CIA interrogation techniques 'amounting to torture' - report

WASHINGTON - The CIA misled the White House and public about its torture of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks and acted more brutally and pervasively than it acknowledged, a U.S. Senate report said on Tuesday, drawing calls to prosecute American officials.

The Senate Intelligence Committee's five-year review of 6.3 million pages of CIA documents concluded that the intelligence agency failed to disrupt a single plot despite torturing al Qaeda and other captives in secret facilities worldwide between 2002 and 2006, when George W. Bush was president.

The CIA interrogation program was devised by two agency contractors to squeeze information from suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The interrogations took place in countries that included Afghanistan, Poland and Romania.

Some captives were deprived of sleep for up to 180 hours, at times with their hands shackled above their heads, and the report recorded cases of simulated drowning or "waterboarding" and sexual abuse, including "rectal feeding" or "rectal hydration" without any documented medical need.

It described one secret CIA prison, its location not identified, as a "dungeon" where detainees were kept in total darkness and shackled in isolated cells, bombarded with loud noise and given only a bucket in which to relieve themselves.

Committee chair Dianne Feinstein, speaking on the Senate floor after releasing the report, said the techniques in some cases amounted to torture and that "the CIA's actions, a decade ago, are a stain on our values, and on our history."

The U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, said the report revealed a "clear policy orchestrated at a high level within the Bush administration" and called for prosecution of U.S. officials.

Civil rights advocates also called for accountability.

"Unless this important truth-telling process leads to prosecution of the officials responsible, torture will remain a 'policy option' for future presidents," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch in New York.

The CIA dismissed the findings, saying its interrogations secured valuable information. Many Republicans criticized the decision by Democratic lawmakers to release the report, which was put together by the committee's Democratic majority, saying it would put Americans at risk.

The report found the techniques used were "far more brutal" than the CIA told the public or policymakers. Before the report's release, the United States boosted security at its military and diplomatic facilities abroad.

The report said the CIA had tried to justify its use of torture by giving examples of what it called "thwarted" terrorist plots and suspect captures, but the "representations were inaccurate and contradicted by the CIA's own records."

CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS UNLIKELY

Despite the calls for accountability, there seemed little prospect of criminal prosecutions of those who implemented the program, or measures to hold politicians who authorized it accountable.

A law enforcement official said the U.S. Justice Department had no plans to conduct any investigation of the CIA's actions.

Intelligence officials said that at one point, the Justice Department, through a specially designated prosecutor, conducted a criminal investigation into around 20 cases of allegations the CIA abused detainees. However, that investigation was closed without charges being filed.

President Barack Obama signaled he was more interested in focusing on the future than reopening a dark and contentious period from the country's recent past.

While in office Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, and other Bush administration officials said the "harsh interrogation" program was justified by results that included halting plots and catching terrorists.

Bush ended many aspects of the program before leaving office, and Obama swiftly banned "enhanced interrogation techniques" after his 2009 inauguration.

FAULTY INTELLIGENCE

The report says CIA records showed that seven of 39 CIA detainees subjected to harsh interrogations produced no intelligence at all while in CIA custody. Others made up stories, "resulting in faulty intelligence."

The CIA had failed to use adequately trained and vetted personnel, the report said. The two psychologists contracted to set up the program and run it had no experience in interrogation or specialized knowledge of al Qaeda.

The report accuses the CIA of failing to thoroughly brief Bush about the interrogation techniques. Senate investigators said official records suggested that while the CIA planned to brief Bush in 2002, the White House subsequently told the agency Bush was not getting the briefing.

Investigators say Bush was not fully briefed on the program until 2006, around the time he shut it down, and expressed discomfort at learning the full details. In his memoirs Bush said he had been briefed on the program.

Republican Senator John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s, said Americans were entitled to the truth about the program and its disclosure that such methods were ineffective.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jollibee dubbed 'most inventive food spot' in US

MANILA – New York-based website Thrillist has featured the homegrown restaurant chain Jollibee, calling it “the most inventive fast food spot” in the United States.

In an article titled “Jollibee has the most unusual fast food in the country,” Thrillist writer Dan Gentile noted the restaurant’s fast food offerings, which go beyond the usual burger and fries combination of McDonald’s and other rival companies.

