Speed Reading Devil | Tottori ni Kaeru!

I have a pretty big collection of books in my room.

Most of them are in Japanese, but a good bunch of them are still written in English.? These books I really want to read, but I always told myself I would get to them later.? Well I have a huge test later (in 145 days actually) so if I am going to get things done, I need to get them done now so I will be completely focused on my Japanese studies.

I have started speed reading through all of my books after I did a little bit of research on the web.? It seems that speed reading is quite easy if you follow a few tips.

Tip #1:? Use a piece of paper or a finger to keep your mark.

Most of the time you spent reading is actually spent finding your spot.? It seems our eyes tend to wander a lot, and without a marker to mark where we are we will waste a lot of time.

Tip #2:? Your brain can handle information faster than you can talk.

Do you ?read aloud? the words in the book in your mind?? That would mean you are reading at the same pace you talk.? Well, it turns out your brain can work faster than your mouth.? By silencing that voice (or at least speeding it up) you can improve your information intake almost instantaneously.

I have tried these two tricks with reading my English books, and I must say it works wonders.? I already read two of my books in six days.? I still have another four books to go before I will be doing all of my reading in Japanese.? Should have them done in another two weeks I hope.

This entry was posted in My Life, Self Improvement and tagged Books, Speed Reading by Kaeru O!. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://tottorijet.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/speed-reading-devil/

weather chicago swizz beatz mpaa south carolina debate lauren scruggs william shatner seattle weather

US sues S&P over pre-crisis mortgage ratings

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. government is accusing the debt rating agency Standard & Poor's of fraud for giving high ratings to risky mortgage bonds that helped bring about the financial crisis.

The government filed a civil complaint late Monday against S&P, the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency related to the financial crisis.

S&P, a unit of New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos., has denied wrongdoing. It says the government also failed to predict the subprime mortgage crisis.

But the government's lawsuit paints a picture of a company that misled investors knowingly, more concerned about making money than about accurate ratings. It says S&P delayed updating its ratings models, rushed through the ratings process and was fully aware that the subprime market was flailing even as it gave high marks to investments made of subprime mortgages. In 2007, one analyst forwarded a video of himself singing and dancing to a tune about the deterioration of the subprime market, with colleagues laughing.

Ratings agencies like S&P are a key part of the financial crisis narrative. When banks and other financial firms wanted to package mortgages into securities and sell them to investors, they would come to a ratings agency to get a rating for the security. Many securities made of risky subprime mortgages got high ratings, giving even the more conservative investors, like pension funds, the confidence to buy them. Those investors suffered huge losses when housing prices plunged and many borrowers defaulted on their mortgage payments.

This arrangement has a major conflict of interest, the government's lawsuit says. The firms that issued the securities could shop around for whichever ratings agency would give them the best rating. So the agencies could give high ratings just to get business.

The government's lawsuit says that "S&P's desire for increased revenue and market share ... led S&P to downplay and disregard the true extent of the credit risks" posed by the investments it was rating.

For example, S&P typically charged $150,000 for rating a subprime mortgage-backed security, and $750,000 for certain types of other securities. If S&P lost the business ? for example, if the firm that planned to sell the security decided it could get a better rating from Fitch or Moody's ? then an S&P analyst would have to submit a "lost deal" memo explaining why he or she lost the business.

That created sloppy ratings, the government said.

"Most rating committees took less than 15 minutes to complete," the government said in its lawsuit, describing the process where an S&P analyst would present a rating for review. "Numerous rating committees were conducted simultaneously in the same conference room."

According to the lawsuit, S&P was constantly trying to keep the financial firms ? its clients ? happy.

A 2007 PowerPoint presentation on its ratings model said that being "business friendly" was a central component, according to the government.

In a 2004 document, executives said they would poll investors as part of the process for choosing a rating.

"Are you implying that we might actually reject or stifle 'superior analytics' for market considerations?" one executive wrote back. "...What is 'market perspective'? Does this mean we are to review our proposed criteria changes with investors, issuers and investment bankers? ... (W)e NEVER poll them as to content or acceptability!"

