News Paradise

Over 90 killed in Russia club explosion

2009-12-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Moscow, Dec 5 (RIA Novosti) An explosion in a club in the city of Perm in Russia killed at least 90 people and injured 114, an emergencies ministry source said Saturday.

The explosion and the subsequent fire is believed to have been caused by breaches of fire safety rules while using pyrotechnics, a local emergencies ministry source said.
'Almost all dead and injured have already been taken away. The site of the tragedy is now cordoned off,' the source said.
A local police source said most casualties were due to smoke and stampede that followed.
'According to preliminary data, a stampede occurred at the exit, and those who stayed at the cafe died of carbon dioxide poisoning,' the source said.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control. The majority of victims were cafe employees and their relatives, as the cafe marked its anniversary.
Investigators have ruled out a terrorist attack.

Sesame Street Anniversary: Where Are the Realistic Animals? : Discovery News

2009-11-10T21:12:00.001-08:00

Sesame Street Anniversary: Where Are the Realistic Animals? : Discovery News

Posted using ShareThis

Home Min attends WBC to 'prove a point'

2009-08-16T06:32:00.001-07:00

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram attends the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad as ordinary spectator to prove point. Sources said that the minister took the step to send out a message to the participants. It is also said that the home minister paid money to buy a ticket from the window.

Sources also said that the Home Minister fefused government transport and security cover. It is also said that the minister sat in spectators gallery like ordinary citizen.

The Home Minister's symbolic initiative came after some players pulled out citing security threat. A prominent terrorist organisation has threatened to target the Championship.

Twitter needs a back up

2009-08-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

Twitter went down last week, and the world got very quiet. People didn't know what do with themselves; they wanted to tweet the news that Twitter was down, but that was out of the question. Entire overheard conversations went unremarked upon, and mini-reviews of recent episodes of True Blood withered on the vine. I saw a funny Onion video that I was sure my followers would have appreciated and an outrageous Rush Limbaugh quote that demanded my impassioned response, but what could I do? Twitter was down for just a few hours—the service's first major outage during its new era of ubiquity—and it felt strange. It's not normal for an entire medium of communication to go offline; sure, sometimes Gmail is balky and your office phones won't respond, but for everyone else, e-mail and the phones and the Web still work. When Twitter goes down, it's down for everyone, everywhere.

Twitter is run by a single company in a single office building in San Francisco. When you send out a message, it flies about Twitter's servers and then alights in all your Twitter pals' cell phones and Tweetdecks. The system is fast and technologically simple, which helps explain its exponential growth.

But for Twitter, centralization is also a curse. In its early days, the site was known for its regular brokenness—its error-page logo, the "fail whale," became a cultural shorthand for suckiness. Twitter went down so often because the idea behind Twitter—sending out short status updates to the world—became too popular for one company to handle.

This isn't unusual with new technology. In its early days, the Web itself doubled in size every few months. But the Web didn't buckle from overuse. That's because it was distributed—the Web is just a protocol, a set of common rules that connect lots of different servers managed by lots of different companies around the world. Twitter's frequent failures thus raise a question: Shouldn't microblogging be distributed, too? How can a single company manage everyone's updates—shouldn't it be more like e-mail: managed by scores of different providers?

Dave Winer, the pioneering programmer and blogger who runs Scripting.com, has been arguing for months that Twitter is untenable in its current form. Winer likes Twitter—or, at least, he likes the idea of Twitter. Short status updates could well succeed e-mail as the dominant mode of wired communication. But having one company manage the entire enterprise is technically fragile, he argues. Twitter went down last week due to a distributed denial-of-service attack aimed at a single Twitter user—millions of zombie computers had been directed to cripple the user's social-networking pages (apparently as part of ongoing cyberwarfare between Russian and Georgian hackers). The rest of us were collateral damage—Twitter went down for you because of a beef between people on the other side of the world. Does this make sense? Winer doesn't think so. If Twitter worked more like e-mail or the Web—a system managed by different entities that were connected by common Web protocols—a hit like last week's wouldn't be crippling. A denial-of-service attack would have brought down some people's status updates, but Twitter would still work for most of the world.

READ MORE

Moon, Mars out of reach: US panel

2009-08-16T02:22:00.001-07:00

Cape Canaveral (USA): The US plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 will not happen without a big boost in Nasa's budget, leaving only the International Space Station as a viable target for the country's human space program, according to a presidential review panel.

The Human Space Flight Plans committee, which presented its preliminary findings to the White House on Friday, concluded that a human mission to Mars currently would be too risky.

Developing new spaceships to replace the retiring space shuttle fleet and bigger rockets to reach the moon would require about $3 billion more per year, the panel headed by former Lockheed Martin chief Norm Augustine said.

The only human space program affordable under Nasa's existing budget is an enhanced space station, one that has a side benefit of seeding a commercial passenger-launch services market, said the panel, which completed a series of public meetings this week.

Nasa spends about half of its $18 billion annual budget on human space flight to fly the space shuttles, build and operate the space station and develop new vehicles in a follow-on program called Constellation.

The committee said the new U.S. exploration initiative - aimed at landing astronauts on the moon by 2020 - is doomed because its 10-year, $108 billion budget has been shaved by about $30 billion.

"We can't do this program in this budget," said panel member Sally Ride, a former astronaut. "This budget is simply not friendly to exploration."

Tense Waiting Game for Michael Jackson's Doctor

2009-07-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

What drugs were in Michael Jackson's system at the time of his death?

The L.A. coroner's pending toxicology report – expected to answer that key question any day now – may hold the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray, the singer's personal physician. Murray was with Jackson on the day he died and is the apparent focus of a manslaughter investigation.

According to Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Chief Investigator Craig Harvey, the long
awaited autopsy report will be released within days. "We anticipate releasing it this week," Harvey said July 27. "We still have details to work out."

'In the Dark'

Miranda Sevcik, spokesperson for Murray's attorney Ed Chernoff, says they're "in the dark" as to whether an arrest of Murray is imminent, even as news reports increasingly point to potentially serious trouble for the Houston-based physician.

On Monday, CNN and the Associated Press reported investigators believe Murray was the person who injected Jackson with the powerful anesthesia Propofol the night before the entertainer died. Jackson regularly used the drug to help him sleep, according to media reports.

Murray's rep has declined to comment on whether he had administered Propofol to Jackson. The only two drugs Murray has denied prescribing for Jackson are Demerol and OxyContin. In response to media reports about Murray, his lawyer posted the following statement on his Web site Monday night:

"It's a waste of time responding to all these timed 'leaks' from 'anonymous' sources," Ed Chernoff wrote. "I feel like a horse swatting flies. Everyone needs to take a breath and wait for these long delayed toxicology results. I have no doubt they want to make a case for goodness sakes, its Michael Jackson! But things tend to shake out when all the facts are made known, and I'm sure that will happen here as well."

Another Search?

Authorities have twice interviewed Murray and sought a third session with him, which has not yet been set. They also raided his Houston clinic on July 22, which Murray's camp said came as a surprise. His rep didn't know whether a similar search of the doctor's offices in Las Vegas would occur.

"Obviously investigators are not sharing details with us about their plans, as evidenced by what happened last week," Sevcik says. "Like everyone else, we're awaiting the results of the toxicology tests, and at that point, we'll assess what we need to do."

L.A.-based forensic toxicologist Nachman Brautbar, M.D., who's not involved with the case, says the the toxicology report – an analysis of drugs in a person's system – "plays a prime role in putting the pieces together of why someone died when the initial autopsy rules out any obvious known causes of death." But he said it would be "unsual" for a coroner to rule homicide – a death caused by another person which could include manslaughter – in a drug-related case outside of a hospital or nursing home scenario.

From HUFF POST

The Recession Is Over

2009-07-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

In Westport, Mass., about 60 miles southwest of Boston, traffic crawls along Route 6 as drivers make their way to the nearby Atlantic beaches like Horseneck or Baker's. A 10-worker crew pouring and raking asphalt onto the road slows their progress. It's the kind of small annoyance drivers nationwide face each summer. It's also one small manifestation of President Barack Obama's ambitious strategy for jump-starting the economy.

In April, the P.J. Keating Co., a construction firm based in Lunenburg, Mass., bid on about a dozen stimulus projects funded through the U.S. Transportation Department. It won two contracts, including this $4.06 million job, rescuing what would have been a dismal year for P.J. Keating, says David Baker, 36, a manager of construction operations. As business dwindled over the past two years, the firm laid off about a dozen people. "We definitely would have been faced with another half-dozen layoffs had we not gotten these stimulus projects," Baker says. Instead, the company kept all its remaining 300 employees and hired five new ones. Ordinarily, a few government-funded jobs, like traffic on Route 6, wouldn't be noteworthy. But the tableau neatly encapsulates the promise—and pitfalls—of an economy at an inflection point.

The Great Recession, which rolled over our financial lives like one of P.J. Keating's giant pavers, is most likely over. Home sales, while still far below the levels of a year ago, have risen for three straight months—a first since 2004. The stock market has rallied 44 percent since March, thanks to renewed optimism and improving earnings from big companies like Goldman Sachs and Apple. In June, seven of the 10 indicators in the Conference Board Leading Economic Index pointed upward, including manufacturing hours worked and unemployment claims. Macroeconomic Advisers, the St. Louis-based consulting firm, says the economy is expanding at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the current quarter. Economic activity "will increase slightly over the remainder of 2009," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress.

Irrational exuberance it's not. But even stagnation would be an improvement over recent history. The U.S. economy shrank at nearly a 6 percent annualized rate between September 2008 and March 2009, a shocking slowdown that pitched the global economy into recession for the first time since World War II. "This looks an awful lot like the beginning of a second Great Depression," Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said in January. Catastrophe may have been averted. But when economists proclaim a recession over, they're celebrating a technicality: They mean economic output has stopped contracting. And while that is good news, you might wait a while before adding Judy Garland's rendition of "Happy Days Are Here Again" to your iPod. GDP growth alone can't feed a family or pay a mortgage. Cursed with a high national debt load and blessed with a dynamic, growing work force, the U.S. economy needs annual growth of at least 1.5 percent just to feel like we're standing still.

Worse, the data point that means the most to our psychological well-being—unemployment—is likely to keep climbing. The loss of 6.5 million jobs since December 2007 has spurred the sharpest rise in the unemployment rate since the 1930s. As manufacturing jobs move overseas and companies struggle to further reduce costs, unemployment—which stands at 9.5 percent—is likely to rise above 10 percent. "There's a difference between having an expansion and an economy that has recovered," says Lawrence Summers, Obama's chief economic adviser.

Having survived a near-death economic experience, Americans now need to focus on surviving what's likely to be a pokey, painful recovery. "I see 1 percent growth in the economy in the next few years," says New York University economist Nouriel Roubini. "It's going to feel like a recession, even when it ends." Shifting our unwieldy $14 trillion economy from rapid reverse into neutral took heroic efforts from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department (in two administrations), two sessions of Congress, and, of course, the taxpayers. But the greater challenge may be getting the economy to start growing at a pace that creates jobs, boosts incomes, and raises corporate profits—all without triggering inflation.

A year ago, I dubbed this a new kind of recession—one caused by turmoil in housing and finance rather than manufacturing or weak consumer spending. Now that it's over, we'll need a new kind of recovery. For 60 years, policymakers have relied on a series of simple tools for combating slowdowns and promoting growth: The Fed cuts interest rates, government slashes taxes, and a deregulated Wall Street provides easy money. All of which spurs debt-fueled consumption and the movement of goods and services around the globe.

No more. The Fed literally can't cut interest rates further—the overnight interest rate it controls is at zero. Given the deficits and Democratic control of Washington, the prospect of broad-based tax cuts are slim. Americans are still stuffing cash under the mattress. "The last several recoveries were not sustained because they were based on bubbles, they were led by consumption, and they enhanced inequality," says Summers. "The president's emphasis is on having a different kind of expansion."

There is more..

READ MORE+

Endeavour crew begin final spacewalk

2009-07-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

Washington: Two astronauts ventured into open space on Monday to install cameras on the International Space Station's new Japanese laboratory during the final spacewalk of the US shuttle Endeavour mission.

Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn floated out of the ISS about one hour earlier than planned as they began the mission's fifth spacewalk, which was expected to last six and a half hours.

While Mashburn secures multi-layer insulation around the station's two-armed robot, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator known as DEXTRE, Cassidy will separate the power channels shared by two of the station's four gyroscopes.

Splitting the channels of the two gyroscopes, which provide non-propulsive altitude control for the station, will prevent a failure on one channel from disabling both of the fixtures, the Nasa said.

The spacewalking duo will then install video cameras on the front and back of Japan's Kibo laboratory, which became the station's biggest room when it was installed last year.

For their final task, the astronauts will deploy a payload on another part of the ISS that will provide storage capability for spare space station hardware.

Who Is Killing America's Millionaires?

2009-07-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

It isn't the tax man.

It hasn't been a good recession for the rich. The late boom was extraordinarily top-heavy, with the overwhelming majority of economic gains seemingly defying gravity and flowing to the top rung of the economic ladder. Now those with the most assets and income have the most to lose. Add together the declining markets, an imploding finance sector, a real estate rot that has eaten its way up from the ground floor to the penthouse, and the predations of Bernie Madoff and Sir Allen Stanford, millionaires who ripped off other millionaires, and, as my Newsweek colleague Robert Samuelson notes, these are tough times for the wealthy
As if market forces and malevolent actors weren't enough, the rich are now finding themselves targeted by politicians. Strapped for cash, states, cities, and the federal government are seeking to soak the rich—or at least to make them pay taxes at the same marginal rates as they did in the Reagan years, which many on the right regard as an act equivalent to executing landed gentry. Some politicians have even suggested that we fund health care by slapping a surtax on people with annual incomes of more than $1 million.

This tactic isn't likely to work, in large part because people who make a lot of money are quite effective at swaying public policy. What's more, the wealthy have many defenders who argue that taxing the golden geese will cause them to fly away. In May, the Wall Street Journal op-ed page argued that millionaires fled Maryland after the state legislature boosted the top marginal state income tax rate to 6.25 percent on the top 0.3 percent of filers. "In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April," the Journal notes. "This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a 'substantial decline.' " The Journal uses this small sample to warn the federal government and states with progressive tax structures and lots of rich people—New York, New Jersey, California—to heed the lesson. Tax the wealthy too much, and they'll leave.

Read MORE

North Korea Executes Christian For Distributing Bible: Rights Group

2009-07-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

SEOUL, South Korea — A Christian woman accused of distributing the Bible, a book banned in communist North Korea, was publicly executed last month for the crime, South Korean activists said Friday.

The 33-year-old mother of three, Ri Hyon Ok, also was accused of spying for South Korea and the United States, and of organizing dissidents, a rights group said in Seoul, citing documents obtained from the North.

The Investigative Commission on Crime Against Humanity report included a copy of Ri's government-issued photo ID and said her husband, children and parents were sent to a political prison the day after her June 16 execution.

The claim could not be independently verified Friday, and there has been no mention by the North's official Korean Central News Agency of her case.

But it would mark a harsh turn in the crackdown on religion in North Korea, a country where Christianity once flourished and where the capital, Pyongyang, was known as the "Jerusalem of the East" for the predominance of the Christian faith.

According to its constitution, North Korea guarantees freedom of religion. But in reality, the regime severely restricts religious observance, with the cult of personality created by national founder Kim Il Sung and enjoyed by his son, current leader Kim Jong Il, serving as a virtual state religion. Those who violate religious restrictions are often accused of crimes such as spying or anti-government activities.

The government has authorized four state churches: one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox. However, they cater to foreigners only, and ordinary North Koreans cannot attend the services.

Still, more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to practice Christianity in hiding – at great personal risk, defectors and activists say.

READ MORE

The China Bubble's Coming

2009-07-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Forget about a Shanghai stock bubble. The whole Chinese economy's getting ready to burst.

Financial commentators are obsessively debating whether the recent rise in the Chinese stock market means there's a bubble -- and if so, when it's going to burst.

My take? Who cares! What happens to the broader Chinese economy is what we should really be watching. It will have a far-reaching impact on the rest of the world -- much more far-reaching than a decline in stocks.

Despite everything, the Chinese economy has shown incredible resilience recently. Although its biggest customers -- the United States and Europe -- are struggling (to say the least) and its exports are down more than 20 percent, China is still spitting out economic growth numbers as if there weren't a worry in the world. The most recent estimate put annual growth at nearly 8 percent.

Is the Chinese economy operating in a different economic reality? Will it continue to grow, no matter what the global economy is doing?

The answer to both questions is no. China's fortunes over the past decade are reminiscent of Lucent Technologies in the 1990s. Lucent sold computer equipment to dot-coms. At first, its growth was natural, the result of selling goods to traditional, cash-generating companies. After opportunities with cash-generating customers dried out, it moved to start-ups -- and its growth became slightly artificial. These dot-coms were able to buy Lucent's equipment only by raising money through private equity and equity markets, since their business models didn't factor in the necessity of cash-flow generation.

Funds to buy Lucent's equipment quickly dried up, and its growth should have decelerated or declined. Instead, Lucent offered its own financing to dot-coms by borrowing and lending money on the cheap to finance the purchase of its own equipment. This worked well enough, until it came time to pay back the loans.

The United States, of course, isn't a dot-com. But a great portion of its growth came from borrowing Chinese money to buy Chinese goods, which means that Chinese growth was dependent on that very same borrowing.

Now the United States and the rest of the world is retrenching, corporations are slashing their spending, and consumers are closing their pocket books. This means that the consumption of Chinese goods is on the decline. And this is where the dot-com analogy breaks down. Unlike Lucent, China has nuclear weapons. It can print money at will and can simply order its banks to lend. It is a communist command economy, after all. Lucent is now a $2 stock. China won't go down that easily.

The Chinese central bank has a significant advantage over the U.S. Federal Reserve. Chairman Ben Bernanke and his cohort may print a lot of money (and they did), but there's almost nothing they can do to speed the velocity of money. They simply cannot force banks to lend without nationalizing them (and only the government-sponsored enterprises have been nationalized). They also cannot force corporations and consumers to spend. Since China isn't a democracy, it doesn't suffer these problems.

China's communist government owns a large part of the money-creation and money-spending apparatus. Money supply therefore shot up 28.5 percent in June. Since it controls the banks, it can force them to lend, which it has also done.

Finally, China can force government-owned corporate entities to borrow and spend, and spend quickly itself. This isn't some slow-moving, touchy-feely democracy. If the Chinese government decides to build a highway, it simply draws a straight line on the map. Any obstacle -- like a hospital, a school, or a Politburo member's house -- can become a casualty of the greater good. (Okay -- maybe not the Politburo member's house).

Although China can't control consumer spending, the consumer is a comparatively small part of its economy. Plus, currency control diminishes the consumer's buying power. All of this makes the United States' TARP plans look like child's play. If China wants to stimulate the economy, it does so -- and fast. That's why the country is producing such robust economic numbers.

Why is China doing this? It doesn't have the kind of social safety net one sees in the developed world, so it needs to keep its economy going at any cost. Millions of people have migrated to its cities, and now they're hungry and unemployed. People without food or work tend to riot. To keep that from happening, the government is more than willing to artificially stimulate the economy, in the hopes of buying time until the global system stabilizes. It's literally forcing banks to lend -- which will create a huge pile of horrible loans on top of the ones they've originated over the last decade.

But don't confuse fast growth with sustainable growth. Much of China's growth over the past decade has come from lending to the United States. The country suffers from real overcapacity. And now growth comes from borrowing -- and hundreds of billion-dollar decisions made on the fly don't inspire a lot of confidence. For example, a nearly completed, 13-story building in Shanghai collapsed in June due to the poor quality of its construction.

This growth will result in a huge pile of bad debt -- as forced lending is bad lending. The list of negative consequences is very long, but the bottom line is simple: There is no miracle in the Chinese miracle growth, and China will pay a price. The only question is when and how much.

Another casualty of what's taking place in China is the U.S. interest rate. China sold goods to the United States and received dollars in exchange. If China were to follow the natural order of things, it would have converted those dollars to renminbi (that is, sell dollars and buy renminbi). The dollar would have declined and renminbi would have risen. But this would have made Chinese goods more expensive in dollars -- making Chinese products less price-competitive. China would have exported less, and its economy would have grown at a much slower rate.

But China chose a different route. Instead of exchanging dollars back into renminbi and thus driving the dollar down and the renminbi up -- the natural order of things -- China parked its money in the dollar by buying Treasurys. It artificially propped up the dollar. And now, China is sitting on 2.2 trillion of them.

Now, China needs to stimulate its economy. It's facing a very delicate situation indeed: It needs the money internally to finance its continued growth. However, if it were to sell dollar-denominated treasuries, several bad things would happen. Its currency would skyrocket -- meaning the loss of its competitive low-cost-producer edge. Or, U.S. interest rates would go up dramatically -- not good for its biggest customer, and therefore not good for China.

This is why China is desperately trying to figure out how to withdraw its funds from the dollar without driving it down -- not an easy feat.

And the U.S. government isn't helping: It's printing money and issuing Treasurys at a fast clip, and needs somebody to keep buying them. If China reduces or halts its buying, the United States may be looking at high interest rates, with or without inflation. (The latter scenario is most worrying.)

All in all, this spells trouble -- a big, big Chinese bubble. Identifying such bubbles is a lot easier than timing their collapse. But as we've recently learned, you can defy the laws of financial gravity for only so long. Put simply, mean reversion is a bitch. And the longer excesses persist, the harder the financial gravity will bring China's economy back to Earth.

Source : HUFF POST

Donkey Business

2009-07-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

The only zebra in Gaza.

GAZA—Something didn't quite look right about the zebra, but it was hard to say exactly what. Of the several ramshackle zoos in Gaza, Marah, located not far from the Bureij refugee camp, is by far the cheeriest: The animals are lively, the enclosures clean, and children gather around the cage of a resting lion.

Then again, the competition is hardly stiff: The zoo in Rafah features dead animals left to rot in their cages; another animal park, situated in a densely populated neighborhood in Bureij, recently shut down amid financial difficulties (and after neighbors complained of the smell). A third, also in Bureij, is so short of funds that a fox is kept in a grocery cart with a board over the top.

Yet Marah, with its broken-down bumper cars and a pit filled with sadly deflated balls, had its own not-quite-right feel—particularly the zebra. Standing near the back of its cage, facing away from the spectators, the animal kept its head tucked down.

"It's really a painted donkey," admitted Mahmud Berghat, the director of Marah, when asked about the creature. Making a fake zebra isn't easy—henna didn't work and wood paint was deemed inhumane, so they finally settled on human hair dye. "We cut its hair short and then painted the stripes," Berghat explained behind the closed door of his office.

It did the trick—if not for zoologists, then at least for legions of Gaza schoolchildren who have never seen a real zebra. When I asked him whether anyone had ever caught the ruse, the director admitted that two sharp university students had IDed the counterfeit creature. "But don't tell anyone," he said. "The children love him."

