Church of England General Synod - live blog

General Synod

The archbishops of York and Canterbury. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Archive/Press Association Ima

3.26pm: Just had the first hour or so of General Synod here in Church House, Westminster. While there have been a few nods and winks to the main business for this week's meeting, much of today's action has been taking place off site.

Women and the Church, which has been campaigning for greater sexual equality, held an event earlier today. It is doing a rather good line in ecclesiastical purple tea towels, umbrellas and other paraphernalia proclaiming: "A woman's place is in the House...of Bishops." Nice.

One of the speakers at said rally was Peter Price, the bishop of Bath and Wells. He was asked what would happen if the legislation failed to get the votes it needed in July. He said:

I wish I could say there is a plan B, I don't think there is. The implications of this going down are so far-reaching that we almost dare not face it.

There is a possibility that the legislation won't get the votes needed in July. If it is changed - to offer access to alternative, male leadership for traditionalists - then progressives could kick it into the long grass. If it isn't changed then the traditionalists could kick it into the long grass. It's all very political and very tactical.

I've written a story about the WATCH meeting, it should be on the Guardian website later today and I'll also post a link to it here when it becomes available.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian's live blog from the Church of England General Synod. Why are we liveblogging this? Because we're the Guardian and we'll live blog the opening of an envelope. Seriously, there is a lot up for grabs this week and the key debates focus on the legislation allowing women to become bishops. Think of it as a cheaper, more exciting version of Davos. With cassocks.

The lovely Martin Beckford from the Daily Telegraph has done this handy story outlining who wants what and why:

Women bishops could be ordained by 2014 at the earliest and each of the Church's 44 dioceses would have to develop schemes for how to deal with the conservative evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics who believe scripture and tradition teaches that church leaders must be men.

The Archbishops say the "majority" of bishops are "strongly and positively committed" to the introduction of women bishops, but they are also keen to ensure the Church of England remains a broad church "in which conscientious difference of theological judgement is fully respected."

So the archbishops want women to lead but they want to help those who don't want to be led by women. Christian? Or just annoying?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2012/feb/06/church-of-england-general-synod-live-blog

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Canadian Deals | Kids Clothes | Natural Skin ... - My Real Review

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Source: http://myrealreview.ca/canadian-deals-02-06-2012/

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Volunteer at the Yawkey Family Inn at Children's Hospital Boston ...

5th February 2012

To guarantee the best treatment for their sick children, patient families will travel from across the globe to Children?s Hospital Boston. Many of these families arrive in Boston with just the clothes on their backs and no temporary living arrangements. Newly renovated, named and opened, the Yawkey Family Inn (YFI) is just blocks from the hospital and doubles the amount of affordable housing available to Children?s families. With 22 bedrooms, shared bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and common areas, the YFI offers all of the comforts of home to families during their greatest time of need.

This house was made possible, in large part, by the Yawkey Foundations, which awarded a $3 million gift to support the new home. Additionally, the Family Inn Foundation, a long-term partner of the Yawkey Foundations, generously donated its independently operated Family Inn on Sewall Avenue to the hospital. Created 25 years ago with the support of Jean Yawkey, the Family Inn has provided much needed accommodation for out-of-town patient families.

Last year, the New England Revolution and Major League Soccer donated a greenhouse to Children?s Yawkey Family Inn, bringing sunshine to families who?ve traveled far from home for their child?s care. The staff is looking for volunteers with green thumbs to help keep this space bright. An experienced gardener or gardeners must assess the required needs of the greenhouse, including maintenance, then schedule seasonal plantings, while giving tips to the program staff regarding continued maintenance of the greenhouse, which is located at 241 Kent Street in Brookline. If you are interested, please contact Sharon Healey at 617-919-3455.

Source: http://www.gardenclubbackbay.org/2012/02/05/volunteer-at-the-yawkey-family-inn-at-childrens-hospital-boston/

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Toastmasters: A Surprisingly Effective Small Business Networking ...

?Networking?. Does that word give you the shivers? Or even a deep sense of dread that makes you want to hide under the covers? Don?t worry, you?re not alone. Many small business entrepreneurs feel that way.

But let?s face it: networking is an important tool for small business success. Even if you have the best product or service, with the lowest price possible, if nobody knows about it then you won?t sell anything.

The best way to get more comfortable with the idea of a networking group is to choose the group that works best for you. One group that will make you feel comfortable and at the same time, help you with your business, is Toastmasters.