The lawsuit says this executive's concerns were ignored.

A 2004 memo said that "concerns with the objectivity, integrity, or validity" of ratings criteria should be communicated in person rather than through email.

Also that year, an analyst complained that S&P had lost a deal because its criteria for a rating was stricter than Moody's. "We need to address this now in preparation for the future deals," the analyst wrote.

By 2006, S&P was well aware that the subprime mortgage market was collapsing, the government said, even though S&P didn't issue a mass downgrade of subprime-backed securities until 2007. One document describing the performance of the subprime loans backing some investments "was so bad that analysts initially thought the data contained typographical errors," the government lawsuit said.

In March 2007, one analyst who had conducted a risk ranking analysis of 2006 mortgage-backed securities wrote a version of "Burning Down the House": "Going - all the way down, with/Subprime mortgages."

A video showed him singing and dancing another verse in front of S&P colleagues, who laughed.

Another analyst wrote in a 2007 email, referring to ratings for mortgage-backed investments: "The fact is, there was a lot of internal pressure in S&P to downgrade lots of deals earlier on before this thing started blowing up. But the leadership was concerned of p(asterisk)ssing of too many clients and jumping the gun ahead of Fitch and Moody's."

The government filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The government charged S&P under a law aimed at making sure banks invest safely, and said that S&P's alleged fraud made it possible to sell the investments to banks. .

If S&P is eventually found to have committed civil violations, it could face fines and limits on how it does business. The government said in its filing that it's seeking financial penalties.

The action does not involve any criminal allegations. Critics have long complained about the government's failure to bring criminal charges against any major Wall Street players involved in the financial crisis.

Criminal charges would require a higher burden of proof and carry the threat of jail time.

McGraw-Hill shares rose 25 cents to $50.55 in Tuesday's premarket session, after plunging nearly 14 percent the day before on the expectation that a lawsuit would be filed.

Shares of Moody's Corp., the parent of Moody's Investors Service, another rating agency, rose 31 cents to $49.45 before Tuesday's opening bell, after closing down nearly 11 percent on Monday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-sues-p-over-pre-crisis-mortgage-ratings-122707925--finance.html

New Orleans Pelicans chris brown north korea kate upton hillary clinton apple stock Pro Bowl 2013

Ohio man recovers stolen 300-year-old family Bible

MARYSVILLE, Ohio (AP) ? A central Ohio man's heart sank when he realized that burglars had broken in and stolen a safe holding his most prized possession ? a 300-year-old family Bible.

The Lutheran Bible, written in German Gothic script and containing the handwritten dates of births, deaths and marriages for seven generations of Tim Shier's family, went missing in the burglary in Marysville, near Columbus, in December 2011.

But thanks to a bit of luck, a sharp-eyed family member, local deputies and Goodwill ?which had ended up with the Bible and then sold it online ? the heirloom is back in Shier's hands.

He called it an answer to his prayers.

"Our family can't put a price on that Bible," Shier told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Tuesday. "History can never be replaced."

The effort started with the arrest of four men in the burglary. A judge offered to give one of the defendants a break if he could find the Bible. But the man came up empty, saying that he thought it had been dropped in some kind of bin.

A few weeks ago, one of Shier's cousins saw a reference to an old German Bible on the website ancestry.com. She called Shier, who called the sheriff's office in Union County where he lives.

Sheriff's detectives enlisted the help of Goodwill, which had sold the Bible online, and tracked it to Louisiana and then to Georgia. But the couple who had bought it wouldn't send it back without recouping the $405 they had paid for it.

The sheriff's office doesn't buy back stolen goods. So the Union County police union stepped up and covered the cost.

"This was no stolen television," said detective Mike Justice, who worked on the case and is president of the Union County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 171. "It's a family heirloom, and we believed it was important to get it back."

On Saturday night, the treasured book was carried down the aisle and presented to Shier during the police lodge's annual benefit concert at a high school auditorium.