The idea of a zoo creating a fake zebra sounds preposterous, but this is Gaza, which, after two years of an economic blockade, is renowned for recycling, repurposing, and smuggling just about anything that can't be imported legally. The zoo, in a way, represents all three of these coping mechanisms: a couple of house cats stand in for wild cats; the lion was drugged and smuggled through a tunnel from Egypt; and the zebra, as Berghat joked, was "locally made."

Zoos in war zones produce an unending cascade of heart-string-tugging stories. Kabul, Afghanistan, had Marjan, the one-eyed lion, who famously survived the Soviet invasion and Taliban rule only to die in his sleep in 2002. The Baghdad zoo, once the largest in the region, was looted during the 2003 invasion.

Likewise, in Gaza, stories of hardship abound. During Israel's Operation Cast Lead, which started in December 2008 and continued through January 2009, Marah's zookeepers couldn't reach the animals. Some were hit by shrapnel; several, including a prized peacock, escaped; and many more died of starvation. The zoo stories are at times apocryphal. The Marah zoo says its lioness was killed by shrapnel; the same story was told about a lioness at the nearby Middle Zoo. (An odd coincidence, or perhaps life is hard for female lions?) But what differentiates Gaza's zoo is how the animals got there. Prior to the Hamas takeover, many of the animals were brought in legally from Egypt and Israel. But since 2007, the most common route animals take to their cages in Gaza is through the underground labyrinth of tunnels that snake from the southern tip of Gaza into Egypt's Sinai.

Though strictly regulated shipments are allowed in through the Israeli border, the majority of what's sold in Gaza's markets—from cement to Converse sneakers—is smuggled through the tunnels. The zoos, like everything else in Gaza, have become caught up in the bizarre economic situation of living in an international no man's land. When the Marah zoo, or just about any zoo in Gaza, needs a new animal, it places an order with a smuggler. Other than price, size is the only limitation—one tunnel owner in Rafah told me the biggest animal that can fit in the tunnels is a cow.

Read MORE

China dilutes one-child policy in Shanghai?

2009-07-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Beijing: Couples in China's glittering metropolis of Shanghai are being encouraged to have another child to overcome an ageing population due to the decades old strictly enforced one-child policy norm, an official said.

"We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the ageing people and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future," Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, was quoted as saying by China Daily on Friday.

Shanghai has more than three million registered residents aged 60 and above, nearly 22 per cent of the population. By 2020, the proportion is expected to rise to about 34 per cent.

Family planning officials and volunteers will now make home visits and slip leaflets under doorways to encourage couples to have a second child if both have grown up as only children. Emotional and financial counselling will also be provided, officials said.

"The rising number of ageing people will put pressure on the younger generation and the society. We need to find ways to solve the problem, but it doesn't mean the country's family planning policy will be reversed," Xie said.

While some people are open to it, others are not.

Xiao Wang, 25, who works at a local company, said: "I'm not sure, but such policy really gives us one more option. If family finances permit, I want to have two kids with my wife in the future."

Another office worker, 26-year-old Xiao Chen, however, said: "I don't think we will have a second kid. After all, it is stressful work raising a child."

$190,000 withdrawn in $20 bills

2009-07-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Defiant Mapua artist Roger Griffiths today made a stand against Westpac by withdrawing his $190,000 savings in $20 notes.

The bank provided a red-and-black carry bag to take away the cash after meticulously counting it in front of Mr Griffiths at its Nelson branch.

Mr Griffiths, a loyal Westpac customer for 25 years, decided to withdraw his money after the bank rejected his application for an $80,000 mortgage. "It's about time normal people took a stand."

He said the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said.

He wanted to buy a $385,000 property in Mapua, had $200,000 in cash and was going to sell his $110,000 campervan.

That more than met the bank's criteria for a 20 per cent deposit, and the property which included a home and commercial premises would have returned $500 a week, he said.

He was disappointed when his loan application was rejected, but it was Westpac losing $111 million to Lane Walker Rudkin Industries that tipped his decision to withdraw his money.

"They can lose $110 million with LWR but turn down a normal customer who has never missed a loan payment," he said. "If they don't have the trust in me after 25 years, there's a problem for Westpac."

Having decided to withdraw his money, he then decided to make it hard for the bank by requesting payment in $20 bills.

He said the Nelson branch told him it did not have that amount and he would have to also go to other branches at Stoke, Richmond and Motueka. However, he insisted the bank have the money ready to collect at 9am today. He then took it to the Nelson Building Society, saying he would rather deal with NBS because it was part of the community.

His message to Westpac: "If you don't support the community, the community won't support you."

Mr Griffiths' protest comes after a series of embarrassments for Westpac. On Tuesday its former Alexandra bank manager admitted defrauding the bank of more than $400,000, and it has been left red-faced over the slip-up that allowed $10 million to be wrongly credited to a Rotorua service station co-owner who had since fled to China.

Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling said today that when the bank lent money it required certain information to be provided to enable that lending to be done prudently.

"It's about providing evidence of an ability to meet regular repayments."

In Mr Griffiths' case that information was not provided for it to be assessed, he said. Mr Griffiths' withdrawal was disappointing.

Naked girls plough fields in India for rain

2009-07-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

PATNA, India：Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plough parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state ploughed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the ploughs.

"They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains," Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town
"This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily."

India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states.

Do Genes Affect How You Respond to a Placebo

2009-07-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

When I wrote about the placebo effect a couple of months ago, scientists didn't have any real understanding of why placebo works for some people but not others. Some patients can think themselves out of pain (the best-known placebo effect), but others cannot. Some patients with Parkinson's disease can take a sugar pill and, through the power of belief and hope, see their symptoms improve—but not all. Some patients, having experienced the respiration-depressing effects of morphine, will find their breathing becoming shallower even when they're injected with an inert solution, not morphine; others experience no such placebo effect. The difference, it turns out, may come down to the levels of particular neurotransmitters that carry messages through the brain, and those levels may reflect genetic differences.

In the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, scientists led by Andrew Leuchter of UCLA will report that in patients with major depressive disorder, variants of two genes affect whether someone will respond to a placebo. (The genes have no effect on whether someone will develop major depression in the first place.)

The genes that matter are those that make enzymes called catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A). That makes sense if you believe that one way the placebo effect works is by goosing the brain's natural reward pathways. Those pathways run on two neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine. "Most research on how placebos work now focuses on the brain's reward system and on dopamine signals," Leuchter told me by e-mail. "Our work suggests that norepinephrine should be examined as well. Dopamine and norepinephrine actually work hand-in-hand to manage reward information. One way to think of it is that dopamine helps an individual expect a reward, and norepinephrine helps you sustain attention on the possible reward and figure out how it can be achieved. We theorize that a person has to have the optimal level of norepinephrine in order to sustain the placebo response." COMT breaks down dopamine; MAO-A breaks down norepinephrine. The scientists therefore guessed that levels or forms of these enzymes would affect brain levels of the reward chemicals and thus whether that brain is more or less likely to respond to a placebo.

Read MORE

They Scrapped the F-22!

2009-07-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

The remarkable vote to kill the plane and what it means for America's military future

This is a big deal: The Senate today voted to halt production of the F-22 stealth fighter plane, and it did so 58-40, a margin much wider than expected.

Not only is this a major victory for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who lobbied strenuously (something he rarely does) to kill this program, and for President Barack Obama, who pledged to veto the defense bill if it contained a nickel for more F-22s. The vote might also mark the beginning of a new phase in defense politics, a scaling-back of the influence that defense contractors have over budgets and policies.

Then again, I might be dreaming. Surely things couldn't be changing quite that much. Could they?

In any case, the blow against the F-22 is a substantial step. Gates has been publicly inveighing against the fighter for more than a year, calling it a Cold War relic, noting that it hasn't been used in any of the wars we've fought lately, and noting that our current stock—187 F-22s, which have cost $60 billion to develop, build, and maintain to date—is more than adequate to handle the extremely narrow and unlikely range of threats for which they might be suitable in the future.

The Air Force brass wanted $4 billion in the fiscal year 2010 budget to build 20 more F-22s. Gates slashed the request to zero. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted, 13-11, to shift $1.7 billion from other programs in order to fund another seven planes. That's the line item that the full Senate excised this afternoon.

The amendment to halt the plane's production was co-sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain, who has never been an F-22 fan, went so far as to quote at some length President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, which warned of the "military-industrial complex," though McCain noted that the proper phrase should be the "military-industrial-congressional complex."

That's really what the F-22 has come to be about. The Air Force shrewdly spread the plane's contracts to firms in 46 states, thus giving a solid majority of senators—and a lot of House members, too—a financial (and, therefore, electoral) stake in the program's survival.

Widening the constituency is a tried-and-true method of keeping dubious weapons systems alive. It dates back to 1960, when the managers of the Army's Nike-Zeus missile-defense program set up subcontractors in 37 states, fearing that the incoming president, John F. Kennedy, would try to kill the system. (Their fear was well-founded; Kennedy and his defense secretary, Robert McNamara, did kill the Nike-Zeus, though the chiefs later pushed through an upgrade.)

The long history of congressional-contractor relations makes today's Senate vote all the more remarkable. The vote was not along party lines: 15 Republicans sided with Obama and Gates to kill the F-22; 15 Democrats (counting Sen. Joe Lieberman, who's an Independent) voted to keep the plane alive.

Rather, it was a vote that reflected corporate contracts. The floor leaders of the faction in favor of more F-22s were Sens. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia, where the F-22 is assembled, and Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, where parts of the plane are built. Joining this strange couple were such erstwhile doves as Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, which also hosts several F-22 contractors.

The floor debate was more transparently self-interested than usual. Dodd argued with intense passion that killing the F-22 would create a "dangerous gap" in America's technical know-how. The next advanced fighter jet, the F-35, won't enter production until 2014. The highly skilled workers who make F-22s can't be expected to hang around four years; they'll get different jobs, and they'll be unavailable when the country needs them.

Levin took the floor to point out that production of F-35s actually starts next year and that the FY 2010 budget contains money to build 30 of them. In other words, Levin said, "There is no gap." He wondered where Dodd got his information. Dodd replied that it came from the defense contractors. That's where he probably got the whole speech, too

READ MORE

Little known facts about the solar eclipse

2009-07-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Did you know animals and birds often prepare for sleep or behave confusedly during a total solar eclipse?

Well, here are some other little known facts about solar eclipse:

The longest recorded duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes

A total solar eclipse will not be visible until the sun is more than 90 per cent covered by the moon

When the sun is covered 99 per cent, day becomes night in the areas where the eclipse is visible

In the 5,000 year period between 2000 BC and 3000 AD, the earth is supposed to witness 11,898 solar eclipses

There can be a maximum total five solar eclipses, partial, annular or total in any year, and there are at least two solar eclipses every year somewhere on the earth

Total solar eclipses occur once every year or two years and only during a new moon

Every eclipse begins at sunrise at some point in its track and ends at sunset about half way around the globe from the starting point. Wednesday's total solar eclipse will start at sunrise in India and end at sunset in the eastern hemisphere

Nearly identical eclipses (total, annular or partial) occur after every 18 years and 11 days, called the Saros Cycle

During a solar eclipse, moon shadow travels at a speed of 1770.28 km per hour at the equator and up to 8,046.73 kmph at the north and south poles

During an eclipse, the moon's shadow is at the most 273.59 km wide, and in the path of totality, local temperatures can drop by as much as 20 degrees Celsius during a total solar eclipse

Prior to the advent of modern atomic clocks, studies of ancient records of solar eclipses enabled astronomers to detect a 0.001 second per century slowing down in earth's rotation

MJ movie to hit theatres soon

2009-07-22T06:37:00.001-07:00

A Hollywood movie made using footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for his planned series of comeback concerts could hit theatres by the end of this year, US media reports said on Monday.

Daily Variety reported that Sony Pictures studio was close to agreeing a 50-million-dollar deal for worldwide rights to nearly 80 hours of footage showing pop icon Jackson rehearsing before his death.

The report said AEG Entertainment, the company which owns the material and had been behind Jackson's proposed series of concerts in London, had screened the footage to Hollywood studio executives last week.
Variety reported that Kenny Ortega, the choreographer for Jackson's new "This Is It" concerts and the director of hit film "High School Musical," was expected to direct the movie.

So far only a brief snippet of Jackson's concert rehearsals have been revealed to the public.

Footage released on July 2 showed Jackson practicing a song-and-dance routine at Los Angeles's Staples Center two days before his death, supporting accounts he had been in good health.

Associates of Jackson have described the 50-year-old pop star as being in good form, including at another rehearsal the day before his death.

Jackson collapsed and died on June 25 at his rented Los Angeles mansion. A final cause of death has not been revealed as the coroner's await the results of toxicology tests.

Restore files from a damaged hard drive with ZAR

2009-07-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hard drive failures are always a nuisance — if not a disaster — especially when the backups have gone missing or were never made. Whether it’s your own oversight or that of a panicked user, at some point you’ll probably attempt to retrieve files from a damaged hard drive. In this IT Dojo video, I’ll show you how the Zero Assumption Recovery (ZAR) tool can help you find and restore recoverable files from a failed hard drive.

During the video, I warn everyone about the potential dangers of using self-service data recovery tools and recommend that viewers contact a qualified data recovery company if the data is critical or the drive has physical damage. Despite my admonitions, I’ll no doubt receive a few complaints once this piece is published, and some will argue that tools like ZAR do more harm than good. But I’d like to move the discussion beyond an anecdotal debate and gather some real numbers–albeit through a nonrandom sample. Answer the following questions, and let us know if you’ve used a self-service hard drive recovery tool and if the experience was positive.

The Most Powerful Eclipse of the Year 2009

2009-07-21T05:01:00.001-07:00

Followed by the lunar eclipse on July 07th 2009, the most powerful eclipse for this year happens on 22nd July 2009. This eclipse is called as total solar eclipse and it is sixth total solar eclipse for this decade. A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely hidden by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, and the much fainter ring called corona is visible. This eclipse is a 6-minute plus eclipse—the longest of the 21st century.

The eclipse is seen initially in India and it traverses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China and across the Pacific Ocean. Hence the major part of the eclipse occurs at eastern Asia, Indonesia and Pacific Ocean.

It is safe to observe the total phase of a solar eclipse directly with the unaided eye, binoculars or a telescope, when the sun is completely covered by the Moo. In fact this cannot be viewed thorough the filters as the light will be very dim. At this point of total solar eclipse the sun will be completely hidden and just a ring will visible which is nothing but the corona of the sun.

When the shrinking visible part of the photosphere becomes very small, Baily’s beads will occur. It has been named so as the image formed because of the sun rays looks like beads. This is caused by the sunlight still being able to reach Earth through lunar valleys, but no longer where mountains are present. After this begins the Totality with the Diamond Ring Effect, which emits the last bright flash of sunlight.

Occurrences

The following are few of the places where the total solar eclipse on 22^nd July 2009 can be experienced. All timings mentioned here are local timings of that place.

Location	Start Time	End Time	Maximum Eclipse at
India	05:54	07:18:11	06:21:00
Bangladesh	05:59:16	08:04:39	06:58:14
Japan	09:55:39	12:30:19	11:13:00
Singapore	08:40:52	09:43:56	09:11:26
Indonesia	16:20:18	18:50:14	17:40:54
China	08:33:45	10:54:09	09:41:59

Photography

Photographing such total solar eclipse is possible with fairly common film camera equipment. In order for the disk of the sun/moon to be easily visible, a fairly high magnification telephoto lens is needed (70-200 mm for a 35 mm camera), and for the disk to fill most of the frame, a longer lens is needed (over 500 mm). For those who are interested in photographing the total solar eclipse, here are few tips to make your photographing fruitful.

Precautions

Viewing the Sun after totality can be dangerous. Hence do not view the sun after eclipse as it emits highly hazardous rays.

While in Photographing, do take proper precautions to safeguard your eyes. The sun when viewed through the view finder of the camera might affect the retina of the eyes, which might even be a cause for losing our eyes. One of the most widely available filters for safe solar viewing is shade number 14 welder’s glass, which can be obtained from welding supply outlets.

Live Streaming/Webcasts On Internet

You can follow the live broadcast of the total solar eclipse on 22^nd July 2009 here.

Life Without the Moon

2009-07-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Life is a tenuous thing. Earth is just within Sol's habitable zone, and constantly pelted with solar radiation and cosmic rays. Rocky scraps of cosmic afterbirth constantly cross Earth’s orbit, threatening to eradicate all terrestrial life. In point of fact, it is almost certain that countless Extinction-Level Events would have sterilized the surface of our plucky planet had it not been for our constant companion and benefactor; a body which unwittingly wards away many of the ills that could befall us: the moon.

Luna is unique among the observed celestial bodies; there is no other satellite closer in size and composition to its mother-planet (if one discounts the dwarf-planet Pluto), and the Earth/moon system is the only tidally locked pair. Furthermore, it also happens to be the only moon in the solar system which is circling an intelligent civilization– a factor which may not be a mere coincidence.

It was 4.5 billion years ago last week that the young planetesimal Earth was forming from the sun's accretion disk of dust and boulders. Several other aspiring planets were building up nearby. One particularly promising young protoplanet was making some exemplary progress by loitering in Earth's Lagrange point, allowing it to share Earth's orbit by staying at a gravitationally neutral distance. As the mass of both young Earth and her smaller rival, Thiea increased, the gravitationally stable Lagrange point was insufficient to keep the worldlets apart, and the proto-worlds were drawn together. Theia, approximately Mars-sized by now, accelerated toward and slammed into Earth at an oblique angle. The heavy core of the smaller world didn't have the velocity to escape Earth, but a large swath of the lighter mantle material of both were flung into orbit. Within the year, the moon we know was well-under construction–or so goes the popular theory. No one bothered to record for us the the rate of Earth's spin before the incident, but like a glancing shot off a billiards ball, the Giant Impact certainly made sure it was spinning afterward.

In that era, the moon was much nearer Earth, and would have looked much larger–several times the size of the sun. For a long time the moon retained a molten core and the accompanying magnetic fields which left geological marks on our world. When things were almost settled down, there was an era called Late Planetary Bombardment when both Earth and its companion were pelted by impacts that blew planetary debris around, and left some of Earth's ancient geology on the moon. Over the eons, erosion has scrubbed away all evidence of that ancient time from the Earth, but some of the chunks that were blasted to the moon were preserved in a frozen, unchanged state. Ultimately these remnants of the Earth's violent youth would be found by enterprising humans, such as the infamous Genesis rock collected by the Apollo 15 astronauts.

Observations of the solar system show us that the moon's birth was rather unusual. All of the other worlds either lack satellites or have captured them from other places. Of course the moon isn't Earth's only unusual resident; its surface crawls with all manner of strange and delicate carbon-based life forms. Adherents of the Rare Earth Theory postulate that a large moon such as ours is not merely a benefit for life, but essentially a requirement.

Although our planetary neighbor Mars also technically lies within Sol's habitable zone, there is reason to speculate that life never could get a foothold there because of its axial tilt. Mars' axis can wobble from 10 degrees up to the current 25 degrees, and maybe more. This has sometimes leaned one of the poles so sharply that the ice melted, filling the meager atmosphere with water vapor that froze again on the next season. By introducing such extremes to the weather, the planet would potentially go through phases where sheets of ice were laid on the surface for epochs, then melted away when the axis tilt became more favorable. When the Phoenix Lander lands near a Martian icecap in May, we may get a chance to see evidence of this ice age cycle on the surface. While Earth has had its share of ice-ages, the gravity of the moon has acted as a gyroscope, keeping the Earth's axis steady at 23.5 degrees and sparing us the wild environmental changes Mars faced. This long-term stability has given life a chance to arise amidst a cycle of regular seasonal changes.

A case can also be made that the tides have been invaluable to the evolution of life on our world. The sun alone would cause some tides to occur, though they would be far less than those the moon creates. The surfing would suck, and for many that wouldn't be a life worth living. The higher tides afforded us by Luna have made long swaths of coastline into areas of that are regularly shifted between dry and wet. These variable areas may have been a proving ground for early sea life to reach out of the oceans and test the land for its suitability as a habitat. Areas farther from shore are only dry at the peak of low-tide, and the period of exposure to air increases as one nears shore, allowing for a subtle progression toward a waterless environment. Early life could have taken advantage of this gradual change to adapt to the wildly different demands of surviving outside the ocean.

It's not only water being tugged by the moon's gravity. Perhaps the moon helps keep Earth's core and seas warmer than they would otherwise be. Since the moon circles the Earth once a month, and the Earth is spinning a full turn at a much quicker 24 hours, the moon's gravity is creating drag, hence friction, as it pulls at Earth's surface. This causes several things to happen: first is a perpetual morphing of the crust–like the amateurish kneading of bread–that contributes a clumpy, broken mess that we call plate tectonics. The WolfmanEven Earth's rotation is slowed by virtue of the Moon's pull.

Without the moon, the Earth might rotate much faster, causing a more turbulent atmosphere, and thus unending gales of life-hostile, skirt-blowing winds. As Luna's orbit slowly creeps away from the Earth at 1.5 inches per year, her gravimetric drag will eventually slow the Earth's rotation to match the pace of the moon's orbit. One day will be 9,600 hours long, and the moon will only be visible from one hemisphere, fixed in the sky. Of course, by then the sun should be in an expanding red-giant phase, slowly engulfing its planets. The sun's coronal atmosphere could be creating drag against the moon, slowing it toward an eventual breakup as Earth's gravity tears it apart. The remnants of Luna will fall back to Mother Earth as meteorites, and while it may be a pretty show, it ought to prove bad for property values, and worse for the surf.

If the unlikely set of circumstances which brought forth our moon are as rare as they seem, perhaps ours is the only such planetary system in the entire, vast galaxy; or perhaps in our unfashionable limb of the universe. But every once in a great while, when the time is right, two protoplanets who love each other very much can touch each other in a special way, and make life together. Without that magic, astronomical ritual, we certainly would not be here.

Scientists tune world's brightest X-ray beam

2009-07-20T07:34:00.001-07:00

Hamburg: The most intense X-ray beam of its type in the world has been generated inside a 2,300 m circular tunnel under the German city of Hamburg, the Desy research institute said on Monday.

The machine, which cost 225 million euros ($297 million), was switched on in April, but unlike a light bulb it takes weeks to tune up.

The X-ray light came on Saturday. More months will now be spent adjusting measuring devices. Next year, scientists can begin actually using the machine to peer at atomic structures in proteins, cancer cells and the like.

Earlier this year, India signed an agreement to aid the project and gain special access to the machine, known as a synchrotron, which has been remodelled from an earlier particle accelerator at the site and is named Petra III.

In a previous life, the Petra ring was used to discover an atomic particle called the gluon.

The synchrotron keeps a beam of up to 10 billion positrons - the anti-particles to electrons - going round a circle permanently at almost the speed of light.

Desy, which is mainly funded by the German government, said the particles had been racing round the tracks for weeks, but have now been put on a zig-zag course so that they emit the light needed for experiments.

Neil Armstrong sidesteps Moon debate at Apollo 11 reunion

2009-07-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

The Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong shied away from a public clash of opinion with his two former crewmates last night, quietly failing to join their calls for America to re-examine its controversial plans to send astronauts back to the Moon.

