Brogaard fortsætter hård linje overfor banker

De sunde banker skal ikke brokke sig så meget over, at de betaler en del af gildet, når andre banker går ned. Det er til alles bedste. 

Det er meldingen fra Finansiel Stabilitets nye formand, Jakob Brogaard, i et interview i Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten. 

"Når solen går ned, er det en omkostning, som er mindre, end den alternative omkostning ville være, nemlig at der er ville opstå en meget stor usikkerhed, som ville ramme hele sektoren," siger han. 

Derfor er sektoren nødt til at være indstillet på, at der kan komme nye regninger som følge af bankkrak. 

"Selvfølgelig er det ærgerligt at se, at man skal betale milliarder, fordi andre ikke har haft orden i eget hus, men hele sektoren har en interesse i, at denne krise bliver håndteret på fornuftig vis," siger Brogaard videre til Jyllands-Posten. 

Bankdirektører som Gert Jonassen, Arbejdernes Landsbank, og Michael Rasmussen, Nordea, har luftet utilfredshed med, at sektoren betaler en del af gildet. 

Accused High School Shooter Posted Clues on Facebook. Who Was Listening?

The first day of school at Perry Hall High School in Baltimore County, Md. turned tragic when a student opened fire, critically wounding another student in the school cafeteria.

Police have charged 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. with attempted first degree murder and first degree assault. He’s being charged as an adult and held without bail.

Luckily, a school official was able to wrestle the gun from the shooter before he was able to hurt anyone else. But where were officials, adults, even friends, before the shooting?

Gladden, a sophomore at the school, posted “First day of school, last day of my life” on his Facebook page before heading to school on Monday.

Surely a red flag — if someone had seen it.

As a parent, what do you do when you see a story like this? It’s easy to say “not my kid.” But the reality is, this could happen to anybody’s child.

Teens use social networking to keep up with their friends, post photos, chat, and very often, overshare. It’s up to adults to teach good judgement, to talk about privacy, and show their kids what behavior is appropriate online.

More importantly, they need to be aware of what their own kids are doing — and that means checking their Facebook page.

As one mom posted to Facebook in the aftermath of the shooting: “Parents — pay attention to your kids! Monitor their Facebook pages! Know their friends! Get them help if they need it! Maybe someone could have prevented today’s incident at Perry Hall if they paid closer attention.”

So how do parents so that? Dr. Sylvia Rimm, psychologist and director of the Family Achievement Clinic tells Mashable start when kids first get involved in social media. “Parents can insist that they are also friended.

“In early adolescence, kids don’t usually mind their parents checking their Facebook pages from time to time. If parents check without commenting, they can be alerted to any strange people writing inappropriate comments.”

Rimm says that’s not always easy, especially with older kids: “Unfortunately, if kids want to hide their social pages from their parents, they will figure out a way to do that.” She says parents may need technological assistance if they are concerned.

One teen raised an important question in her Facebook response to the shooting, regarding Gladden’s “last day of my life” update. “I am sure we have all seen friends’ statuses that were similar … how do you know when they are serious? Most of the time it’s just a cry for help.”

As Romney Enjoys Ryan’s Spark, Rivals Try to Fan It

It was no surprise that Mitt Romney’s campaign decided to team him up again on Monday with Representative Paul D. Ryan. As the vice-presidential nominee, he

brings bigger crowds, extra attention from the press and a spark that carries over to Mr. Romney’s own performance on the stump.
 The two men reaped those benefits here as thousands turned out for a town hall-style meeting in this battleground state a week before the Republican

convention begins.

But Mr. Ryan also brings a record in Congress that sets him apart from Mr. Romney, and on Monday his opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape and

incest, offered a reminder of the political dangers that sometimes come from embracing a running mate and his record. Already, Mr. Ryan’s proposals to

change Medicare had drawn attacks from President Obama and his Democratic allies.

The ticket was forced to address abortion after Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, said in an interview on Sunday that

women’s bodies had ways to block unwanted pregnancies. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down,” Mr.

Akin told KTVI-TV.

The comments caused a political firestorm as Republican leaders condemned the comments and sought to push Mr. Akin out of the Missouri race.

Mr. Romney has long said abortion should be legal in cases of rape. His campaign on Sunday quickly distanced him and Mr. Ryan from Mr. Akin’s remarks, and

Mr. Romney twice called them indefensible on Monday. That might have been enough if not for Mr. Ryan’s record.

Mr. Ryan’s different position on abortion has given Mr. Obama’s team an opening, much the way his proposals for turning Medicare into a voucher program

have provided new ammunition for Democrats to attack the Republican ticket as they try to appeal to seniors.

