How to Be Found and Prized by Headhunters

Have you wondered: "How can I get a headhunter to pay attention to me and get me in front of their clients?"

-- LinkedIn profile. It is important to make sure you put your accomplishments into your profile, at the top.

Susie Hall, president of recruiting company Vitamin T, advises job hunters to remember: "Recruiters are people, too. Just like you, they relish compliments and value people who treat them respectfully." She continues: "It is a 'wow' for a recruiter if you approach them saying, 'I love your website' rather than 'I'd be a good fit for this job.'"

Hall offers several valuable tips for job hunters:

-- Using keywords. Keywords on resumes still count. But rather than just amassing them in some large block of text, use them throughout the document to describe what and how you accomplished whatever it is that you accomplished.

-- Utilize Twitter. Twitter is not leveraged enough in the recruiting process. Reach out to people and follow recruiters, hiring mangers, and companies in which you have an interest. One way you can show your passion is by following people who work for the company you want to work for. An amazing amount of information is being tweeted that you are likely missing. Hiring managers are active on Twitter, and they love to hear that their company is wonderful.

-- Referrals. It means a great deal to a recruiter if someone they already know and trust recommends you, because that person is vouching for the value you bring. Some recruiters have instituted referral programs that will reward people who bring to their attention a candidate they ultimately place. These are similar to the employee referral programs that companies often utilize.

-- Resume branding statement. At the very top, explain in a branding statement or qualification summary: "I'm good at this ? and this is why you should care," she says. Demonstrating your value is key to making it easy for a hiring manager to understand how you fit into a given job.

-- How to add LinkedIn connections. When you invite someone to Linkup with you, don't use the standard boilerplate. Instead, give that person a reason to connect with you. Boilerplate does nothing to build a relationship.

-- Networking. Recruiters network like crazy, both in person and online. They attend industry conventions and events. They scour social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. They are constantly about building relationships, because they understand that over the long term, it is relationships that will produce access to the best and the brightest in any field. And these are the people they will have the greatest interest in placing before their clients. If you want to be found, go to where the headhunters hunt.

If you want to work with a recruiter, your job is to understand the nature of a recruiter's role and their company. It will likely be far more productive for you to spend your time doing your homework and building relationships with a few key recruiters than distributing your resume far and wide hoping that somehow, somewhere, it will stick. Aside from scattering your resume to the winds, there are two key ways that recruiters find you:

-- Connect online. A lot of recruiting these days is digital. "Candidates don't think to connect with recruiters on LinkedIn. Look there for areas of commonality, such as your school or degree," she says.

How to Be Found and Prized by Headhunters

Arnie Fertig is the head coach of JOBHUNTERCOACH.COM, where he utilizes his extensive background in HR Staffing and as owner of a recruiting company to help mid-career job-hunters land their next job. Arnie provides one-to-one coaching services to individuals throughout the U.S. in all aspects of the job hunt, including: resume writing, personal branding, utilizing social media, enhancing networking skills, preparing for interviews, and negotiating compensation.

-- Resume format. For each position, ideally provide one sentence about your role and three bullet points about your accomplishments. Stop putting "was responsible for" in your bullet points. Tell what you did, why you did it, and what the benefit was of what you did for your employer.

Happy hunting!

As a job hunter, you should have several means by which you go about your search process. Recruiters are just one of them, but their insights can serve to guide you to achieving success in the New Year.

Japan's Abe set for second term, to tap allies for cabinet

The grandson of a former prime minister, Abe has staged a stunning comeback five years after abruptly resigning as premier in the wake of a one-year term troubled by scandals in his cabinet, public outrage over lost pension records and a devastating defeat for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a 2007 upper house poll.

Japanese media said Abe would appoint two low-profile officials to the foreign and defense portfolios.

"These are really LDP right-wingers and close friends of Abe," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. "It really doesn't look very fresh at all."

The LDP and its small ally, the New Komeito party, won a two-thirds majority in the 480-seat lower house in the December 16 election. That allows the lower house to enact bills rejected by the upper house, where the LDP-led block lacks a majority.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shinzo Abe will be voted in as prime minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, giving the hawkish lawmaker a second chance at Japan's top job as the country battles deflation and confronts a rising China.