Jollibee is known for serving items such as spaghetti, burger steak, pancit, tuna pie, corned beef, macaroni soup and garlic bangus, among others.

“They are the Captain Planet of fast food,” according to the article, referring to the fictional hero summoned by five teenagers.

The Thrillist article also singled out Jollibee’s Amazing Aloha burger, saying it is “like a crazy foreign fast food item that somehow snuck onto American soil.”

The Amazing Aloha burger, which was once hailed by Businessweek as one of the “world’s most original burgers,” was featured by chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain.

“That’s a very tasty burger,” Bourdain said.

According to its website, Jollibee has over 750 stores, with branches in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong and Singapore.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Consumers say 'Show me the bargains'

U.S. consumers say the deals had better be good if retailers want them to spend their money this weekend.

This is the earliest Thanksgiving since 2007, giving consumers plenty of time to get their shopping done before Christmas and Black Friday deals are designed to get consumers in the spending mood.

A Black Friday shopping survey by the National Retail Federation says as many as 147 million people plan to shop this weekend, down from the 152 million who planned to do so last year. While 71 million said they definitely planned to shop, 76 million others said they would wait and see what retailers had in-store.

"Though the Black Friday tradition is here to stay, there's no question that it has changed in recent years," NRF President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Shay said in a statement. "It's critical for retail companies to constantly evolve as consumers do, and right now shoppers want great deals, good value, and convenience -- exactly what we're seeing with this season's late and early openings, price-matching, layaway and mobile offerings."

Nearly half of shoppers say they keep up with advertising circulars throughout the holiday and more than 30 percent say they watch for television ads. A growing number of U.S. shoppers are keeping track online. The NRF said nearly 27 percent will follow retailers' websites and 31 percent will track emails from retailers to get the latest holiday announcements.

"The days of waking up Thanksgiving morning to find out what retailers' Black Friday promotions will be has transitioned into an ongoing dialogue between companies and their customers starting days in advance," BIGinsight Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow said. "Through sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, company blogs, emails and mobile apps, consumers can connect with their favorite retailers like never before."

Discover says consumers plan to spend more this holiday season than last year, as long as retailers are offering good deals. The 2012 Discover Annual Holiday Shopping Survey suggests spending will jump to an average of $838 this year, up from $748 in 2011.

Half of consumers say they plan to spend about the same as they did in 2011, and 23 percent plan to spend more this year. Forty-two percent say retailers' sales and promotions will most influence their holiday spending.

The Discover survey suggests 46 percent of shoppers plan to spend $100 to $500, 26 percent, say they plan to spend $500 to $1,000 and 14 percent say they plan to spend $1,000 to $5,000.

Consumers are looking for good deals online, as well as incentives such as free shipping. Discover said 75 percent of consumers plan to shop around online for better prices.

"When asked to choose from the following five online deals they are looking for, shoppers ranked free shipping first with 79 percent, followed by exclusive sales and offers, coupon codes, early access to sales and Facebook-exclusive promotions," Discover said.

Retailers are expecting to see a boost in mobile shopping this year. The NRF said nearly 53 percent of those who own smartphones and nearly two-thirds of those who own tablets plan to use their devices to research and purchase holiday gifts, food and decor.

Walmart is providing special perks to customers who "like" their Facebook page or download Walmart's mobile app, offering early access to specials and information, the company said.

The Walmart app allows customers to use the "in-store mode" on their smart phones to view local ads, access local store pricing and see the aisle location of products carried in that specific store.

Cyber Monday is a growing trend among shoppers looking to take advantage of special online deals that can save them the hassle of heading out to the shopping mall.

Forty-one percent of respondents to the PriceGrabber.com's third winter holiday shopping survey said they planned to shop on Cyber Monday, up from 37 percent last year and 33 percent in 2010. The online shoppers said they wanted to take advantage of one-day deals, discounts and free-shipping offers.

While Cyber Monday is often associated with employees returning to the office after the Thanksgiving weekend only to spend most of their time browsing for holiday deals online, PriceGrabber's survey suggests 83 percent of people planned to do their Cyber Monday shopping from home.

Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics for PriceGrabber.com, said clothing and consumer electronics are expected to be the top gift purchases on Cyber Monday.

Plans by Target, Sears and Walmart to get a jump on Black Friday by opening stores Thursday night have sparked fears of employee and consumer backlash.

"Retailers are under immense pressure to get the holiday shopping season off to a strong start," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in the firm's holiday shopping outlook. "As big box chains face growing competition from discounters like Target and Walmart, not to mention the fierce competition from online retailers like Amazon.com, they are all compelled to find whatever edge they can to get shoppers into their stores,"

Challenger warned, however, retailers are taking a risk by being open on a day set aside for giving thanks.

"Not only is there the risk of creating disgruntled workers, who feel they have no choice but to accept the holiday hours in this economy, but in the wake of the worst recession since the Great Depression, some Americans have soured on the corporate excess and the profits-at-any-cost mentality that some say helped hasten the economic meltdown," Challenger said.

However, he said, it is not as if no one works on Thanksgiving.

"You can't close hospitals or fire departments," he said. "Grocery stores provide essential last-minute Thanksgiving meal items, but also baby formula, medicine and other products that should be obtainable every day of the year. Some would even argue that the NFL provides a necessary service in the form of family entertainment and bonding. However, it would be difficult to argue that the need to buy a deeply discounted DVD player or LCD television cannot wait another eight to 10 hours."

The NRF 2012 holiday spending survey of 9,383 consumers was conducted by BIGinsight Nov. 1-6. The margin of error is 1 percentage point. The Discover survey of 506 male and 497 female adults was conducted by Penn Schoen Berland Oct. 26-30.

source: upi.com

White House forecasts stubbornly high unemployment

WASHINGTON - White House economists on Friday predicted that unemployment will fall only slightly by the end of the year, amid modest economic growth and a dangerously high budget deficit.

The Office of Management and Budget showed little in the way of optimism about the state of the world's largest economy, forecasting unemployment of 7.9 percent by year-end, compared with 8.2 percent today.

The White House unit also predicted that 2012 growth would come in around 2.6 percent, not fast enough to bring down painfully high levels of joblessness, which remain the biggest obstacle to a solid recovery and President Barack Obama's chances of re-election in November.

The 2012 budget deficit is expected to reach $1.21 trillion, around $116 billion less than first expected, but still astronomically high, at 7.8 percent of gross domestic product.

Amid rolling crises spilling over from Europe and twitchy consumers and investors at home, the US economy has struggled for four years to recover from the "Great Recession."

Earlier estimates had expected growth of around 2.7 percent this year, with unemployment of 8.9 percent.

Obama's allies in Congress seized on the latest figures as evidence of the need for Republicans to accept the president's plans to juice the economy.

"There is much more work to be done to bolster our recovery," said Congressman Chris Van Hollen. "It is more important than ever to pass the president's jobs package, which has been sitting before the House of Representatives since September."

Republican oppose the plan because it would raise taxes on those earning over $200,000 a year.

source: interaksyon.com

Episcopalians set to be first big US church to bless gay marriage

INDIANAPOLIS -- The US Episcopal Church is poised to become the first major religious denomination in the United States to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages after its bishops overwhelmingly approved such a liturgy on Monday.

The proposed blessing was agreed by the church's Chamber of Bishops at a meeting in Indianapolis and is expected to receive final approval from its House of Deputies later this week, Ruth Meyers, a chair of the Episcopalians' Subcommittee on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music, told Reuters.

The decision would go into effect in December and make the Episcopal Church, an independent US-based institution affiliated with global Anglicanism, the biggest US church to allow a liturgy for same-sex marriages.

The Episcopal Church is the 14th-largest denomination in the United States with nearly 2 million adherents, according to the National Council of Churches.

The United Church of Christ, a mainstream Protestant denomination with about a million members, has gone further so far than any other US church, voting in 2005 to support same sex marriage.

The new Episcopal same-sex liturgy, called "the Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant," would be a standard rite for same-sex marriage.