“As a Republican leader in the House, Mr. Ryan worked with Mr. Akin to try to pass laws that would ban abortion in all cases, and even narrow the definition

of rape,” Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for Mr. Obama, said in a statement Monday.

The president himself said Mr. Akin’s remarks were “offensive. Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types

of rape we’re talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people, and certainly doesn’t make sense to me.”

Aides to Mr. Romney’s campaign have praised Mr. Ryan’s positive impact on fund-raising, which received a significant bump in the days after his selection

was announced on Aug. 11. Polls have been less clear, showing little bounce for Mr. Romney nationally or in battleground states since the announcement.

What is clear is that Mr. Romney enjoys campaigning with Mr. Ryan. At their appearance on Monday, at Saint Anselm College, the energy between them was a bit

lower than it was in the days after Mr. Ryan joined the ticket. But as the questions came, their pep picked up.

Both wearing blue shirts with rolled sleeves and business slacks (pleats for Mr. Romney, flat front for Mr. Ryan), the two men acted like a tag team,

answering questions one after another. After a question about policy toward Israel, Mr. Romney offered to let Mr. Ryan go first, saying he did not want to

hog the spotlight.

“Paul, I’ve been taking all these first. It’s not fair. So you take this one, and I’ll take the next one,” Mr. Romney said, chuckling.

At one point, Mr. Ryan rescued Mr. Romney from an awkward attempt at humor. “This better be a good question,” Mr. Romney said to a man in a Yankees T-

shirt. A former governor of Massachusetts who often plays up his allegiance to the Boston Red Sox, he told a story about campaigning in South Carolina with

the punch line: “It proves one thing. We all hate Yankees.”

The crowd groaned, and there were a few boos. Mr. Ryan saved the day. “But not you, sir,” he said. “We love you.”

Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan were scheduled to separate again as the campaign tries to cover more ground and raise more money in the final days before the

convention in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Romney was headed to New Orleans and Texas for fund-raisers, and Mr. Ryan to Pittsburgh.

Mr. Romney answered a question about the national debt, then turned to Mr. Ryan, beaming like a conductor cuing his virtuoso soloist. “I want to hear what

he has to say on this topic,” he said. “He’s been working on this the last 14 years.”

When another questioner challenged the candidates to say how they would get a budget passed, since a gridlocked Congress has not passed one in three years,

Mr. Romney replied: “Good question. Paul?”

“We’re going to follow the law,” Mr. Ryan shot back.

“You guys ever heard of a guy named Harry Reid?” he then asked, laying blame at the feet of the Democratic majority leader of the Senate, which has blocked

two of Mr. Ryan’s House budget proposals. “O.K., you have,” Mr. Ryan said as the crowd booed. “I rest my case.”

Perhaps the most symbolic moment came as Mr. Ryan was concluding his remarks with a promise to “elect leadership.” Just then, the bells in the college’s

tower began ringing, leading Mr. Ryan to say, “At the 11th hour!”

When Mr. Romney came to the stage, he was beaming.

“Paul, you’re terrific. Thank you,” Mr. Romney said. “Only a Catholic guy would be able to get the bells to toll just at the right time at Saint Anselm’

s.”

Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.

Jim Boeheim thinks LeBron might be the best player he's seen, including Michael Jordan

LeBron James has had one incredible year. He went from maybe the most criticized, scrutinized player in all of sports to winning his third MVP, rising to

another level in the playoffs, winning an NBA title (and Finals MVP) and topping it with a gold medal.

He went from a punch line to instant legend status. And it's been tough for people to not get a little carried away with this Year of LeBron. But Syracuse

coach and Team USA assistant couldn't help himself. He went there. Via ESPN Radio:

    “He's a leader. He gets on the court, he tells people what to do … this guy can guard five [positions] … put him on anybody, he can guard him. I

always felt Michael Jordan was the best player I've ever seen … I didn't think it was close … and I'm not so sure anymore … this guy is 6-9, 260 pounds

and he's getting better … I know we've had great, great players through the years. He's like Magic Johnson with Michael Jordan-type skills as well.”
Can't argue with LeBron's ability, talent and skillset. And now with him a champion, he has that checked off on his resume. He's playing at another level,

raising his game to a stratosphere all to his own.

But he has a long, long way to go to reach Jordanian levels of greatness. Five more championships is a start, and that doesn't even ensure he's in a

conversation with MJ.

