Sonia’s stand on dalit promotion quota bill is pure drama, Mayawati says

NEW DELHI: Dalit czarina Mayawati ridiculed as "drama" Sonia Gandhi's pursuit of the Samajwadi Party MP, who tore up the 'promotion quota' bill in the Lok Sabha.

In an interview with TOI, she said that the Congress took up the quota issue six years too late after the Supreme Court order in Nagaraj case and lacked the sincerity that it displayed on women's reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha in March, 2010.

"There was similar situation on women's quota bill but government asked the chair to call the marshals. The women's bill reached fruition when marshals were used. If the Centre was sincere on dalit quota bill, they should have done the same," Mayawati told TOI.

Asked if Sonia's pursuit of the SP MP, who snatched the bill from the minister, did not show commitment, Mayawati remarked, "That was pure theatre."

The BSP leader's assault on the Congress president has set the stage for war of credits between the women chieftains. A livid Mayawati is making no bones about her belief that Congress was the villain of the quota piece, while ignoring the voice of dissent from the BJP.

The bitterness seems rooted in hard-nosed political calculations. Mayawati views the Congress as bigger threat among all rivals since they share overlapping vote banks like dalits and Muslims. With hostilities over reservations unlikely to abate till the legislation is passed, the BSP chief can be trusted to raise the pitch against the Centre.

However, she said the BSP would not withdraw support to the Congress-led Centre even as she trashed the UPA tenure as a failure. "The Centre has failed on all fronts. But we do not want to withdraw and give them chance to tell people that had BSP backed us for one year more, we would have done amazing things for them," she said.

Mayawati rubbished the notion she was supporting UPA despite visible unhappiness because she cannot face the elections at the moment, having been ousted from Uttar Pradesh only nine months ago. "I would prefer elections today over tomorrow," she said, adding the SP government's misrule already has people pining for her regime.

'Samajwadi Party behind stir'

In her trademark acerbic tone, she said Mulayam Singh's bid to use 'promotion quota' bill to instigate upper castes and OBCs against BSP would come a cropper. She said the protest strike by employees in UP was orchestrated by SP, which distributed money to incite people and by the state government which shut down offices to force employees to come out on the streets. "Why are there no protests outside UP? Are there no uppercastes in other states? It is because they know that reservation in promotion is given to dalits since 1995 and is nothing new," she said.

Playing her own strategy to box Mulayam in narrower identity prism, the BSP chief asked, "Yadavs are occupying all top posts today. What have non-Yadav OBCs, upper castes and Muslims got in last nine months?" She said people of UP would not be misled by Mulayam's propaganda because they know that Samajwadi Party is only the "well-wisher of criminals and mafia".

Excerpts of the interview with Mayawati:

Who is responsible for stalling the bill?

What we saw in the Lok Sabha on December 19-20, it seems the Congress is not sincere in passing the bill. Some SP MPs tore up the bill when it was tabled. There was a similar situation in the Rajya Sabha (in 2010) when women's reservation bill came and government asked the chair to call the marshals to evict the protesting MPs. Women's bill reached fruition when marshals were used. Should not Congress have asked for marshals now? If the Centre was sincere, they would have done the same.

Sonia Gandhi took personal interest and even tried to stop the MP who snatched the bill from minister?

That was pure theatre. If Congress's high command was sincere, they would have asked the chair to call the marshals. This was just a drama.

SP thinks its protest against the quota bill would unite upper castes and OBCs in its favour?

People of UP are very aware. They know SP is not a well-wisher of anyone but goons and mafia. Even among OBCs, its focus is only on Yadavs. Mulayam Singh Yadav had barred the appointment of upper castes in government jobs, 35 lakh appointments were stalled. I removed the ban. In nine months of SP rule, how many upper castes have got the jobs? But see, Yadavs are occupying all the top posts. Where are other OBCs, Muslims? Mulayam Singh shouts a lot about Muslims but SP should look within. SP promised in its election manifesto to give 18% quota to Muslims. After nine months, it has done nothing.

How will the quota issue play out in UP?

It would have been dangerous if upper castes felt new reservation was being given to dalits. Upper castes in UP are very aware and intelligent, they know SC/STs have been getting quota in promotions since 1955. Why is the protest limited to UP? Upper castes live outside UP too? Because they know this quota is old and the bill is only to remove some obstacles put in its way. SP has used some retired employees, pumped in crores of rupees, locked the offices and told employees to agitate. The employees did not want to go on strike but were forced to.

You really think Congress was not sincere?