For the past three years, bishops have been able approve requests for the blessing of same-sex marriages and Jeffrey Lee, the Bishop of Chicago, said he had authorized such ceremonies using an earlier version of the liturgy.

Resistance to similar measures in the past has been strongest among bishops, but Monday's vote was 111 in favor to 41 opposed with three abstentions.

The convention also approved inclusion of transgender people among those who should not be discriminated against, either for ordination or as lay leaders.

"Today the Episcopal Church affirmed the human dignity of a deeply stigmatized population that is far too often victim to discrimination, bullying and abuse," the Reverend Lowell Grisham, a leader of the Chicago Consultation, a group that supports equality, said in a statement.

The Episcopal Church allowed gay priests 16 years ago and approved its first openly gay bishop nine years ago.

The decision by the bishops is the latest in a string of victories for gay-rights advocates in the United States. Gay marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia.

The legislatures of three states -- New Jersey, Maryland and Washington -- approved gay marriage this year, although New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed it. Governors in the other two states signed the legislation but there are efforts to block it by referendum.

President Barack Obama endorsed gay marriage in May.

On Friday, the Presbyterian Church, the 10th-ranked US denomination, narrowly rejected a proposal to redefine marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The global Anglican Communion groups independent national churches, which develop their own rules for ordination and other matters pertaining to membership and conduct.

source: interaksyon.com

Defense cooperation topping Obama-Aquino meeting

MANILA, Philippines - The meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and United States President Barack Obama on Friday (at dawn Saturday, Manila time) will center on strengthened defense cooperation, Palace officials said, fanning concern raised by Beijing about the US projecting muscle in the region.

"The meeting will provide the President the opportunity to convey the Aquino administration’s good governance efforts and its economic and social impact, as well as discuss the Philippines’ efforts to build a minimum credible defense posture," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

Prior to Aquino's meeting with Obama, the Philippines was reported to have agreed to allow US vessels to use naval and air facilities in Subic, Zambales and in Clarkfield, Pampanga---sites of what used to be the largest military bases outside the US mainland, until the Philippine Senate rejected an extension of the bases treaty over 20 years ago. Philippine authorities later clarified this would happen only whenever there are joint military exercises being held.

US vessels will also be allowed to make port of calls for refueling and supply replenishment as part of Washington's move to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Obama-Aquino meeting comes just a few days after Pentagon chief Leon Panetta announced, at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, a shift in the deployment focus of US naval presence, with the bulk going to the Pacific.

Reacting to this, Beijing decried what it said was Washington’s apparent effort to project its military muscle in an area where Beijing had earlier been painted as acting like a bully towards smaller countries which have overlapping claims with it on certain maritime territory.

More mobile deployment – Carandang

In an interview in Washington, Communications Development chief Ricky Carandang said US presence in the Philippines will be in the form of a "more mobile and less permanent deployment."

Before his meeting with Obama, Aquino will first meet with officials of Citigroup, Inc. and the United States Agency for International Development Friday evening.

"The courtesy call will provide the President with the opportunity to discuss the proposals of Citi and USAID, as well as thank USAID for the new grants extended to the Philippines," Vate said.

Aquino will also attend a luncheon hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and seen to give Mr. Aquino an opportunity “to express appreciation to Secretary Clinton for her progressive diplomacy that brought the US closer to East Asia and the Pacific, as well as engage Secretary Clinton in discussions on Philippines-US alliance," Valte added.

The President will depart for Los Angeles at 3:30 am on Saturday (Manila time).

source: interaksyon.com

'American Idol' recap: Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips vie for the win

Well, America, who will it be? The powerhouse singer with the gorgeous tone, total control and just enough grit to make it seem perfectly imperfect or the soulful crooner with a sound all his own?

The 16-year-old with a sweet smile, a perhaps precocious taste for high heels and a passionate performance style, or the sly guy with a sneaky glint in his eye, a handsomely scruffy look, twitchy tendencies onstage and a steady insistence on doing things his own way?

The girl, who'd be the first female winner in years and the only contestant ever to have made it to the finals after having been saved by the judges, or the boy, who resembles the show's recent winners and has never been in real danger of elimination?