Abe, who hails from a wealthy political family, made his first overseas visit to China to repair chilly ties when he took office in 2006, but has said his first trip this time will be to the United States.

(Editing by Dean Yates)

Abe, 58, whose party surged back to power in this month's election, has promised a two-pronged policy of aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and big fiscal spending by the debt-laden government to slay deflation and rein in the strong yen that makes Japanese exports more costly.

Financial markets expect a budget worth about 10 trillion yen ($117.93 billion), but the source said no more than half of that would be spent on public works projects, a traditional staple of LDP economic stimulus packages.

Abe looks set to pick a slate of close allies leavened by some LDP rivals to fend off the criticism of cronyism that dogged his first administration. Parliament meets from 1 p.m. (0400 GMT).

But the process is cumbersome, so the LDP is keen to win a majority in the upper house to end the parliamentary deadlock that has plagued successive governments since 2007.

Abe promised during the election campaign to take a tough stance in territorial rows with China and South Korea over separate chains of tiny islands, while placing priority on strengthening Japan's alliance with the United States.

CHINA TIES, JULY ELECTION

Itsunori Onodera, 52, who was senior vice foreign minister in Abe's first cabinet, will become defense minister while Fumio Kishida, 55, a former state minister for issues related to Okinawa island - host to the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan - will be appointed to the top diplomatic post, the reports said.

($1 = 84.7950 Japanese yen)

Loyal Abe backer Yoshihide Suga is expected to become chief cabinet secretary, a key post combining the job of top government spokesman with responsibility for coordinating among ministries.

Japan's Abe set for second term, to tap allies for cabinet

He may, however, put contentious issues that could upset key trade partner China and fellow-U.S. ally South Korea on the backburner to concentrate on boosting the economy, now in its fourth recession since 2000, ahead of an election for parliament's upper house in July.

Others who share Abe's agenda to revise the pacifist constitution and rewrite Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone have also been floated for posts.

Japanese media have said Abe will name former prime minister Taro Aso, 72, as finance minister, ex-trade and industry minister Akira Amari as minister in charge of a new economic revival headquarters and policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister. Motegi will also be tasked with formulating energy policy in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year.

"It's the economy, the economy, the economy," an LDP source close to Abe told Reuters. The new government plans to submit an extra budget for the fiscal year to March 31 in late January.

Christmas in an Anti-Christian Age

"Where has the novel of belief gone?" he asks.

While conservatives believe that culture determines politics, liberals understand politics can change culture.

Americans understand why Mao's atheist heirs who have lost their Marxist-Leninist faith and militants Islamists fear and detest the rival belief system of Christianity. But do they understand the animus that lies behind the assault on their faith here at home?

Christmas in an Anti-Christian Age

For two millennia, the birth of Christ has been seen as the greatest event in world history. The moment Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, God became man, and eternal salvation became possible.

In "The End of Faith," atheist Sam Harris wrote that "some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people."

In a recent issue of New Oxford Review, Andrew Seddon ("The New Atheism: All the Rage") describes a "Reason Rally" in Washington, D.C., a "coming out" event sponsored by atheist groups. Among the speakers was Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," who claims that "faith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument."

In the century since, all the Western empires have vanished. All of their armies and navies have melted away. All have lost their Christian faith. All have seen their birthrates plummet. All their nations are aging, shrinking and dying, and all are witnessing invasions from formerly subject peoples and lands.

"Christianity is in danger off being wiped out in its biblical heartlands," says the British think tank Civitas.

The systematic purging of Christian teachings and symbols from our public schools and public square has produced a growing population — 20 percent of the nation, 30 percent of the young — who answer "none" when asked about their religious beliefs and affiliations.

Christians have been infected by a "God virus," says Dawkins. They are no longer rational beings. Atheists should treat them with derisory contempt. "Mock Them!" Dawkins shouted. "Ridicule them! In public!"

"Since the New Atheists believe that religion is evil," notes Seddon, "that it 'poisons everything,' in (Christopher) Hitchens' words — it doesn't take much effort to see that Harris is referring to religions and the people who follow them."