Sidestepping the debate as to whether Nasa is wasting time and resources on revisiting the lunar surface before launching more ambitious voyages to Mars and beyond, Mr Armstrong instead reflected on the history of the space race as the three reunited to mark the 40th anniversary of their mission.

Delivering the annual John H.Glenn lecture at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, Mr Armstrong joined Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in addressing a “who’s who” of aviation dignitaries.

But while his crewmates used the opportunity to deliver feisty calls for America to rethink its lunar ambitions and set its sights on loftier goals, Mr Armstrong – who is said to favour Nasa’s plan for establishing a manned base on the Moon before venturing beyond – stepped more cautiously.

“History is a sequence of random events and unpredictable choices, which is why the future is so difficult to foresee,” he said, adding with a wry smile perhaps intended for his Apollo 11 colleagues sitting in the front row: “But you can try”.

Mr Armstrong, 79, received a standing ovation as he took the stage from notables including the new head of Nasa, Major General Charles Bolden, the crew of space shuttle mission STS-125 that repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in May, and what organisers called the “largest gathering of Apollo astronauts for years”.

In a sometimes cerebral address whose subtext appeared to be a call for more international partnership in space, the first man on the Moon reminisced on the evolution of rocket science and how America’s race to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon drove his and Aldrin’s successful landing on the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969.
“It was the ultimate peaceful competition, USA versus USSR. While not a cert that it was a diversion that prevented war, nevertheless it was a diversion, it was intense, and it allowed both sides to take the high road with the objectives of science and learning and exploration,” he said.

“Eventually it provided a mechanism for engendering co-operation between former adversaries. In that sense, among others, it was an excellent national investment for both sides.”

Mr Aldrin, 79, who began his address with a plug for his website and poured forth a range of futuristic visions for human space exploration, took a less measured approach, calling for America “to boldly go on a great new mission of exploration”.

“Four decades have passed since Neil, Mike and I passed across the blackness of space to win a race,” he said.

“This time instead of a Moon race we can try to make the Moon a true stepping-stone to more exciting and habitable destinations….if we persevere, we can reach Mars itself before 2035,” he said, adding: “Isn’t it time that we continued our journey outwards, past the Moon?”

He added: “The greatest challenge for us is this: America, do we still dream great dreams, do we still believe in ourselves, are we ready for a great national challenge. I call on the next government and our political leaders to give this answer: 'Yes we can, yes we can'.”

Michael Collins, 78, used his time at the podium to call for man to treat Earth better, and for improved environmental and economic controls, and to warn that humankind needs to move off the planet if it is to survive long-term – and that the next destination should be Mars.

“Sometimes I think I flew to the wrong place,” he said, saying that he worried that the current emphasis on returning to the Moon would delay the exploration of Mars by decades.

Tough problems littered the path to Mars, he ceded, “but I don’t see a showstopper that can’t be solved”.

He added: “I’d like to see Mars become the focus, just as John F. Kennedy focused on the Moon.”

South Africa Launches AIDS Vaccine Trial

2009-07-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa launched clinical trials of the first AIDS vaccine created by a developing country Monday, as its own scientists overcame deep skepticism from political leaders who had shocked the world with their unscientific pronouncements about the disease.

The new vaccine targets the specific HIV strain that has ravaged South Africa's people and produced the worst AIDS epidemic in the world.

"It has been a very, very hard journey," lead scientist Professor Anna-Lise Williamson of the University of Cape Town said at Monday's ceremony, attended by American health officials who gave technical help and manufactured the vaccine at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

During nearly 10 years of denial and neglect, South Africa developed a staggering AIDS crisis. Around 5.2 million South Africans were living with HIV last year — the highest number of any country in the world. Young women are hardest hit, with one-third of those aged 20-to-34 infected with the virus.

Williamson said she sees no choice for South Africa, at the heart of the epidemic, but to press ahead with trials to test the safety of the vaccine in humans.

"We have got the biggest ARV (anti-retroviral) rollout in the world and still hundreds of people are dying every day and getting infected everyday," she said.
At a ceremony in Cape Town's Crossroads shantytown, one of the first of 36 healthy volunteers was injected Monday before officials and journalists.

The same vaccine is being tested at a trial of 12 volunteers in Boston that began earlier this year, said
Anthony Mbewu, president of South Africa's government-supported Medical Research Council that shepherded the project.

The trial may have been started in the U.S. to allay any criticism that the United States was collaborating in an AIDS vaccine that would use Africans as guinea pigs.

"It is being very well tolerated, no adverse events, so it is going very well," Williamson said.

The government decided it was important to develop a vaccine specifically for the HIV subtype C strain that is prevalent in southern Africa "and to ensure that once developed, it would be available at an affordable price," Mbewu said.

South Africa was the site of the biggest setback to AIDS vaccine research, when the most promising vaccine ever, produced by Merck & Co. and tested here in 2007, found that people who got the vaccine were more likely to contract HIV than those who did not.

Some 250 scientists and technicians worked on the latest vaccine project, along the way gaining scores of doctorates and producing work for professional publications as well as a model for biotechnology development in South Africa.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and a leading AIDS researcher, said the South African scientists received more money from his institute's research fund than any others in the world except the U.S.

He called it "the most important AIDS research partnership in the world."
But he warned "There are extraordinary challenges ahead," referring to the years of testing needed now that South Africa has reached the clinical trial stage.

Fauci said scientists do not understand why the search for an AIDS vaccine is so difficult, except that they are trying to do better than nature: "We have to develop a vaccine that does better even than natural protection."

At an international AIDS conference in Cape Town, Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe emphasized Sunday night that the clinical trials were being held "under strict ethical rules."

The field of AIDS vaccine research is so filled with disappointments some activists are questioning the wisdom of continuing such expensive investments, saying the money might be better spent on prevention and education.

Mbewu said the crisis in South Africa, where "we have the biggest problem" in the world, more than justifies the expenditure. AIDS strikes men and women alike in Africa, where the epidemic is fueled by the many people who have sex with several people at the same time.

In the 1990s, South Africa's then-President Thabo Mbeki denied the link between HIV and AIDS, and his health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, mistrusted conventional anti-AIDS drugs and made the country a laughing stock trying to promote beets and lemon as AIDS remedies.

Williamson, a virologist, said the scientists had to fight constant controversy, including international organizations that tried to stop the state utility Eskom from funding the project. Eskom gave "huge amounts," regardless, she said.

"International organizations told Eskom that this was a terrible waste of money, that putting money into South African scientists was like backing the cart horse when they need to be backing the race horse," she said.

Even her research director told her she was wasting her time.

"Most of them just made us more determined to prove them wrong," Williamson said

Walter Cronkite: That’s the Way It Was (And Always Should Be)

2009-07-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Of all the many journalists I admire, Walter Cronkite is perhaps right at the very top of the list.

With an unerring sense of fairness, consistent equilibrium that is sorely missed, rigorous adherence to ethics and standards and a crackerjack reporter, the legendary television newsman and television anchorman–who died yesterday at 92 years old–was also never afraid to show his humanity.

The most famous instance came in after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Cronkite had to deliver the bad official news about his death. He teared up, ever so slightly, all while he kept his composure and did his job.

(See the video below, which he did, incredibly, live.)

That he did it so well, time and again, whether talking about the futility of the Vietnam War or about some amusing story that crossed his desk at CBS (CBS) News, is a lesson we should all pay attention to.

At a time when journalism is changing so rapidly, as the business models of old are buffeted by the gale force winds of the Internet, it’s important to remember that what Cronkite represented never goes out of style–no matter how news and information is delivered.

In today’s noisy media universe, he should serve as an example of how to be booming without being shrill and commanding without being a blowhard.

I might sound like a crabby old media type (as if I care!), but it’s too easy to argue that the old needs to be flushed out and the new is always better.

Sometimes, this is true.
But Cronkite understood that people value accurate, straightforward and quality news, which he always delivered and would do so today to viewers, no matter the medium.

He was a class act and it’s a sad day because he is gone.

But Cronkite does live on on the Web, so here are some great videos of him in action to enjoy and appreciate

VIEW HIS VIDEOS

World's Oldest Man Dies at Age of 113

2009-07-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

LONDON — The world's oldest man, 113-year-old World War I veteran Henry Allingham, died Saturday after spending his final years reminding Britain about the 9 million soldiers killed during the conflict.

Allingham was the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1918. He made it a personal crusade to talk about a conflict that wiped out much of a generation. Though nearly blind, he would take the outstretched hands of visitors in both of his, gaze into the eyes of children, veterans and journalists and deliver a message he wanted them all to remember.

"I want everyone to know," he told The Associated Press during an interview in November. "They died for us."

Only a handful of World War I veterans remain of the estimated 68 million mobilized. There are no French veterans left alive; the last living American-born veteran is Frank Woodruff Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia.

"It's the end of a era -- a very special and unique generation," said Allingham's longtime friend, Dennis Goodwin, who confirmed Allingham's death. "The British people owe them a great deal of gratitude."

Born June 6, 1896, Allingham left school at 15 and was working in a car factory in east London when war broke out in 1914.

He spent the war's first months refitting trucks for military use, but when his mother died in June 1915, he decided to join up after seeing a plane circling a reservoir in Essex, east of London.

"It was a captivating sight," he wrote in his memoir. "Fascinated, I sat down on the grass verge to watch the aircraft. I decided that was for me."

Only a dozen years after the Wright brothers first put up their plane, Allingham and other airmen set out from eastern England on motorized kites made with wood, linen and wire. They piled on clothes and smeared their faces in Vaseline, whale oil or engine grease to block the cold.

"To be honest, all the planes were so flimsy and unpredictable -- as well as incapable of carrying large fuel loads -- at the start of the war that both British and German pilots would immediately turn back rather than face each other in the skies if they did not enjoy height supremacy," Allingham would later write." "But I remember getting back on the ground and just itching to take off again."

As a mechanic, Allingham's job was to maintain the rickety craft. He also flew as an observer on a biplane. At first, his weaponry consisted of a standard issue Lee Enfield .303 rifle -- sometimes two. Parachutes weren't issued.

He fought in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of World War I. He served on the Western Front, by now armed with a machine gun.

He was wounded in the arm by shrapnel during an attack on an aircraft depot, but survived.

After the war he worked at the Ford motor factory and raised two children with his wife, Dorothy. She died in 1970, and when his daughter Jean died in 2001, friends say he waited to die, too.

That's when he met Goodwin, a lay inspector for nursing homes, who realized that veterans of Allingham's
generation were not getting the care they needed to address the trauma they had experienced at the Somme, Gallipoli and Ypres. Some veterans ached to return to the battle fields to pay their respects to their slain friends, and Goodwin found himself organizing trips to France.

He encouraged Allingham to share his experiences and the veteran soon began talking to reporters and school groups, the connection to a lost generation. He found himself leading military parades. He was made an Officer of France's Legion of Honor.
He met Queen Elizabeth II and wrote his autobiography with Goodwin, "Kitchener's Last Volunteer," a reference to Britain's Minister for War who rallied men to the cause. Prince Charles wrote the introduction.

He grew accustomed to being one of the last ones standing. Last year, he joined Harry Patch, Britain's last soldier, and the late Bill Stone, its last sailor, in a ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial near the houses of Parliament in London, to mark the 90th anniversary of the war's end.
As the wreaths were being laid, Allingham pushed himself up out of his wheelchair to place his arrangement at the base of the memorial.

Allingham remained outspoken until his death, pleading for peace and begging anyone who would listen to remember those who died.

"I think we need to make people aware that a few men gave all they had to give so that you could have a better world to live in," he said. "We have to pray it never happens again."

Goodwin says Allingham's funeral will take place in Brighton. He is survived by five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.

Britain’s dirty little secret as a dumper of toxic waste

2009-07-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

Britain was accused yesterday of dumping toxic household and industrial waste in developing countries on two continents in breach of an international convention.

The Government last night was considering tightening the enforcement of rules after the discovery of hazardous medical and electrical waste in Brazil and Ghana.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, ordered an investigation into two British companies linked to 90 shipping containers containing 1,400 tonnes of waste. They included syringes, condoms and nappies. The companies that received the waste — sent from Felixstowe to three Brazilian ports — said that they had been expecting recyclable plastic.

In a separate case, the Ministry of Defence was unable to explain how one of its computers was found by The Times on a notorious dump on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana. Children as young as 5 extract scrap metal from electrical items there and are exposed to potentially lethal chemicals.

Read MORE

Britney receives death threats

2009-07-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Pop singer Britney Spears is refusing to take her sons on tour to Russia after she received a series of death threats by email.

The Toxic hit-maker will base herself in Finland and fly in just for the two concerts in St Petersburg and Moscow next week, reported thesun.co.uk.

"Originally, both boys were to accompany Britney but she was against taking them because of these constant threats," said a source.

After the Moscow performance, Spears will fly straight to London in her private jet to be reunited with sons Sean Preston, three, and Jayden James, two.

The identity of the e-mail sender is unknown.

Movie Review-BRUNO

2009-07-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

WHAT IT’S ABOUT?

Full frontal male nudity, raucous swingers and Paula Abdul are three of the many elements contributing to the ridiculous and utterly compelling Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s return to form after a three year post-Borat hiatus.

At 83 minutes, Bruno is a mad-dash trek from Paris fashion week to the Hollywood hills, to the Middle East, Africa, the southern United States and back again. In his fame-seeking efforts, gay Austrian journalist Bruno completely freaks out a non-bondage-gear-friendly hotel staff, gets chased down an Israeli street by incensed Hasidic Jews and nearly starts a riot by getting physical with his assistant Lutz in front of the rough-and-tumble crowd at a cage-fighting match. Whether the movie pisses you off, grosses you out or makes you double over laughing, Baron Cohen’s bravery must be commended.

WHO’S IN IT?

Baron Cohen as Bruno, Gustaf Hammarsten as Bruno's enraptured assistant Lutz and Clifford Banagale as butt boy Diesel. Abdul, Ron Paul, Harrison Ford and a cast of unaware antagonists from across the United States, Europe and the Middle East also make cameos.

A scene featuring LaToya Jackson was cut from the film three hours before its Los Angeles premiere, which was held on the same day as Michael Jackson’s death.

WHAT’S GOOD?
If Bruno is digested as it’s sold – flamboyant fashionista comes to the United States to fulfill aspirations of fame and manifests hilarity through encounters with unassuming citizens – then the movie is indeed an insightful glimpse into the often uncomfortable collective unconscious of prejudice and its many tangential issues.

But.
Bruno distributor Universal insists the film's action is authentic and have not discussed the filmmaking process. Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles have been similarly mum. However, it’s been suggested that the film is a series of staged vignettes in which actors portray common folk for laughs. If so, Bruno maintains its hilarity but loses the reality component that renders the satire so fascinating. Still, the number of Bruno-related lawsuits Universal is already grappling with suggest many people in the film aren’t thrilled to be there. Certainly politician Ron Paul was unaware of the situation when he ended up in a hotel room with the disrobed protagonist. The former presidential candidate grumbles that Bruno is a “queer” after fleeing the scene.

WHAT’S BAD?
The vain, wimpy, animal print thong wearing Bruno is a sashaying gay stereotype in heels. The nebulous homophobia issue has made the movie a point of contention in the gay community. However, this and other mini scandals, (see Bruno’s MTV Movie Awards appearance with Eminem), have contributed to the buzz growing as the film’s July 10th release date approaches. Whatever preconceptions the audience brings to the theater, Bruno truly must be seen to be believed.

FAVORITE SCENE?

A tensely funny scene involves Bruno casting a photo shoot starring his newly adopted African baby. Bruno interviews earnest stage parents angling to have their young children cast in the project. A particular conversation goes something like this:

Bruno: “How much does your daughter weigh?”

Mother: “30 pounds.”

“Can she lose 10 pounds in the next week?”

“Yeah. I’d have to do whatever I could.”

“And if she doesn’t get the weight off, would you be willing to have her undergo liposuction?”

“... Yes. If that’s what it takes to get her cast.”

This squirmy moment and the hundreds of others like it (said photo shoot yields shots of Bruno’s “Gayby” hanging from a cross) contribute to a wholly fascinating, cringe-inducing, and painfully hilarious glimpse into the underbelly of American homophobia, celebrity, tolerance, etc. The Cambridge-educated Cohen’s talent for culling insight from the ever preposterous scenarios into which he thrusts his oblivious queen allows the film, like Borat and Da Ali G Show before it, to operate on dual levels of silly, often vulgar, slapstick and sly social commentary.

NETFLIX OR MULTIPLEX?

See it now. Multiplex.

Source : HOLLYWOOD

Pope breaks wrist in fall at mountain retreat

2009-07-17T06:36:00.001-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI had surgery on his right wrist Friday after he broke it in a fall, the Vatican said.

Doctors administered local anesthesia, and the pope was expected to return to his summer home in Italy's Val d'Aosta region later in the day, spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told CNN.

"There is no particular reason to cause alarm," Lombardi said.

The Vatican said earlier that the pope had already left the hospital.

The pope, 82, fell Thursday night in his room in Val d'Aosta, a mountainous region of northwestern Italy, the Vatican said. The pope arrived there Monday.

He was taken to the hospital in the region's central town of Aosta on Friday morning after celebrating his daily private Mass, the Vatican said.

Benedict's schedule for the coming days must still be confirmed, but Lombardi said he believed the pope would be able to hold his weekly Sunday Angelus from his summer home this weekend.

Source : CNN

Finding Mr Right: 7 Tips from the Movies

2009-07-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for romance, Hollywood has all the answers

There’s a lot of talk about what the meaning of life might be, but everyone really knows it’s romance: Finding Mr (or Miss) Right and raising a few kids is the principal motivation for every living thing from mushrooms to monarchs.

Sometimes,though, it’s hard to find the right partner. Sometimes it’s hard to find any partner. Naturally the geniuses of cinema are on hand to show us how it’s done.

1. FIRST FIND YOUR TERRORIST

Far and away the best method of building a lasting relationship is to be involved in some kind of hostage drama or dangerous cross-country chase. From The 39 Steps through to Speed – indeed as far as Speed 2 – young men and women have been finding their true love at the point of a gun.

Gunfire and peril is such a reliable relationship builder, in fact, that it can reunite estranged couples just as well as it can forge new ones: Just take a look at the most recent Indiana Jones film. Or Die Hard. Or Die Hard 2.

2. LOSE YOUR SCRUPLES

If you’re serious about romance, there’s no place for morals. Sham weddings are a great way to kick-start a marriage. Sandra Bullock’s top relationship tip is to order a subordinate to marry you. She’s demonstrating that one right now in current cinema release The Proposal. It’s by no means a new idea: Gerard Depardieu and Andie McDowell first hit on the fake marriage ploy way back in 1990 with Green Card. It’s as sound a foundation for lasting love as it was then.

Don’t be coy, either, about underhand tactics to eliminate a potential rival. Back in 1937 The Awful Truth showed how shabby acts can ease the way for true love. It also featured a really sweet dog.

In the classic Howard Hawks comedy His Girl Friday Cary Grant repeatedly gets his ex-wife’s fiancé arrested on trumped-up charges until the poor chap sees reason and withdraws from the fray. If you’re serious about settling down with your dream man or woman, make sure you enlist a few corrupt cops.

3. PLAY HARD TO GET

The grass is always greener on the other side, forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest and,(although it’s not strictly relevant) a stitch in time saves nine. Nobody wants love handed to them on a plate, it’s unsanitary for one thing, and Hollywood has shown this time and time again.

From the firecracker bickering of classic screwball comedies such as It Happened One Night or The Lady Eve to the tongue-tied predictability of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days . Julia Roberts proved in I love Trouble that even irascible bears like Nick Nolte can fall for a girl as long as she’s rude enough.

Gunfire and peril is such a reliable relationship builder, in fact, that it can reunite estranged couples just as well as it can forge new ones: Just take a look at the most recent Indiana Jones film. Or Die Hard. Or Die Hard 2.

4. DON’T BE FUSSY

We’re conditioned by stories like Cinderella and Snow White to believe that there’s one true love out there for us all. Unfortunately, as the manufacturers of moisturising creams the world over like to remind us, we won’t look this good forever. Sooner or later it’s time to settle. When Harry Met Sally is a perfect lesson in how to win at romantic musical chairs: try to find The One but always keep your backup spouse close to hand.

If you still haven’t dated anyone by the time you’re 40 don’t hold out for perfection – learn from The 40 Year Old Virgin and hook up with the first person that shows even halfway willing. Best advice of all comes from the latest Katherine Heigl effort The Ugly Truth (above). He may be an ill-mannered misogynistic boor but he’s still a man, dammit and once you’ve passed thirty that’s good enough

5. BE A NERD

Of course romance comes easily to nerds. The movies tell us that again and again. We’ve already discussed The 40 Year Old Virgin, where a dysfunctional shut-in with minimal cool marries super-groovy Catherine Keener. Bridget Jones’s Diary extols the irresistible appeal of the female klutz. Annie Hall ups the ante by bringing two entirely different grades of nebbish together in one majestic loser romance.

6. BE LUCKY

If you can’t be a nerd, be lucky. Whether it’s something as unlikely as winning a lottery (It Could Happen To You) or an everyday piece of good fortune like being selected to write the lyrics for a guaranteed Number One single even though you’re just a gardener (Music & Lyrics) there really is no substitute for sheer good fortune. If you don’t have luck, make some – pitch up at a stranger’s wedding. Never fails.

7. WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST, GET A PROFESSIONAL IN

You wouldn’t dream of rewiring your own house. Unless you’d eaten a lot of cheese before bedtime or something. So why organize your own relationships? If we’ve learned anything from Pretty Woman, it’s that common street prostitutes are generally wholesome, marriageable young women. Experts in leaving home (Failure To Launch) and relationship counsellors (Hitch) will definitely marry you as long as you pay them a lot of money first.

You should engage your professional with caution though: if The Wedding Planner has a message for us it’s this: the woman you hire to help you pick out some flowers will probably run off with the groom.

Source : TO

Astrological Patterns and Detachment

2009-07-17T06:19:00.001-07:00

Over the past several months I have been exposed to a particular astrological pattern. I have quite honestly never seen such a natal configuration. I can only draw one conclusion and it is somewhat staggering in its implications. Apparently it is NOW time for me to recognize this concept since I have seen it three times over the last six months. Prior to this I have not seen this dynamic in nearly 30 years of astrological investigation. There ARE no coincidences.

Imagine an empty astrological wheel. Now picture most of the planets all lined up in one house, with only one planet outside of this concentration of planets. In each case, the bulk of planets are located in Aquarius, and the lone planet is Neptune and in each chart squares the concentration of planets. The square, which is a 90 degree angle, is considered a karmic stressor.

Anytime a chart carries three or more planets in a specific house there will be some confusion due to competing planetary energies and is referred to as a Stellium. But, when all or most of the planets are concentrated into one particular house or sign, a locomotive pattern is in effect, and clearly indicates a one pointed focus or direction, usually led by the planet in the lead position of this pattern.

Aquarius represents multiple qualities; too many to list here. Aquarius is an Air sign, that is, of a mental nature. It is powerfully connected to the universal mind. Though highly energetic and spiritual, it may be considered somewhat cold and detached - definitely not of an emotional nature, as the water signs. Aquarians often struggle with emotional issues. Aquarians seem to dance to a different drummer, and the drummer is a high spiritual vibration.