If Congress really wished well for dalits, the bill would have come six years ago. The Centre was party before the constitution bench of Supreme Court whose Nagaraj judgement neutralized the quota in promotions. If the Centre had put the correct facts before the court, I am confident the SC would have given a different order. Our agitation forced the government to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha but it was kept hanging in the Lok Sabha...because they do not want it.

Then why are you supporting UPA?

We backed UPA to ensure that communal forces did not gain. The Congress keeps saying we want to do something for the weaker sections. Our people have been testing them for years. In 3.5 years, they have only got assurances. There is disappointment all around. We speak against the Centre in and outside Parliament. But after 3.5 years, why should we give them chance to tell people that if the BSP continued support for one more year, we would have done amazing things.

It is said BSP cannot face elections now and is forced to support UPA.

Over 20 lakh people came for our rally in Lucknow on October 9. We have never seen such crowds, especially when we are not in power. When people are so enthusiastic, why should BSP be scared? I want elections be held today than tomorrow.

Will the quota bill be passed in budget session?

Going by their attitude till now, I don't think the government is serious.

BSP had backed the Mandal report in 1980s, led agitation for OBC reservations. But now, the Mandal parties are opposing dalit quota?

Except Mulayam, nobody from the backward classes is opposing it. OBCs know that SC/STs are getting promotion quota since 1955. We led the agitation for Mandal report for months at the Boat Club. We fought for them. OBCs also know the reservation they got under Mandal report is not because of Mulayam, BJP or Congress, but because of Ambedkar. So, OBCs can never go against us. They are very intelligent.

So, only Yadavs are against it?

I don't think Yadavs are against it. Only SP is and people of Mulayam's mindset are. The educated among Yadavs are not against it. JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav is for it. Nitish Kumar has implemented it in Bihar. Lalu Prasad Yadav is also for it.

While BJP voted for the bill in Rajya Sabha, it is facing dissent now?

If the government had restored order in the Lok Sabha on December 20, we would have known where does BJP stand? How can I say BJP is against the bill when it voted for it in Rajya Sabha?

How do you assess SP regime's performance in UP?

There is no development in UP, there is corruption at every level, extortion for petty issues. Inquiries are ordered against decisions of my government to extort (from officials). Law and order is absent. Every kind of crime has shot up. Women are not safe. In nine months, there have been over 1.5 lakh rapes, over 100 riots and over 18 big riots. This has never happened since Independence, the situation is grim. People are terrorized, scared and sad. Barring mafia, all have started to remember and praise my government. People say it is not Uttar Pradesh but Crime Pradesh.

Congress again failed to dislodge Narendra Modi in Gujarat.

It appeared since the beginning that other parties were lax. If they had paid more attention, the result could have been different because BJP has not gained as much as it expected. There has been a dip. If other parties had focused more, its tally would have fallen more.

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'Fiscal Cliff' Leaves Boehner a Wounded Speaker

John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle against President Barack Obama.

There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it's uncertain whether any other House Republican has the broad appeal to seize the job from Boehner or whether his embarrassing inability to pass his own bill preventing tax increases on everyone but millionaires is enough to topple him.

"No one will be challenging John Boehner as speaker," predicted John Feehery, a consultant and former aide to House GOP leaders. "No one else can right now do the job of bringing everyone together" and unifying House Republicans.

The morning after he yanked the tax-cutting bill from the House floor to prevent certain defeat, Boehner told reporters he wasn't worried about losing his job when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

"They weren't taking that out on me," he said Friday of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, who despite pleading from Boehner and his lieutenants were shy of providing the 217 votes needed for passage. "They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes."

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

Cliffhanger: Congress Heads Home after 'Plan B' Vote Pulled from House Floor Watch Video

President Obama on Fiscal Cliff: 'Nobody Gets 100 Percent of What They Want' Watch Video

Next Steps for Fiscal Cliff? 'God Only Knows,' Says Boehner Watch Video

That "somebody" was a number of outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which openly pressured lawmakers to reject Boehner's bill. Such organizations often oppose GOP lawmakers they consider too moderate and have been headaches for Boehner in the past.

This time, his retreat on the tax measure was an unmistakable blow to the clout of the 22-year House veteran known for an amiable style, a willingness to make deals and a perpetual tan.

Congressional leaders amass power partly by their ability to command votes, especially in showdowns. His failure to do so Thursday stands to weaken his muscle with Obama and among House Republicans.

"It's very hard for him to negotiate now," said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University political scientist, adding that it's premature to judge if Boehner's hold on the speakership is in peril. "No one can trust him because it's very hard for him to produce votes."