When you hear ?Toastmasters? you probably think of public speaking rather than networking. And you?d be correct, in a sense. Although public speaking is Toastmaster?s main mandate, there are hidden networking benefits to becoming a member of this group.

At the same time, you will get practice in speaking well in many different settings, while learning how to recognize other people?s body language and to use that knowledge to your advantage.

Another advantage of Toastmasters is that their training provides a variety of communication tools that promote spontaneity in both thoughts and actions. It is also designed to provide its members with performance improvements guaranteed to hone leadership skills, build confidence and improve self-image. All of this happens while you are interacting with other people who may need your product or service, or know someone else who does.

Since communication is a major focus at Toastmasters meetings, you?ll be expected to practice giving speeches. Why not start by giving a speech about your product or service? This way, you?re honing your skills as a public speaker and marketing your business as well!

Doing it this way is a breeze: you no longer have to feel like you are talking to someone at a networking event who is not interested in you. Your Toastmasters colleagues are there for you; they rooting for you. You are just telling your co-members of Toastmasters what you doing for a living. Selling and mingling at the same time!

Toastmasters chapters are available all over the United States and Canada. Although there?s a small monthly cost to be a member, your investment will certainly pay off as you take advantage of this not-so-obvious small business networking group.

Want to find out more about small business networking groups, then visit Barbra Sundquist?s home business website.

Source: http://art.redbright.co.za/toastmasters-a-surprisingly-effective-small-business-networking-group/

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Hackers intercept FBI, Scotland Yard call

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Britain's for-most and largest police serviceFriday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged . At the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Britain's for-most and largest police serviceFriday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged . At the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Britain's for-most and largest police serviceFriday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged. At the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, Britain's foremost and largest police service, Friday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged. At the heart of a conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

(AP) ? They trade jokes, chuckle and talk shop about a hacker plot called "Project Mayhem."

But at the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.

Unfortunately for the cyber sleuths, the hackers were listening, too ? and now so is the rest of the world.

Anonymous published the roughly 15-minute-long recording of the call to the Internet early Friday, gloating in a Twitter message that "the FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."

The FBI said the information "was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained" but that no FBI systems were breached. It added that "a criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible."

It's not entirely clear how the hackers got their hands on the recording, which appears to have been edited to bleep out the names of some of the suspects being discussed.

Amid the material published by Anonymous was an email purportedly sent by an FBI agent to international law enforcement agencies. It invites his foreign counterparts to join the call to "discuss the ongoing investigations related to Anonymous ... and other associated splinter groups" on Jan. 17 at 4 p.m.

The message ? addressed to law enforcement officials in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and France ? contained a phone number and password for accessing the call.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation, told The Associated Press that authorities were looking at the possibility that the message was intercepted after a private email account of one of the invited participants was compromised.

Graham Cluley, an expert with data security company Sophos, said that knowing the time, telephone number and passcode for the call meant it was all too easy to spy on the investigators.

"Even my ironing lady could have rung in and silently listened to the call just like Anonymous did," Cluley said in an email, calling the fiasco "highly embarrassing for the cops."

Scotland Yard said that they had seen no immediate information that their operations had been compromised ? but the discussions appear to be sensitive.

Amid jokes about a teenage hacking suspect and light-hearted banter about McDonalds, the investigators seem to discuss whether to delay the arrest of two hacking suspects in order to give the FBI more time to pursue its side of the investigation.

Updates are given on the status of inquiries stretching from Los Angeles to Baltimore to England's West Midlands and Ireland, with one member of Scotland Yard's central e-crime unit telling the FBI that British police had recently arrested a 15-year-old they might be interested in with relation to a recent breach at U.S. videogame company Valve Corp.

"Yeah that's fantastic," an FBI official says in response. "We actually do have a pending investigation looking into that compromise."

An email to the FBI official leading the call was not immediately returned, while the e-Crime investigator referred questions to Scotland Yard's press office. The press office confirmed that it had someone on the call but said it would be making no further comment.

Most sensitive appears to be discussion of what legal strategy to pursue in the cases of Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis ? two British suspects linked to Anonymous. The U.K. police official on the call said that prosecutors were secretly going to court to delay procedures in order to give FBI more time to do more work on a related case.

When the FBI official thanks his U.K. counterpart for the favor, the Briton says cheerily: "We're here to help!"