I don't think that's Boeheim's point. Much in the same that Scottie Pippen tried to make, Boeheim's not saying that LeBron will top Jordan's career

achievements, but simply might possess the most basketball ability he's ever seen.

Like Pippen, he's still pretty much wrong, but I think that's the point he's making.

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com dug into this and here's what he came up with:

    But to suggest that, after one championship at age 27, James has surpassed Jordan as the greatest player a renowned basketball authority has ever seen?

It is both silly and predictable -- and unnecessary. Bryant enters his 17th season in a few months, and only by virtue of two brilliant acquisitions by Mitch

Kupchak appears to have one more legitimate shot at a sixth title to equal Jordan. Seventeen years. A lot can, and will happen for (and to) LeBron if he

plays that long. Let's just enjoy his talent and see how it plays out, shall we?

The argument for Boeheim's point is well taken in that it's impossible to ignore LeBron's unreal ability. He can guard five spots and is as versatile as any

player in history. For his size, speed and athleticism, I'm not sure the game has ever seen a player like LeBron James. In terms of making that kind of

comparison to Michael Jordan, it's somewhat fair.

However, I'm not big on the talent and ability qualifier, because accomplishments matter. If you're talking about the most talented players in history, you

could put a whole lot of guys that had otherworldly ability. Tracy McGrady, Harold Miner, Vince Carter and on and on. Yes, LeBron is a freak of nature and I

think it's far too early to say he can't touch MJ. Because he has time left and with a championship under his belt, is on his way.

But you can't compare the two. It's not fair to either. LeBron James is LeBron James. And there's only one Michael Jordan.

US defense officials say Iran building, training militia to fight rebels in Syria

 U.S. defense officials are accusing Iran of increased meddling in Syria, including efforts to bolster its flagging armed forces, who are weary after 18

months of war.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is building and training a militia to help President Bashar Assad’s regime battle the rebel fighters trying to

topple him.
The Iranian efforts, said Panetta, will only add to the killing going on in the country and “bolster a regime that we think ultimately is going to come

down.”

Sitting alongside Panetta at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the militia, which is

generally made up of Syrian Shiite forces, is being used to take the pressure off the Syrian regime forces.

“Any army would be taxed with that kind of pace,” Dempsey said. “They are having resupply problems, they are having morale problems, they are having the

kind of wear and tear that would come of being in a fight for as long as they have.”

Dempsey also said that it appears Syrian rebels were able to shoot down a Syrian warplane but said he has seen no indication that they are armed with heavy

weapons or surface-to-air missiles, at least not yet.

He says the MiG fighter could have been shot down with small arms fire. Syria has blamed the crash on a technical malfunction, but Dempsey said the cause

“didn’t appear to be mechanical.”

Dempsey and Panetta voiced concerns about Iran’s growing presence in Syria even as President Bashar Assad’s regime steps up its aerial attacks against the

rebel forces. Fierce fighting and attacks from warplanes and helicopter gunships have pushed the opposition forces back on key fronts, such as Aleppo.

And the fighting — including alleged massacres by the regime — has led to the deaths of more than 20,000, according to activists.

Asked about military options for intervention in Syria, Dempsey said the U.S. has been in discussions with Jordan and Turkey about the possible need for a

safe zone because the two countries neighboring Syria are seeing an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting.

“And with a safe haven would probably come some form of no-fly zone, but we’re not planning anything unilaterally,” Dempsey said.

Panetta repeated assertions he made during an Associated Press interview Monday, saying that right now, creating a no-fly zone in the region “is not a

front-burner issue” for the U.S. Instead, he said, the U.S. is focusing on providing humanitarian and nonlethal assistance and on ensuring the chemical and

biological weapons in Syria are secure.

A no-fly zone would be a militarily enforced area in which outside nations would prohibit Syrian warplanes from flying and attacking Syria’s own people.

The Obama administration has insisted repeatedly that Assad must go and that diplomatic and economic pressures, including sanctions, must be given time to

work. Defense officials, including Panetta, have warned that putting a no-fly zone in place would be difficult because of the Syrian regime’s relatively

modern and plentiful air defense systems.

On the subject of Afghanistan, Panetta and Dempsey said commanders in that country are taking new steps to deal with the increasing number of insider attacks

against U.S. and coalition forces.

Panetta said more intelligence officers will be added to the larger military units to help root out possible attackers and officials will do more in-depth

forensic reviews of the incidents, in which members of the Afghan army or police — or militants in disguise — attack and kill American troops and other

allies.

Dempsey said Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has created a new team that will go back and review the attacks, also to see what more

can be done.