In Europe, a century ago, British and German soldiers came out of the trenches to meet in no-man's land to sing Christmas carols and exchange gifts. It did not happen in 1915, or ever again.

Atheists believe, Seddon writes, that "a multiverse (for which there is no experimental or observational evidence) containing an inconceivably large number of universes spontaneously created itself."

In China, Christianity is seen as a subversive ideology of the West to undermine the regime.

They believe that something came out of nothing, that reason came from irrationality, that a complex universe and natural order came out of randomness and chaos, that consciousness came from non-consciousness and that life emerged from non-life.

With reference to Dawkins' view that the Christian faith "requires no justification and brooks no argument," Seddon makes a salient point.

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of "Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?" To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

This is a bridge too far for the Christian for whom faith and reason tell him that for all of this to have been created from nothing is absurd; it presupposes a Creator.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM

In the lead essay in the Book Review of Sunday's New York Times, Paul Elie writes of our "post-Christian" fiction, where writers with "Christian convictions" like Walker Percy and Flannery O'Connor are a lost tribe.

Yet, Hitchens insists, "our belief is not a belief."

In America, too, the decline of Christianity proceeds.

This date has been the separation point of mankind's time on earth, with B.C. designating the era before Christ, and A.D., anno domino, in the Year of the Lord, the years after. And how stands Christianity today?

In Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria, Christians face persecution and pogroms. In Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, conversion is a capital offense. In a century, two-thirds of all the Christians have vanished from the Islamic world.

While undeniable that Christianity entails a belief in the supernatural, the miraculous — God became man that first Christmas, Christ raised people from the dead, rose himself on the first Easter Sunday and ascended into heaven 40 days later — consider what atheists believe.

At Christmas, pray for Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins and the other lost souls at that Reason Rally.

Nonsense. Atheism requires a belief in the unbelievable.

Now since atheists are still badly outnumbered in America and less well-armed than the God-and-Country boys, and atheists believe this is the only life they have, atheist suggestions to "kill people" of Christian belief is probably a threat Christians need not take too seriously.

Christians believe Christ could raise people from the dead because he is God. That is faith. Atheists believe life came out of non-life. That, too, is faith. They believe in what their god, science, cannot demonstrate, replicate or prove. They believe in miracles but cannot identify, produce or describe the miracle worker.

Italian priest sparks outrage over blame of women for violence

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian priest has provoked outrage after putting up an article that said women were partly to blame for encouraging domestic violence by failing to clean their houses and cook properly and for wearing tight and provocative clothing.

Domestic violence against women is a serious problem in Italy although a report by a United Nations mission in June said it was "largely invisible and underreported".

"Let's ask ourselves. Is it possible that men have all gone mad at one stroke? We don't think so," said the text, which was reproduced in several newspapers.

Maria Gabriella Carnieri Moscatelli, the head of Telefono Rosa, an association that helps the victims of violence, said an apology subsequently offered by Corsi was not sufficient.

Corsi denied reports that he intended to resign as priest and in an interview published on the web site of the weekly Oggi, he said he would be carrying on with his work.

A third of women in Italy had reported being victim of serious domestic violence, a UN report citing data from Italian statistics agency ISTAT said.

"How often do we see girls and even mature women walking on the streets in provocative and tight clothing?"

The text, posted on a website by a conservative Catholic named Bruno Volpe, attacked pornography and erotic television advertising but said women shared the blame for "provoking the worst instincts, which then turn into violence and sexual abuse".

"The core of the problem is in the fact that women are more and more provocative, they yield to arrogance, they believe they can do everything themselves and they end up exacerbating tensions," it said.

"After everything that's happened, which has certainly been well beyond what I intended or expected, I think there's need for calm, rest and silence to respond with the serenity and harmony required to carry on," he said.

"I thank the bishop who had the paper taken down but I'm still not satisfied because I think someone needs to talk to this person and understand why he has these attitudes," she told SkyTG24 television.

It said that as many as 127 women had been murdered by men in 2010, often as a result of "honor, men's unemployment and jealousy by the perpetrator".

"I think he needs to make a deeper examination of his conscience that goes beyond apologies," she said.