She said the loss weakens his ability to summon support in the future because "you know the last time he came to you like this, others didn't step in line."

Boehner, 63, faces unvarnished hostility from some conservatives.

"We clearly can't have a speaker operate well outside" what Republicans want to do, said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

Huelskamp is one of four GOP lawmakers who lost prized committee assignments following previous clashes with party leaders. That punishment was an anomaly for Boehner, who is known more for friendly persuasion than arm-twisting.

He said Boehner's job would depend on whether the speaker is "willing to sit and listen to Republicans first, or march off" and negotiate with Obama.

Conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said one of the tea party's lasting impacts would be if Boehner struggled to retain his speakership due to the fight over the fiscal cliff, which is the combination of deep tax increases and spending cuts that start in early January without a bipartisan deal to avert them.

"If there's a major defeat delivered here, it could make it tough on him," King said. "He's in a tough spot."

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Italy PM Monti resigns, elections likely in February

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti tendered his resignation to the president on Friday after 13 months in office, opening the way to a highly uncertain national election in February.

The former European commissioner, appointed to lead an unelected government to save Italy from financial crisis a year ago, has kept his own political plans a closely guarded secret but he has faced growing pressure to seek a second term.

President Giorgio Napolitano is expected to dissolve parliament in the next few days and has already indicated that the most likely date for the election is February 24.

In an unexpected move, Napolitano said he would hold consultations with political leaders from all the main parties on Saturday to discuss the next steps. In the meantime Monti will continue in a caretaker capacity.

European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso have called for Monti's economic reform agenda to continue but Italy's two main parties have said he should stay out of the race.

Monti, who handed in his resignation during a brief meeting at the presidential palace shortly after parliament approved his government's 2013 budget, will hold a news conference on Sunday at which he is expected clarify his intentions.

Ordinary Italians are weary of repeated tax hikes and spending cuts and opinion polls offer little evidence that they are ready to give Monti a second term. A survey this week showed 61 percent saying he should not stand.

Whether he runs or not, his legacy will loom over an election which will be fought out over the painful measures he has introduced to try to rein in Italy's huge public debt and revive its stagnant economy.

His resignation came a couple of months before the end of his term, after his technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party in parliament earlier this month.

Speculation is swirling over Monti's next moves. These could include outlining policy recommendations, endorsing a centrist alliance committed to his reform agenda or even standing as a candidate in the election himself.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has held a strong lead in the polls for months but a centrist alliance led by Monti could gain enough support in the Senate to force the PD to seek a coalition deal which could help shape the economic agenda.

BERLUSCONI IN WINGS

Senior figures from the alliance, including both the UDC party, which is close to the Roman Catholic Church, and a new group founded by Ferrari sports car chairman Luca di Montezemolo, have been hoping to gain Monti's backing.

He has not said clearly whether he intends to run, but he has dropped heavy hints he will continue to push a reform agenda that has the backing of both Italy's business community and its European partners.

The PD has promised to stick to the deficit reduction targets Monti has agreed with the European Union and says it will maintain the broad course he has set while putting more emphasis on reviving growth.

Berlusconi's return to the political arena has added to the already considerable uncertainty about the centre-right's intentions and increased the likelihood of a messy and potentially bitter election campaign.

The billionaire media tycoon has fluctuated between attacking the government's "Germano-centric" austerity policies and promising to stand aside if Monti agrees to lead the centre right, but now appears to have settled on an anti-Monti line.

He has pledged to cut taxes and scrap a hated housing tax which Monti imposed. He has also sounded a stridently anti-German line which has at times echoed the tone of the populist 5-Star Movement headed by maverick comic Beppe Grillo.

The PD and the PDL, both of which supported Monti's technocrat government in parliament, have made it clear they would not be happy if he ran against them and there have been foretastes of the kind of attacks he can expect.

Former centre-left prime minister Massimo D'Alema said in an interview last week that it would be "morally questionable" for Monti to run against the PD, which backed all of his reforms and which has pledged to maintain his pledges to European partners.

Berlusconi who has mounted an intensive media campaign in the past few days, echoed that criticism this week, saying Monti risked losing the credibility he has won over the past year and becoming a "little political figure".

(Additional reporting by Gavin Jones, Massimiliano Di Giorgio and Paolo Biondi; Writing by Gavin Jones and James Mackenzie; Editing by Michael Roddy)

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Cricket: New Zealand trounced in first match

DURBAN: South Africa sent New Zealand crashing to an eight-wicket defeat with 47 balls to spare in the first Twenty20 international at Kingsmead on Friday.

Fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt took two early wickets to start a slide from which New Zealand never recovered. They were bowled out for 86 after winning the toss.