According to the Pentagon, 37 U.S. and coalition troops have been killed in 29 insider attacks this year. Of those killed, 21 have been U.S. service members.

Advance warning system for solar flares hinges on surprising hypotheses

Scientists may have hit upon a new means of predicting solar flares more than a day in advance, which hinges on a hypothesis dating back to 2006 that solar

activity affects the rate of decay of radioactive materials on Earth. Study of the phenomenon could lead to a new system which monitors changes in gamma

radiation emitted from radioactive materials, and if the underlying hypothesis proves correct, this could lead to solar flare advance warning systems that

would assist in the protection of satellites, power systems and astronauts.

In 2006, nuclear engineer Jere Jenkins of Purdue University noticed a change in the decay rate of a radioactive sample 39 hours before a solar flare. Since

joined by a Purdue University professor of Physics named Ephraim Fischbach, Jenkins' subsequent research has reinforced the discovery, using two samples of

the same isotope, chlorine 36, in two separate experiments in two different labs.

It isn't just solar flares that seem to induce changes in radioactive decay rate. Changes in solar rotation and activity, and the Earth's position on its

orbital path around the Sun also appear to have an effect, and it's the latter variable which seems to have been decisive in the research. Between July 2005

and June 2011, continued monitoring has apparently shown consistent annual variation in the decay rate of chlorine 36, peaking in January and February, and

ebbing in July and August.

An 11-year solar cycle is set to peak in 2013, and the researchers claim a solar storm as strong as the Carrington Event of 1859 would be devastating to the

technology of today.

"There was so much energy from this solar storm that the telegraph wires were seen glowing and the aurora borealis appeared as far south as Cuba," said

Fischbach. "Because we now have a sophisticated infrastructure of satellites, power grids and all sort of electronic systems, a storm of this magnitude today

would be catastrophic. Having a day and a half warning could be really helpful in averting the worst damage."

Among the proposed protection measures are the temporary shutting down of satellites (the designs of which would need to be adapted to accommodate this

feature) and power networks prior to solar flares.

Purdue's proposed detector uses a sample of manganese 54 which is monitored with a gamma-radiation detector as it decays into chromium 54. It's hoped that

anomalies in the rate of decay would indicate forthcoming solar flares. A US patent has been filed to protect the idea.

The research has significant implications for science. To date, the rate of radioactive decay is understood to be constant. Further, the researchers

hypothesize that it's neutrinos that are affecting the change in the rate of decay: an idea sure to turn heads.

"Since neutrinos have essentially no mass or charge, the idea that they could be interacting with anything is foreign to physics," Jenkins said. "So, we are

saying something that doesn't interact with anything is changing something that can't be changed. Either neutrinos are affecting decay rate or perhaps an

unknown particle is."

Jenkins hopes to continue the research, verifying the findings using more sensitive equipment. The latest findings were published last week in the report

Analysis of gamma radiation from a radon source: Indications of a solar influence in the journal Astroparticle Physics.

Mysterious Font Left by Malware Befuddles

The most famous -- and mysterious -- font (yes, we're talking typeface) in the information security world right now is Palida Narrow.

Palida Narrow is a new font that the recently discovered Gauss malware installs on machines it infects. And as Dennis Fisher, writing on Kaspersky Lab's

Threatpost blog, noted late last week, "Researchers have been unable to figure out yet what the purpose of the font is, but ... its presence on a PC is a

good indicator of a Gauss infection."

So far there are only theories about its purpose. The most popular is that it is a brand mark for the command and control servers. But those have been

offline since last month.

CrySys Lab, which along with Kaspersky has released a Gauss detection tool, says the theory is that "Palida installation can be in fact detected remotely by

web servers, thus the Palida installation is a marker to identify infected computers that visit some specially crafted web pages."

Joel Harding, a retired intelligence officer and information operation expert who has been following the investigation into Gauss, agrees, with the caveat

that everything so far is speculation. Noting that the various modules in Gauss are all named for philosophers, he said, "It is the [Joseph-Louis] LaGrange

module that is installing the Palida font onto the previously uninfected systems, allowing remote detection of an infected computer without compromising a

probe."

[See also: While origin unclear, Gauss indicates malware tool boom]

Kevin McAleavey, cofounder and chief architect of the KNOS project and a veteran malware researcher, said the purpose of Palida Narrow might go beyond

tracking visits. "It could be that the custom font may have special value to the character sets within which might not be 'printable characters' but useful

nonetheless to whatever intent Gauss has," he said.