Karen Todner, a lawyer for Cleary, said that the recording could be "incredibly sensitive" and warned that such data breaches had the potential to derail the police's work.

"If they haven't secured their email it could potentially prejudice the investigation," she told the AP.

The breach is likely to act as a wakeup call to law enforcement agencies globally, said Marcus Carey, who spent years securing communications for the NSA before joining security-risk assessment firm Rapid7.

"A law enforcement agency using unencrypted, unsecure communications is a major fumble," Carey said. "What if this event was talking about some terrorist plot to blow up something and 'they' were listening in? It could've been much worse if it was related to an al-Qaida plot or something ... So this is a lesson learned."

In Paris, a French police official who was briefed on the interception said that it could prompt international law enforcement bodies to be more circumspect about sharing information in conference calls. He spoke on condition that his name be withheld, saying he wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

Anonymous appears to have had a busy Friday. The group also claimed credit for defacing the Boston Police Department's website, saying it was retaliating for police brutality at against Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Anonymous, an amorphous collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists, has increasingly focused its attention on law enforcement agencies in general and the FBI in particular.

The hackers' traditional targets include the Church of Scientology, the music industry, and financial companies such as Visa and MasterCard but has since expanded to include government, police, and military targets.

Dozens of suspected members and supporters have been arrested across the world.

___

Associated Press Writers Pete Yost in Washington, Cassandra Vinograd in London and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

(This version CORRECTS Corrects day in 4th paragraph to Friday. This story is part of AP's general news and financial services.)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-02-03-Hacking-FBI/id-c47ff8b19715410caa7e68af45a40194

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New drug doesn't improve disability among stroke patients, researchers find

ScienceDaily (Feb. 3, 2012) ? A new drug that showed promise in animal studies and an early clinical trial didn't improve disability among stroke patients, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.

After a stroke and other types of brain damage, the brain naturally produces more granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). The protein can prevent further cell injury by protecting nerve cells and boosting blood vessel growth.

The new drug, AX200, is a manufactured form of G-CSF.

Ninety days after treatment, patients receiving AX200 or a placebo both scored a three on the 0-6 modified Rankin scale, a common test for stroke-related disability.

In a secondary analysis, also at day 90, researchers assessed patients with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. The difference between the drug and placebo was less than half a point (8.88 on AX200 vs. 8.45 on placebo), which was statistically insignificant.

"These top line results are disappointing and unexpected to us because AX200 showed signs of efficacy in a previous clinical trial with a limited number of patients, as well as in numerous animal studies," said Bernd Ringelstein, M.D., lead author of the study and Professor of Neurology at the University of M?nster, Germany.

"At this time, we cannot speculate about their implications, but our current conclusion is that we were not able to show efficacy for AX200 as a treatment for acute ischemic stroke. We will have to analyze the complete data set in order to fully understand these results."

The study was conducted between August 2009 and November 2011 on 328 patients at 78 stroke treatment centers in eight European countries. The average age of the patients was 69 years and 52 percent were male.

Continuous intravenous infusion of AX200 began within nine hours of first symptoms and lasted for three days. Neither patients nor researchers knew which participants randomly received the drug or placebo.

In the United States, stroke is the No. 4 killer and a primary cause of long-term disability among adults. The most common type, ischemic stroke, is caused by a blocked blood vessel to the brain.

Stroke warning signs are:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
  • Sudden severe headache with no known cause

If any of the symptoms occur, call 9-1-1 immediately, the American Stroke Association advises.

Co-authors are Vincent Thjis, M.D., Ph.D.; Angel Chamorro, M.D.; Martin Grond, M.D., Ph.D.; Jeffrey Saver, M.D.; Bo Norrving, M.D.; and Franz Aichner, M.D.

SYGNIS Bioscience funded the study.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/QHKsBH3TsKE/120203113322.htm

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Account Exec - Business Sales - Syracuse, NY Jobs - Careers.org

Responsibilities
Performance excellence - that's Verizon Wireless. We're committed to doing and being the best, and we've worked hard to build a foundation of service, integrity, trust and respect. We're innovative thinkers, relentlessly pursuing unmatched technology and service. If you're looking to join a company that takes care of its customers, employees, and the communities in which we live, work and play, you should consider a career with Verizon Wireless as a Business Sales Account Executive. You're a winner - full of ambition, confidence and determination. With your excellent interpersonal skills, you find opportunity wherever you go, and if it's not there to be found, you create it. Self-assured, accomplished and respected in your pursuits, you have an insatiable desire for new conquests and achievements. You have that innate ability to educate and enlighten others, and your trustworthy, persuasive manner makes you a natural closer. If the idea of applying those gifts to selling the latest and greatest technology excites you, then you should consider becoming a Business Sales Account Executive with Verizon Wireless.