Kleinveldt took the key wickets of Rob Nicol and captain Brendon McCullum and finished with three for 18 to capture the man-of-the-match award.

South Africa romped home in 12.1 overs with new captain Faf du Plessis making 38 not out, while Quinton de Kock, making his debut four days after his 20th birthday, slammed a quick 28 not out.

It was a disappointing start for New Zealand, who arrived as underdogs but were expected to put up a reasonable fight in the Twenty20 internationals.

They were missing several key players, including former captain Ross Taylor, who was unavailable for the tour, and suffered another blow when experienced batsman Martin Guptill could not play at Kingsmead because of a stomach ailment.

Fast bowler Trent Boult was also unavailable because of a similar complaint.

On a pitch with pace and bounce, the tourists lost three wickets inside the first five overs. Nicol charged Kleinveldt and was caught behind, while McCullum top-edged a hook and was caught at fine leg. In between Peter Fulton drove Dale Steyn to mid-on.

It did not get much better for the Black Caps although left-handed newcomer Colin Munro, who was born in Durban and did his early schooling in the city before his family moved to New Zealand, made 23. Doug Bracewell hit 21 not out.

Steyn, newcomer Chris Morris and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson all took two wickets.

New Zealand newcomer Mitchell McClenaghan had Richard Levi caught at slip for a duck, bowling a wicket maiden at the start of the South African innings. But Henry Davids and Du Plessis put on 45 before Du Plessis and De Kock finished the match.

- AFP/jc

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Parliament shows some improvement, passes seven bills

NEW DELHI: In a modest improvement on sessions of Parliament since the winter of 2011, both Houses passed seven bills, including important legislations relating to economic reform and law enforcement.

Although the just concluded winter session was marred by disruptions and days were lost due to differences on FDI in multi-brand retail and the quota in promotions bill, Parliament managed to pass amendments to money laundering and unlawful activities laws.

Bills relating to pension and insurance reforms could not make it, but the finance minister had a silver lining by way of the amended banking laws and the security interest and debt recovery bill. Rajya Sabha functioning on Thursday saw the banking amendments being legislated.

However, there is not much to boast of beyond these bills as other business that was passed related to a constitutional amendment granting special status to Hyderabad-Karnataka and the north-east reorganization amendment bill. These were bills that received unanimous support. Passage of the supplementary grants was the other business.

Samajwadi Party's blockading of Lok Sabha over the quota in promotions bill put paid to the possibility of legislations like amendments to the motor vehicles Act and the land acquisition bill being considered.

According to PRS Legislative Research, Rajya Sabha functioned for 58% of its allotted time and Lok Sabha for 53%.

In Lok Sabha, the motion on FDI in retail was discussed for about 11 hours over two days. In Lok Sabha, three calling attentions were held on dengue and chikengunia, plight of coconut growers in Tamil Nadu and dilution of jute packaging material. In Rajya Sabha, one calling attention was held on the suspension of Indian Olympic Association by International Olympic Committee.

Eight bills introduced during the winter session remain pending. There were 102 bills pending before the start of the session and this number is now 104.

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AP IMPACT: Big Pharma cashes in on HGH abuse

A federal crackdown on illicit foreign supplies of human growth hormone has failed to stop rampant misuse, and instead has driven record sales of the drug by some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The crackdown, which began in 2006, reduced the illegal flow of unregulated supplies from China, India and Mexico.

But since then, Big Pharma has been satisfying the steady desires of U.S. users and abusers, including many who take the drug in the false hope of delaying the effects of aging.

From 2005 to 2011, inflation-adjusted sales of HGH were up 69 percent, according to an AP analysis of pharmaceutical company data collected by the research firm IMS Health. Sales of the average prescription drug rose just 12 percent in that same period.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — Whether for athletics or age, Americans from teenagers to baby boomers are trying to get an edge by illegally using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, despite well-documented risks. This is the second of a two-part series.

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Unlike other prescription drugs, HGH may be prescribed only for specific uses. U.S. sales are limited by law to treat a rare growth defect in children and a handful of uncommon conditions like short bowel syndrome or Prader-Willi syndrome, a congenital disease that causes reduced muscle tone and a lack of hormones in sex glands.

The AP analysis, supplemented by interviews with experts, shows too many sales and too many prescriptions for the number of people known to be suffering from those ailments. At least half of last year's sales likely went to patients not legally allowed to get the drug. And U.S. pharmacies processed nearly double the expected number of prescriptions.