"But the missing piece here could very well be that although the current font being installed hasn't been found to be malicious, it could be a 'placeholder'

in this code," McAleavey said. "Quite possibly this mysterious font install, which proves to be harmless, might have replaced the original payload in order

to avoid disclosure of the original code that accompanied Gauss. That would certainly lead to the current outcome, in which the mysterious font has been

found to be inert."

Chris Sanders, a senior security analyst at InGuardians, an information security consultancy, also said the "marker" theory is plausible. "Any time any type

of purposeful malware is installed on a system, the attacker has to have a mechanism that allows him to ensure that the malware was installed, and that it

was installed with the appropriate level of access to the system," he said, adding that Palida Narrow is "an eloquent solution for a malware author, as it

doesn't require the installation of any additional browser components such as a JavaScript interpreter."
But his InGuardians colleague John Sawyer, also a senior security analyst, said it is misleading to say that the Palida Narrow font is a definitive infection

marker for all Gauss-infected machines. "Kaspersky's own research paper shows the LaGrange module that installs the font was configured on only three of

approximately 1,700 infections that they analyzed," he said.

There is general consensus that it is unusual. "The installation of the Palida font is unique, it's a first," said Harding. "This is a font that did not

previously exist, it was customized for this tool. We have never seen a font installed by malware before."

And John Sawyer said that while including a marker of some type in malware is common, "the use of a font is particularly clever as it makes web-based

detection incredibly easy."

Still, why would the Gauss creators mark it with a new font? Wouldn't that make it much easier to detect the presence of Gauss on a machine? Not necessarily,

experts say.

Roger Thompson, chief emerging threats researcher at ICSA Labs, thinks Palida Narrow may have simply been a careless mistake. "I often joke that programmers,

especially good ones, are likely to look for short cuts and time savers," he said.

"What this means is that when they write a program, they rarely start from scratch, but instead think to themselves, 'OK, I know I wrote some code like that

once before,' and they copy and paste the old code into the new code. I think that time will show that Palida Narrow was simply accidentally left over from a

previous project."

Others believe it was more purposeful than that, but say it won't necessarily make Gauss easier to detect. John Sawyer noted again that the LaGrange module

was found on only a small number of infected machines.

And Joel Harding said while the font will definitely be a tipoff that Gauss is present, "the beauty of this technique is that it has never been used before."

"Before 9/11, few in the world considered a commercial airplane as a possible weapon. Now we will start considering a font, and hopefully other items

possibly detected by network management tools, as possible indicators of an infection," Harding said.

Harding said he suspects that by the time Gauss is decrypted and fully understood, its creators will be using something else. "Don't forget that Stuxnet used

four brand new zero day exploits and Gauss is using techniques that never previously existed," he said. "This design team not only is comfortable operating

outside the box, they excel in it. Now the challenge is to continue developing new tools by thinking further outside the box."

Romney, Mormonism and Money

My Sunday column — written before the Paul Ryan pick, but still relevant in its aftermath — argues that Mitt Romney’s understandable reluctance to talk

about his Mormon faith has cut him off from what would otherwise be a very natural part of his campaign narrative, both in personal and philosophical terms.

My argument runs counter to some of the arguments in Adam Gopnik’s tour d’horizon of Mormonism in a recent issue of the New Yorker, and particularly this

passage:
    Yet class surely tells more than creed when it comes to American manners, and Romney is better understood as a late-twentieth-century American tycoon

than as any kind of believer. Most of what is distinct about him seems specific to the rich managerial class of the nineteen-eighties and nineties, and is

best explained so—just as you would grasp more about Jack Kennedy from F. Scott Fitzgerald (an Irish and a Catholic ascending to Wasp manners) than from St.

Augustine. In another way, though, this is precisely where faith really does walk in, since commerce and belief seem complementary in Romney’s tradition. It

’s just that this tradition is not merely Mormon. Joseph Smith’s strange faith has become a denomination within the bigger creed of commerce. It’s unfair

to say, as some might, that Mitt Romney believes in nothing except his own ambition. He believes, with shining certainty, in his own success, and, more

broadly, in the American Gospel of Wealth that lies behind it: the idea that rich people got rich by being good, that the riches are a sign of their virtue,

and that they should therefore be allowed to rule.