Neptune represents the spiritual octave of love. It is very mystical, extremely emotional. Many, if not most, of the spiritual sensitivities exhibited by psychics have some correlation with Neptune in a favorable configuration with other planets. But, Neptune in an unfavorable angle with other planets, such as the square or opposition, indicates emotional attachment, depression, obsession and even possession in extreme cases.

I have the opportunity every day to witness and examine individual lives, from an astrological perspective. I am on an intense learning curve, and I have often expressed that I couldn't pay for this education. I am truly blessed and grateful. It is so very easy to become detached - the study of astrology does confer a certain objectivity which contributes clarity for the client. Because of this, I have been embracing that detachment as a goal, and not a process. I was wrong. These are my conclusions.

The three charts that I have examined, the people that are represented, share a common history and destiny. All exhibit an extremely high spiritual path. All are successful in their particular life course. All grew up being so different from the norm that they easily detached from the common drama of living, and once again followed their comfortable path of high spirituality, but from a purely mental perspective - somewhat disconnected from the emotional. Each of them were exposed to a situation, designed to shake them out of their intellectual safety and send them into the emotional depths of misery. Clearly emotional shock treatment. The interesting fact is that this is pretty much why these personalities came into this particular incarnation - not much else going on, for any of them.

Detachment is extremely important on a personal level. Getting out of our "drama" is key to positive change. But this is only a step. When we detach from others we are missing the component that runs the universe: LOVE. Remember, Neptune represents the spiritual octave of Venus. These personalities came back only to return to Source with that piece. Hearts ripped open, now bleeding, they understand.

"We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time..."

"When the tongues of flame are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one."-T.S.Eliot

Blasts at Jakarta hotels kill 9, wound 50

2009-07-17T06:11:00.001-07:00

Jakarta: Bombs minutes apart ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 14 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side in an upscale business district in the capital, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. Facades of both the hotels were reduced to twisted metal.

The blasts happened at around 8:00 am local time.

A third explosion was reported near a shopping complex in the north of the Indonesian capital several hours later, but the police later denied initial reports that it was also caused by a bomb.

"I heard two sounds like 'boom, boom' coming from the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton. Then I saw people running out," the security guard, Mr Eko Susanto, told the agency.

Blood was spattered on the street outside the Marriott and hundreds of police sealed off the area, an agency correspondent said.

The bombings were the first major attack in Indonesia since a series of suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2005 which were blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah Islamic militant group.

"These were high explosive bombs," the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Mr Widodo Adi Sucipto, told reporters at the scene.

"This destroys our conducive situation," Mr Sucipto said, referring to the nearly four years since a major terrorist attack in Indonesia — a triple suicide bombing at restaurants at the resort island of Bali that killed 20 people.

Windows were blown out of a second-storey restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, but there was little damage to the Marriott that was visible from the outside.

The police said one blast hit the basement of the Marriott and a second struck the restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton at the peak breakfast hour.

Another witness told the agency that he saw several foreigners covered in blood in the immediate aftermath of the explosion at the Marriott.
The national police spokesman, Mr Nanan Soekarna, confirmed at least nine people were killed and 41 were injured in the hotel blasts, including 14 foreigners.

Mr Sucipto said and the police said a New Zealander was among those killed, and that thirteen other foreigners were among the wounded, including nationals from Australia, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea and the US.

Earlier, South Jakarta police Colonel, Mr Firman Bundi, said that four foreigners were killed, but gave no details.

"I don't remember exactly but suddenly the ceiling is falling down and the sound was big," Mr Cho In Sang, 50-year-old South Korean who was staying at the Ritz-Carlton, told the agency at the Metropolitan Medical Centre (MMC) hospital.

Mr Cho, who was lying on a hospital bed with cuts and scratches on his arms and legs, said the hotel staff had put him in a car and driven him to the hospital.

The police said it was too early to say whether the bombs were planted by Islamic militants as in the attacks that killed 12 people at the Jakarta Marriott in 2003 and more than 200 in Bali in 2002.

Indonesia's President, Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was re-elected to a second term in the mainly Muslim country last week, was "deeply concerned over this incident," a spokesman for his office said.

The Islamic militant network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has been blamed for a string of bombings on local and western targets in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia in recent years.

As well as the 2002 Bali bombings and 2003 Marriott attack, JI was also blamed for a suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004 which left 10 dead and a second attack in Bali in 2005 which killed 20.

JI has been linked by western governments to the Al-Qaeda network and key JI leader Hambali, who was arrested in Thailand in 2003, was handed over to US custody and is being detained at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

The Indonesian authorities arrested many of the top leaders of the JI in the aftermath of the Bali bombings and analysts believed the organisation had been severely weakened.

However several key members remained at large including top bomb-maker Noordin Mohammed Top, a Malaysian.

Three members of the JI were executed in November last year for their role in the 2002 bombings in Bali, and analysts warned at the time there could be reprisal attacks.

Iran plane crash kills 168 people

2009-07-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

TEHRAN (AFP) - - An Iranian airliner en route to neighbouring Armenia caught fire mid-air and crashed in farmland on Wednesday, killing all 168 people on board in the worst air disaster in Iran in recent years.

Witnesses and state media said the Caspian Airlines plane was ablaze before plunging into the ground and exploding near a village northeast of Tehran shortly after taking off from the capital's international airport.

Television images showed a vast crater at the disaster site littered with debris of plane parts, shoes and clothes.

"All people aboard... the crashed plane are dead. The plane had 153 passengers and 15 crew members," said Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan, head of the health ministry's disaster management centre.

Among those on board the Tupolev were about 25 Armenians, according to an airline representative in Yerevan, while Iranian officials said they included 10 members of Iran's junior national judo team.

Caspian Airlines was established in 1992

"I saw the plane when it was just...above the ground. Its wheels were out and there was fire blazing from the lower parts," witness Ablolfazl Idaji said, according to the Fars news agency.

"It seemed the pilot was trying to land and moments later the plane hit the ground and broke into pieces that were scattered far and wide."

Iran's English-language Press TV quoted a witness from the site near the village of Janat Abad as saying that "the aircraft all of a sudden fell out of the sky and exploded on impact, where you see the crater."

Armenian television reported that the crash was caused by an engine fire.

About 30 relatives and friends of passengers gathered at Yerevan airport, many of them in tears, where teams were on hand to give assistance and information.

Iran's civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said the plane took off from Imam Khomeini international airport at 11:33 am (0703 GMT) but "16 minutes later it disappeared off the radar and then it crashed."

The twisted remains of the plane's tailfin

State television's website quoted Ahmad Momeni, managing director of Iran's airport authority, as saying that the last conversation between the pilot and the ground was "normal and did not indicate any technical glitch."

Ahmad Mousavi, secretary general of the Iranian Red Crescent, said: "The massive explosion caused severe burns. We were unable to do anything."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered a transport ministry probe into the disaster, the latest major air crash in six weeks.

Two weeks ago a Yemenia Airbus crashed in the Indian Ocean off the Comoros, killing 152 people, while on June 1 an Air France Airbus plunged into the Atlantic coast off Brazil killing 228.

Iran, which has been under years of international sanctions, has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade but Wednesday's crash is the worst for many years.

In December 2005, a total of 108 people were killed when a Lockheed transport plane crashed into a foot of a high-rise housing block outside Tehran.

The plane had just taken off from Tehran airport

Twenty-nine people were killed in September 2006 when an airliner came off the runway after landing in the eastern city of Mashhad and burst into flames.

In November that year, a military plane crashed on takeoff at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, killing all 39 people on board, including 30 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's civil and military fleet is made up of ancient aircraft in very poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance. The Iranian regime is barred by sanctions from buying American Boeing planes or European Airbus aircraft when they include a significant number of US parts.

Caspian Airlines was established in 1992. Its website said it operates more than 50 regular and numerous charter flights each week between Iranian cities and several Middle Eastern and Eastern European destinations.

Onlookers gather at the crash site

The Islamic republic is home to hundreds of thousands of Armenians and a string of historically important churches of the country's Gregorian rite.

Landlocked Armenia has been seeking closer ties with Iran, triggering concern in Washington which called for Yerevan to join international sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to halt sensitive nuclear work.

‘Mars mission’ crew is back!

2009-07-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

Moscow, July 14: Six volunteers from Russia and Europe on Tuesday emerged from a capsule inside a Moscow research facility on where they had been locked away for the last three months to simulate a mission to Mars.

The six stepped out of the module smiling and in apparent good health after being cut off from the outside world for 105 days at the isolation facility at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP).

Dressed in blue overalls like real-life spacemen, the four Russians, Frenchman and German were handed bouquets of flowers and waved at well-wishers once outside the capsule.

The experiment “has been a success,” the Russian “commander” of the crew, Sergei Ryazansky, formally reported to his superiors from the Russian space agency Roskosmos.

The experiment has been aimed at exactly replicating the conditions of a manned mission to Mars.

It included a simulated landing on the Martian surface, communication delays of up to 20 minutes and unexpected emergency situations.

Scientists have been monitoring the psychological and physical effects of prolonged isolation on the participants and are hoping this will bring a better understanding of the problems of long-term space flight.

.

Saving The World, One Chocolate Bar At A Time

2009-07-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

With a recession in full swing, the CEO of Divine Chocolate has her work cut out for her.

Erin Gorman always wanted to help save the world, but she never imagined she would do it with chocolate.

While at Ursinus College, a small liberal arts college outside of Philadelphia, Gorman majored in philosophy and English, but her goal was to help bridge the divide between the rich and the disadvantaged. "I was always interested in dealing with poverty issues," she says. "But at that age, I didn't have a clearer thought than that."

In 1997, her ambitious plans led her to American University in Washington, D.C., for a master's degree in public policy, with a special interest in prison reform. But after several personal talks with inmates, she kept coming back to one idea: Poverty was the main reason people ended up in prison. "I realized if you didn't address the root cause, you would never solve problem," she says.

After graduation, a version of Gorman's dreams came to pass when she took a job as program director with Washington, D.C.-based Green America (formerly Co-Op America), an organization that lobbies companies to become more socially responsible and environmentally friendly. Her particular interest was in addressing poverty through economic reforms, such as finding ways for Third-World farmers to get fair prices for their crops.

That made her a perfect fit for London-based Divine Chocolate, a fair trade company with $25 million in sales partly owned by the very farmers in Ghana who harvest the cocoa. In 2005, Divine UK had been in business for seven years and wanted to expand into the U.S. Gorman, now 35 and married, was tapped to secure investors, which she did while keeping her day job at Green America. "There were about two years when I didn't sleep," she jokes.

In 2007, after securing financing for the Washington, D.C.-based Divine US from fair trade advocate Lutheran World Relief and micro-lender Oiko Credit, Gorman told Divine UK's managing director Sophi Tranchell that it was time to hire a CEO for the new company. Tranchell replied, "We thought you could do it."

Gorman's lack of retail experience didn't bother Tranchell, who had run Divine UK since 1999. What she wanted was someone who was passionate about the cause. "If you really believe that the chocolate is good and that what the farmers get is good, then you can be really persuasive when you need to be," says Tranchell, who even saw Gorman's business naïveté as an advantage: "She's able to ask any question and not be embarrassed about not knowing the answer."
With no experience running a company, Gorman was hesitant at first. "If you had told me one day I'd be running a company, I would have said you were joking. I thought businesspeople were old men."

Source : Forbes

Manchester City to unveil $40M signing Tevez

2009-07-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City will unveil the much-anticipated signing of Argentina international Carlos Tevez on Tuesday afternoon.

Argentina star Carlos Tevez is moving across Manchester to join United's bitter rivals City.
City revealed on Monday night that the striker has agreed a five-year contract and would complete his move from bitter rivals Manchester United after passing a medical.
The 25-year-old is expected to face the media ahead of City's departure on Wednesday for a three-match pre-season tour of South Africa.
A fee for the transfer has not yet been revealed, but it is reported that City have agreed to pay about $40 million to take over the player's ownership rights from the sports agencies which previously held them.
"It is terrific news," City manager Mark Hughes told the club's official Web site. "Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward.
"He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goal scorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension.

"I cannot wait to welcome him to City. This is yet another deal that shows the commitment of the owner Sheikh Mansour to make this club the very best it can possibly be. I am sure our fans will give Carlos an exceptionally warm welcome."
The capture of Tevez will be a big boost for the club and its billionaire Abu Dhabi-based owner, who was forced to end his long-running bid to sign Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o.

The Cameroon international, who had been offered a reported $400,000 a week wages, stalled on the move after being offered a new deal by the European champions, with some papers claiming he wanted a big chunk of any transfer fee paid by City.

The Mancunians have also made a huge offer for Chelsea captain John Terry, but the London club have insisted that the England defender is not for sale.
Hughes is reportedly also hoping to sign Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor in another $40 million deal that would leave the Welshman with nine strikers at his disposal.

The former Manchester United forward already has new $30 million signing Roque Santa Cruz, January's $23 million acquisition Craig Bellamy and Brazil star Robinho -- who arrived a year ago in a British-record $58 million coup.
Felipe Caicedo, Valeri Bojinov, Benjani Mwaruwari and Ched Evans have also been given shirt numbers -- Tevez will wear No. 32 -- in a 57-strong squad named ahead of the new season.
Hughes has released former England international striker Darius Vassell, while England Under-20 forward Daniel Sturridge has joined Chelsea for a fee to be resolved by a tribunal.
Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has revealed that he knew as long ago as January that Tevez would end his two-year stay at Old Trafford.
"I half-expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back," the Scot said. "I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan (in March) and he never came back to me.
"I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago.
"He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else."
Tevez scored 19 goals in 63 appearances for Premier League champions United after joining from West Ham, who he controversially saved from relegation despite a furor over his part-ownership with agent Kia Joorabchian's MSI Group.

He has won 50 international caps, and has recently returned from holidays following Argentina's latest World Cup qualifiers.

Tevez, who has won an Olympic gold medal, is the only man to be named South American Player of the Year in three successive

Historic first: 400 Indian soldiers march in Paris

2009-07-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: A 400-strong Indian military detachment took part in the Bastille Day parade in France on Tuesday.

Drawn from the Army, Navy and the Air Force, the contingent paraded to the sound of Indian martial music played by a 90-member band.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in Italy for the G8 Summit, was invited to attend the July 14 French national holiday event as guest of honour by Sarkozy, who attended India's Republic Day celebrations in January 2008.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said, "India has a primary role on the international scene and we support India's candidacy to become a UN Security Council permanent member.”

Inviting Indian soldiers to take part in the Bastille Day march for the first time shows that France wants to emphasise its close relations with India

The parade, one of Paris's biggest annual events, lets France show off its military might. The show ends with parachutists being dropped onto the Champs Elysee.

The parade is held each year on July 14, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille Jail in Paris by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789.

It was the symbolic starting point of the movement that led to the first French republic.

The Bastille Day celebrations have been held under heightened security since an attempted attack on former president Jacques Chirac in 2002.

What’s on the agenda
Nuclear cooperation will be high on the two PMs agenda.

India hopes to get a reassurance on nuclear cooperation, which is critical after a G8 move to limit the transfer of nuclear enrichment and reprocessing technology.

If the G8 move wins the approval of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, transfer of such technologies will be restricted to NPT members alone and India is not an NPT member.

What to expect

The two leaders hope their defence and nuclear ties pick up pace.

The PM wants Sarkozy to help deal with those new restrictions on nuclear technology put up by the G8.

France, a key supplier for the Indian military, wants to build on that status. France is interested in selling 197 helicopters to the Indian military. Euro-copter is regarded as a frontrunner for the contract.

France is looking beyond the Scorpene contract. They are looking at a second line of submarines for the Indian Navy.

French firm Dassault Aviation is in the race for a mammoth contract to supply 126 fighters to India

An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away!

2009-07-14T02:26:00.001-07:00

Sex everyday keeps the doctor away - that is the advice from the British National Health Service to school students.

Yes, a NHS report is advising school pupils that they have a "right" to an enjoyable sex life and that regular intercourse can be good for their cardiovascular health, 'The Sunday Times' reported.

The advice report appears in guidance circulated to parents, teachers and youth workers, and is intended to update sex education by telling students about the benefits of sexual pleasure.

Alongside the slogan "an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away", the report states: "Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes' physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?"

According to the authors, for too long experts have concentrated on the need for safe sex and loving relationships while ignoring the main reason that many people have sex, that is, for enjoyment.

Steve Slack, director of the Centre for HIV and Sexual Health at NHS Sheffield, who is one of the authors, said that far from promoting teenage sex it could encourage young people to delay losing their virginity until they are sure they will enjoy the experience.

Mr Slack believes that as long as teenagers are fully informed about sex and are making their decisions free of peer pressure and as part of a caring relationship, they have as much right as an adult to a good sex life.

‘Italy PM hosted women at a spa’

2009-07-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

London, July 12: While Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was busy attending world leaders at the G-8 summit in his country, a new chapter unfolded in the sex scandal haunting him for months.

A magazine has alleged that the PM had spent a weekend at a luxurious Umbrian health spa with an entourage of women, including an actress and a former showgirl who have worked for his television stations.

Prosecutors in Bari in southern Italy are probing a businessman, Giampaolo Tarantini, who is suspected of assisting in prostitution by allegedly paying women to attend parties at Berlusconi’s homes in the capital and Sardinia

However, Mr Tarantini has denied all wrongdoing.

According to the magazine L’Espresso, Mr Berlusconi, with Mr Tarantini and "many" young women, had spent the weekend of November 28-30 last year at the Health Centre Marc Messegue near the picturesque hilltop town of Todi in Umbria, to undergo massage therapy to relieve back pain.

It is believed that the billionaire politician’s retinue did include Mr Tarantini, who arrived by car with a number of young women, after getting lost in the countryside.
The female guests allegedly included Barbara Guerra, a former television showgirl, and Licia Nunez, an actress and friend of Tarantini.

Ms Guerra denied the magazine’s report saying that she did not know the people mentioned in the article, including Ms Nunez and Mr Berlusconi.

"None of it is true. I know nothing about this weekend. I was working at the time," Times Online quoted her as saying. —ANI

The Least Free Places on Earth

2009-07-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

As the United States celebrates its Independence Day, here's a look at some places with nothing to cheer about. The following images are from the bottom 21 countries and territories from Freedom House's Freedom in the World report, with text prepared by the staff of Freedom House.

North Korea

North Koreans enjoy the lowest level of freedom in the world, according to Freedom House. All power is held by Kim Jong Il, who assumed power in 1994 upon the death of his father, North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung, whose statue in Pyongyang is shown above. The regime maintains a network of prison camps in which thousands of political prisoners are subjected to brutal conditions. All facets of a person's life -- including employment, education, place of residence, access to medical facilities, and access to stores -- are determined by a semihereditary system of social discrimination that classifies citizens into 53 subgroups under broad security ratings (from "core" to "wavering" to "hostile") based on their family's perceived loyalty to the regime.

Burma

A shopkeeper in Yangon, Burma's largest city, counts his earnings. The ruling junta, led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe, governs Burma by decree, controlling all branches of power, impoverishing the formerly wealthy country, and committing widespread human rights abuses against its population with impunity. The junta rejected its landslide defeat in the 1990 elections and has kept pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in prison or under house arrest for most of the past 19 years. Peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks were brutally suppressed in the fall of 2007, leading to international condemnation.

Equatorial Guinea
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo holds broad political power in Equatorial Guinea, a country that has never held a credible election. Africa's third-largest oil producer is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world, with Obiang and his inner circle amassing huge personal wealth from Equatorial Guinea's substantial oil profits. Most of the country, like this city slum, has yet to reap the rewards. Human rights abuses -- including torture, detention of political opponents, and extrajudicial killings -- are widespread.

Libya
Once an international pariah, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, above, began mending ties with the international community in 2003, when his country officially took responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and agreed to pay compensation to the victims' families. Political power in the oil-rich state theoretically lies with a system of people's committees, but in practice Qaddafi rules unopposed. Organizing or joining anything akin to a political party is punishable with long prison terms and even death. Women rejected by their families are considered wayward and can be held in "social rehabilitation" facilities indefinitely and without charge.

Somalia

A man walks through the devastation of Mogadishu, the capital of a state that has virtually ceased to exist. Technically, the country is governed by the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), but its actual control is minimal. There are no effective political parties, and the political process is driven largely by clan loyalty. Conflict continued in Somalia throughout 2008 between the TFG and insurgent groups, including the Islamist militant group Shabab, causing further civilian deaths and the displacement of thousands of Somalis, particularly from the capital, Mogadishu. Attacks against aid workers increased during the year, significantly reducing the activities of many United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations

Sudan

Africa's largest country has been embroiled in nearly continuous civil wars since it gained independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who first came to power in a 1989 military coup, was the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in March on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for his role in Sudan's ongoing violence in Darfur. It is widely believed that his government has directed and assisted the systematic killing of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people in the war-torn region since 2003 through its support of militia groups. Above, a displaced Darfuri woman carries her child along train tracks.

Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan quickly emerged as the most repressive of the newly independent states after the fall of the Soviet Union. President Saparmurat Niyazov, the former head of the Turkmen Communist Party, took power in 1991, isolating the country, gutting formal institutions, muzzling the media, and creating an elaborate personality cult around himself, complete with a gold-plated statue in his image that revolved to always face the sun. Upon his death in 2006, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov took power and promised reforms, pushing through a new constitution and removing the statue, but the country remains a one-party state in which all aspects of political and civil life are strictly controlled. Above, a soldier stands guard at Niyazov's funeral.

For More Click Here!

Einstein robot makes facial expressions

2009-07-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Washington: Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have revealed that a hyper-realistic Einstein robot has learnt to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning.

The researchers say that they took the aid of machine learning to "empower" their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions.

"As far as we know, no other research group has used machine learning to teach a robot to make realistic facial expressions," said Tingfan Wu, the computer science Ph.D student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who presented this advance on June 6 at the IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning.

The researchers have even uploaded a video showing the Einstein robot head performing asymmetric random facial movements as a part of the expression learning process on the website YouTube.

The faces of robots are increasingly realistic, and the number of artificial muscles that controls them is rising.

It was in light of this trend that the researchers from the Machine Perception Laboratory are studying the face and head of their robotic Einstein, hoping that their work may help them find ways to automate the process of teaching robots to make lifelike facial expressions.

According to them, the Einstein robot they worked on has about 30 facial muscles, each moved by a tiny servo motor connected to the muscle by a string.

The researchers point out that developmental psychologists speculate that infants learn to control their bodies through systematic exploratory movements, including babbling to learn to speak.

Initially, these movements appear to be executed in a random manner as infants learn to control their bodies and reach for objects.

"We applied this same idea to the problem of a robot learning to make realistic facial expressions," said Mr Javier Movellan, the senior author on the paper presented at ICDL 2009 and the director of UCSD's Machine Perception Laboratory, housed in the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

The research team may have achieved promising results, but they admit that some of the learned facial expressions are still awkward. One potential explanation is that their model may be too simple to describe the coupled interactions between facial muscles and skin.