Peddled as an elixir of life capable of turning middle-aged bodies into lean machines, HGH — a synthesized form of the growth hormone made naturally by the human pituitary gland — winds up in the eager hands of affluent, aging users who hope to slow or even reverse the aging process.

Experts say these folks don't need the drug, and may be harmed by it. The supposed fountain-of-youth medicine can cause enlargement of breast tissue, carpal tunnel syndrome and swelling of hands and feet. Ironically, it also can contribute to aging ailments like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Others in the medical establishment also are taking a fat piece of the profits — doctors who fudge prescriptions, as well as pharmacists and distributors who are content to look the other way. HGH also is sold directly without prescriptions, as new-age snake oil, to patients at anti-aging clinics that operate more like automated drug mills.

Years of raids, sports scandals and media attention haven't stopped major drugmakers from selling a whopping $1.4 billion worth of HGH in the U.S. last year. That's more than industry-wide annual gross sales for penicillin or prescription allergy medicine. Anti-aging HGH regimens vary greatly, with a yearly cost typically ranging from $6,000 to $12,000 for three to six self-injections per week.

Across the U.S., the medication is often dispensed through prescriptions based on improper diagnoses, carefully crafted to exploit wiggle room in the law restricting use of HGH, the AP found.

HGH is often promoted on the Internet with the same kind of before-and-after photos found in miracle diet ads, along with wildly hyped claims of rapid muscle growth, loss of fat, greater vigor, and other exaggerated benefits to adults far beyond their physical prime. Sales also are driven by the personal endorsement of celebrities such as actress Suzanne Somers.

Pharmacies that once risked prosecution for using unauthorized, foreign HGH — improperly labeled as raw pharmaceutical ingredients and smuggled across the border — now simply dispense name brands, often for the same banned uses. And usually with impunity.

Eight companies have been granted permission to market HGH by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which reviews the benefits and risks of new drug products. By contrast, three companies are approved for the diabetes drug insulin.

The No. 1 maker, Roche subsidiary Genentech, had nearly $400 million in HGH sales in the U.S. last year, up an inflation-adjusted two-thirds from 2005. Pfizer and Eli Lilly were second and third with $300 million and $220 million in sales, respectively, according to IMS Health. Pfizer now gets more revenue from its HGH brand, Genotropin, than from Zoloft, its well-known depression medicine that lost patent protection.

On their face, the numbers make no sense to the recognized hormone doctors known as endocrinologists who provide legitimate HGH treatment to a small number of patients.

Endocrinologists estimate there are fewer than 45,000 U.S. patients who might legitimately take HGH. They would be expected to use roughly 180,000 prescriptions or refills each year, given that typical patients get three months' worth of HGH at a time, according to doctors and distributors.

Yet U.S. pharmacies last year supplied almost twice that much HGH — 340,000 orders — according to AP's analysis of IMS Health data.

While doctors say more than 90 percent of legitimate patients are children with stunted growth, 40 percent of 442 U.S. side-effect cases tied to HGH over the last year involved people age 18 or older, according to an AP analysis of FDA data. The average adult's age in those cases was 53, far beyond the prime age for sports. The oldest patients were in their 80s.

Some of these medical records even give explicit hints of use to combat aging, justifying treatment with reasons like fatigue, bone thinning and "off-label," which means treatment of an unapproved condition

Even Medicare, the government health program for older Americans, allowed 22,169 HGH prescriptions in 2010, a five-year increase of 78 percent, according to data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in response to an AP public records request.

"There's no question: a lot gets out," said hormone specialist Dr. Mark Molitch of Northwestern University, who helped write medical standards meant to limit HGH treatment to legitimate patients.

And those figures don't include HGH sold directly by doctors without prescriptions at scores of anti-aging medical practices and clinics around the country. Those numbers could only be tallied by drug makers, who have declined to say how many patients they supply and for what conditions.

First marketed in 1985 for children with stunted growth, HGH was soon misappropriated by adults intent on exploiting its modest muscle- and bone-building qualities. Congress limited HGH distribution to the handful of rare conditions in an extraordinary 1990 law, overriding the generally unrestricted right of doctors to prescribe medicines as they see fit.

Despite the law, illicit HGH spread around the sports world in the 1990s, making deep inroads into bodybuilding, college athletics, and professional leagues from baseball to cycling. The even larger banned market among older adults has flourished more recently.

FDA regulations ban the sale of HGH as an anti-aging drug. In fact, since 1990, prescribing it for things like weight loss and strength conditioning has been punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison.

Steve Kleppe, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a restaurant entrepreneur who has taken HGH for almost 15 years to keep feeling young, said he noticed a price jump of about 25 percent after the block on imports. He now buys HGH directly from a doctor at an annual cost of about $8,000 for himself and the same amount for his wife.