"Babies left to themselves, dirty houses, cold meals and fast food at home, soiled clothes. So if a family ends up in a mess and turns into crime (a form of violence which should be condemned and punished firmly) often the responsibility is shared," it said.

Italian media reported that parish priest Piero Corsi fixed a text to the bulletin board of his church in the northern village of San Terenzo di Lerici, which said women should engage in "healthy self criticism" over the issue of femicide, or men murdering women.

Italian priest sparks outrage over blame of women for violence

(Reporting By James Mackenzie; Editing by Roger Atwood)

The mayor of Lerici, Marco Caluri, said on Thursday the article was "astonishing and deeply offensive" and the bishop of La Spezia ordered it to be taken down, saying it contained "unacceptable opinions which are against the common position of the church".

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

"So far I see no reason not to sign it, although I have to review the final text and weigh everything," Putin said at a meeting of federal and regional officials that was shown live on the state's 24-hour news channel.

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

Ventrell added that the United States was troubled by provisions in the bill that would restrict the ability of Russian civil society organizations to work with U.S. partners.

The bid to ban American adoptions plays on sensitivity in Russia about adoptions by foreigners, which skyrocketed as the social safety net unraveled with the 1991 Soviet collapse.

In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations.

Children in Russia's crowded and troubled orphanage system - particularly those with serious illnesses or disabilities - will have less of a chance of finding homes, and of even surviving, if it becomes law, child rights advocates say.

"There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. So what, are we going to send all our children there? Maybe we should move there ourselves?" he said, with sarcasm.

Putin had earlier described the Russian bill as an emotional but appropriate response to the Magnitsky Act, legislation signed by President Barack Obama this month as part of a law granting Russia "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status.

However, the Russian authorities point to the deaths of 19 Russian-born children adopted by American parents in the past decade, and lawmakers named the bill after a boy who died of heat stroke in Virginia after his adoptive father left him locked in a car for hours.

The Russian bill would impose similar measures against Americans accused of violating the rights of Russian abroad and outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental groups.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans.

The U.S. law imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russians accused of human rights violations, including those linked to the death in a Moscow jail of Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-graft lawyer, in 2009.

Parliament gave its final approval on Wednesday to the bill, which would also introduce other measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation which is designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.

They point to people like Jessica Long, who was given up shortly after birth by her parents in Siberia but was raised by adoptive parents in the United States and became a Paralympic swimming champion.

NATIONAL IDENTITY

Critics of the bill say the Russian authorities are playing political games with the lives of children, while the U.S. State Department repeated its "deep concern" over the measure.

"Since 1992 American families have welcomed more than 60,000 Russian children into their homes, and it is misguided to link the fate of children to unrelated political considerations," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

"For centuries, neither spiritual nor state leaders sent anyone abroad," he said, indicating he was not speaking specifically about Russia but about many societies.

"I intend to sign not only the law ... but also a presidential decree that will modify the support mechanisms for orphaned children ... especially those who are in a difficult situation, by that I mean in poor health," Putin said.

Families from the United States adopt more Russian children than those of any other country.

(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; additional reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Steve Gutterman; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Doina Chiacu)

For it to become law Putin needs to sign it.

"They always fight for their national identities - they gather themselves together in a fist, they fight for their language, culture," he said.

But Putin, who began a new six-year term in May and has searched for ways to unite the country during 13 years in power, suggested there were deeper motives for such a ban.

Putin reiterated Russian complaints that U.S. courts have been too lenient on parents in such cases, saying Russia has inadequate access to Russian-born children in the United States despite a bilateral agreement that entered into force on November 1.

Some cancer docs say their income tied to treatments_0

"It really is pretty substantial differences. And often, I don't think people pay that much attention to where their doctor works, but I think it does make a difference," Keating said.

Until then, Keating said patients should feel free to ask doctors whether they'll benefit financially from their treatments.

But Dr. Yu-Ning Wong of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia cautions that the new study only looks at whether the doctors believed their pay would increase if they could administer chemotherapy or other treatments.

According to Keating and her colleagues, who published their study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Wednesday, some cancer doctors offer chemotherapy and other therapies in their offices.