To begin the learning process, the UC San Diego researchers directed the Einstein robot head to twist and turn its face in all directions, a process called "body babbling".

During that period, the robot could see itself on a mirror and analyse its own expression using facial expression detection software created at UC San Diego called Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox (CERT).

That provided the data necessary for machine learning algorithms to learn a mapping between facial expressions and the movements of the muscle motors.

After the robot had learnt the relationship between facial expressions and the muscle movements required to make them, the researchers made it learn to make facial expressions it had never encountered.

For example, the robot learned eyebrow narrowing, which requires the inner eyebrows to move together and the upper eyelids to close a bit to narrow the eye aperture.

"During the experiment, one of the servos burned out due to misconfiguration. We therefore ran the experiment without that servo. We discovered that the model learned to automatically compensate for the missing servo by activating a combination of nearby servos," the authors wrote in the paper presented at the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning.

"Currently, we are working on a more accurate facial expression generation model as well as systematic way to explore the model space efficiently," said Wu.

Wu concedes that his team's "body babbling" approach may not be the most efficient way to explore the model of the face.

While the primary goal of this work was to solve the engineering problem of how to approximate the appearance of human facial muscle movements with motors, the researchers say this kind of work could also lead to insights into how humans learn and develop facial expressions

Australia send England back to drawing board

2009-07-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is, admittedly, early in a series to be grasping at straws, but there are precedents for teams coming back to win after being outplayed in the opening encounter. Only last summer, South Africa followed on 346 in arrears in the first Test at Lord’s yet batted their way to safety before winning the next two matches.

England can do something similar now in the Ashes. They can bat their way to a draw today in the first npower Test — the pitch remains basically good and is hardly of threatening pace — and in more favourable bowling conditions demonstrate that Australian batsmanship is not always as pleasing on the eye as Silvio Berlusconi’s Cabinet. But it will take immense character. Four days into the series, Ricky Ponting’s side have struck several telling blows.
England’s novel plan of beating Australia with a pair of spinners lies in tatters. On a pitch offering turn, the combined figures of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar read 73-12-246-1. Instructions have already gone out for pitches later in the series to assist spin but it will be a brave man who reunites this pair.
Two bowlers harmed and two batsmen, too. If England’s fragile batting is to prosper, the top order must function well, but Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara have failed twice here in favourable conditions and with Brett Lee absent.

Cook’s two dismissals were sadly predictable, caught off an open face and leg-before falling over. “Seen it all before, Chef,” the Aussies will say. And they will like what they see in Bopara, frozen by Peter Siddle bouncers and yesterday playing across the line to his third ball. It was a poor decision from umpire Billy Doctrove — the ball was high — but there is enough to suggest Bopara is batting too high for his, or our, comfort.

The Australians also returned to what are clearly well-laid plans for Kevin Pietersen, bowling full and straight at him early on when he, like Bopara, tends to play cross-batted shots. Already, Andrew Strauss and Pietersen are under pressure to holds things together.
Going into the game, England had spoken of hitting the Australians hard, but where, when it came to it, was the aggression? Over the Caerphilly mountains and far away. England have batted positively, but this isn’t calculated aggression, more a dangerous cocktail of agitation and adrenalin. Again, they have begun a series nervily on the back foot.
Yesterday provided pitiful fare for English supporters. Their team’s time-wasting was blatant, ambitions limited to delaying Australia’s declaration, preferably until the rain arrived. But the expected deluge failed to make an appearance until tea, by which time England were tottering at 20 for two. The darkest clouds kept skirting the ground.
Marcus North and Brad Haddin helped themselves to some of the easier Test runs they will make. As a declaration of intent, Strauss’s decision to start with Stuart Broad rather than Andrew Flintoff had all the punch of a powder-puff and after leaking 16 runs in two overs Broad was in danger of being withdrawn. But he recovered his poise, as did Swann and Panesar, who, with the pressure off, turned the ball more.
Despite the spinners bowling 10 overs, England delivered just 27 in the session, which ended with North reaching a composed century, his second in three Test appearances, and Haddin his fifty. By batting until mid-afternoon, Ponting was giving Haddin a chance of a hundred and making the kind of brutal statement of intent loved by Aussie captains in opening Ashes Tests.
Strauss, his field settings bedraggled, must have felt the humiliation long before Australia closed on 674 for six or Haddin became the fourth man to reach a century, the first time the feat had been accomplished against England in 887 Tests. It was, indeed, only the second time the feat had been achieved in Ashes Tests. The previous occasion was by England at Trent Bridge in 1938. North and Haddin added 200 before Haddin holed out off the part-time medium pace of Paul Collingwood.
Batting again, England were footsore and weary and no doubt fighting off the here-we-go-again feeling. They had been under pressure for much of the game and Ponting would have sensed that even with his inexperienced attack — the four frontline bowlers boasted just 35 caps before this game — he had a good chance of going one up.
Whatever the outcome today, England must not panic. When they lost the first Test in 2005, they kept faith with the XI; this time one change, jettisoning a spinner for a seamer, might be as far as they should go. Despite his most erratic bowling to date, Swann must be retained ahead of Panesar. His batting is required, so too his unquenchable chirpiness. Graham Onions will surely play at Lord’s.
A change might be enforced if say, Stuart Broad is struggling with his calf problem. There is a temptation to cast past performances aside and recall Steve Harmison, who was among the wickets for Durham yesterday, or Ryan Sidebottom. There may also be concerns, if minor ones, about the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, who had running repairs to his left foot yesterday, and Pietersen, nursing a sore Achilles.

Already, Cardiff confirms the truth established in the Caribbean that England will struggle to take 20 wickets in good batting conditions. To win a match they will need the ball to swing and that, to a degree, depends on overhead conditions. Whether Australian techniques might then be exposed remains to be seen. It is England’s only hope.
What England must address is their own batting frailties. For all the bold talk, they lack hunger. They were content with batting four sessions when six should have been a bare minimum.
The game can be saved but already Australian confidence is soaring and once the Baggy Greens get on a roll they are rarely stopped. Nathan Hauritz is hardly an in-your-face character — he once admitted that there are times, when things go badly, “when you want to crawl under a rock” — but one suspects he won’t be crawling under any rocks today, just trying to crawl all over England.

What the G-8, G-5 achieved in Italy

2009-07-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

The recent meeting of the world’s most developed countries (G-8) and the leading developing economies of India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico (G-5) at L’Aquila in Italy — appropriately described as the Major Economies Forum — has arguably been the most productive gathering since the process was initiated at Heiligendamm in Germany two years ago. While there were no fundamental agreements reached, the menu of issues covered and the quality of discussion at the summit level at least makes clear that the world has changed forever. For the first time a joint statement by the participants was issued at the MEF. It was decided to conclude the Doha Round of trade talks — stalled on account of keen skirmishing between the developing and the developed world, with India being a front-rank protagonist — in a balanced manner by 2010. This is not a small gain. The facilitation of multilateral trading protocols cannot but have a beneficial impact in the time of the gripping world economic crisis. The G-5 also clearly put out the view — articulated by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on the eve of the L’Aquila conclave and formally presented at the MEF — that the governing structures, whether of the United Nations or the world’s economic and trading bodies, of institutions that frame rules of international life could no longer ignore the claims of the G-5 of being legitimate participants at the high table. The Indian case was made in terms of permanent membership of the UN Security Council, but the leadership role of diverse blocks of countries in the IMF and the World Bank is also to be considered. One thing is quite clear. The industrialised countries mess up the world and the G-5 are drafted to contribute to clearing the mess. This applies to climate change and to the current world economic meltdown. In the latter case, it is frankly the performance of India and China that has helped shore up the international system. This needs official recognition at the MEF level and follow-up action in incorporating these countries in the prime decision-making levels of international institutions. If the L’Aquila MEF produced one single resolve to work on a single critical issue, it was climate change, although we are yet quite far from determining the prescribed role and the contribution sought from different grades of countries that signify varying levels of economic development. An important reason for this is the fundamental transformation in the position of the United States. Under President George W. Bush, the US position was that the heating of the world was not established, and America had ignored Kyoto commitments. President Barack Obama is an entirely different quantity, however. He was direct at the MEF when he said that the science was “clear and convincing”, and that the question of climate change was a defining issue of our time. As such, the Copenhagen summit in December, the successor to Kyoto, is certain to have a very different flavour. At L’Aquila the leaders at least agreed that the heating of the world on account of carbon dioxide emissions, which trigger changes leading to climate change, should not be permitted to get to be more than two per cent above pre-industrial times. India and other G-5 states are quite rightly resolute about resisting quotas capping their individual CO2 emission. After all, per capita the US produces 20 tonnes of CO2 while India produces less than one tonne. Naturally the two cannot be equated in their responsibility in fixing the world’s climate, which in turn affects its economic well-being. Nevertheless, while rightly not accepting a common prescription for all at the formal level, India could begin doing what it can — even before resources for green technology transfers become available to developing countries — to move to the green era, to the extent possible, using its own ingenuity.

Moon’s crater named after Moonwalker MJ

2009-07-12T02:31:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson, famously known as the ‘Moonwalker´ for his legendary dance moves, now has a crater of the moon named after himself.

In an out-of-the-world tribute to the ‘King of Pop´ the Lunar Republic Society named the moon crater after Jackson’s name, Contactmusic reported.

The crater, previously named Posidonius J, is located in the Moon’s Lake of Dreams and is close to a 1,200-acre parcel, which was purchased by the pop star.

Jackson, died last month at the age of 50 after a suspected cardiac arrest. His fans and family members bid their final farewell to the pop legend in a star-studded public memorial on Tuesday

Osama in Afghanistan: Pak minister

2009-07-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

London: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other top operatives of the terrorist network are hiding in Afghanistan, probably in Kunar area, Pakistan's Interior Minister, Mr Rehman Malik, has said, describing US led drone attacks in Pakistan as a futile effort for no "big fish" is present there.

"If Osama was in Pakistan we would know, with all the thousands of troops we have sent into the tribal areas in recent months.

"If he and all these four or five top people were in our areas they would have been caught, the way we are searching," Mr Malik told 'The Sunday Times,' adding that the US missile attacks in Pakistan are futile.

According to information available with the Pakistani officials, Osama is in Afghanistan, probably Kunar, as most of the activities against Pakistan are being directed from Kunar, he said.
Pakistan's officials say that the US has carried out more than 40 drone attacks inside Pakistan's territory in the past 10 months, killing hundreds of people.
The CIA officials claim these attacks have been highly effective in disrupting Al-Qaeda's ability to operate. However, Mr Malik insisted they are a waste of time because the Al-Qaeda leadership is on the other side of the border in eastern Afghanistan.
"They're getting mid-level people not big fish," he said.
"They (US missile strikes) are counter-productive because they are killing civilians and turning locals against our government. We try to win people's heart, then one drone attack drives them away. One attack alone last week killed 50 people," Mr Malik said.
The report quoted US officials in Islamabad as saying that Pakistan's government is being disingenuous, claiming to oppose the drone attacks to win domestic support, while being quite happy to benefit from them.
On Friday, two missiles fired from a drone destroyed a communications centre in South Waziristan that belonged to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban responsible for a recent string of suicide attacks in Pakistan.
The Pakistani army has not yet caught the leaders of the Swat Taliban though the Interior Minister claimed that the main leader, Maulana Fazlullah, has been hit twice and is badly wounded.
"I'm quite confident we'll get them," he said, adding Fazlullah's family was found hiding in a refugee camp and they have been taken into custody.
"Not only have we killed most of them (Taliban) but we've also destroyed their hideouts and arms deposits," he said. "We discovered long, wide tunnels they were using for weapons."

The 10 greatest sci-fi films never made

2009-07-12T00:16:00.000-07:00

The unfinished masterpieces of fantasy cinema

Since Georges Melies' 1902 'Trip to the Moon' cinema has been in love with science fiction. The romance has been rocky though, with many potential classics lost to spiralling budgets or studio whim. David Hughes the author of a new book, The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made, shares his favourites with us

Cover of The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made

1: Vincent Ward's Alien 3
Having rejected a script by sci-fi author William Gibson, the producers of the Alien franchise planned to follow James Cameron’s “Vietnam in space” Aliens with an ambitious, arty third instalment by Vincent Ward, the visionary New Zealand-born director of The Navigator and, more recently, The River Queen. A planet made of wood, and spaceships modelled on clipper ships, were just two of the strange ideas in Ward’s approach. Sadly, it never got off the ground, though Fox ultimately went with another maverick director, David Fincher.
His much-derided Alien3 is, by the way, ripe for re-appraisal; sadly, a director’s cut of the film – an unofficial version of which is included in the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set – will probably remain the Greatest Sci-Fi Movie Never Seen

2: Superman -vs- Batman
Having abandoned plans to make Tim Burton’s Superman Lives with Nicolas Cage as Clark Kent/Superman, Warner Bros. decided to take an alternative approach to their long-gestating revival of the Superman movie franchise: Batman vs Superman, a script by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker in which Gotham’s caped crusader would face off against Metropolis’ Man of Steel.
With pre-production in full swing under Troy director Wolfgang Petersen, the studio switched gears again, when a brand new script by Lost creator J.J. Abrams plonked onto their desks. Eventually, they abandoned this idea to back Brett Ratner, and later Bryan Singer, to make the disappointing Superman Returns.
3: Steven Spielberg's Night Skies
Contractually obliged to produce a sequel to the smash hit Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg came up with the idea of a family attacked in their farm by malevolent extraterrestrials, a kind of “Straw Dogs with aliens”. One of the invaders, he decided would befriend the farmer’s young son, and during the shooting of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg and Mrs Harrison Ford – screenwriter Melissa Mathison – isolated this idea and turned it into the basis of what would be his biggest film, E.T. the Extraterrestrial. Spielberg didn’t abandon the family-in-peril idea, however: he simply altered the evil aliens into ghosts and produced another smash hit: Poltergeist.
4: John Carter of Mars
Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ other famous creation, John Carter, was an American civil war veteran who uses a form of astral travel to visit a Mars crawling with monsters. Twenty years after its 1912 debut in the pages of a pulp magazine, John Carter of Mars almost became the first feature-length animated film.
Despite Bob Clampett’s stunning early animation tests, described as akin to a moving oil painting, Disney abandoned the plans and made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs instead. It would be another eighty years before the project was revived as a live action feature for Pixar, now due for release in 2012 – the one hundredth anniversary of the story’s first publication.

5: Star Trek: Planet of the Titans
The surprise success of the original Star Trek TV series in syndication, several years after its cancellation, led Paramount to consider a feature film outing for the original crew, with Invasion of the Body Snatchers director Philip Kaufman at the helm. In the script, subtitled Planet of the Titans, Kirk and his crew encounter an alien race they believe to be the mythical Titans of Earth legend, and, after travelling a million years into Earth’s past, introduce the concept of fire to primitive man. Although Paramount ultimately shelved the project in 1977, telling Kaufman – without apparent irony – “there’s no future in science fiction,” the success of Star Wars a few weeks later prompted a rethink, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture – dubbed The Slow Motion Picture for its glacial pace – was born.

6: Childhood's End
Some years after Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey put Arthur C. Clarke on the filmmaking map, Universal Pictures began developing one of Clarke’s earlier stories, 1954’s Childhood’s End, in which mile-wide spaceships appear over the world’s major cities – a trope subsequently nicked by everything from Independence Day to Signs – heralding an evolutionary leap for humankind, in which the world’s children are taken away, by aliens resembling medieval depictions of the Devil, to meet their destiny among the stars. Despite lavish production designs and several scripts, the project languished in development hell until its recent revival by Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Peirce, who has written a fresh draft and hopes to take it before the cameras next year.
7: The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester’s 1956 novel The Stars My Destination, which appears on virtually every list of the best science fiction novels, is a kind of “Count of Monte Cristo in space” described by sci-fi author William Gibson as “the perfect cyberpunk novel.” Despite numerous attempts to film the story – including one with Richard Gere as the book’s vengeful, tattooed anti-hero Gulliver Foyle, and another with Event Horizon director Paul W.S. Anderson at the helm – the project remained in limbo until Variety announced, in March 2006, that Universal had acquired the rights for Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of last year’s smash hit Transformers.
8: Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune
“A lot of people have tried to film Dune. They all failed,” stated the opus’s author, Frank Herbert – after David Lynch’s noble effort reached the screen in 1984. A more promising adaptation was proposed in the mid seventies, with Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky overseeing production designs by H.R. Giger, British artist Chris Foss, and French comic book artist Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. Among Jodorowsky’s more outlandish ideas was offering the role of Emperor Shaddam IV to Salvador Dali, at a previously unheard-of salary of $100,000 per hour. Perhaps unsurprisingly, financing on the film fizzled. However, the two extant adaptations – Lynch’s, and a successful 2000 miniseries – will be joined, in 2010, by a third, with The Kingdom director Peter Berg at the helm.
9: Ridley Scott's I am Legend
Despite half a billion dollars in box office earnings, last year’s film version of Richard Matheson’s thrilling 1954 vampire novel, starring Will Smith, is only half a good movie (the first half, before the unconvincing computer-generated creatures show up). Far more promising was Ridley Scott’s 2000 adaptation, with Arnold Schwarzenegger roaming a deserted San Francisco hunting the nightmarish creatures which the rest of the population has become. Despite many script drafts, spectacular production designs, ambitious effects tests and a scheduled start date, Arnie’s waning box office clout led Warner Bros. to get cold feet. Star and director both walked – Arnie to Washington as governor of California, Scott to ancient Rome as director of Gladiator.
10: The Outer Limits
Following the success of Species (three sequels and counting) and Stargate (two successful TV spin-offs so far), MGM planned a big-screen revival of its most famous sci-fi brand, the classic TV anthology The Outer Limits. An outbreak of a terrifying ‘sleepy sickness’ puts 99.9% of the world’s population into comas, preparing the planet for a hostile takeover by aliens who’ve studied human behaviour closely enough to know that the best way to spread the disease is through infected currency. With echoes of Outbreak, Signs, and the John Mills version of Quatermass, The Outer Limits could be a future sci-fi blockbuster, if Tom Cruise – whose newly-revived United Artists now holds the rights – decides to follow Minority Report and Wars of the Worlds with a third foray into science fiction territory (his religious views aside).
The full story behind these and many more lost science fiction films can be found in The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made by David Hughes, published 25 July by Titan Books , priced £9.99.

Photo Essay: From the Vatican

2009-07-11T00:29:00.000-07:00

(Pope Benedict XVI greets President Barack Obama at the Vatican, Friday, July 10, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

((President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are escorted by SwissGuards and Vatican ushers at the Vatican, Friday, July 10, 2009.)

(President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI enter the Pope's study at the Vatican, Friday, July 10, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

(President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI meet in the Pope's study at the Vatican,
Friday, July 10, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

(President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican,
Friday, July 10, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

SOURCE : WHITE HOUSE

Comment!

2009-07-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Comment!

With good assets sold, 'New GM' exits bankruptcy

2009-07-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Image by lacie babenco via Flickr

A new General Motors emerged from bankruptcy protection on Friday -- far more quickly than most industry-watchers had expected -- as a leaner automaker pledging to win back American consumers and pay back taxpayers.

A whirlwind 40-day bankruptcy for GM concluded with the closing of a deal that sold key operations to a new company that is majority-owned by the U.S. Treasury.
The closing documents were signed early Friday by representatives of the government and GM executives at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, GM's bankruptcy counsel.
The development, which follows a similar fast-track reorganization of Chrysler, represented a victory for the Obama administration and its commitment to save jobs and prevent a liquidation of the largest U.S. automaker.
At the same time, the U.S. government has taken on substantial new risks as a 60 percent owner of the new GM with a $50 billion equity investment and $10 billion in debt and perpetual preferred shares.
Analysts said the government intervention had given GM a new chance and sharply lower operating costs but left management facing deep challenges given the weak economy and GM's long-running slide in market share.
"I wouldn't really call it a new GM, it is just a smaller GM. That would be more of an apt description. They still have a lot of hurdles to jump," said Mirko Mikelic, portfolio manager at Fifth Third Bank. "Right now, they are in a survival mode."
Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said the new company would shed layers of management, make decisions faster and shed the bureaucracy that critics say contributed to the failure of the 100-year-old automaker.
The company's white-collar work force will be cut by more than 20 percent by eliminating 6,000 jobs. Executive ranks will be cut 35 percent.
"The bottom line is that business as usual -- and as we have had it until today -- is over," Henderson told reporters at GM's Detroit headquarters. "Everyone associated with GM must be prepared to change -- and fast."
Bankruptcy slashed GM's debt and healthcare obligations and brought down labor costs to be on par with Japanese competitors led by Toyota Motor Corp.
Analysts said that gives GM a chance to deliver on its commitment to launch more fuel-efficient cars and to focus its resources on fewer brands, models and dealerships.
"The legacy costs are gone. The challenge in the future is how to approach a marketplace that has been burned by GM," said Pete Hastings, senior vice president and fixed-income analyst at Morgan Keegan.
While key assets and the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands were sold out of bankruptcy to form the new General Motors Company, other assets, including shuttered factories, remain in bankruptcy for a liquidation process.
That old GM, which will become Motors Liquidation Co, is expected to stay in bankruptcy for years.
Bondholders, who had been owed $27 billion, could eventually receive a 10 percent stake in the new GM.
The U.S. Treasury will own 60.8 percent and 11.7 percent will be owned by the governments of Canada and Ontario. A retiree trust fund affiliated with the United Auto Workers union will hold 17.5 percent.
NEW GM, NEW CULTURE?
Henderson, who took over as CEO when predecessor Rick Wagoner was ousted by the Obama administration at the end of March, said the company would be run by a single executive committee, cutting the number of top decision-makers in half.
GM also eliminated the North American executive team overseeing operations in its troubled home market which had caused the automaker to lose more than $80 billion since 2005.
Nick Reilly, who has headed Asian operations, will take control of GM's international operations based in Shanghai, a recognition of the growing importance of China at a time when GM is selling its European unit, Opel.
Bob Lutz, 77, GM's outspoken and high-profile former product chief, agreed to stay on in a new position with responsibility for marketing, communications and a continued role in vehicle design.
Dennis Virag, an analyst at Automotive Consulting Group, said Henderson would be judged by GM's new board and others on his success in reforming a corporate culture that was blamed for having stymied innovation and bred inefficiency.
"Does he have the habits of the old GM or is he capable of providing the new leadership? I think he has to demonstrate that," he said of Henderson.
The White House has also disbursed almost $80 billion to shore up the auto industry, including $5 billion in support for auto parts suppliers.
Chrysler exited bankruptcy a month ago after blazing a precedent-setting trail for GM by following an asset sale plan that gave operational control of the smaller automaker to Italy's Fiat SpA.
The new GM will have slashed its debt and healthcare obligations by $48 billion, dropped almost 40 percent of the dealers from an unprofitable network and moved to sell laggard brands such as Saab, Saturn and Hummer.

