Reuters: Amid economic jitters and worries about diminished investor interest in a massive North Slope natural gas pipeline, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday defended her efforts to secure the mega-project that has been pursued for decades and that has been a centerpiece of her political career. Palin said her administration’s competitive-bidding process, under a law called the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, has produced concrete results. "There had been no progress in the …