In the last decade, the U.S. government tried to reduce the profit margin doctors were able to make by administering chemotherapy to their patients, but Keating told Reuters Health that didn't solve the problem.

Doctors who were in some way paid based on how many services they provide - known as fee for service - were about seven times more likely to say their incomes would increase if they administered more chemotherapy or growth factors, compared to doctors who got a flat salary.

But 27 percent of the doctors said their pay would increase based on how much chemotherapy they administered and 25 percent said they'd get paid more if they administered more growth factors, such as so-called hormonal drugs, that regulate cell growth.

Indeed, the researchers note, previous studies have found that as much as 65 percent of an oncologist office's income typically comes from administering treatments. The rest comes from evaluating and managing patients' cancers.

Doctors who had their own practices or were part of a smaller oncology group were about nine times more likely to say their income would increase if they administered their patients' chemotherapy, compared to those who worked in a hospital.

The researchers used a survey from 2005 through mid-2007 of 480 oncologists, who treated patients from across the country.

Overall, most participants said their income would be unaffected by prescribing chemotherapy or other drugs, or by referring patients to other specialists or hospices.

"I think there is evidence out there that doctors are very responsive to financial incentives... So I think some patients should realize that doctors who are prescribing chemotherapy may be benefiting financially," said Dr. Nancy Keating from Boston's Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, the study's senior author.

There are some advantages to patients in getting treatments at their doctors' offices, such as not having to travel to a hospital, but some observers worry the practice gives doctors incentive to prescribe more chemotherapy or more expensive drugs because they'll make more money.

She also told Reuters Health that she would not want cancer patients thinking they are receiving unnecessary care or treatments based on this study.

Some cancer docs say their income tied to treatments

"It didn't say it actually did," said Wong, who wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Still, Keating and her fellow researchers say, there needs to be a new way to pay doctors "to counter or eliminate these incentives to decrease unnecessary care and ensure that health care resources are used most effectively."

"I think there is some evidence out there that doctors just started prescribing more profitable drugs. So this is still an issue," she said.

Researchers found that oncologists, surgeons and other cancer specialists who get paid based on the number of services they provide were seven times more likely to say their pay increases when they oversee their patients' chemotherapy treatments, compared to doctors who are paid a flat rate or salary.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A survey of cancer doctors finds that some believe they get paid more when they administer their patients' chemotherapy and other drugs, raising concerns about conflict of interest and the potential for overtreatment.

"It's certainly something I would want to know," she said. "But I agree it's not an easy thing to ask, but I do think it's something to be aware of and I think it's a fair question to ask."

While the study could not determine whether patients received any unnecessary treatments, the researchers wanted to see whether doctors believe their pay is tied to their ability to give patients chemotherapy.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/gPtMdm Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 26, 2012.

VP says Chavez up, walking; doubts persist_0

But government officials have said the constitution lets the Supreme Court administer the oath of office at any time if the National Assembly is unable to do it Jan. 10 as scheduled.

Journalists had been summoned to cover his arrival and departure in Havana, but hours later that invitation was canceled. No explanation was given, though it could have been due to confusion over Morales' itinerary as he apparently arrived later than initially scheduled.

Venezuelan officials have said Chavez might not return in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration.

Over the weekend, Chavez's ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales, made a lightning visit to Cuba that only added to the uncertainty.

Sounding giddy, Maduro told state television Venezolana de Television that he had spoken by phone with Chavez for 20 minutes Monday night. It was the first time a top Venezuelan government official had confirmed talking personally with Chavez since the Dec. 11 operation, his fourth cancer surgery since 2011.

Danny Moreno, a software technician watching her 2-year-old son try out his new tricycle, was among the few people at a Caracas plaza who said she had heard Maduro's announcement. She said she saw a government Twitter message saying an announcement was coming and her mother rushed to turn on the TV.

Venezuelan officials said that, following the six-hour surgery two weeks ago, Chavez suffered internal bleeding that was stanched and a respiratory infection that was being treated.

Yet more questions surround Chavez's political future, with the surgery coming two months after he won re-election to a six-year term.

Dr. Michael Pishvaian, an oncologist at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, said it was an encouraging sign that Chavez was walking, and it indicated he would be able to return to Venezuela relatively soon. But he said the long term outlook remained poor.