Personally, I like them both, though in different ways and for different reasons. I like the way Phillip Phillips sings. I admire that he is who he is and no one else. I find his performance style peculiarly riveting. I dig his guitar riffs and I really like that chicken walk he sometimes does and the mad-bird stomp. I even find it cute that he has a hard time saying anything coherent into a mic, like a young Elvis and prefers to let his music speak for him. It makes him seem winningly shy and genuine.

Also Phillips has all along been the contestant whose album I'd be most likely to buy. (Elise Testone, perhaps, too.)

But let me be clear, Jessica Sanchez has the better voice. And it's a singing competition. If we were to choose a winner by vocal power and tone and beauty alone, Sanchez would win. Hands down. Case closed. End of story.

So who will win? It's anyone's guess, and it's hard to predict how Tuesday night's final performance show will tip the balance. Sanchez power-balladed. Phillips crooned. The judges said a few wishy-washy things. And then, after Phillips sang his final song, they gave him a standing ovation and indicated they thought he just might have hit a game-winning home run.

In fact, both contestants did well, overall, with some performances better than others. Each sang three songs: Round 1 was Simon Fuller's choice. Round 2 was the contestants' choice, reprising a song they had previously sung on the show. Round 3 was their official "winner's song," the first single they'll release following the competition. Phillips, who had won a coin toss, had chosen to perform second, giving him an advantage.

In Round 1, Sanchez turned in a powerful, polished performance of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing." Phillips responded with a sleepy take on the classic "Stand by Me." After some noncommittal hemming and hawing from Lopez about how voters should pick the person who made them "feel something," Randy Jackson gave the first round "probably" to Sanchez. The other judges ultimately agreed.

Round 2 was closer. Sanchez soulfully sang "The Prayer," which Ryan Seacrest reminded us had "earned her a spot in the top 24." Phillips reprised "Movin' Out," from Billy Joel night, giving a somewhat less exciting, yet also somehow sleeker and more confident performance than he had the first time around. The judges were split, with Tyler giving the round to Sanchez, Jackson calling it "a dead heat," and Lopez contending Phillips claimed it, thanks to his authenticity.

In Round 3, Sanchez was saddled with a "winner's song," "Change Nothing," that was sort of a loser. She still sounded great on it, but there really wasn't much in the lyrics or the melody to connect to. The judges were not kind. Jackson said he "did not love the song," adding he missed Sanchez's urban "swag," but praised her for doing with it what she could. Lopez advised Sanchez to assert herself more, in future, when presented with material that didn't suit her, adding, "Everything has to be you, Jessica, so you can be you, which is really good." Tyler also "didn't feel like that song was the proper song," driving the point with a pitiful, "Yeah, baby."

Then Phillips gave his best performance of the night (though he hadn't set a terribly high bar), with "Home," on which he was backed by, among other things, a passel of marching drummers.

The judges gave him a standing O.

Jackson was beside himself. "Dude, I loved the song. I loved you. I loved the production. I loved the marching band. Everything about that was perfect. I loved it," he said, dubbing it a "true artist performance … brilliant … genius."

Lopez praised Phillips for being "so different," saying the song sounded like nothing on the radio today.

Tyler compared Phillips to Paul Simon and said, "By virtue of your vulnerability and style, you have made the world your home, my friend … and I think you are the man."

So does that mean Phillips has clinched this thing? Or will Sanchez's fans feel more motivated than ever now to vote for her?

We'll find out Wednesday. Who do you think should be crowned "American Idol's" Season 11 winner?

source: latimes.com

Over 55 and jobless, Americans face tough hunt

WASHINGTON - Jean Coyle, 67, has a new kind of ministry. The former professor had just begun a career as a Presbyterian minister in Virginia when the economic downturn forced her church to let her go in 2007. After that, she found only temporary work.

She relied on savings while job hunting, but at 64, had to dip into her Social Security benefits. She officially retired in 2010. For spending money, she plans to start teaching a water aerobics class to earn $40 a week.

"I'm not going to get wealthy on that," she said. "It's not really the ministry I expected to have."

Coyle is among the many unemployed, older Americans who, while struggling to reenter the workforce, have growing worries that their retirement security is at risk.