You should have three to five years of outside sales experience, including having a territory and cold calling; a college degree is preferred. You'll need to absorb large amounts of technical knowledge and be able to succeed in a commission environment. That, along with amazing communication and time-management skills, will serve you well in this dynamic, independent role. In return for all of your efforts, we'll be very proud to offer you comprehensive benefits that are truly Total Rewards, including: award-winning training, a competitive salary, medical/dental/vision from day one, 401(k), work-life programs, phone discounts, generous tuition assistance, and limitless opportunities for advancement.

We are an equal opportunity employer m/f/d/v.

It takes dedicated, hard-working people like you to provide the nation's best, most reliable wireless network. That's why we offer some of the best benefits around. And the best part is, the day you start is the day your medical/dental/vision/life insurance, paid vacation, training and tuition reimbursement benefits start.

We also know how important work/life issues are in today's marketplace. And we reward you with competitive time off and employee assistance programs so you can manage work with the rest of your life.

Careers.org gives you access to over a million jobs and career opportunities across the US including in Syracuse. Find your perfect job and apply directly through a simply online application process

Source: http://jobs.careers.org/job/J3G3P06QDS3PDD59VNT/Account-Exec---Business-Sales

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Swiss voters to decide on mandatory army service (AP)

GENEVA ? Switzerland's government says an advocacy group has collected enough signatures to prompt a vote on whether to end the nation's long tradition of compulsory army service.

The Federal Chancellery said Thursday that the Group for a Switzerland Without an Army, or GSoA, collected 106,995 valid signatures. At least 100,000 signatures were needed to hold the vote.

A 19th century law requires all able-bodied male citizens to serve between the ages of 19 and 34 for an initial basic training of up to 21 weeks and then a few weeks a year after that.

Two-thirds of Swiss voters backed keeping military duty in 1989. GSoA says a new vote would be held after the Defense Ministry reports back on the proposal a year from now.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120202/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_army

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Megaupload founder refused bail in New Zealand (Reuters)

WELLINGTON (Reuters) ? A New Zealand court refused an appeal by the founder of online file-sharing site Megaupload.com to be freed on bail, Friday, agreeing with prosecutors there was a risk he would attempt to flee before an extradition hearing.

Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, was returned to custody until February 22 ahead of a hearing on an extradition application by the United States.

The High Court in Auckland said the lower court judge was right to rule there was a significant risk Dotcom, who had passports and bank accounts in three names, might try to flee the country.

There was nothing to tie Dotcom to New Zealand except his motivation to fight the charges and get his funds, Justice Raynor Asher said.

"The judge correctly concluded that the risk of flight cannot be mitigated by the imposition of conditions, including electronic monitoring," said prosecutor Anne Toohey.

STRENUOUSLY DENIES CHARGES

Prosecutors say Dotcom was the ringleader of a group that netted $175 million since 2005 by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorization.

Dotcom's lawyers say the company simply offered online storage and that he strenuously denies the charges and will fight extradition.

Dotcom, 38, and three others, were arrested on January 20 after armed New Zealand police raided his country estate at the request of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He told the court that with his assets frozen and business shut down he had no intention of trying to flee to his native Germany, where he would be safe from extradition.

"I will not run away. I want to fight these allegations on a level playing field. I have three little children. My wife is pregnant with twins. I just want to be with them," he said in court.

EXTREME FLIGHT RISK, FUNNY VISITS

The prosecution again painted Dotcom as an extreme flight risk because of he had multiple passports, sources of funds, access to various means of travel, and previous history of fleeing to avoid criminal charges.

Officers cut Dotcom out of a safe room he had barricaded himself in within the sprawling mansion, reputedly New Zealand's most expensive home.

Dotcom said he said he had received "funny visits" and contacts while in jail, including one from a man claiming to be a prosecutor asking for money in return for a favorable bail hearing. He denied knowing anyone with a background in providing forged documents, whom the prosecution said had tried to visit him.

He said police had been unnecessarily aggressive when they raided his property.

"I was punched in the face, I was kicked down on the floor, one guy was standing on my hands ... it was bleeding."