The Fitzgerald-explaining-J.F.K. point is brilliant, and it summons up one of my favorite Jacqueline Kennedy lines: “I think it’s so unfair of people to be

against Jack because he is a Catholic. He’s such a poor Catholic. Now if it were Bobby, I could understand …” But Romney’s life trajectory suggests that

he’s considerably closer to Bobby, the rosary-saying Mass-goer with 11 children, than to the rather less pious President Kennedy. (If any prominent Mormon

politician resembles J.F.K. in his relationship to his childhood faith, it’s arguably Jon Huntsman.) It’s possible, I suppose, to spin a narrative in which

Romney’s years as a Mormon bishop and stake president were mostly a case of a tycoon-on-the-make exploiting a networking opportunity. But the level of

commitment required of someone serving in those offices suggests a considerably higher level of religious devotion. Given the differences between the faiths,

there’s no perfect analogy to Catholic practice, but imagine if J.F.K. had been ordained to the permanent diaconate and assigned to help an overworked

priest manage a crowded parish in Brookline while ascending to the Senate, and you’ll have some sense of what Romney’s service to the L.D.S. church

involved. There are many ways to describe this chapter in the Republican nominee’s life story, but at the very least it counts as strong evidence against

the premise that Romney’s main religious commitment is to the worship of his own success.

As for Gopnik’s description of Mormonism as “a denomination within the bigger creed of commerce,” this is apt in a way, but also strikingly incomplete. To

readers unfamiliar with L.D.S. culture, it suggests a strong overlap between Mormonism’s theology of money and the kind of “pray and grow rich” prosperity

preaching that’s exemplified Joel Osteen and his tackier confreres. Some such overlap exists, but the differences are also striking. Mormonism is worldlier

than orthodox Christianity in ways that can become problematic, but it’s also considerably more communitarian (and considerably less consumerist) than a

great deal of contemporary American religion. It celebrates its businessman, but it makes extremely stringent demands of them at the same time; it allows

that riches may be associated with virtue, but insists that the rich prove their virtue through consistent works of charity as well. Speaking as someone who

spent some of my childhood in religious worlds influenced by prosperity preaching, the feeling you get visiting a Mormon ward is extremely different from the

feeling you get from visiting a prosperity-oriented megachurch, and the attitudes toward money visible in L.D.S. exhortations and literature are different

than the rhetoric you’ll hear from, say, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. The link between piety and prosperity is present, but the emphasis on thrift, charity

and solidarity is just as intense. Too much prosperity preaching is a theology of the grasshopper, promising magical increase and asking little in return.

But the Mormon symbol is the beehive for a reason.

Jennifer Aniston is engaged to Justin Theroux

Jennifer Aniston is engaged to Justin Theroux, her publicist, Stephen Huvane, confirms.

"Justin Theroux had an amazing birthday on Friday, receiving an extraordinary gift when his girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, accepted his proposal of marriage,"

People.com reports an unnamed rep for Theroux as saying.

Aniston, 43, and Theroux, 41, began dating in May 2011.

The news comes on the same weekend that media excitement grew about a possible wedding between Angelina Jolie and Aniston's ex, Brad Pitt.

DAP rep’s apology ‘a little too late’

 The public outpouring of disgust for Manoharan’s tweets, on the Olympic badminton final on Sunday night, even prompted some to demand his resignation.

Manoharan was also lambasted by his party's national chairman Karpal Singh, who described his comments as indefensible.

Karpal said he was unhappy with the remarks and asked Manoharan to offer an unconditional apology to Chong Wei and his family.

"I specifically told him that his comments were uncalled for. With Manoharan's apology, the matter should be put to rest here."

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng yesterday said the remarks on Chong Wei's silver medal performance were "grossly insensitive".

Lim, who is Penang chief minister, said Manoharan's insensitive comments did not represent DAP's view.

The public outburst against Manoharan started when he mocked Chong Wei for his loss to China's Lin Dan and tweeted: "Lin Dan wins. He played better than Lee

Chong AWAY."

He went on politicising Chong Wei's loss by tweeting: "Pakatan has a very capable sports minister in waiting. Give Pakatan to rule Putrajaya to bring in the

Gold in next Olympics in Rio 2016."

However, yesterday, Manoharan tweeted: "I sincerely hope my apology will be accepted," followed by another tweet directed at Chong Wei: "I deeply regret the

comments I have made and tender my heartfelt apologies to Datuk Lee Chong Wei and his family."

Netizen @yashiryahaya played with Manoharan's choice of word in response to his apology: "You should tender your resignation @mmanoADUN: I deeply regret the

comments I've made and tender my heartfelt apologies to Datuk Lee Chong Wei and family".

US HOT STOCKS: Best Buy, Knight Capital, HCA, Cognizant, Citigroup

 U.S. stocks were trading up Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently rose 83 points to 13179, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose eight

points to 1399, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 32 points to 3000. Among the companies with shares actively trading are Best Buy Co. (BBY), Knight Capital

Group Inc. (KCG), HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA) and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH).