Chavez supporters reacted with relief, but the statement inspired more questions, given the sparse information the Venezuelan government has provided so far about the president's cancer. Chavez has kept secret various details about his illness, including the precise location of the tumors and the type of cancer. His long-term prognosis remains a mystery.

"It's unclear what they mean by exercise. Was it four little steps?" he added. "I think he is still in critical condition."

For the second day in a row Tuesday, Morales made no mention of his trip to Cuba during public events in Bolivia.

Chavez first underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and went back this month after tests had found a return of malignant cells in the same area where tumors were previously removed.

"We all said, thank God, he's okay," she said, smiling.

"He was in a good mood," Maduro said. "He was walking, he was exercising."

Maduro's near-midnight announcement came just as Venezuelan families were gathering for traditional late Christmas Eve dinners and setting off the usual deafening fireworks that accompany the festivities. There was still little outward reaction on a quiet Christmas morning.

___

"It's definitely good news. It means that he is on the road to recover fully from the surgery," Pishvaian said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "The overall prognosis is still pretty poor. He likely has a terminal diagnosis with his cancer that has come back."

Cuban state media published photos of President Raul Castro receiving Morales at the airport and said he came "to express his support" for Chavez, his close ally, but did not give further details. He left Sunday without making any public comments.

If he is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan Constitution calls for new elections to be held. Chavez has asked his followers to back Maduro, his hand-picked successor, in that event.

Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas, said if Chavez is talking, it suggests he is breathing on his own despite the respiratory infection and is not in intensive care. But Medrano said he remained skeptical about Maduro's comments and could deduce little from them about Chavez's prognosis for recovery.

"I have no idea because if it was such a serious, urgent, important operation, and that was 14 days ago, I don't think he could be walking and exercising after a surgery like that," Medrano said.

Opposition leaders have argued that the constitution does not allow the president's swearing-in to be postponed, and say new elections should be called if Chavez is unable to take the oath on time.

VP says Chavez up, walking; doubts persist Related Content

Enlarge Photo

"It's possible (that he is walking) because everything is possible," Castro told AP. "They probably had him sit in up in bed and take two steps."

Pishvaian and other outside doctors have said that given the details Chavez has provided about his cancer, it is most likely a soft-tissue sarcoma.

Dr. Carlos Castro, director of the Colombian League against Cancer, an association that promotes cancer prevention, treatment and education, said Maduro's announcement was too vague to paint a clear picture of Chavez's condition.

Maduro's announcement came just hours after Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read a statement saying Chavez was showing "a slight improvement with a progressive trend."

Associated Press writers Peter Orsi in Havana, Vivian Sequera in Caracas, Camilo Hernandez in Bogota, Colombia, and Paola Flores in La Paz, Bolivia, contributed to this report.

Pierre Denis, who works at Venezuela's…

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Vice President Nicolas Maduro surprised Venezuelans with a Christmas Eve announcement that President Hugo Chavez is up and walking two weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba, but the news did little to ease uncertainty surrounding the leader's condition.

Gunman, William Spengler, Shoots 4 Firefighters, Kills 2, in 'Trap' at Webster, NY, Blaze

Gunman, William Spengler, Shoots 4 Firefighters, Kills 2, in 'Trap' at Webster, NY, Blaze

A man who served nearly 17 years in jail for killing his grandmother set a house and car on fire this morning in upstate New York and then began shooting at emergency personnel who showed up, killing two firefighters, police said.

In all, William Spengler, 62, shot four firefighters, killing two and severely injuring two more after setting his "trap," police said.

An off-duty police officer from Greece, N.Y., who responded to the scene early in the morning of Christmas Eve also was injured today.

"It was a trap," said Webster, N.Y., Police Chief Gerald L. Pickering, "set by Mr. Spengler who laid in wait and shot first responders."

Spengler, who was released from prison in 1998, was found dead at the scene following a shootout with police. He was believed to have killed himself with a bullet to the head.

As a convicted felon, Spengler would not have been allowed to own guns legally. Police were working to determine the types of weapons he used and how he obtained them, Pickering said.