Shier's family ended up donating enough money to repay the police union.

___

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-man-recovers-stolen-300-old-family-bible-140714633.html

Movember USC shooting halloween chipotle lsu football lsu football Jessie Andrews

Police to review Los Angeles clergy abuse files

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Police will review abusive priests' personnel files to see if the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles committed any crimes, including failure to report child abuse, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators will focus on the cases of about a dozen previously investigated priests and audit past probes to make sure nothing was missed, said Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith. The department will also look at the files for all 122 priests made public Thursday by court order after priests fought for five years to keep them sealed.

Thousands of pages of confidential files kept by the archdiocese on priests accused of molesting children show how retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top archdiocese officials protected the church by shielding priests and not reporting child sex abuse to authorities.

"Now what's being alleged is a failure to report, those kinds of things, so there's a new emphasis ? it's not just the person that's accused of the behavior," said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, who heads the detective bureau. "We're taking a fresh look on cases we've already handled to make sure we don't have reporting issues that got past."

Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney, declined to comment Tuesday.

Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the nation's largest diocese, was publicly rebuked Thursday by his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez.

The same day, Bishop Thomas Curry, a top Mahony aide who made critical decisions on abusive priests, requested to resign from his post as an auxiliary bishop in charge of the archdiocese's Santa Barbara region.

Both Mahony and Curry have publicly apologized for their dealings with pedophile priests.

The archdiocese agreed to release the files as part of a $660 million settlement with abuse victims in 2007. Attorneys for individual priests fought for five years to prevent the papers from being made public and the archdiocese tried to blot out large sections, including the names of hierarchy involved in decision making. The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times fought successfully to have the names of Mahony and top church officials made public.

The archdiocese is considering launching a $200 million fundraising campaign in the midst of the fallout, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. A recent financial report indicates the archdiocese has a deficit of nearly $80 million.

It's unlikely police will unearth anything within the statute of limitations, said Rebecca Lonergan, a former federal prosecutor and a professor at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.

The statute of limitations on most crimes that would apply to the priest cases is three years under state law and five years under federal law.

Prosecutors could try to prove an ongoing conspiracy among members of the church hierarchy to cover up for abusive priests, but under federal law even that would require proof of criminal activity over a long period of time with one specific crime within the past five years.

Clergy were not mandated child abuse reporters until 1997, and by then, the archdiocese had implemented significant changes in how it dealt with reports of pedophile priests.

"Most of the documents that have been revealed are bad and show concealment, but they're really old," Lonergan said. "There's none that show this is going on within the past few years, in the late 2000s."

Prosecutors have previously investigated the archdiocese for its handling of sex abuse cases, but no criminal charges were ever filed against the hierarchy.

Also on Tuesday, a support group for clergy abuse victims called for the Los Angeles Unified School District to thoroughly investigate how the district hired a former priest who allegedly had a sexual relationship with a minor.

Joseph Pina, who was never convicted of a crime, was hired in 2002 as a community outreach coordinator for the district's school construction campaign, said Tom Waldman, the district's spokesman. The archdiocese told the Los Angeles Times it warned the district about Pina, but the LAUSD can't find any indication of that in its files, Waldman said Tuesday.

"Whether or not we called them as a reference, I don't know," he said.

The former priest worked with adults only, was never alone with children and wasn't the subject of any complaints during his time there, Waldman said.

___

Flaccus reported from Orange County.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-review-los-angeles-clergy-abuse-files-204108131.html

gsa scandal kelis dick clark dies ibogaine jamie moyer bone cancer hossa

Maze wins super-G gold at ski worlds, Vonn crashes

SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) ? Tina Maze became the first Slovenian skier to win a world championship gold medal in a speed event on Tuesday, taking the opening women's super-G in a race that was overshadowed by a crash involving Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn lost her balance while landing after a jump and was taken to a hospital by helicopter with an apparent right knee injury. The four-time overall World Cup champion received medical treatment on the slope for 12 minutes before being airlifted to the hospital.