Many older patients go for HGH treatment to scores of anti-aging practices and clinics heavily concentrated in retirement states like Florida, Nevada, Arizona and California.

These sites are affiliated with hundreds of doctors who are rarely endocrinologists. Instead, many tout certification by the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, though the medical establishment does not recognize the group's bona fides.

The clinics offer personalized programs of "age management" to business executives, affluent retirees, and other patients of means, sometimes coupled with the amenities of a vacation resort. The operations insist there are few, if any, side effects from HGH. Mainstream medical authorities say otherwise.

A 2007 review of 31 medical studies showed swelling in half of HGH patients, with joint pain or diabetes in more than a fifth. A French study of about 7,000 people who took HGH as children found a 30 percent higher risk of death from causes like bone tumors and stroke, stirring a health advisory from U.S. authorities.

For proof that the drug works, marketers turn to images like the memorable one of pot-bellied septuagenarian Dr. Jeffry Life, supposedly transformed into a ripped hulk of himself by his own program available at the upscale Las Vegas-based Cenegenics Elite Health. (He declined to be interviewed.)

These promoters of HGH say there is a connection between the drop-off in growth hormone levels through adulthood and the physical decline that begins in late middle age. Replace the hormone, they say, and the aging process slows.

"It's an easy ruse. People equate hormones with youth," said Dr. Tom Perls, a leading industry critic who does aging research at Boston University. "It's a marketing dream come true."

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Associated Press Writer David B. Caruso reported from New York and AP National Writer Jeff Donn reported from Plymouth, Mass. AP Writer Troy Thibodeaux provided data analysis assistance from New Orleans.

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AP's interactive on the HGH investigation: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/hgh

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The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org

EDITOR'S NOTE _ Whether for athletics or age, Americans from teenagers to baby boomers are trying to get an edge by illegally using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, despite well-documented risks. This is the second of a two-part series.

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Boehner's Take on Fiscal Cliff Deal: 'God Only Knows'

Dec 21, 2012 11:00am

Speaker of the House John Boehner bluntly acknowledged Friday morning he did not have the votes to pass his “Plan B” and said the only real solution is a broad agreement to cut spending and reform the tax code. Then he added these words:

“How we get there, God only knows.”

That about sums up the whole “fiscal cliff” situation after a chaotic Thursday night when Republicans had to abandon “Plan B” – their proposal to raise taxes only on people making more than $1 million.

Boehner said he is not giving up on talks to pursue a bipartisan agreement with the President, who wants taxes to be raised on people making more than $250,000. But Boehner made it clear nothing is going on right now.  Instead he said it was up to Senate Democrats and the White House to make the next move.

Read more  about “Plan B” and the dramatic action in the House on Thursday.

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Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels began to push into a strategic town in Syria's central Hama province on Thursday and laid siege to at least one town dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect, activists said.

The operation risks inflaming already raw sectarian tensions as the 21-month-old revolt against four decades of Assad family rule - during which the president's Alawite sect has dominated leadership of the Sunni Muslim majority - rumbles on.

Opposition sources said rebels had won some territory in the strategic southern town of Morek and were surrounding the Alawite town of al-Tleisia.

They were also planning to take the town of Maan, arguing that the army was present there and in al-Tleisia and was hindering their advance on nearby Morek, a town on the highway that runs from Damascus north to Aleppo, Syria's largest city and another battleground in the conflict.

"The rockets are being fired from there, they are being fired from Maan and al-Tleisia, we have taken two checkpoints in the southern town of Morek. If we want to control it then we need to take Maan," said a rebel captain in Hama rural area, who asked not to be named.

Activists said heavy army shelling had targeted the town of Halfaya, captured by rebels two days earlier. Seven people were killed, 30 were wounded, and dozens of homes were destroyed, said activist Safi al-Hamawi.

Hama is home to dozens of Alawite and Christian villages among Sunni towns, and activists said it may be necessary to lay siege to many minority areas to seize Morek. Rebels want to capture Morek to cut off army supply lines into northern Idlib, a province on the northern border with Turkey where rebels hold swathes of territory.

From an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, Alawites have largely stood behind Assad, many out of fear of revenge attacks. Christians and some other minorities have claimed neutrality, with a few joining the rebels and a more sizeable portion of them supporting the government out of fear of hardline Islamism that has taken root in some rebel groups.