Spengler was convicted of manslaughter in 1981 for "beating his 92-year-old grandmother with a hammer," according to state prison documents.

Several weapons were used, Pickering said, and, "probably a rifle was used to inflict wounds of the first responders.

"I know many people are going to be asking if they were assault rifles," Pickering said

There has been a week-long national debate about such weapons after one was used in a tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14.

Four firefighters, two on a ladder truck and two more in their own vehicles, responded to 911 calls around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. Spengler is believed to have hidden behind an elevated berm, shooting down on the firefighters and later police.

"Upon arrival, all [the firefighters] drew fire. All four were shot on the scene," Pickering said. "One was able to flee the scene. The other three were pinned down."

Police believe Spengler's sister may have been inside the home, and that he set it on fire.

The blaze spread, engulfing three nearby homes and damaging three more on a sleepy street next to Lake Ontario that police described as a quiet vacation community. The fire was not put under control until late this afternoon.

SWAT team officers used an armored personnel carrier to evacuate 33 residents from homes in the area.

Among the dead firefighters was Lt. Michael Chiapperini, a 20-year veteran of the Webster Police Department and "lifetime firefighter," according to Pickering. Chiapperini was a spokesman for the police department, ABC News affiliate WHAM reported.

Police identified the other firefighter killed as Tomasz Kaczowka, who also worked as a 911 dispatcher.

The chief, choking up, called the incident that shattered the quiet before 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve morning "terrible."

"People get up in the middle of the night to fight fires," he said. "They don't expect to get shot and killed."

Two surviving firefighters were in the intensive care unit at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. Both men were awake and breathing on their own after surgery and were in what doctors are calling "guarded condition."

Joseph Hofsetter was shot once. He sustained an injury to his pelvis and has "a long road to recovery," said Dr. Nicole A. Stassen, a trauma physician.

The second firefighter, Theodore Scardino, was shot twice and received injuries to his left shoulder and left lung, as well as a knee.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement calling the attack a "senseless act of violence" and the first responders "true heroes."

Q&A: The division in Egypt is ‘dangerous,’ former foreign minister says

Q&A: The division in Egypt is ‘dangerous,’ former foreign minister says“We are afraid they will be interpreted as a license to intervene, to give license to [Islamists] to do whatever they want,” he said. “It is our role as [opposition] to protect against that.”

Egyptians approved the constitution by a majority of 64 per cent, with the final round of voting completed Saturday.

Mr. Moussa was interviewed two days before the vote by The Globe and Mail in his office in the century-old Garden City neighbourhood of downtown Cairo, just a block from the U.S., British and Canadian embassies. For reasons of security, there is no indication outside the four-storey building, nor on the door of his main floor suites, that his offices are to be found here. But everyone outside on the street knows exactly where to find him.

Mr. Moussa, who came a personally disappointing fifth in the race for the presidency this year, looks remarkably healthy for his age, though he must occasionally lean forward to catch the wording of questions put to him in English.

Q: So it is not simply a matter of the constitution being too Islamic rather than secular?

A: I am against this generalization; though, of course, it has this flavour.

We would not have opposed that flavour – even the Copts did not oppose that – but certain articles were added that created confusion, and will make it difficult for legislators, for judges, to have their own freedom to protect rights in general.

Has the opposition to this document not left the country dangerously divided?

Yes, the division is dangerous, but it was also healthy until it crossed into the realm of danger [a reference to the clashes that followed President Mohammed Morsi’s Nov. 22 decree to unilaterally accelerate the drafting of the document and put it to a referendum]. That is why we requested the referendum be postponed several times.

It’s not all the articles [that are objected to]. Let me make that clear. We’re not contesting the full extent of the constitution – just certain articles of a sensitive nature. Also, this is an opposition to a text, not a political position taken vis-a-vis another political party that we want to undermine.

This does not mean, as some in the [Muslim Brotherhood’s] Freedom and Justice Party say, that this is an attempt to topple the regime and a conspiracy against the President. I’m not talking about the legitimacy of the President but the credibility of his policies.

You’re not opposed to Mr. Morsi as President?