The number of long-term unemployed workers aged 55 and older has more than doubled since the recession began in late 2007, and getting back to work is increasingly difficult, according to a government report being released on Tuesday.

For unemployed seniors, the chances of reentering the workforce are grim.

Experts worry that unemployed seniors face a long-term threat as the impact of lost wages compounds.

In what should there be prime earning years, these older workers rely on savings, miss out on potential wages and prematurely tap into Social Security - all at a time when Americans live longer and health care and other living costs are rising.

About 55 percent of jobless seniors, or 1.1 million, have been unemployed for more than six months, up from 23 percent, or less than 200,000, four years earlier, according to a copy of the Government Accountability Office report obtained by Reuters.

The GAO, a non-partisan investigative arm of Congress, also found that years of lost work significantly reduced retirement income, particularly for those with defined contribution retirement plans.

Overall, older workers fare better than their younger counterparts, with a lower unemployment rate and less risk of losing jobs, the GAO found, even as it highlighted the struggles of jobless seniors.

"Long-term unemployment has particularly serious implications for older Americans," the GAO said in its report to the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Those seniors who continue looking for work amid a tepid economic recovery confront competition from younger, cheaper workers. They also must keep pace with ever-changing technology.

Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Special Committee on Aging who is to lead a hearing on the issue on Tuesday, is investigating ways to counter age discrimination and boost seniors' job prospects.

"These are the people we should be most worried about," he said. "With the aging of the baby-boom generation, the fact is that older workers will continue to make up a much larger share of our country's labor force."

Lost wages, less savings

A flurry of recent reports have raised fresh concerns about the ability of some older Americans to support themselves in retirement.

More seniors with jobs expect to work longer, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and just 14 percent say they believe they can retire comfortably.

The GAO assessed the impact of job loss and forced early retirement on older workers' income. It showed a significant impact on income in later years.

It found those who had been part of a 401(k) or other similar employer-sponsored defined contribution pension plan stood to lose more of their expected retirement income than those who had defined benefit pension plans or relied solely on Social Security, the nation's benefit program for retirees.

For example: an individual with a defined contribution plan who stops working at age 55 instead of age 62 would see a 39 percent drop in median-level retirement income, from $817 per month to $500 per month, according to the GAO, which did not take other retirement income sources into account.

At the same time, a similar worker would see a 13 percent drop in median Social Security retirement benefits from $1,467 to $1,273 a month.

The impact on workers with employer plans is greater because they can generally save more for retirement and typically have higher wages that also result in higher Social Security benefits, GAO said.

"These workers also have the most retirement income to lose by becoming unemployed," it said.

A worker relying only on Social Security may see $30 to $60 less each month but face harsh consequences, GAO researchers said, because they have less savings to provide a cushion and may be laid off before they can claim the government benefit at age 62.

Online struggles

Laid-off workers and other experts gave many reasons that employers appeared reluctant to hire seniors.

Refusing to hire someone because of age is illegal, but GAO experts found potential discrimination still lingers.

Often employers assume that older workers used to earning more money or having a higher-level job would not stay long in an inferior position, according to the GAO's interviews. Higher health care costs are also an issue.

The GAO, which talked to seniors in Maryland, Virginia, California and Missouri, also chronicled the toll of long-term unemployment. Self-esteem took a beating, and it became increasingly hard to sustain job searches, they said. Some fretted not just about their own bills but about the obligations of college-age or unemployed children.

At the AARP, the lobbying group for 36 million older Americans, legislative policy director David Certner said certain older worker groups - such as women and minorities - are particularly at risk of poverty given "this really incredible perfect storm" with low savings rates, shrinking pensions, lower home values and longer lives.

It is unclear what action Congress will take, particularly in an election year ripe with political gridlock.

Some lawmakers want to strengthen discrimination laws while others want legislation to prevent employers from screening out unemployed workers.

Coyle, who starts her part-time job next month, understands how a younger minister might have a better chance landing a full-time job. But she remains hopeful that she will find a place to preach again.

"I used to tell my gerontology students if you know your date of death you could plan very well," she said, "but I really want to be useful. It's not just a money issue."

source: interaksyon.com