101 uses for a man

2009-07-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

1 Whistling at you in the street on your 41st birthday (this should be a state-funded initiative).
2 Model railways, the running and maintenance of.
3 Pigeon fancying.
4 Particle physics.
5 Eating up the elderly tub of coleslaw in the back of the fridge after an evening at the pub.
6 Opening all those terrifying brown envelopes that the bank will insist on sending you.
7 Catching spiders.
8 Bringing you tea in bed in the mornings.
9 Forgetting your anniversary, but then wildly overcompensating with a completely over-the-top gesture, preferably involving diamonds.
10 Making your limited capacity for grooving look positively Madonna-esque by dancing around you wildly, arms and legs jerking like a demented puppet.
11 Lending you (often without knowing it) a razor.
12 Parking.
13 Ensuring that the children learn to play happily on their own by applying special male method of childcare, namely sitting on the sofa reading the paper while they set fire to the house.
14 Keeping Coleen Rooney in handbags by continuous funding of endless, dreary football games.
15 Explaining the rules of cricket, slowly and in words of one syllable, every two years.
16 Baring his bottom on stag nights.
17 Helping to keep you fit and supple by generously leaving towels, socks and other items of personal attire dotted around the floor for you to pick up.
18 Supporting the luxury car market with the purchase, on his 50th birthday, of a meno-Porsche.
19 Patronising you at parties.
20 Being the Pope.
21 Cartography, and all its many delights.
22 Trying very hard to distract you in the delivery room by telling you about the time he got really badly constipated and had to go to hospital and, you know, the consultant said that sometimes the pain can be almost as bad as the agony of labour . . .
23 Using the last drop of milk before, very helpfully, putting the empty carton back in the fridge.
24 Looking nice in a dinner suit. Every man has an inner James Bond.

25 Stocking the iPod with obscure (albeit largely unlistenable) punk music from the 1970s, even though he went to a nice grammar school and has never even owned a pair of DMs, let alone used them to stamp on a hippy’s head.
26 Driving up very close behind you on the motorway and flashing his lights repeatedly. So sweet to notice your new highlights . . .
27 Being a rock star. Florence and the Machine is all very well, but no match for, say, the raw guitar strut of Caleb out of Kings of Leon (silly name, silly beard, very sexy boy whichever way you cut it).
28 Loading all the glasses the wrong way up in the dishwasher.
29 Overfeeding the dog.
30 Saying, “Oh, so that explains it” in a cryptic voice the day you get your period.
31 Making the inventor of the electric nose-hair clipper very, very rich.
32 Doing lots of very important pointing and shouting.
33 Hunting — and gathering — on the wild Burgundian plains.
34 Catching man-flu.
35 Feeding your children raw barbecue sausages (“It’ll build up their immune systems!”).
36 Removing dead mice from the house.
37 Losing the keys for the roofbox.
38 Blaming you for losing the keys to the roofbox — then finding them in his coat pocket.
39 Making sure that every last pot and pan in the kitchen gets used to its full potential when cooking special Daddy spagbol for Sunday lunch.
40 Building large, pointy metal tubes, filling them with explosives and firing them into the air.
41 Encouraging Britain’s thriving shed manufacturing industry.
42 Insisting that only he can be trusted to drive on the right-hand side of the road in a foreign country and then going the wrong way round the roundabout at the exit from the airport, careering into an oncoming Fiat Panda, arguing furiously with the police and ensuring that the first night of your Italian holiday is spent in a Sicilian jail.
43 Not calling when he says he will.
44 Doing those really strange man-bonding handshakes.
45 Alphabetising your record collection.
46 Being able to wear the same pair of shoes for 25 years before buying a new pair.
47 Accidentally stroking your bottom while directing you to your chair.
48 Codpieces, the wearing of.
49 Eating full-size Mars bars.
50 Inventing Prog Rock.
51 Drinking warm fermented hops.
52 Listening to Wagner.
53 Being a murderous despot (go on, name a female murderous despot).
54 Letting the lawn grow free and wild. It’s not a lawn, it’s an eco-meadow!
55 Warming the bed.
56 Making those trips to Ikea such a stress-free delight.
57 Reading, and actually understanding, instruction manuals for small electrical devices.
58 If not exactly fixing the car, then at least looking purposeful until the AA turns up.
59 Ordering a lovely big bowl of chips in a restaurant which you then eat most of — without, of course, having actually ordered any yourself.
60 Mixing the perfect gin and tonic

61 Remembering the rules to Canasta.
62 Standing behind you for emotional support as you creep downstairs to investigate those strange noises . . .
63 Remembering the relevance of minor characters in The Sopranos
64 Constructing your son’s 10,000-piece Lego Death Star.
65 Doing price comparisons for car insurance.
66 Setting the sat-nav.
67 Finishing off that glass of wine you poured an hour ago but never got round to drinking.
68 Having more hair on his legs than you.
69 Working out how to fold up the wretched double buggy.
70 Doing up the zip on your dress.
71 Keeping the local Indian takeaway in business.
72 Eating the children’s leftovers (it makes the eco-wash on the dishwasher much more effective).
73 Sky Plus-ing The Wire.
74 Making sure there’s always enough party ice in the freezer.
75 Sweetly buying you size 12 underwear when in actual fact you’re at least a size 16.
76 Helping the children with their trigonometry homework.
77 Always having at least three glasses of water in the vicinity of the bedside table – even if two of those glasses are at least a week old.
78 Going to the dump.
79 Eating cornichons.
80 Delivering a rip-roaring best man speech.
81 Leaving all the drawers and cupboard doors in the house very slightly open.
82 Being Father Christmas, and beards in general.
83 Opening jars (as loosened by you).
84 Regularly contracting obscure and incurable tropical diseases (as diagnosed on Google), only to recover miraculously just in time for the cricket.
85 Snoring.
86 Carving.
87 Watering the toilet seat. What is it, a plant?
88 Doing the Atkins diet. Fried eggs, sausages, lard: what’s not to like?
89 Wearing comedy swimming trucks.
90 Loving his mummy.
91 Making fire.
92 Putting things very helpfully in the general vicinity of the washing machine – but never switching it on (or hanging the stuff out afterwards).
93 Managing to ruin a perfectly plumped-up sofa within precisely three seconds.
94 Keeping all those lovely old gentlemen-only clubs from going under.
95 Going up into the loft.
96 Making sure there are at least four radios in the house that are tuned to John Humphrys at any given time.
97 Presenting Top Gear.
98 Doing air guitar.
99 Suddenly remembering a very pressing telephone call whenever there’s even the whiff of a dirty nappy.
100 Diving, in exotic destinations.
101 Never (or only very occasionally) wanting to borrow your favourite dress.

Google takes on Microsoft with Chrome operating system

2009-07-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Google is to launch a new operating system, in its most direct challenge yet to the dominance of Microsoft.

Google Chrome OS will be a development of its Chrome web browser. The search giant initially aims to install the new system on small, low-cost computers known as netbooks, which are currently outselling more powerful personal computers. Google said that it believed the software would eventually be used on PCs as well.
The move is likely to intensify the rivalry between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system is used on the majority of the world’s personal computers. Operating systems help to run and control the basic functions of a computer.
Google said that the project was a natural extension of its Chrome browser and was necessary because older operating systems were designed at a time when the internet did not exist
“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,” said Sundar Pichai, a Google Vice President, and Linus Upson, engineering director, in a blog post. “We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you on to the web in a few seconds.”
The news spread quickly on the blogosphere, with many commentators applauding the move. The influential TechCrunch blog said it was a “genius play”, arguing that Microsoft’s XP software on netbooks was eight years old, making it a good target.
“Let’s be clear on what this really is,” MG Seigler, a TechCrunch writer, said. “This is Google dropping the mother of bombs on its chief rival, Microsoft.”
Stephen Shankland, of the technology site CNET, said that Google’s move had widespread implications.
“One is that it shows just how serious Google is about making the web into a foundation, not just for static pages but for active applications, notably its own such as Google Docs and Gmail.
“It opens new competition with Microsoft and, potentially, a new reason for anti-trust regulators to pay close attention to Google’s moves."
Google said that the new software would be released later this year on an open source licence, meaning that computer developers and programmers across the world will have the chance to use, modify and improve it. Netbooks running the finished product will go on sale in the second half of next year.
The company claimed that Chrome OS would change the focus of operating systems from controlling desktop PCs to a system designed to run the internet as fast as possible.
“The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way and most of the user experience takes place on the web,” Mr Pinchai and Mr Upson said.
Google has a big task on its hands. Many companies and products have tried to take on Microsoft’s Windows and failed. Although rival systems such as Linux and Apple's OS X are widely acclaimed, some analysts estimate that Windows and other Microsoft products are used on more than 90 per cent of computers. Microsoft is to release an updated version of its own operating system, Windows 7, in October.
Google has repeatedly trampled on Microsoft’s territory recently. First, it launched Google Chrome, a web browser, in competition with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. It has also recently released Android, an operating system for mobile phones, a direct challenger to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, which is used on the majority of smartphones.
.

Earthquake kills one and injures hundreds in southwest China

2009-07-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Image by Nickel Xie via Flickr

An earthquake in a sparsely populated region of southwest China killed one person, injured hundreds and flattened more than 10,000 houses overnight.
A government relief official in the Yao'an county, a mountainous area of the picturesque Yunnan province where the quake hit, told the AFP news agency that one person had died and 328 were injured.
The US Geological Survey said the moderate 5.7-magnitude quake struck at 7:19pm (11.19 GMT) on Thursday at a depth of 6.2 miles. The quake was centred 61 miles northeast of the city of Dali.
It was followed by eight aftershocks, driving residents outdoors for fear of greater damage, China's Xinhua news agency said.
More than 10,000 houses collapsed and 30,000 others were damaged in six counties. In a statement, the local government said that 75,000 buildings had been damaged.
Provincial authorities rushed thousands of tents, quilts and other aid supplies to the relief agency headquarters in Yao'an county. More than 600 police officers were sent to the earthquake zone.
About 30 people suffered severe injuries and were being treated at a hospital in Yao'an.
Last May nearly 87,000 people were left dead or missing after a massive earthquake (magnitude 8.0) shook the Sichuan province in China's mountainous southwest.
The deadliest earthquake to strike China in more than 30 years flattened entire cities and towns, while destroying schools, hospitals, homes and factories in nearly 50,000 villages.
About 7,000 schools collapsed in that quake as neighbouring buildings stood intact, leading to the death of thousands of children and causing anger among grieving parents who blamed poor construction and corruption among officials.
Yunnan province, where Thursday night's quake hit, is next to Sichuan, and lies on China's southern border with Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Yao'an county, the quake's epicentre, has a population of 207,900 from 23 separate ethnic groups, according to the county government's website.
The spectacular scenery and the ethnic diversity has led China's government to promote the relatively unspoilt region as a tourist destination in recent years.
Southwest China as a whole is part of the boundary between two of the Earth's tectonic plates, the Indian and Asian, whose constant collision has created the Himalayan mountains and Tibetan plateau.

Source : TO

Can there be another Jackson icon in Internet era?

2009-07-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The extravagant mourning for Michael Jackson has some critics wondering whether the pop singer's global superstardom could ever be duplicated in an Internet era offering endless entertainment choices.
Jackson's sudden June 25 death caused an outpouring of praise for the singer, whose 1982 "Thriller" album is the best-selling of all time with estimated sales of 50 million copies. In death, Jackson's personal scandals no longer seemed so important to his fans and those caught up in the moment.
"In the world of YouTube, no one could occupy the worldwide effect of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,'" said Jonathan Taplin, a University of Southern California professor.
"I was scouting a movie for Walt Disney in 1983 in Congo, Gabon and Ivory Coast. All you heard on the radio was Michael Jackson," said Taplin, a former television and film producer.
The Internet has joined the world together in new ways and can elevate unknowns to stardom in an instant, as illustrated by Susan Boyle, the dowdy British singer who shot from obscurity to international fame when her performance on a British talent show was posted on YouTube.
But such fame is fleeting and one Internet sensation is quickly replaced by another. "There will be thousands of Susan Boyles, but no Michael Jacksons or The Beatles," Taplin said.
Before the emergence of cable TV and then the Internet, tens of millions of people regularly tuned into the same hit shows at the same time. Now, the Internet has flooded the world with choice and diluted audiences.
Dubbed the "King of Pop," Jackson, 50, sang with his brothers in the "Jackson 5" before achieving solo stardom with hits like "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," which he promoted with boundary breaking videos on cable music video network MTV.

JACKSON WOULD FIND IT HARDER
But MTV no longer plays hours of prime time music videos and the Internet allows anyone to post songs and videos online. The New York Times's David Segal wrote that this probably spelled the end of fame on the level achieved by Jackson.
"That's why even Michael Jackson would have a hard time becoming Michael Jackson these days," he wrote. "There is something sad about our infinite menu of options. It could very well mean the end of true superstardom."
Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and during his lifetime sold an estimated 750 million albums.
But although he was poised to attempt a comeback, his best years appeared far behind him when he died. In recent years, he won more headlines for his bizarre behavior and in fighting off sexual abuse charges than for his music.
Susan Ohmer, who teaches modern communication at the University of Notre Dame, likened Jackson's fame to that of Britain's Princess Diana, saying that while people may not have known the real Jackson or Diana, the personas they portrayed on camera captured the world's attention.
"Michael Jackson came of age when music was becoming more international," Ohmer said "Like Princess Diana, his style and movements seemed to come alive on camera."
Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, said it would be more difficult for another global icon to be created in a "fragmented era of modern technology," -- but still possible.
"The Internet has allowed a new route to fame," Thompson said. "But becoming truly famous is still something that happens very rarely."
Thompson and Ohmer both pointed to U.S. President Barack Obama as one of the world's new icons, but based on a record of political achievement and real intellectual power rather than songs and dance moves.
"In any new medium, stars emerge," Ohmer said. "Celebrities become global icons because they interact with media in ways that fascinate the public and because they speak to us in some way about our lives and times."

Source : Reuters

Debate Point!

2009-07-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Well guys, this weeks debate point is... Do you think the so called G8 can turn there words on climate change into actions?if you remember they promised to cut out the carbon emissions. Can they achieve? whats your take?

Comment Below!

British scientists claim to create human sperm

2009-07-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

LONDON – British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm from embryonic stem cells for the first time, an accomplishment they say may someday help infertile men father children.
The technique could in 10 years allow researchers to use the basic knowledge of how sperm develop to design treatments to enable infertile men the chance to have biological children, said lead researcher Karim Nayernia, of Newcastle University, whose team earlier produced baby mice from sperm derived in a similar way.
The research, published in the journal Stem Cells and Development, was conducted by scientists at Newcastle and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute.
Stem cells can become any cell in the body, and scientists have previously turned them into a variety of new entities, including cells from the brain, pancreas, heart and blood vessels.
Some experts challenged the research, saying they weren't convinced Nayernia and his colleagues had actually produced sperm cells. Several critics also said the sperm cells they created were clearly abnormal.
"I am unconvinced from the data presented in this paper that the cells produced by Professor Nayernia's group from embryonic stem cells can be accurately called 'spermatazoa," said Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield.
Pacey said in a statement that the sperm created by Nayernia did not have the specific shape, movement and function of real sperm.
Azim Surani, a professor of physiology and reproduction at the University of Cambridge said the sperm produced by the Newcastle team were "a long way from being authentic sperm cells."
Nayernia said the cells "showed all the characteristics of sperm," but his group's intention was simply to "open up new avenues of research" with their early findings, rather than using the sperm to fertilize eggs.
Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell expert at the National Institute of Medical Research said that despite the questions raised, Nayernia and colleagues may have made some progress in obtaining human sperm from embryonic cells.
Nayernia said creating embryos from lab-manufactured sperm is banned by British law.
He said they only plan to produce sperm to study the reasons behind infertility, and will not fertilize any eggs.
Some lawmakers said provisions should be made to allow sperm derived from stem cells to be tested as part of potential fertility treatments.

Source : YAHOO

Would you send your child to Hogwarts?

2009-07-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

Well, with the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, this seems a topical question. It's also one which I'm guessing many Harry Potter readers will have asked themselves over the years. Your kids may love the idea of going (all that excitement, albeit with perhaps rather too much death and destruction), but I'm not convinced I'd send my children to Hogwarts (that's if they turned out to be talented muggles). Not only is it too dangerous, but what on earth would they learn there?!
In this essay by Steve Vander Ark, the consensus seems very much to be no, don't educate your children with Harry and co. After all, as he writes, the children really don't learn much, and the teachers do not treat their students well. He's right, isn't he? I don't recall much maths, foreign languages (although, of course they're no longer compulsory at secondary school in the real world either) or PHSE. Surely Hermione would love to read some English literature, whether a little bit of Forster (I think this would tickle her fancy) or something more challenging (the metaphysical poets?). Instead she's stuck with potion making, fighting off evil and learning magic. Hermione, Harry and friends also come up against so many truly terrible teachers (would Dolores Umbridge or Severus Snape be licensed to teach?)
English teacher and blogger extraordinaire Dana Huff has written a very detailed post on this very subject. In it she discusses the merits (or otherwise) of the main Hogwarts teachers, from Snape and McGonagall to Hagrid and Sybill Trelawney. Not many, other than Lupin (who makes the top five in my list of the most inspring teachers in films), and of course, Professor Dumbledore, are very inspiring. Mind you, Ms Huff is perhaps not as much of a fan of Dumbledore as others might be. She writes:
"We are never given an assessment of Dumbledore’s teaching skills, but based on his relationship with the students, he was probably fairly good. I do wonder at his skill in selecting some of his staff, but he seems, in all, to be a fairly good administrator. He is not always as supportive of his faculty as he could be, but often that’s because the faculty member in question is being unreasonable (Snape, most of the time)."
What do you think? Is Hogwarts an appealing educational establishment? Maybe I'd have a different view if I was currently at school, but for the moment at least, I'm glad that my daughter is learning to spell (beautifully and noisily are on her latest list) rather than learn spells....

SOURCE: TO

Google Announces Search Engine Changes

2009-07-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

Web giant Google has unveiled changes to its search engine to let users to "dig deeper" into results.

Google unveiled new search engine options at their Searchology event

The developments include automatic tables of information on a subject, arrange results by date and genre, and a GPS phone app for naming stars in the sky.
Google believes the changes will keep their search engine ahead of rivals such as Yahoo and Microsoft's Live search.

Google's new search options

They currently have 63% of the US search market to Yahoo's 20%.
Vice President Marissa Mayer said search technology is "in its infancy" and Google engineers hope to identify the next big thing first.
Innovations unveiled include Google Squared, which does not return page results but arranges what appear to be facts from across the web.
For example, a search for breeds of dog could return a table of types, names and sizes.
Rich Snippets offers more detail in the preview text below web page links.
This is aimed at those searching for reviews, as it could offer average scores or price ranges for a restaurant.

Google's Sky Map phone app

The Search Options feature filters results depending on genre, allowing the search to be refined to forum discussions, reviews or videos, and also by date.
"As people get more sophisticated at search they are coming to us to solve more complex problems," the company said in a blog post.
"To stay on top of this, we have spent a lot of time looking at how we can better understand the wide range of information that's on the web and quickly connect people to just the nuggets they need at that moment."
Another innovation announced at Google's Searchology event was the phone app Sky Map.
Designed for Android mobiles, it uses GPS technology to identify the stars of the solar system.

G8 Summit: 'Historic' Climate Change Vow

2009-07-09T00:03:00.001-07:00

Prime Minsiter Gordon Brown has hailed a "historic" agreement between the world's major industrialised nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

Leaders of the world's leading industrialised nations line up at the summit

Mr Brown also hailed moves - agreed at the summit of G8 nations in Italy - to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 2C.
He said the deal paved the way for a global agreement at the UN conference in Copenhagen this December to halve emissions by the middle of the century.
A communique released at the summit in L'Aquila also committed the G8 to continued efforts to restore global economic growth.
It put off the application of an "exit strategy" - as sought by Germany - until recovery is assured.
Mr Brown said the G8 leaders recognised "warning signals" that the path out of recession is not yet secured.
He cited the recent rise in oil prices to 75 US dollars a barrel and uncertainty about future unemployment.

Gordon Brown with Dmitry Medvedev

The agreement on climate change has been made possible by America's change
in stance since Barack Obama succeeded George Bush as President.
Mr Brown said: "For the first time the G8 has agreed what I believe are vital decisions that take us on the road to Copenhagen and change the way we look at energy policy in the future.
"We have agreed for the first time that average global temperatures must rise by no more than 2C. That is a historic agreement.
"We have agreed as G8 that we want to cut our emissions by 80% by 2050 and we believe that this will allow the world to reduce its emissions by 50%."
The Prime Minister hopes to secure agreement from emerging economies including China and India on the need to limit temperature rises to 2C.
No deal is expected on specific emission cuts for non-G8 countries.
The Prime Minister said he expected the agreement on 80% emission cuts to be greeted with "excitement" by the many people in the UK who are interested in moving towards a low-carbon future.
He revealed that the Government will be announcing the first of its eco-towns within the next few days.