There was no immediate update on her condition.

Maze won the race in all-attacking style in 1 minute, 35.39 seconds, beating Lara Gut of Switzerland by 0.38. Julia Mancuso of the United States was 0.52 behind in third.

"The gold medal means a lot to me," Maze said. "I had a great run. Slovenia is a small country and has so many great athletes. That makes me really happy."

The race had been delayed by 3? hours because of thick fog hanging over the course, and was called off after 36 racers because new clouds of fog were moving in. The results stand as the top-30 racers had started their run.

"I was prepared for a long day," said Maze, who earned her fourth world championship medal. "World championships are special, you have to stay focused. I knew we would race today despite all the delays."

Gut had two mistakes in the turning middle part that slowed her down but attacked the bottom part for a strong finish to earn her third world championship medal ? all in silver. She took second in downhill and super-combined at the 2009 event in Val d'Isere, France, when she became the youngest Swiss skier to medal at 18.

Mancuso also wasn't fully satisfied with her run.

"It's always really nice to win a medal, but of course I know I could have a better run," the American said, adding it was "really hard" to race after the crash of Vonn, who started three racers ahead.

Vonn fell after a long jump, her ski came off immediately, and she slid off course and hit a gate before coming to a halt.

Vonn trailed Maze by 0.12 seconds shortly before the crash. The race continued after another 15-minute delay.

Days of snow and rain had affected the course and softened the surface especially in the lower part. The evening before the race, FIS women's race director Atle Skaardal called it an "extreme situation."

Several racers struggled with the conditions, with favorites like Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Anna Fenninger of Austria failing to finish.

"It's not a very difficult course, but in some parts you couldn't see anything," Fabienne Suter of Switzerland said.

After eight starters, the race was interrupted for 15 minutes following a crash by a course worker, who needed to be taken off the course by helicopter. There was no immediate information available on his condition.

The men's super-G is scheduled for Wednesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maze-wins-super-g-gold-ski-worlds-vonn-150610647--spt.html

white house correspondents dinner 2012 whcd 2012 nfl draft kevin durant jazz fest zurich classic selena

Downton Abbey, Season 3

Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) and Daisy (Sophie McShera)

Photo courtesy of Joss Barratt/Carnival Film & Television

Editor?s note: For the benefit of American readers who haven?t yet seen Season 3 of Downton Abbey, please do your best to avoid spoilers when commenting.

June Thomas: What a gut-wrenching episode! Do you share my view that this was the dowager countess's finest hour? She gets off so many great lines that I sometimes think of her as an incredibly efficient zinger-delivery system, but this week she was above all a caring mother. Yes, she was scheming, but not in a Blair-Waldorf-in-mourning-dress kind of way. She simply gave Dr. Clarkson an opportunity to mend the rift between Cora and Robert.

I found that final scene of the two parents bawling over the loss of their youngest child, while Violet discreetly turned her back on them, sad but lovely.

Seth Stevenson: The dowager may be vicious at times, but she is an astute observer of human nature. And she understands how important a bit of nuanced social maneuvering can be to keep the world spinning smoothly. That can mean asking the doctor to?I'm looking for a more musical word ... prevaricate? Fudge? It can also mean saying that she wishes to remain at Isobel's prostitute-marred luncheon not because she's taking a stand against Robert but because it "seems a pity to miss such a good pudding."

Thomas: This is a time of rapid change?so rapid that Ethel went from botching consomm? to producing a dessert worthy of the aristocracy in a matter of days. But Charlotte russe? Did she have to make such a foreign-sounding pud?

Stevenson: Between the intractability of Lord Grantham and that of Carson, this was a week for aging white dudes caught out of step with the times. We're foxtrotting now, June, and painting rouge on our cheeks, and raising our children Catholic. Are you ready for this brave new world, or do you want to stick your head in the linens and hide?

