so this time, he decided to take a different route."

Despite this, Obama later told CNN that, if he is elected, he would consider appointing McCain to "any position ... where I thought he was going to be the best person for our country."

As part of McCain's effort to capture Ohio, McCain hosted Schwarzenegger — the former bodybuilder and actor who played the lead in the "Terminator" series of Hollywood blockbusters — at a rally in the city of Columbus Friday afternoon, where he offered to help the lanky Obama beef up his "skinny legs" and "scrawny little arms."

"John McCain has served his country longer in a POW camp than his opponent has in the United States Senate," the Austrian-born politician said. "I only play an action hero in the movies. John McCain is a real action hero."

McCain's campaign said the candidate would appear Saturday on the late-night comedy show, "Saturday Night Live."

The satirical program has bolstered its ratings in recent months by lampooning McCain's choice for the Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is bidding to become America's first woman vice president.

Both McCain and Obama are expected to appear at half time on a nationally televised American football game Monday night.

But nationwide appeals may matter less, in the end, then the grueling chess game of state-by-state campaigning that marks US presidential contests.

Under the US system, the president is not elected by direct popular vote nationwide. Instead, the successful candidate must win 270 out of 538 electoral votes in what amounts to a state-by-state contest. Electoral votes are allocated to each state roughly according to population.

McCain has won come-from-behind political contests before. But his campaign has struggled throughout the fall, plagued by internal bickering and divisions in the party ranks.

In an interview Thursday with National Public Radio, Lawrence Eagleburger, a former secretary of state and prominent McCain supporter, who said Palin isn't prepared to take over as president in a crisis.

He added that she could eventually become "adequate." He later apologized for the comments.

Palin campaigned Friday in Pennsylvania, where she charged that Obama represented the "far left wing" of the Democratic party and had an ideological commitment to raising taxes.

Obama is proposing tax increases on families making over $250,000 and individuals making over $200,000 and tax cuts for the 95 percent of workers making less than $200,000.

The Democrats' vice presidential candidate, US Sen. Joe Biden, told a crowd in Delaware that history will judge the Bush administration harshly for failing to build a strong economy and to unite the world against global terrorism.

"The Bush legacy, the one that John McCain wants to continue, is an America where we are divided from each other, a nation divided from the world," Biden said.

Obama planned final get-out-the-vote rallies in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri Saturday. He was scheduled to campaign in Ohio all day Sunday, including a Cleveland rally with singer Bruce Springsteen, then hit Virginia and Florida on Election Eve.

McCain had eight states on his final three-day itinerary besides the detour to New York City for "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Obama supporter Ben Affleck. Monday's schedule called for him to visit several states, ending with a midnight rally in his home state of Arizona where Obama was running television ads.

"We want to win everywhere," Obama said of his decision to air the commercials in his opponent's state. - AP