Source : SKY

Going Public, Quietly

2009-07-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

President Obama is in Russia, but he's still holding hands in Washington. Advocates of a public option as a part of health care reform got spooked he was going to abandon them, so between press releases heralding the U.S./Russian agreement on reducing strategic weapons, the White House released an out-of-the-blue two-sentence statement reiterating Obama's pledge to seek a public option as a part of health care reform. "As I've said before," it read, "one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest."
Why does the president have to issue a statement from several time zones away reiterating something he's already said? Because his supporters worry that in order to achieve comprehensive health care reform, and to win support from some Republicans, Obama will trade away his support for a public option. Alternatively, they worry that he will redefine public option beyond recognition.
The irony is that this most recent statement is unlikely to make anyone less nervous: It merely reflects the strategic ambiguity Obama has been trying to achieve throughout this process. Yes, he's for a public plan—but he's not specific, which means his support can mean all things to all people. This ambiguity gives the president room to make deals, and it doesn't impinge on Congress' prerogatives. But it also creates explosive moments of confusion.
Because of strategic ambiguity, any drop of specificity from the White House rings like a foghorn signal. That's what happened this time. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was quoted expressing flexibility on the details of a public plan in the Wall Street Journal. "The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest," he said in an interview. "The goal is non-negotiable; the path is [negotiable]."
So far, so ambiguous. But Emanuel went further. He said one of several ways to meet Obama's goals could be a mechanism that implements a public plan only if the current insurance marketplace fails to provide sufficient competition. Because the White House has stayed away from details, this was interpreted as an endorsement for the idea of a "trigger."
Advocates of a public plan don't like the idea of a "trigger," because it makes a public plan conditional. On Tuesday, Sen. Charles Schumer, emerging from the lunch where Democratic senators welcomed Al Franken (with three standing ovations), said Emanuel's remarks were a surprise. "I had never heard that they were for the trigger. That came as a surprise to me," he said. "Maybe in year three there might be a public plan? Not good enough." Moveon.org e-mailed its members Tuesday asking them to tell the White House they're "disappointed in Chief of Staff Emanuel's comments."
This Obama/Emanuel two-step is not new. During discussions over whether to prosecute Bush administration Justice Department lawyers for condoning torture, Emanuel said there should be no prosecutions—only to have Obama say shortly thereafter that there might be. In this case, Emanuel's comments confirm the worst fears of public-option advocates: that the administration is prepared to compromise on their issue. A comment from a Democratic aide in the Senate—"We'll take anything called a public plan as long as it gets us [bi-partisan] agreement"—didn't help much, either.
But Schumer has been working to bridge the gap between those who want a pure public option (a Medicare-for-all-type plan that would be separate from Medicare) and those who support a patient-owned cooperative that would be free from government control. A cooperative, favored by Republican senators like Chuck Grassley and conservative Democratic senators like Ben Nelson, could meet the criteria the president laid out. But true believers in a public plan say a co-op would be too weak to lower costs or compete with private insurance companies.
Schumer has declared the idea dead previously but sounded more positive Tuesday. "If we can come to some kind of compromise on some kind of co-op situation that really keeps the insurance companies honest, I'm open to it. It can't be two little co-ops in two little places." Schumer even seemed to have compromised on a key sticking point in his negotiations with conservative Democrats. He had previously advocated that the co-op board be linked to the government. Now he says that while "there would be a role for the federal government in setting it up, then it would become independent."
Liberal Democrats and their allies were concerned enough about Emanuel's remarks to seek clarification from the White House. But the president's statement, while aimed at reiterating his commitment, doesn't actually contradict anything Emanuel said. If, in the end, Obama decides that a trigger or a cooperative plan keeps insurance companies honest, then he will say he's kept his word on the goals of the public option. So Obama's statement today can be read as both a walk-back of Emanuel's remarks and support of them. When I pointed this out to a White House adviser, the response was succinct:

North Korean Agency Suspected in Cyberattack

2009-07-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Image by US Army Korea - IMCOM via Flickr

TOKYO, July 8 -- South Korea's intelligence agency suspects that North Korea may have been behind an Internet attack that on Tuesday and Wednesday targeted government web sites in South Korea and the United States, lawmakers in Seoul told news agencies
Twenty-six Web sites in the two countries, including the office of South Korea's president and the defense ministry, were targeted, the South Korean National Intelligence Service said in a statement. In the United States, the attack targeted Web sites operated by major government agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, according to several computer security researchers.
"The attacks appear to have been elaborately prepared and executed at the level of a group or a state," the agency said.
Eleven web sites in the United States had problems similar to those that occurred in South Korea, the Korean Information Security Agency said.
Some members of the intelligence committee in the National Assembly were told by intelligence officials that North Korea or its sympathizers were prime suspects in the attacks, according to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, which cited unnamed legislators.
The attacks were described as "distributed denial of service," an operation that hacks into personal computers and commands them to overwhelm certain web sites with a blizzard of data.
About 12,000 PCs in South Korea and 8,000 outside the country were commandeered in the attack, according to the intelligence service.
South Korea is one of the world most wired countries, with broadband access in more than 90 percent of homes and Internet data-transfer speeds that are much faster than in most of the United States.
Earlier this year a number of South Korean news organization reported that North Korea was running a cyber-warfare unit that targets military computer networks in South Korea and the United States.
In the United States, the White House Web site was among those affected, according to Yonhap. But a White House official said Tuesday that "denial of service" attacks on federal government Web sites are a regular occurrence and that there have not been any disruptions on White House Web sites recently. U.S. government officials declined last light to confirm the agencies affected by the attack.
The attacks involved thousands of computers around the globe infected with rogue software that told them to repeatedly attempt to access the targeted sites, a tactic aimed at driving up traffic beyond the sites' normal capacity and denying access to legitimate users, according to the researchers, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they are helping with the investigation.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said that the agency was aware of ongoing attacks and that the government's Computer Emergency Response Team had issued guidance to public and private sector Web sites to stem the attacks.
"We see attacks on federal networks every day, and measures in place have minimized the impact to federal Web sites," Kudwa said. The attacks did not penetrate the targeted Web sites and the attackers did not steal any data.
Before reports emerged of North Korea's alleged involvement, a U.S. official familiar with the attacks who spoke on condition of anonymity said that not knowing who's behind the assault is "problematic" from the standpoint of preventing future attacks. But from the point of view of response, he said, the government and private sector Internet service providers were able to "keep this down to a dull roar."
He said that the attacks were major in the sense that they were widespread and well-coordinated, and that though the FTC Web site was down most of the day Tuesday, "the reality is that most of the Web sites have been up most of the time so the countermeasures have been pretty effective."
In addition to sites run by government agencies, several commercial Web sites were also attacked, including those operated by Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and The Washington Post.
In South Korea, no classified information was compromised during the attacks in the past two days, the intelligence agency said, adding that it was cooperating with officials in the United States to track the source of the problem.
The agency said it would present an analysis of the attacks to parliament on Thursday.
Besides government offices and agencies, the attacks also targeted two large South Korean banks, a newspaper and the country's largest Internet portal. Most sites had returned to normal by Wednesday afternoon.
In South Korea, targeted government sites included the foreign ministry, the ruling party, parliament and the U.S.-South Korean military command.
North Korea, in recent months, has provoked its neighbors by launching a long-range missile, detonated its second nuclear device and repeatedly threatening war. On the Fourth of July, it launched seven missiles into the Sea of the Japan.

Source : WP

Jackson's body on way to Staples center

2009-07-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's body is on its way to the memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, sources involved in the planning said.

Seven men wheel out a golden casket covered in red flowers from Forest Lawn's Hall of Liberty.

Jackson's family and closest friends attended a gathering at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills on Tuesday morning before going to the public memorial.
Jackson's family and friends were at the chapel, which can hold about 1,000 people. Shortly thereafter seven suited men wheeled out a golden casket covered in red flowers from Forest Lawn's Hall of Liberty.
Teddy Riley, a singer who worked closely with Jackson on several albums, said Jackson family members told him the casket will be driven in a procession from Forest Lawn to the arena.
A second source familiar with the planning also said the King of Pop's body would be delivered to the arena.
"It wouldn't be fair for the fans who are going to appear and be here at the Staples Center not to see his casket," Riley said. Watch Riley talk about working with Jackson »
An army of fans poured in to Los Angeles from places far-flung, hoping to collectively mourn their idol in a massive ceremony.
Thousands appeared to be on hand, but the atmosphere was peaceful, almost festive. People waited patiently, talking to each other, taking pictures and singing Jackson songs. Some fans were excited, others somber, as they entered the arena.
Parking lots in the area raised their prices, some as high as $30. Airports in Southern California saw a spike in bookings. And several movie theaters in the area announced special screenings of the event, which also will be carried live by some television networks and Web sites.
Police put up concrete barriers around the center, allowing only fans with tickets to the star-studded event to enter. See gallery as people prepare for service »
The first fans -- those holding the best seats -- began entering the arena at 7:30 a.m. The service is set to start at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET).
Deka Motanya, a San Francisco, California, woman who won tickets in the computer lottery, posted a message on Twitter just before 9 a.m. saying she had reached her "not-too-bad seats." "(M)ichael jackson music playing. people filling in; very organized w/ assigned seats" her message said. Watch fans pay tribute at Neverland »
The stage is set up on one end of the Staples Center's converted basketball court.

Michael Jackson: The Memorial

On Tuesday, join CNN, HLN and CNN.com Live for all-day coverage as the world celebrates the life of a worldwide pop icon, and don't miss our prime time coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET.

see full schedule »

Wide steps lead up from both sides and two transparent podiums are posed on either side. Drums sit in the background and small floral arrangements rest against the front of the stage, where three rows of chairs form a semicircle.
Police would not say what kind of security measures they have put in place. The cash-strapped city has said it will foot the bill for law enforcement. Watch police say fans without tickets should stay home »
Until the last minute, the Jackson family remained tight-lipped about where the singer will be buried, but signs pointed to Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills after several carloads of people, La Toya Jackson among them, visited the cemetery Monday. Details: Who will be there; map of area »
The Staples event is expected to feature singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder.
Also participating will be basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson; singers Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Smokey Robinson; and activists Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton, according to an announcement released on behalf of the Jackson family. Watch more on the star-studded lineup »
Two notable absences will be actress Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime Jackson friend, and Debbie Rowe, Jackson's former wife and the mother of his two older children.

Taylor, in a message posted on Twitter and verified by CNN, said she declined an invitation to speak because she "cannot be part of the public whoopla."
"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," Taylor tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."
Rowe planned on attending but decided against it, said lawyer Marta Almli. Watch report on custody of Jackson's children »
"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," Almli said.
Fans congregated in downtown Los Angeles, outside the Staples Center regardless of whether they had tickets.
On Monday, organizers used a computer to choose 8,750 names from 1.6 million people who registered for tickets online. Each received a pair of tickets, for a total of 17,500 tickets. Watch fans receive tickets »
Just 11,000 of those are for seats inside the arena. The other 6,500 are for viewing the memorial telecast across the street at the Nokia Theater. The Jackson family set aside an additional 9,000 Staples Center seats to give out, organizers said.

Source :CNN

LA braces for Michael Jackson's final act

2009-07-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

As family members gather the curtain is slowly rising on Michael Jackson's last show.
After a remarkable 50 years of life spawning hit records and bizarre happenings, Michael Jackson will be farewelled under a global spotlight brighter than any he experienced while alive.
Family members, including his three children, and friends appeared at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills on Monday evening (US time) for a "Celebration of Life" service for the late pop star.
La Toya Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, was seen being driven away from the cemetery. KCAL-TV showed helicopter footage of a hearse backing up to the Hall of Liberty - a circular building at the cemetery that contains a 1200 seat auditorium - to deliver a casket.
His 11-year-old daughter Paris wiped tears from her face as she was driven away at the conclusion of the service. Family and close friends are expected to return on Tuesday morning (5am Wednesday NZT) for a private funeral.
Jackson's family is hoping the funeral will be a quiet affair, but the cemetery, a resting place for Hollywood legends including Bette Davis, Buster Keaton and Liberace, is swarming with paparazzi and news crews on the ground and in helicopters above.
At a grand public event on Tuesday, 17,000 fans of the late King of Pop will cram into LA's Staples Centre indoor stadium for a memorial concert as epic as the 50 concerts Jackson was set to perform in London.
More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to Jackson's downtown memorial. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each.
"I got the golden ticket!" one fan screamed out of his car window in a Willy Wonka moment as he drove out of the parking lot.
The family announced that participants will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III.
"It will be a celebration of Michael's life," the memorial's producer Ken Erlich told the New York Daily News. One person who won't be at the memorial is Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and mother of his two oldest children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris.
"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," Rowe's lawyers said in a statement.
"Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."
Jackson's third child, Prince Michael II, was born via a different surrogate mother.
Rowe does not appear to be coping with the media frenzy, lashing out at paparazzi near home in California's Antelope Valley.
"Are you ready to have your butt kicked? Don't (expletive) touch me!" she said.
The legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life also continued Monday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded Jackson a "pervert" undeserving of so much attention.
British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.
About 50 theatres across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan, to Washington, DC, were planning to broadcast the memorial live, for free.
In Los Angeles Superior Court, a judge appointed Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend as administrators of his estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.
Katherine Jackson's attorneys expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership. "Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom," said one of her attorneys, John E Schreiber.
Branca and McClain will have to post a US$1 million bond on the estate, and their authority will expire August 3, when another hearing will be held.
"Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," the judge said.
Jackson died at age 50 with hundreds of millions in debts. But a court filing estimates his estate is worth more than US$500 million. His assets are destined for a trust, with his three children, his mother and charities as beneficiaries.
In New York, Republican Representative Peter King released a YouTube video calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a "pervert" and a "low-life."
But the memories of Jackson's problems were far from the minds of fans preparing to say goodbye.
"It's the passing of a great soul," said Matt Tyson, 31, of Ojai, California "He brought people together, helped express something that's in us all."
Jackson, who died on June 25, in yet to be explained circumstances at his rented LA mansion, filled the world's largest arenas and his 1982 album Thriller remains the biggest album of all-time with 109 million copies sold, but the global coverage of the memorial will reach a new level.
The memorial will be beamed live into TV sets around the world and around the world and will likely create the biggest internet broadcast event in history, with Facebook, MySpace and MTV offering online video views.
While the timing may force Kiwi fans to forgo sleep to watch it live at 5am, the memorial will air in primetime in Europe and is expected to break morning ratings records in North America.
Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get close to the Staples Center.
All those involved say the heart of Los Angeles will become a circus. In one way, that characterization will be literal.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Centre on Wednesday, a booking long planned in advance. In the pre-dawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.
As Jackson was well aware, the show must go on.

Can pressure waves speed up nuclear decay?

2009-07-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

If cavitation can speed up the decay of nuclei in solution, we've yet to see good evidence for it

Is it possible to speed up radioactive decay by squeezing atoms?
In the last few months, Fabio Cardone at the Institute of Nanostructured Materials in Rome, Italy, and a few pals have posted on the arXiv a growing body of evidence that it does.

In March, Cardone and co reported an increase in neutron emissions when crushing marble and granite. Their conjecture is that the crushing causes the piezonuclear fission of iron atoms into two aluminium nuclei emitting two neutrons.
But our focus today is a paper published in February, in which the team reported that cavitation--the generation and collapse of tiny bubbles in a liquid using pressure waves--causes the rate of decay of thorium-228 in solution to increase 1000 times.
I guess it's not entirely beyond belief that cavitation could have an effect on the nuclei of atoms in solution. Cavitation is known to generate huge pressures and temperatures. By some theories, the energy released in this process is close to that needed for fusion. But it's fair to say that the current consensus is that there is no good evidence that this line has been crossed in practice.

Nevertheless, Cardone's claims are interesting and his paper was published in Physics Letters A earlier this year.

Today, however, Stephan Pomp and pals from Uppsala University in Sweden, cast some doubt on the result and the methods used by the Cardone team in the Physics Letters A paper.

They point out that the Cardone claim is extraordinary given the body of evidence gathered over the past 100 years about nuclear decay. Such an extraordinary claim should be backed by extraordinary evidence.

"We find that such evidence is missing in this paper and it even seems that methodological mistakes have been made," they say.

Thorium decays be emitting alpha particles. Pomp and pals say Cardone and co placed their detector underneath the glass vessel containing the thorium solution. "We note that the range of the emitted a particles in glass is in the order of tens of micrometers and that it thus would be impossible for particles...to penetrate the vessel."

They suggest a number of tests that Cardone and co can do to strengthen their results, such as measuring the background counts when the vessel is empty or filled with pure water in which cavitation is taking place.

It'll be interesting to see the Cardone team's reply to these criticisms; perhaps they'll be able answer each point made by Pomp and pals.

In the meantime, the question still stands: can pressure waves accelerate nuclear decay? Not on the evidence presented by Cardone and co so far.

Ref:

arxiv.org/abs/0903.3104 : Piezonuclear Neutrons From Fracturing of Inert Solids

arxiv.org/abs/0710.5177: Speeding Up Thorium Decay

arxiv.org/abs/0907.0623: Comments on "Piezonuclear decay of thorium" by F. Cardone et. al.

China says 140 dead in Xinjiang riot, blames separatists

2009-07-06T06:00:00.001-07:00

URUMQI, China (Reuters) - At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the Muslim area's worst case of unrest in years.

Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighur people took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of anti-riot police.
The unrest underscores the volatile ethnic tensions that have accompanied China's growing economic and political stake in its western frontiers.
Along with Tibet, Xinjiang is one of the most politically sensitive regions in China, and in both cases the government has sought to maintain its grip by controlling religious and cultural life while also vowing economic growth and prosperity.
But analysts said the fresh trouble in the remote resource-rich region was unlikely to have a major impact on China's economy.
"In terms of China's domestic economy, it is in a remote place and it does not have a big impact on things generally unless there is some evidence, of which there is none, that the government is in some meaningful way losing control," said Arthur Kroeber, Managing Director of Dragonomics, a research and advisory firm in Beijing.
Beijing's image as a global power, though, may take a hit as it cracks down on the rioters, say analysts.
"Unfortunately ... this will bring a negative impact on China's image as a responsible power. Coercion alone will not solve the problem. If you use coercion alone it will worsen the problem," said Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.
Signaling a security crackdown in the strategic region near Pakistan and central Asia, a senior Chinese government official said the unrest was the work of extremist forces abroad.
"This was a crime of violence that was pre-meditated and organized," Xinhua quoted the unnamed official as saying.
He blamed the violence on the World Uyghur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer, a Uighur businesswoman now in exile in the United States after years in jail, and accused of separatist activities. She did not answer calls for comment.
But exiled Uighur groups adamantly rejected the Chinese government claim of a plot. They said the riot was an outpouring of pent-up anger over government policies and Han Chinese dominance of economic opportunities.
China's markets largely brushed off the riots, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index ending up 1.2 percent at a 13-month closing high, bucking a generally weaker trend in the rest of Asia.
"This is regional unrest only," said Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing.
HAN CHINESE TARGETED
Li Zhi, the Communist Party boss of regional capital Urumqi told a news conference that the death toll from the rioting had risen to 140, the semi-official China News Agency said. Xinhua said 816 people were hurt and admitted to hospital.
Xinhua did not give the ethnic identity of the dead, or say if they were civilians or police, but admissions at the People's Hospitals, one of the biggest in Urumqi, suggested Han Chinese were targeted.
Xinhua said the hospital received 291 people of whom 17 died later. Among them 233 were Han Chinese, 39 were Uighurs, while the rest were from other ethnic minorities.
The riot in Urumqi, 3,270 km (2,050 miles) west of Beijing, followed a protest against the government's handling of a June clash between Han Chinese and Uighur factory workers in southern China, where two Uighurs died in Shaoguan.
"In Xinjiang one of the major sources of discontent is that there is still a major gap economically between Han and Uighurs," said Barry Sautman, a specialist on China's ethnic politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Almost half of Xinjiang's 20 million people are Uighurs. The population of Urumqi is mostly Han Chinese, and the Uighurs complain they dominate economic opportunities.
Chinese state television showed rioters throwing rocks at police and overturning a police car, and smoke billowing from burning vehicles.
"I personally saw several Han people being stabbed. Many people on buses were scared witless," Zhang Wanxin, a Urumqi resident, said by telephone.
Police rounded up "several hundred" who participated in the violence, including more than 10 key players who fanned unrest, Xinhua said, and are searching for 90 others.
Residents in Urumqi were unable to access the Internet on Monday, several said. "The city is basically under martial law," Yang Jin, a dried fruit merchant, said by telephone.
(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley, Emma Graham-Harrison, Yu Le and Benjamin Kang Lim in Beijing and Ben Blanchard in Shanghai; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Jeremy Laurence)

Obama arrives in Russia, confident of progress

2009-07-06T05:55:00.001-07:00

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, opening a visit to Russia intended to mend strained relations, said on Monday he was confident of "extraordinary progress" if both sides worked hard together during his trip.
Officials and business leaders promised a host of deals covering arms control, Afghanistan, military cooperation and new investment during two days of scheduled talks in Moscow.
"We are confident that we can continue to build on the excellent discussions that we had in London," Obama told President Dmitry Medvedev at the start of talks in the Kremlin, referring to the first meeting the two leaders had in April.
"And that on a whole host of issues ... the United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences and that if we work hard in these next few days we can make extraordinary progress..."
Medvedev, smiling broadly as he welcomed Obama in the Green Parlour of the Kremlin, said he hoped that "as a result of our conversations ... we will close a number of difficult pages in Russian-American relations and turn a new page."
A U.S. official told Reuters an agreed text of an outline deal on cutting Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals would be put to Obama and Medvedev when they met.
Earlier Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov greeted Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters as they stepped from Air Force One at Moscow's Vnukovo airport under unseasonably cold, cloudy skies.
The arrival was not shown live on Russian television and there was generally little sign in Moscow of the "Obamamania" which has greeted the U.S. leader on some other foreign trips.
Obama's motorcade sped alone along a barricaded highway from the airport toward the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath-laying ceremony. On the city's outskirts, small groups of onlookers smiled and waved but most looked on without reaction.
Business leaders traveling with Obama want to use the visit to boost trade and investment. Russian trade with the United States was just $36 billion in 2008, the same amount as with Poland, and investment has lagged that of European competitors.
"We hope that President Medvedev will be able to follow through on his continuous campaign to improve the rule of law," Andrew Somers, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, told Reuters in an interview.
"I think this is a single biggest inhibitor to investment by U.S. companies, their concern about the rule of law."
Obama will also listen to the country's embattled democratic opposition, meet former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and make a major speech to Russian students.
But he faces a harder task in trying to achieve his avowed aim of a "reset" in relations between Washington and Moscow.
GEORGIA WAR HURT TIES
Ties hit their worst level since the 1990s last year after Russia sent troops into neighbouring Georgia, a U.S. ally, triggering fierce condemnation from Washington.
Medvedev has said he is "moderately optimistic" about Obama's visit but the two sides are still deeply divided over U.S. plans to set up an anti-missile system in central Europe, something Russia says threatens its security.
The two nations have not yet come to an agreement on such fundamental issues as Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, Georgia and U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe.
A poll released on the eve of Obama's arrival showed Russian distrust of the United States. The University of Maryland survey found 75 percent of Russians believed the United States abused its greater power and only two percent had "a lot of confidence" Obama would do the right thing in world affairs.
Medvedev, in an interview released on Sunday, said the United States would only get a full arms control treaty with Moscow if it dropped unilateral plans for missile defense -- a linkage which Obama has rejected.
The U.S. leader also faces an awkward first meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia's most powerful politician, after publicly criticizing him last week. Putin was out of Moscow on Monday visiting a combine harvest factory in southern Russia.
In an indication of the strained atmosphere, Russia's Kremlin-controlled main television channels -- the chief source of news for most Russians -- have played down Obama's visit.
"This is being played as essentially a low-key visit that shows the American leadership's respect for the Russian leadership," Dmitry Trenin, head of the Moscow Carnegie Center think-tank, said. "This is not some star coming to town."
The Other Russia and Solidarity opposition movements announced plans for a protest in central Moscow on Monday evening to coincide with Obama's visit. Gay rights groups said they had canceled a planned demonstration outside the U.S. embassy after the authorities refused to give permission.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Guy Faulconbridge, Dmitry Sergeyev and Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Source : retures

Ice Age vs. Transformers: It's a Draw!