Thomas: I'm torn about all this transformation. I'm glad to see upstairs and downstairs defying their father figures when the dads make ridiculous demands. But at the same time, I find myself thinking that Ivy needs to spend less time flirting and more time taking care of whatever tasks Mrs. Patmore assigns her. And when Mr. Mason offered Daisy a chance to leave service and take control of her own life, I couldn't help worrying that she'd be lonely out there on the farm. For all its petty disputations, life below stairs does seem companionable and?sometimes at least?supportive.

Stevenson: I wouldn't mind foxtrotting in the servants' hall while Jimmy plays a rag. But I'm not sure this Thomas/Jimmy/O'Brien vortex will turn out to be a happy chapter in the downstairs saga. Also, the footmen slobbering over Ivy is starting to grate on me. She is fetching, but she has yet to say or do anything at all interesting. I guess I liked it when she noted that "a cat can look at a king." A fitting epigram for this whole episode?be it a kitchen maid glancing at a cook, a prostitute serving noblewomen, or a Catholic widower defying an Anglican clergyman.

Thomas: It's true, for every gesture of support?as when Anna intervened on Thomas' behalf when Alfred was ribbing him about grieving for Sybil a little too flamboyantly?there are two examples of servant-on-servant squabbling, sniping, and undermining. Maybe Daisy should get out of there as quickly as she can. (And perhaps she should take Mrs. Patmore with her: I bet her jams would bring all the farmers to the fair.)

Stevenson: Do you think, as Lord Grantham does, that it's "ghoulish" to name the baby Sybil? Or will you fondly remember Jessica Brown Findlay whenever you hear the infant's name?

Thomas: Much as I hate to side with Lord Grantham, I confess I am a little creeped out by the child?s name. No one could ever forget Sybil, but do they need to be reminded of her tragic end every time they speak to her daughter? If only Sybil Sr. and Tom had picked out a name in advance.

What did you make of Carson telling Mrs. Hughes, "I know you won't abandon me"? Was Carson just expressing head-of-household solidarity, or was it something more heartfelt?

Stevenson: Seemed like Carson assumed that Mrs. Hughes isn't one of these foxtrotting, rouge-applying Johnny-come-latelies, and that she still appreciates the old attitudes. But Mrs. Hughes has increasingly valued forgiveness for human frailty over outdated rules. I do think she has a tenderness toward Carson, which makes her think he's capable of eventual change. I think, rather than ever abandoning him, she's likely to stick around and nudge him toward it.

What did you think of the scene where Mary holds baby Sybil as Matthew looks on warmly? We sort of lost track of the couple's efforts to conceive. Will they lobby to become parents to their half-Fenian niece? Tom seems set on lighting out with babe in tow, but I'm not sure he should be in such a hurry. I'd like to see him flesh out his plan a bit more.

Thomas: It would make so much sense for Mary and Matthew (which, of course means Anna and a nurse) to look after young Sybil. How can Tom care for his daughter, who is now at her neediest, while setting himself up in a new city, finding a job, and generally dealing with his crippling grief? But it also seems cruel to separate them. Left-footed Sybil is Tom's last connection to pillow-lipped Sybil. In other words, this is a classic soap opera scenario in the making.

Stevenson: It would be somehow very Mary to push Tom aside and claim the baby for herself. Even if it might drive Tom to at last torch Downton.

Though I had heard "kicks with the other foot" used as a code phrase for homosexuality, I had never heard "left-footed" as a euphemism for Catholic. Couldn't understand where that would come from. So I did a quick search, which suggested it has something to do with the configuration of Irish shovels. I confess I'm still pretty confused.

Thomas: Having called Tom a Fenian and a left-footer, I think the only low-grade anti-Catholic slur left to Lord Grantham is "Celtic supporter," but I suppose, being upper-crust, Robert's more of a rugby union man.

I was happy to see Cora given a little more to do this week. She is, for me, the most underused?maybe even misused?character on the show. Other than constantly reminding us that she's different because she's American, Julian Fellowes never seems to know what to do with her. During this episode, I thought she might actually get more than two lines of dialogue, but now that she and Robert are?more or less?reconciled, I suppose it's back to "supportive wife who actually enjoys sleeping with her husband but who has a slightly different worldview because she's a foreigner."