Activists in Hama said rebels were also surrounding the Christian town of al-Suqeilabiya and might enter the city to take out army positions as well as those of "shabbiha" - pro-Assad militias, the bulk of whom are usually Alawite but can also include Christians and even Sunnis.

"We have been in touch with Christian opposition activists in al-Suqeilabiya and we have told them to stay downstairs or on the lowest floor of their building as possible, and not to go outside. The rebels have promised not to hurt anyone who stays at home," said activist Mousab al-Hamdee, speaking by Skype.

He said he was optimistic that potential sectarian tensions with Christians could be resolved but that Sunni-Alawite strife may be harder to suppress.

SECTARIAN FEARS

U.N. human rights investigators said on Thursday that Syria's conflict was becoming more "overtly sectarian", with more civilians seeking to arm themselves and foreign fighters - mostly Sunnis - flocking in from 29 countries.

"They come from all over, Europe and America, and especially the neighboring countries," said Karen Abuzayd, one of the U.N. investigators, told a news conference in Brussels.

Deeper sectarian divisions may diminish prospects for post-conflict reconciliation even if Assad is ousted, and the influx of foreigners raises the risk of fighting spilling into neighboring countries riven by similar communal fault lines.

Some activists privately voiced concerns of sectarian violence, but the rebel commander in Hama said fighters had been told "violations" would not be tolerated and argued that the move to attack the towns was purely strategic.

"If we are fired at from a Sunni village that is loyal to the regime we go in and we liberate it and clean it," he said. "So should we not do the same when it comes to an Alawite village just because there is a fear of an all-out sectarian war? We respond to the source of fire."

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Assad's main ally and arms supplier, warned that any solution to the conflict must ensure government and rebel forces do not merely swap roles and fight on forever. It appeared to be his first direct comment on the possibility of a post-Assad Syria.

The West and some Arab states accuse Russia of shielding Assad after Moscow blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions intended to increase pressure on Damascus to end the violence, which has killed more than 40,000 people. Putin said the Syrian people would ultimately decide their own fate.

Assad's forces have been hitting back at rebel advances with heavy shelling, particularly along the eastern ring of suburbs outside Damascus, where rebels are dominant.

A Syrian security source said the army was planning heavy offensives in northern and central Syria to stem rebel advances, but there was no clear sign of such operations yet.

Rebels seized the Palestinian refugee district of Yarmouk earlier this week, which put them within 3 km (2 miles) of downtown Damascus. Heavy shelling and fighting forced thousands of Palestinian and Syrian residents to flee the Yarmouk area.

Rebels said on Thursday they had negotiated to put the camp - actually a densely packed urban district - back into the hands of pro-opposition Palestinian fighters. There are some 500,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants living in Syria, and they have been divided by the uprising.

Palestinian factions, some backed by the government and others by the rebels, had begun fighting last week, a development that allowed Syrian insurgents to take the camp.

A resident in Damascus said dozens of families were returning to the camp but that the army had erected checkpoints. Many families were still hesitant to return.

LEBANON BORDER POST TAKEN

Elsewhere, Syrian insurgents took over an isolated border post on the western frontier with Lebanon earlier this week, local residents told Reuters on Thursday.

The rebels already hold much of the terrain along Syria's northern and eastern borders with Turkey and Iraq respectively.

They said around 20 rebels from the Qadissiyah Brigade overran the post at Rankus, which is linked by road to the remote Lebanese village of Tufail.

Video footage downloaded on the Internet on Thursday, dated December 16, showed a handful of fighters dressed in khaki fatigues and wielding rifles as they kicked down a stone barricade around a small, single-storey army checkpoint.

Syrian Interior Minister Ibrahim al-Shaar arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday for treatment of wounds sustained in a bomb attack on his ministry in Damascus a week ago.

Lebanese medical sources said Shaar had shrapnel wounds in his shoulder, stomach and legs but they were not critical.

The Syrian opposition has tried to peel off defectors from the government as well as from the army, though only a handful of high-ranking officials have abandoned Assad.

The conflict has divided many Syrian families. Security forces on Thursday arrested an opposition activist who is also the relative of Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa, the Syrian Observatory said. The man was arrested along with five other activists who are considered pacifists, it said.

Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim who has few powers in Assad's Alawite-dominated power structure, said earlier this week that neither side could win the war in Syria. He called for the formation of a national unity government.

(Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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Ex-IMF head Rato in Spain fraud hearing

MADRID: A Spanish judge questioned former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato Thursday over fraud charges linked to ruined Spanish lender Bankia, a symbol of Spain's financial calamity.

Furious yells of "Thief! Rato, go to jail!" met the high-flying financier outside court as demonstrators vented rage at the nationalisation of the bank in which many say they lost savings.