Legal experts have said extradition hearings are likely to be drawn out with appeals likely all the way to the country's highest court.

The lower court judge said the accused appeared to have "an arguable defense at least in respect of the breach of copyright charges."

(Writing by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Ed Lane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120203/ts_nm/us_internet_piracy_megaupload

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Taliban "poised to retake Afghanistan" after NATO pullout (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? A secret U.S. military report says that the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control over Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Lt Col Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), confirmed the document's existence but said it was not a strategic study of operations.

"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis."

Nevertheless, it could be interpreted as a damning assessment of the war, now dragging into its eleventh year and aimed at blocking a Taliban return to power, or possibly an admission of defeat.

It could also reinforce the view of Taliban hardliners that the group should not negotiate peace with the United States and President Hamid Karzai's unpopular government while in a position of strength.

The document cited by Britain's The Times said that Pakistan's powerful security agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was assisting the Taliban in directing attacks against foreign forces.

The allegations drew a strong response from Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit. "This is frivolous, to put it mildly," he told Reuters. "We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan."

The Times said the "highly classified" report was put together by the U.S. military at Bagram air base in Afghanistan for top NATO officers last month. The BBC also carried a report on the leaked document.

Large swathes of Afghanistan have already been handed back to Afghan security forces, with the last foreign combat troops due to leave by the end of 2014.

But many Afghans doubt their army, security forces or police will be able to take firm control of one of the world's most volatile countries once foreign combat troops leave.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul declined to comment on the report.

The accusations will likely further strain ties between Western powers and Islamabad, which has long denied backing militant groups seeking to topple the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was visiting Kabul on Wednesday on a mission to repair strained diplomatic ties with Afghanistan's government and to meet Karzai to discuss possible peace talks with the Taliban.

TURBULENT HISTORY

Pakistan is currently reviewing ties with the United States which have suffered a series of setbacks since a unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in May last year humiliated Pakistan's powerful generals.

A November 26 cross-border NATO air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers deepened the crisis, prompting Islamabad to suspend supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, a feat one foreign power after another has failed to accomplish over the country's turbulent history.

Islamabad has resisted U.S. pressure to go after insurgent groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani network, and argues Washington's approach overlooks complex realities on the ground.

Pakistan says Washington should attempt to bring all militant groups into the peace process and fears a 2014 combat troop exit could be hasty, plunging the region into the kind of chaos seen after the Soviet exit in 1989.

"They (the Taliban) don't need any backing. Everybody knows that after 10 years, they (NATO) have not been able to control a single province in Afghanistan because of the wrong policies they have been following," Pakistani Senator Tariq Azim, a member of the Senate's Defence Committee, told Reuters.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks."

Little said U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta "has also been clear that he believes that the safe havens in Pakistan remain a serious problem and need to be addressed by Pakistani authorities".

The document's findings were based on interrogations of more than 4,000 Taliban and al Qaeda detainees, the Times said, adding that it identified only few individual insurgents.

A State Department spokesman and Britain's Foreign Office both declined comment on the report.

Despite the presence of about 100,000 foreign troops, violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001, according to the United Nations.

The Taliban announced this month they would open a political office in the Qatari capital Doha to support possible peace talks with the United States.

But there has also been talk of efforts to hold separate talks in Saudi Arabia because Karzai fears his government could be sidelined by U.S. talks with the Taliban.

The report could boost the Taliban's confidence and make its leaders less willing to make concessions on key U.S. demands for a ceasefire and for the insurgency to renounce violence and break all ties to al Qaeda.

Hoping to gain credibility with a population still haunted by memories of the Taliban's harsh rule from 1996-2001, the group has tried to improve its image as its fighters battle NATO and Afghan forces.

The Times said the document suggested the Taliban were gaining in popularity partly because the austere Islamist movement was becoming more tolerant.

"It remains to be seen whether a revitalized, more progressive Taliban will endure if they continue to gain power and popularity," it quoted the report as saying.

"Regardless, at least within the Taliban, the refurbished image is already having a positive effect on morale."

Prominent Pakistani security analyst Imtiaz Gul described the report as alarmist, saying Afghan security forces backed by the international community would resist any Taliban takeover.

"This is simply preposterous to propagate this theory," he said.

(Additional reporting by Dan Magnowski in KABUL and Qasim Nauman in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120201/wl_nm/us_afghanistan

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