Stevenson: I recognize the importance of reconciling in grief over a lost child. But I don't think Cora should let Robert entirely off the hook. Even if he didn't quite cause Sybil's death, Cora's criticisms remain valid. Robert mindlessly deferred to knighthood. And now he's imposing a religion on his grandchild in order to "please Debrett's." (Which I also had to Google! It is apparently a guide to peerages and baronetages and such.)

Thomas: I am very familiar with Debrett's, having spent many an evening attempting to find Lady Gaga in there. (She is not one of the Hampshire Gagas, incidentally.)

Stevenson: Perhaps Robert was just born this way.

OK, how do you see Thomas' infatuation with Jimmy playing out? I don't think Jimmy is going to keep quiet much longer. This seems ready to come to a boil.

Thomas: I'm not looking forward to the showdown between Jimmy and Thomas, which I suspect will be brutal. Still, I hope it comes soon. Now that we're going to be rid (please God!) of the boring Bates-behind-bars storyline, let's not replace it with endless footman-on-footman discomfiture.

Stevenson: I'm wondering if Thomas' attempts to kick with the other footman will end up pushing his sexuality front and center. Could it become a topic of open conversation around the servants' table? Maybe even upstairs? Or is that going many feet too far?

Thomas: As you may recall, Violet told Robert, "people like us are never unhappily married." I'm pretty sure PLU don't acknowledge the existence of homosexuality, either. Meanwhile, below stairs, Carson is equally obsessed with propriety. So I don't see the servants starting a chapter of PFLAG anytime soon.

Stevenson: I liked Violet's sly prescription for unhappy marital phases: "In these moments, couples are unable to see each other as much as they'd like."

You're right, there will be no rainbow flags draped across Downton's facade. But surely there will be quiet conversations, upstairs and down, if Thomas is somehow outed. And I'd like to hear what various characters might have to say on the matter.

Anyway, it would be more fun than spending another minute with Bates. By the way, when did he lose his chronic, disabling limp? He was strutting around that prison yard at a steady clip! Did I forget some plotline in which Dr. Clarkson miraculously heals him?

Thomas: I noticed that, too. Apparently, York Prison has all the recuperative powers of an expensive continental spa.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=27d93c48d62785aaaa5230530cf7d6c0

60 minutes go daddy Tom Kenny Long Island Medium Alfonso Ribeiro adam sandler College Football Scoreboard

In Israel raid, Syria options severely constrained

Syrian man carries his sister who was wounded in a government airstrike hit the neighborhood of Ansari, in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the regime, said government troops bombarded a building in Aleppo's rebel-held neighborhood of Eastern Ansari that killed over 10 people, including at least five children. (AP Photo/Abdullah al-Yassin)

Syrian man carries his sister who was wounded in a government airstrike hit the neighborhood of Ansari, in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the regime, said government troops bombarded a building in Aleppo's rebel-held neighborhood of Eastern Ansari that killed over 10 people, including at least five children. (AP Photo/Abdullah al-Yassin)

A Syrian boy holds a bird in his hand that he said was injured in a government airstrike hit the neighborhood of Ansari, in Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the regime, said government troops bombarded a building in Aleppo's rebel-held neighborhood of Eastern Ansari that killed over 10 people, including at least five children. (AP Photo/Abdullah al-Yassin)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's defense minister signaled Monday that his country won't hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside Syria, claiming the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime's offensive against rebels he called "tools" of the Jewish state.

The remarks suggest the regime's military options might be severely constrained after 22 months of fighting an uprising that has depleted its weapons and stretched troops thin.

Israel has all but confirmed it was behind Wednesday's airstrike ? a humiliating raid just few miles away from the Syrian capital, Damascus, that added another layer of complication to a chaotic uprising and civil war. U.S. officials said the Israelis struck a military research center and a convoy next to it carrying anti-aircraft weapons destined for the Islamic militant group Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Syria vowed to retaliate, but the threats of retribution were seen by many as exceedingly mild, drawing criticism and mockery from rebels and opposition leaders who called it proof of President Bashar Assad's weakness and acquiescence to Israel.