Shares of consumer electronics retailer Best Buy ($19.63, +$1.99, +11.28%) jumped as Richard Schulze, the company's founder and former chairman, offered to

buy the remaining shares of the company that he doesn't already own in a deal that values the retailer at up to $8.84 billion, or $24 to $26 a share. The

company called the proposal "unsolicited" and "highly conditional."

Shares of Knight Capital ($3.15, -$0.90, -22.22%) continued to fall amid confirmation from the company that the embattled brokerage had agreed to a $400

million rescue plan that would help fill a hole left by errant trading last week. In a statement, Knight said as a result of the loss it "experienced reduced

order flow and liquidity pressures, and its capital base was severely impacted."

HCA's ($24.89, -$1.71, -6.43%) shares fell despite positive second-quarter earnings, after Chief Executive Richard Bracken took a minute during the second-

quarter conference call to warn about an apparent coming news story about the largest U.S. hospital operator. Based on feedback and questions from The New

York Times, Bracken said the article could touch on issues like HCA'S ownership structure, its approach to care for the uninsured and the medical necessity

for cardiac services at certain Florida hospitals. On the final point, HCA disclosed that federal prosecutors have requested information. The news weighed on

the whole hospital sector as investors worry that the investigation could have a longer reach. Shares of Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA, $6.53, -

$0.14, -2.10%) and Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC, $4.59, -$0.10, -2.13%) also traded lower.

Cognizant's ($64.76, +$6.90, +11.93%) second-quarter profit rose 21% as revenue saw double-digit growth in all of its segments. The information technology

company raised its full-year earnings guidance and affirmed its revenue view.


  Other Stocks to Watch:


AES Corp.'s (AES, $11.67, -$0.58, -4.73%) second-quarter profit fell 20% as the power and utilities company saw a double-digit decline in revenue from its

key Latin American utilities business. Results missed expectations and AES said it expects per-share earnings for the year to come in at the low end of its

May guidance.

Chinese online game developer Changyou.com Ltd.'s (CYOU, $22.57, +$3.20, +16.52%) (K3JD.SG) second-quarter results beat analysts' estimates. The company also

said its majority-owned web games subsidiary 7Road.com Ltd. plans to file a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible initial

public offering of American depositary shares. Shares of Changyou.com's majority shareholder, Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU, $39.49, +$4.79, +13.80%) also rose amid

reporting strong growth at the company's video game and online search units.

Citigroup Inc. (C, $28.48, +$1.08, +3.94%) has finally gained access to China's fast-growing capital market, with a Monday launch of an investment banking

joint venture in the country. Stephen Bird, chief executive of Citi Asia Pacific, said the joint venture with Shanghai-based Orient Securities Co. aims to be

a leading investment bank in China.

CompuCredit Holdings Corp. (CCRT, $5.12, +$0.69, +15.58%) said it sold its debt-recovery business to equity investment firm Flexpoint Ford LLC for about

$130.5 million, giving the specialty finance company new funds to expand other parts of its business.

Benchmark Capital downgraded CryoLife Inc. (CRY, $5.10, -$0.11, -2.11%) to hold from buy and lowered its price target to $6, citing a delayed clinical trial

and second-quarter results for the tissue-processing and medical-device company. Enrollment in PerClot's U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trial was

delayed from mid-2012 to early 2013, and Benchmark said in a note to clients that "this shift is benefiting 2012 results through lower R&D expenditures, at

the expense of 2013." Benchmark said it now forecasts "meaningful earnings expansion beginning in 2014."

Exelixis Inc. (EXEL, $5.01, -$0.57, -10.22%) plans to offer 20 million shares of its common stock and $225 million in debt to raise funds for clinical trials

and other general corporate purposes. The biotechnology company, which focuses on developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer, said it

expects to raise about $105.6 million in net proceeds from the common stock offering, based on an assumed offering price of $5.58 a share.

Shares of advertising and marketing services firm Interpublic Group of Cos. (IPG, $10.03, -$0.95, -8.61%) fell after French advertising and communications

firm Publicis Groupe SA (PUBGY, $12.80, +$0.21, +1.67%)(PUB.FR) denied it had approached IPG about a possible a merger. IPG shares had traded higher Friday

after the Financial Times' Alphaville blog had said Publicis was weighing a bid.