While some people like to say: ‘Islam is the solution,’ I believe that democracy is the solution and anything that would militate against that notion would be against the interests of Egyptians. [Mr. Morsi has said that doesn’t mean democracy can’t support Islam.] That is why I am one of those who say the President should continue his mandate. I do not believe Egypt can afford to have another presidential election at this stage.

Q: Democracy is the argument used by proponents of the constitution, too.

A: The constituent assembly did not apply democratic rules in adopting the draft resolution … nor in the way the referendum was conducted.

Q: Do you accept that a simple majority can approve the constitution in a referendum?

A: No, I am not of this school at all. As everybody knows, there is a rule in all parliaments, and in the UN and all conferences that the important issues should be voted by a two-thirds majority.

The draft constitution itself talks about the way to amend articles – any article to be amended must have a two-thirds majority. The circumstances dictate that this constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority.

Q: But as it is certain to pass [and did, on Saturday], where does the opposition go from here?

A: We have to decide: Should we continue along the same lines of confrontation? We must ask this because we have a country that’s on the brink of another major crisis [an economic crisis]. What about all the needs of the country? What about the need for rebuilding the country? These things have to be considered.

Q: President Morsi has suggested dialogue to work out differences over articles in the constitution.

A: We are not against sitting with the President or dialogue. But this has to be real dialogue, not just a debating body. We have to sit and talk about the different issues facing us, including the economy, the other issues, including the constitution, and including what we are going to do in the next three years.

Q: Many people say the Muslim Brotherhood backers of the President resort to heavy-handed ways to intimidate people. Do you think so?

A: I believe their attitude, so far, has encouraged ways of behaviour that can be harmful or that could lead, at the end, to further division [in the country].

Q: Is it possible that their approach could lead to a dictatorship?

A: We will do everything in our power to make democracy work and prevent dictatorship from returning. I believe Egyptians will not allow it to return.

Q: Some say they would like the army to return to power.

A: I have heard this talk. I’m talking about a different road, which is to protect and defend democracy.

This is why we say: The President was democratically elected and should leave only by democratic means. I hope we will achieve our goals by democratic means

Q: Is the United States doing enough to make this clear to Mr. Morsi?

A: They don’t need the Americans to tell them this – it’s there in the streets. There are a lot of angry people. How can you accept such an atmosphere?

Q: But was it helpful that President Obama described President Morsi as such a good friend of the United States?

A: Well, you know the American policy is to defend democracy [on the one hand] and to work against democracy at certain times, or to help dictators.

[In Egypt] it should always support democracy and not make the same mistake twice. I understand that they support Morsi because he’s elected. They should always be on the side of democracy. At the same time, for me as an Egyptian citizen, politician, I dislike the intervention or interference in our affairs of any foreign power.

Ten or 20 years ago, did you ever imagine Egypt would one day have a majority of Islamists elected to parliament and an Islamist President?

I could have imagined they would have a majority party in parliament, but to have the presidency and this second republic, [the first republic, dominated by the military, was established by the Officers’ Coup of 1952] no, I never expected that.

But the Islamists do appear to be responding to a popular need.

They have been chosen because of the mismanagement of the previous regime [to the point of leaving more than 50 per cent of the country in poverty and more than 50 per cent illiterate]. When the people found that the Muslim Brotherhood was the only alternative to that regime, they voted for them. But if they now find the situation has become even worse, they will change their votes, the majority will change. And I hope that will be done through democracy, not any other way.

But we can’t spend all our time talking about the constitution, about general things. We have to see what has been done about education, health care, agriculture, tourism.

The day will come, at the end of the first year, that the rule of President Morsi will be found wanting, if he does not really move quickly to address this situation.

Q: But do you think the opposition political parties are viable enough?

A: No, not yet. But regardless of the viability of the parties, the people will turn to those parties.

Boehner: Obama "fiscal cliff" offer "not there yet," but has hope

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday said President Barack Obama's most recent offer to avert the "fiscal cliff" is "not there yet," but he still hopes he can reach a deal with the White House.

Republican Boehner spoke to reporters after meeting with his Republican caucus to gauge their support for his recent offer on raising taxes on income above $1 million.
A vote on that legislation, an attempt to stem billions in automatic tax increases, could come as early as this week, he said.