In a televised interview Monday, Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij indicated that Syria may not be planning to retaliate at all. He said Israel attacked the research center near Damascus because rebels were unable to capture it. He called the rebels Israel's "tools."

He was asked by Syrian state TV why Damascus does not retaliate against Israel.

"The Israeli enemy retaliated. When the Israeli enemy saw that its tools are being chased and did not achieve any (of their) goals, they interfered," he responded. "It was a response to our military acts against the armed gangs," al-Freij added. "The heroic Syrian Arab Army, which proved to the world that it is a strong army and a trained army, will not be defeated."

In surprisingly candid remarks, al-Freij said that rebels have made Syrian air defenses across the country a focus of their attacks over the past months, attacking some with mortars while attempting to seize others in order to incapacitate them.

In response, he said the Syrian leadership decided to station them all in one safe place, leading to "gaps in radar coverage in some areas."

"These gaps became known to the armed gangs and the Israelis who undoubtedly coordinated together to target the research center," he said.

He suggested the army was overstretched and finding difficulty retaining control over several positions across the country, adding they had to abandon some areas to minimize casualties.

Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council executive bureau, dismissed accusations by Syrian leaders that the Israelis were doing the rebels' bidding.

He also told The Associated Press that the military was using the research center to direct battles against rebels in the suburbs of Damascus. He said the area has witnessed clashes between troops and rebels but that the rebels had not attacked the center itself.

In his first comment on the airstrike, Assad said Sunday that that his country would confront any aggression.

"Syria, with the awareness of its people, the might of its army and its adherence to the path of resistance, is able to face the current challenges and confront any aggression that might target the Syrian people," the president was quoted as saying by the state news agency SANA during a meeting with a top Iranian official.

But analysts say the Syrian military should be cautious about overreaching, noting that morale is sagging among many soldiers.

"It would be illogical for the regime in Damascus to engage in an adventure with the Jewish state which would further weaken it and hasten its collapse," wrote George Semaan, a leading columnist in the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily Monday.

A top Iranian official visiting Damascus said Monday that Israel will regret its "latest aggression" on Syria and urged the entire Muslim world to be ready to defend the Syrian people.

"Just as it regretted its aggressions after the 33-day, 22-day and eight-day wars, today the Zionist entity will regret the aggression it launched against Syria," Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran's National Security Council, told a news conference in Damascus. He was referring to past wars between Israel and Hezbollah or the Palestinian Hamas rulers of Gaza.

Iran is Syria's closest regional ally, and Jalili used his three-day visit to pledge Tehran's continued support for Assad's regime.

"The Islamic world will not allow aggression against Syria," he said. "Syria stands on the front line of the Islamic world against the Zionist regime. ... The Islamic world must react appropriately to the Israeli aggression."

Israel has been growing increasingly concerned that Assad, fighting a civil war with rebels who want to overthrow him, is losing his grip on power and on his country's arsenal including chemical weapons.

The strike was apparently meant to prevent Syrian and Iranian ally Hezbollah from acquiring more sophisticated defenses that could have limited Israel's ability to gather intelligence on its enemies from the air.

For years, Israel has been charging that Assad and Iran have been arming Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006.

Still, the airstrike was criticized by some countries vehemently opposed to the Assad regime.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Israel engaged in "state terror."

"Those who have from the very beginning looked in the wrong direction and who have nourished and raised Israel like a spoiled child should always expect such things from Israel," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erdogan as saying.

Saudi Arabia also criticized the strike as a "flagrant violation" against Syria's territory, the kingdom's official SPA news agency reported Monday.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-04-ML-Syria-Israel/id-b6507d3b1aa8409d81fc5b6a20a6c029

2012 oscars the shore meryl streep oscar wins sasha baron cohen oscars oscar winners the artist sacha baron cohen oscars