Israeli stem-cell developer Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI, $4.05, +$0.74, +22.36%) said it has saved the life of a second patient with aplastic bone

marrow--a condition in which the patient's bone marrow doesn't produce new blood cells--by using an injection of Pluristem's cells. The company has applied

for orphan drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its treatment. Orphan drug status, reserved for treatments of rare diseases, gives drug

developers certain benefits, including government-subsidized research, exclusive marketing agreements and other financial incentives.

Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP, $16.85, +$2.78, +19.76%), an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, reported second-quarter earnings

beat analysts' expectations.

Shares of medical device maker Sunshine Heart Inc. (SSH, $9.64, +$1.17, +13.81%) rose as the company said it has received conditional approval from the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration for its next generation C-Pulse system driver, used in the treatment of heart failure.

Tyson Foods Inc.'s (TSN, $14.43, -$0.97, -6.30%) fiscal third-quarter profit fell 61% amid $167 million in early debt-extinguishment charges as the meat

processor continued to have challenges at its beef and pork businesses, as well as rising grain prices. The company also lowered its revenue estimate for the

fiscal year.

United Fire Group Inc. (UFCS, $21.30, +$2.53, +13.48%) reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates, thanks to what the company calls

"solid growth." With net premiums earned up about 12%, the insurer's Chief Executive Officer Randy Ramlo said "We are pleased to see a good portion of that

growth is the result of rate increases" and that the company continues to experience "solid retention rates while also picking up new business from other

carriers who are employing across-the-board rate increases."

Video-ringtone company Vringo Inc. (VRNG, $3.61, +$0.49, +15.70%) said AOL Inc. (AOL, $33.88, +$1.25, +3.83%) agreed to settle part of a patent dispute

brought by Vringo, giving Vringo another potential win in its ongoing lawsuit against some of the biggest names in the technology sector. Details of the

settlement were confidential and Vringo declined to comment.

Youku Inc.'s (YOKU, $17.64, +$1.27, +7.76%) second-quarter loss widened as the Chinese online television company saw its operating expenses nearly double.

Still, the company's loss wasn't as much as analysts expected and revenue increased 96%, in line with the company's revenue growth estimate.

Southwest pays refunds after computer glitch

Southwest Airlines said Sunday it has begun filing refunds to customers who were accidentally billed multiple times for a single flight, after a half-price

online ticket promotion backfired.

The special sale designed to celebrate Southwest's reaching the three million mark in Facebook fans was supposed to give customers who booked flights on

Friday a 50 percent discount on certain fares.

Instead, hundreds of frustrated would-be fliers wound up posting stories on Facebook about how their credit and debit cards were being repeatedly charged, in

some cases 20 or more times for a single flight. They also tweeted and blogged about the related financial hassles, which ranged from drained checking

accounts and bounced checks to overdrawn credit limits and canceled bank cards.

The company said Sunday it has identified all customers impacted by the problem and has begun filing refunds to the affected bank accounts.

"These refunds are currently being processed, but timing will vary depending on the individual bank," Southwest said in a statement to its website. "If a

refund has not yet posted to your account, we recommend contacting your bank."

The company, which described its response as an "all hands on deck approach," said it will also pay customers for any overdraft fees caused by the additional

charges.

Southwest Airlines is based in Dallas, Texas and offers flights to more than 70 U.S. cities

For Ai Weiwei, Politics And Arts Always Mix

Last week, a Chinese court rejected artist Ai Weiwei's lawsuit against the tax bureau that had imposed a massive fine on his company. Ai was fined more than

$2 million after being detained for three months last year.

This marks yet another political struggle for Ai, who is famous abroad for his art and has emerged as a leading Chinese dissident, a voice for individual

freedom. A year after being released, Ai is still monitored heavily by officials, although he uses his Twitter feed to continue criticizing China's

government.

Filmmaker Alison Klayman was an intern on NPR's All Things Considered before she left for China, where she wound up chronicling Ai on video. The result is a

documentary — her first film — called Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, part of which chronicles Ai's crusade to seek justice for an alleged police beating.

That run-in with police came as a result of Ai's support for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake, part of which manifested itself in a Munich installation

where Ai spelled out a Chinese phrase using colored school backpacks that represented the child victims.

Ai is known for his large installations and designs. Another of his famous works is Sunflower Seeds, for which he and 1,600 assistants handcrafted 100

million porcelain sunflower seeds and spread them on the floor of London's Tate Modern. Ai also designed Beijing's Olympic Stadium, know as the Bird's Nest.

Klayman spoke to NPR's Robert Siegel about her movie and Ai, who she says sees no separation between what we would consider his art and his confrontations

with authorities.