He was questioned by a judge at Spain's National Court in a case against him and 32 other officials from the bailed-out bank.

Court papers listed criminal charges including fraud, embezzlement, falsifying accounts and price manipulation.

A source present at the hearing told reporters afterwards: "He was calm, but not as calm as he had been in Congress" during an appearance in parliament in July when he defended himself.

The source said Rato reiterated his claims that Spanish authorities held responsibility for events at Bankia including the timing of its ill-fated stock listing.

Bankia was created by merging seven regional savings banks, part of a financial sector shake-up brought on by the collapse of a construction boom that has dragged Spain into recession.

Rato said that when he took over at the bank he found "a very complex economic situation and a very big challenge: modernising the savings banks," the source said.

Rato arrived at court in the mid-afternoon and left several hours later without commenting, his car sweeping past a large crowd that bellowed and insulted him from behind a line of police.

The 63-year-old resigned from Bankia in May just before the lender was nationalised and bailed out for 23.5 billion euros ($29.5 billion), marking a new phase in Spain's banking crisis.

The bailout drove Spain to seek up to 100 billion euros in eurozone rescue funds for its banking sector.

Protestors say Bankia sold them risky preference shares that lost their value after its collapse.

"They swindled me," said one demonstrator outside court, 40-year-old Clemence Cohen.

"They offered me shares and they knew what a hole there was" in the bank's balance sheet, she added. "It's right that justice should do its work."

Rato is one of the most prominent financial figures in Spain and a hero of the Spanish right. He served as economy minister between 1996 and 2004 and as managing director of the International Monetary Fund until 2007.

On July 20, 2011, the day Bankia shares began trading on the Madrid stock exchange, Rato seemed to be riding high as he gave the thumbs up, smiling broadly.

"It was certainly a very emotional day for him because he comes from a family of bankers," said Carmen Gurruchaga, journalist and author of a book of interviews with Rato.

But his moment of triumph was brief.

A descendant of northern Spanish industrialists, born into a wealthy family, Rato has become a target of popular anger, seen as a symbol of a financial system too closely linked to politics.

Often described as brilliant and as a fine orator, but also sometimes as pretentious and even rude, his career had seemed faultless until he entered the world of Spanish banking.

A law graduate with an MBA from Berkley, he was praised as an excellent economy minister, a post he held under conservative Popular Party prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, who ruled from 1996-2004.

Aznar said recently he had viewed Rato as his "natural successor" to lead the party and, perhaps, the country.

But Rato later turned away from politics and secured the top job in the Caja Madrid bank before presiding over a series of mergers and the Bankia listing.

"The whole process was controlled by the regulator," he told parliament in July. "The process was transparent and rigorous."

- AFP/fa

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Narendra Modi addresses nation after winning Gujarat assembly election

AHMEDABAD: Fresh from the hat-trick in the assembly polls, chief minister Narendra Modi gave women and youth voters the credit for the BJP's thumping win. Addressing a 'vijay sabha' outside BJP headquarters in Khanpur on Thursday, he said if he had committed any 'mistake', he seeks forgiveness from the people.

"If there has been a mistake somewhere. If I have erred somewhere, I seek apology from you, the six crore Gujaratis," Modi said in the victory speech in Hindi, aiming to reach out to a wider audience.

Modi, who has always been under attack following the 2002 post-Godhra violence, made no mention of it in his 45-minute speech.

"You have given me power. Now you also give me your blessings so that I do not commit any mistake, no one is hurt, and there is no mistake committed by me even unknowingly. When people, who are in fact God, give their blessings, there is no possibility of a mistake," he said.

Analysts said that by choosing to speak in Hindi when he had stuck to Gujarati during his entire election campaign, Modi may be signalling his national ambitions.

Taking potshots at his detractors, Modi said he did not need a certificate from anyone after people had given him "the biggest medal."

As the cheering crowd shouted "PM-PM," Modi said he would visit Delhi on December 27 for a day. "Gujarat is a role model for the elections," he said. "The entire election was fought here on the plank of development. Gujarat has endorsed the plank of development and has voted accordingly."

He went on to say: "This victory is not the victory of Narendra Modi, but of the six crore Gujaratis and those Indians who aspire to prosperity and development. This is a victory of all those who wish for the country's good."

During his speech, he mostly tried to address the masses outside the state. "People of India want development. Whether it is Assam, Kerala or Jammu and Kashmir or any corner of the country, this victory belongs to all those who want development."

Modi also promised to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of people of Gujarat and work more rigorously over the next five years.

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