2009-07-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

Action-movie battles rarely end in a tie. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader didn't go fiercely at it, putting their lives and the fate of the Empire on the line, then stop their epochal fight and say, "Eh, let's go for a beer." But the Independence weekend smackdown between last week's champ Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the cartoon contender Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ended in a tie, with each film earning $42.5 million at the North American box office — if you believe the official numbers.
A distant third, with $26 million for the weekend, was Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp impersonating John Dillinger under Michael Mann's direction. Somehow, the story of a bank robber who died 75 years ago didn't seduce the holiday audience. Maybe when the grown-ups have packed their kids off to summer camp, they'll belatedly discover this rare July movie aimed at adults. In holdover action, the two are-they-gonna-get-married? comedies The Proposal and The Hangover maintained healthy chunks of their audiences and Pixar's Up, challenged by another 3-D animated feature, finally lost altitude. It also concluded its brief reign as the year's top-grossing movie; Transformers 2 managed that in 10 days.
For studio bosses who look to this as one of the prime weekends for film attendance, the real behemoth was the calendar. With July 4 falling on a Saturday, one of the two busiest movie days of the week, the box office got clouted by fireworks and barbecues. Each of the top 10 films, which normally would make about the same amount of money on Saturday as on Friday, were down at least 30% last night.
Yet there's no denying Transformers 2 is a smash, having earned something like $700 million worldwide in 12 days. So far, the movie is ahead of its blockbuster predecessor — though sequels usually come out of the gate with more power than an original, which establishes a brand. Its box-office domination may annoy critics and sentient adults, but this savvily marketed franchise is as impervious to failure as McDonald's. It's not a fast-food but a fast-film experience, cunningly mixing the twin fanboy magnets of large marauding toys and luscious Megan Fox.
The performance of Ice Age 3, which over its first five days did outgross Transformers, was a bit spottier. Benefiting from the hiked prices for 3-D showings (which brought in about 40% of the take), the movie still earned less in those five days than 2006's Ice Age: The Meltdown did in its first three. It didn't help that Dawn of the Dinosaurs was the summer's fifth movie whose cast of characters included at least one prehistoric beast. (Can you name the other four?*) It may be time for Hollywood to go back to spacemen.
The movie's main problem was that many found it an unnecessary addition to the canon, with the primary plot strenuously exerting itself to achieve familiar challenges and triumphs. Only the unrelated, subsidiary scenes with Scrat the squirrel and his foxy new inamorata Scratte showed any comic pizzazz. (These scenes were directed by a different crew.) With the speed of Road Runner, the karma of Wile E. Coyote and, this time, the romantic obsession of Pepé Le Pew, Scrat is a walking, stalking lexicon of characters created by the immortal Chuck Jones. Blue Sky, the Ice Age studio, should take an artistic leap and consider a feature-length, nonverbal Scrat feature.
There's an even bigger problem in the weekend box-office tallies announced each Sunday around noon Eastern time. They are taken as an accurate summary of an industry's health, like the Dow average, but they're grounded less in facts than in wish fulfillment. They take the hard data on the Friday and Saturday grosses, then add each studio's educated guess as to how its movie is likely to do today. Sometimes those guesses are wrong. A month ago, Up was declared the weekend winner over The Hangover, but the Vegas comedy lured more customers than Warners had expected, and on Monday The Hangover proved to be No. 1.
Making these early results public is like ruling that the team ahead after the sixth inning has won the game, or declaring an election over when the sampling polls come in. So why make these figures public a day before they can be validated? Because Sunday is a slow news day, and the report of the box-office winner, almost always included in the day's top headlines, is free publicity for the movies cited as being the most popular.
How did Transformers 2 and Ice Age 3 "end" in a tie? Because, after looking at the Friday and Saturday results, Fox execs predicted that Ice Age would earn $14,075,000, a 25% increase over yesterday, while the mentalists over at DreamWorks/Paramount said the Transformers 2 take would rise nearly 30%, to $13,872,000. That oddly precise number guaranteed that both movies would get on the evening news. Skeptics are forgiven for wondering whether the system for determining weekend grosses is numbers-crunching or a numbers racket.
Here are the studios' official weekend estimates for the top 10 movies, as reported by Box Office Mojo:
1 (tie). Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, $42.5 million; $67.5 million, first five days
1 (tie). Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $42.5 million; $293.4 million, second week
3. Public Enemies, $26.2 million; $41 million, first five days
4. The Proposal, $12.8 million; $94.2 million, third week
5. The Hangover, $10.4 million; $204 million, fifth week
6. Up, $6.6 million; $264.9 million, sixth week
7. My Sister's Keeper, $5.3 million; $26 million, second week
8. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, $2.5 million; $58.4 million, fourth week
9 (tie). Year One, $2.1 million; $38.1 million, third week
9 (tie). Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $2.1 million; $167.8 million, seventh week
* The four other movies with prehistoric beasts: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Up, Land of the Lost and Year One

SOURCE : TIME

Federer wins record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title

2009-07-06T05:41:00.001-07:00

London: Switzerland's Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in one of the most extraordinary finals ever seen at Wimbledon on Sunday, holding off an incredible challenge from the American to win 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14.

The final set alone of an unforgettable Centre Court duel lasted 95 minutes before Roddick's mishit forehand gave Federer his sixth Wimbledon title and the record of 15 Grand Slam titles he so cherished.

Fittingly, Pete Sampras, the only other man to have previously won 14 Slams, was sat in the Royal Box as a match of unrelenting drama stretched into a fifth hour.

"Andy I want to say you're going to come back and win one, I'm sure," Federer said on court as a shattered Roddick contemplated his third defeat to Federer in a Wimbledon final.

"Today (Sunday) I was on the lucky side. It feels funny to have the trophy back. It feels great. It was a crazy match, my head's still spinning. It's an unbelievable moment in my career."

Few imagined that Federer's seventh consecutive Wimbledon final could come anywhere near close to emulating last year's epic when he lost his crown to Rafael Nadal -- a five-set thriller that ended in near darkness.

The Swiss, who claimed his first French Open title last month to complete his career Grand Slam, dropped just one set in reaching the final and had won 18 of his previous 20 matches against the American who is still waiting for a second career grand slam title after winning the US Open in 2003.

Roddick has reinvented his game though in the last 12 months after his career began to slide and after stunning British hope Andy Murray in the semi-final he came agonisingly close to another shock.

Federer was stretched to the limit in an unforgettable duel of energy-sapping tension despite firing 107 winners.

After losing the first set he was then reeling in the second set tiebreak as Roddick moved 6-2 ahead and seemed set to move two sets clear. Federer then won six consecutive points to level the match, Roddick wasting one golden chance at 6-5 when he sent a backhand volley wide.

CRUCIAL MOMENT

Federer could make no headway on the Roddick serve but remained solid on his own delivery to win the third set on another tiebreak 7-5.

Roddick, beaten twice in previous finals here by Federer, refused to buckle and broke at a crucial moment of the fourth with a great backhand to set up an enthralling decider.

With Wimbledon greats Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver watching intently from the Royal Box, Federer kept his nose in front in a nerve-racking decider and clinched victory after four hours and 16 minutes when Roddick's resistance finally cracked and the Swiss broke serve for the first time in the match.

When Benedict Meets Barack

2009-07-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

When Pope Benedict XVI greets U.S. President Barack Obama at the Vatican on July 10, the symbolism and sheer star power of the encounter will keep the pundits chattering away. The photo op alone is worth a thousand words: The 82-year-old man in white, the world's most recognizable religious leader and head of its largest single denomination comes face-to-face with the charismatic first black President of the world's last superpower. And the scheduling efforts of both the Vatican and the White House suggest a shared appreciation of the symbolic weight the first encounter between Obama and Benedict could carry.
It was confirmed last week that the two would meet during a highly unusual Friday, 4 p.m. slot immediately after Obama finishes the G8 summit in Rome and prepares to depart for Ghana. Pontiffs almost always meet with visiting dignitaries before lunch, but that's not an option for Obama. And the fact that Benedict leaves Rome two days later for his summer holiday in the Italian Alps has some speculating that the pontiff had delayed his departure in order to be there when the new U.S. President comes to town.
Once they've allowed the photographers their opportunity, Benedict and Obama will speak alone and in private for what will likely be less than one hour. To paint the Obama-meets-Benedict dossier in broad strokes, says one senior Vatican diplomat, "It's basically the reverse of Bush." In other words, the Pope tends to appreciate the new President's less aggressive approach to foreign affairs, while clashing on ethical matters such as abortion rights and stem cell research — where President George W. Bush was seen by the Vatican as one of the few like-minded Western leaders on social issues, but whose invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by the Vatican.
Some of the more zealous Catholic traditionalists, especially among American prelates, have been warning that an Obama presidency would expand abortion rights and deal other setbacks to traditionalist values. Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, now a high-ranking Vatican official, went as far as warning that the Democratic Party risks becoming a "party of death." And U.S. Catholics spent the past month arguing over whether the pro-choice Obama should have been invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame commencement.
The Vatican diplomat, however, said the Pope and his top aides view Obama as different from other Western leaders who challenge the Church on social issues. "He's not Zapatero," said the source referring to the series of landmark bills on gay rights passed by the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "Obama's not motivated with hatred of Christianity or the Catholic Church."
And for each leader, being in the presence of the other can boost their own standing. Obama, whose strong showing with Catholic voters in November were a key to his victory, can pad his popularity on that front by meeting with the Pope, while Benedict's efforts to find his footing in global diplomacy could be helped by having a relatively like-minded partner in the White House.
Vatican sources expect Obama and Benedictd to trade notes on the Middle East peace process, following the Pope's trip to the Holy Land in May and Obama's recent speech to the Muslim world. Expected to coincide with the upcoming publication of the Pope's third encyclical, which covers social and economic matters, we can be sure Benedict will ask Obama about the response to the financial crisis and how to build a more ethical brand of capitalism. After all, while the pontiff is to the right of Obama on social issues and aligned with him on foreign policy, he actually lands quite often to the left of the American president on economic issues.

MI6 boss in Facebook entry row

2009-07-05T04:35:00.001-07:00

Personal details about the life of the next head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, have been removed from social networking site Facebook amid security concerns.

The Mail on Sunday said his wife had put details about their children and the location of their flat on the site.
The details were removed after the paper contacted the Foreign Office.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband denied claims security had been compromised, saying: "You know he wears a Speedo swimsuit. That's not a state secret."
Privacy protection
Sir John Sawers is currently the UK's ambassador to the United Nations and is due to take up his new post in November.
The Mail on Sunday said information published on Facebook included the couple's friendships with senior diplomats and actors, including Moir Leslie from BBC Radio 4's The Archers.
Lady Sawers revealed the location of the London flat used by the couple and the whereabouts of their three grown-up children and of Sir John's parents, the paper said.
She had not imposed privacy protection on her account, allowing any of Facebook's 200 million users in the open-access "London" network to see the entries, it added.
Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, chairman of the counter-terrorism sub-committee, expressed concerns about the possible security risk.
He told the BBC: "It raises all sorts of worrying issues about the... personal life, in particular the location of flats, transport details, movement details, of an individual who is our most senior counter-terrorism officer abroad.
"A great deal of taxpayers' money has been spent over the past several decades making sure he and his family are protected from security compromises. Well, it doesn't seem to be very relevant anymore, does it?"

He's a very able man, he's a very able appointment. It's pretty unfortunate that this has happened

Sir John Major

He added: "It's distressing and worrying therefore that these sorts of details should be appearing in the public domain. I would have hoped these sort of mistakes would not have been made by people like that."
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Edward Davey said the disclosure had the potential to damage the security of Sir John's family.
"We would be negligent if there wasn't an internal inquiry into the security implications, not just in relation to MI6 but to Sir John and his family," he said.
"We need to be reassured that this has been considered properly and there is nothing we need to worry about as a result of this."
'Grow up'
But Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: "Are you leading the news with that? The fact that there's a picture that the head of the MI6 goes swimming - wow, that really is exciting.
"It is not a state secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks, for goodness sake let's grow up.
"He is an outstanding professional who will do a really good job in an outstanding organisation."

Lady Sawers had no Facebook privacy protection, the Mail on Sunday says

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major said the issue had been "overblown".
He said: "I know John Sawers. He's a very able man, he's a very able appointment. It's pretty unfortunate that this has happened, I think that is true.
"But I think when you're faced with leaving Iraq possibly too early, huge problems in Afghanistan, the mess in Pakistan, the depth of the recession, I think this falls a long way below those."
Sir John Sawers is due to replace Sir John Scarlett as head of the overseas Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
He has been the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN since 2007.
Before that he was political director at the Foreign Office, an envoy in Baghdad and a foreign affairs adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He was in that post from 1999 to 2001 and was involved in the Kosovo conflict and Northern Ireland peace process.
Elsewhere overseas he worked in the British embassy in Washington, as an ambassador in Cairo and to South Africa from 1988 and 1991 when apartheid was ending.

Potter star has swine flu

2009-07-05T01:23:00.000-07:00

The agent for "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint says the actor is recovering from a mild case of swine flu.
Grint plays the boy wizard's best friend Ron Weasley in the hit film franchise.
Christian Hodell of Hamilton Hodell management said Saturday that Grint took a few days away from the set of the latest film, but has now been able to return to work

'Dead' Israeli Man Comes Back to Life, Shocking Police

2009-07-05T01:11:00.001-07:00

An 84-year-old man gave emergency personnel a shock Wednesday when he came back to life after being pronounced dead by paramedics at his Ramat Gan home.

A Magen David Adom ambulance crew was dispatched to the man's house in response to a distress call. After finding no pulse and ascertaining that he was not breathing, the man was pronounced dead.

A short time later, however, a police officer noted that "the corpse is moving his hand."
Police and emergency personnel had received a report Wednesday evening regarding an sick elderly man who lived alone in an apartment in Ramat Gan.

A nearby patrol and the medical crew who entered the home had noticed the elderly man lying motionless in the middle of the living room. They entered the apartment through the window in an attempt to resuscitate the man, who had no pulse.

Medical officials called for the coroner and a doctor, who pronounced the man dead and subsequently signed a death certificate.

After the medical crew left the premises, police began probing the circumstances of the man's death. As forensic investigators scoured the apartment for evidence, a policeman approached the motionless body, which to his amazement began moving its hands.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the elderly man has a weak pulse, and that it was the second time that an Magen David Adom crew had been called to his home. The man evacuated to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, in a conscious state and hooked up to a respirator.

Israel Police and Magen David Adom are investigating the incident.

Downloading Data Directly Into Your Brain?

2009-07-04T05:19:00.001-07:00

A shout-out to reader Raywalt de Cuba for suggesting this idea.
What if it were possible to connect your brain to the Internet, either wirelessly or through a cable, download digital information at high speed, and then translate it automatically into a chemical form that could be stored by your brain cells as memory?

Downloading directly into your brain would have enormous advantages over our present method of receiving information by reading physical representations of symbols with our eyes, a meatware interface developed by the Sumerians about 10,000 years ago. If you could pump data directly into your gray matter at, say, 50 mbps — the top speed offered by one major U.S. internet service provider — you’d be able to read a 500-page book in just under two-tenths of a second. (Top that, Evelyn Wood.)
That means you could burn through the entire 29 million-book collection of the Library of Congress in less than two months, provided that you didn’t need to take time off to sleep. (See my earlier blog on wakefulness-promoting drugs and technologies for advice on how to do that.) You’d be vastly more knowledgeable than the brainiest intellectuals on the planet today, or even A.J. Jacobs, that guy who read all 44 million words of the Encyclopedia Britannica so he could write a book about it.

As usual, there are a few potential downsides. If we were able to download the entire contents of libraries into our brains, it would become increasingly difficult to find a book that everybody hasn’t already read for next month’s book club get together. We might find ourselves spending countless hours posting snarky reviews on Amazon.com.

Kindle and the Espresso Book Machine would go the way of the eight-track tape player. Authors would become increasingly overworked as they struggled to keep up with the demand for new works of literature.
And that’s assuming that our brains could handle so much reading. Nobody is really sure how much information the 100 billion neurons in the human brain can actually store, though one neuroscientist has speculated that its maximum capacity may be as high as 100 terabytes, or the equivalent of about 100 million books. And as Chris Chatham’s Developing Intelligence blog points out, the human brain processes information quite differently than a computer.
The brain is an analog device, transmitting information at irregular speeds. And unlike a computer, which retrieves information by polling its memory address, Chatham notes, the brain has content-addressable memory, which means that information can be retrieved by activating related concepts — for example, the word “fox” might trigger thoughts of other small furry mammals, fox-hunting horseback riders or desirable members of the opposite sex. Additionally, unlike a computer, the brain alters the information it stores as it forges new connections. This explains why I can re-read John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath and be surprised to discover that the ending is different from what I seem to remember reading in high-school English class, because over time I had mixed it up with the movie version. Would our neural version of Google be able to process such a vast library of information efficiently? Or would it break down and become hopelessly paralyzed by data smog? Hard to say.

I’m not sure who first thought of the idea of downloading data directly into the human brain. In 1981, cyberpunk writer William Gibson published a short story, “Johnny Mnemonic,” in which the lead character has the equivalent of a hard drive implanted in his head, so that he can store and transport sensitive data for corporate clients. Gibson’s story was the basis for a 1995 movie starring Keanu Reeves. The same actor subsequently appeared in another Gibson-influenced 1999 thriller, The Matrix, in which the network port on the back of his character’s head is used to pump him full of martial-arts expertise and other knowledge.

In the real world, back in 2000 Michael Saylor, founder of the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, proposed someday transmitting the latest information directly into subscribers’ brains. In a Washingtonian magazine story on Saylor, he elaborated on his notion:

Saylor wants to beam information directly into your mind, maybe through transmitters sunk into your skull or an implant behind your eye or a tiny speaker in your ear so he can reach you sleeping or eating or drinking or playing or flying or making love. The network he envisions would tell you about traffic jams or medicine you need to take or a stock you should sell or a book you'd like to read or whether your daughter broke her arm or a neighbor just drove through your basement.
"Our mantra is intelligent e-business, which means personalized, proactive Web, wireless, and voice intelligence, and so this idea that you shouldn't just use the Web site but rather the Web site should bark out to you," he says. "That was a totally new idea."
Translation: Your cell phone or transmitter would alert you with information it thinks you might need, sort of like an omniscient butler in your brain.
MicroStrategy would run this network and make billions in the process, which is Mike Saylor's job but not his goal. It's not why he was put on Earth. Saylor believes he was put here to change the world, to obliterate ignorance, to spread "intelligence everywhere."

More recently, a prominent British educator, Independent Schools Council chief Chris Parry, last year blithely predicted that within 30 years, students would be downloading lessons directly into their brains. Earlier this year, an organization called the Innerspace Foundation offered a prize for the first device that bypasses the need for traditional learning of information.

So far, scientists seem to have had more success transmitting transmit information in the other direction, with brain machine interfaces that translate human brain-wave activity into digital form, so that people can operate machines with their thoughts. But they’re also exploring ways to use the same interfaces to put information into the brain. Electronics giant Sony, for example, reportedly has patented a device for transmitting sensory data — ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds — into the brain by firing pulses of ultrasound. (One big advantage of this method would be that you wouldn’t have to have a surgical implant or a cable plugged into the back of your skull.)

So what do you think? Should we develop a way of pumping our brains full of information? Or should we resist the temptation to become know-it-alls? Express your opinion below.

Different Flavors of Dreams

2009-07-04T02:47:00.000-07:00

let's take a look at some of the different kinds of dreams you may experience.

Precognitive Dreams
Some people are visited by precognitive dreams, which foretell the future. Usually when having such a dream, the dreamer will get consistent recognizable feelings accompanying the dream, as a signal that the future is being laid out in dream form for them. For instance they might be presented with the picture of a very glaring white or gold light at the beginning of their dream.

Nightmares
Nightmares are the subconscious’ way of bringing something to our attention that we are just not acknowledging. If we continually resist or decide we won’t address certain issues in waking life, sooner or later they catch up to us. In dream language, they come out as “nightmares.” These kinds of dreams are something we can’t ignore. We either wake up in a cold sweat or find ourselves trembling. That’s when we no longer can be in denial, but rather start wondering what this all means.

Whichever type of dream you have, remembering them and analyzing them will help lead you to a much richer, inner life. And this, in turn, will lead to a happier, more fulfilling “waking” life.

Lucid Dreams
Lucid dreams occur when we are in a state of consciousness somewhere between sleep and wake. In this state we are aware that we are dreaming, and can control the outcome of our dream. We can turn and face our fears in the guise of that big ugly monster, or travel around the corner to see what is actually waiting there.

It is somewhat difficult, though, to maintain this delicate state. Great teachers have suggested that by concentrating on a stable object, such as your hands, you will be better able to maintain the balance.

These dreams usually occur in the final hours of dreaming and are frequently signaled by a particular symbol. For some the onset of lucid dreaming begins with the feeling that they are watching themselves completing a task. For others it is the appearance of an extraordinary bright light. Some have noticed the sensation of floating in the air, which signals they are having a lucid dream.

Massive demand for Jackson memorial tickets

2009-07-04T02:12:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.
The life and music of the self-proclaimed "king of pop," who died of sudden cardiac arrest last Thursday, will be celebrated on Tuesday at the Staples Center, a basketball arena in downtown Los Angeles.
Officials on Friday unveiled an ambitious online lottery that will allow fans to attend either the televised service at the arena or watch the proceedings on a big screen at the nearby Nokia Theater.
But within minutes, the staplescenter.com (www.staplescenter.com) server crashed. Officials warned additional disruptions were likely as fans logged on ahead of the Saturday deadline at 6 p.m. PDT.
"You might want to consider watching this from the comfort of your own home," said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who is doubling as the city's acting mayor.
The ceremony will also streamed online.
A wide area around the venues in downtown Los Angeles will be blocked off for the 10 a.m. event. Both local and state law-enforcement agencies have been marshaled for duty.
A local news-radio station reported that more than 1,400 officers from the Los Angeles Police Department alone have been asked to volunteer for duty on Monday and Tuesday. The LAPD, which has about 9,000 officers in total, declined to comment on the report or to reveal a staffing number.
A Jackson family spokesman also declined to provide details of the memorial service, but said there would not be a funeral procession and Jackson's body would not be at the memorial.
Funeral arrangements have not been disclosed, but security has been beefed up at the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills mortuary, where his body is believed to be held.
Officials were also tight-lipped about the cost of the memorial service, and who would pay for it.
Like other U.S. cities, Los Angeles is strapped for cash in the global recession and similar questions about public tax revenues being spent for such an elaborate ceremony surfaced last month when a $2 million celebration was given for the champion Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team.
That event, which attracted over 500,000 people, was eventually funded through private donations.
The city has already budgeted for LAPD overtime, Perry said, adding that officials would "deeply appreciate" help to offset incremental costs, such as transportation, sanitation and staging.
Winners of the tickets will be contacted on Sunday and directed to pick up a pair of tickets and wristbands on Monday. No tickets will be sold. The massive demand raised the question of counterfeiting or scalping, drawing pleas from organizers for fans to act responsibly.
"For those that would try to take advantage of this, shame on them," said Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of AEG, the closely held entertainment concern that owns the venues and was backing Jackson's planned comeback concerts in London.
Jackson's last performance was at the Staples Center. The night before he died of sudden cardiac arrest last Thursday, he rehearsed for the tour at the venue.
(Additional Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bill Trott and Todd Eastham)

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to resign in surprise move

2009-07-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in 2008, said on Friday she will resign this month, an unexpected move that could signal a run for higher office.
Palin took no questions after a brief news conference in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, members of her state Cabinet by her side. She gave no indication of her future plans.
"I'm not seeking re-election" in 2010, Palin said, adding she would transfer authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on July 26.
Palin, Arizona Sen. John McCain's surprise pick as his running-mate in the 2008 presidential race, rallied the party's conservative base but alienated others who believed she did not have the experience to be vice president.
She has been mentioned as one of the top three Republicans who could vie for the party's presidential nomination in 2012. Those mentioned most often include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
"We are not retreating, we are advancing in a different direction," Palin said. "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time."
Palin, 45, said her decision came after much "prayer and consideration." She said she did not want to waste time on "political blood sport" and cited public criticism of her actions and her family since the 2008 campaign.
"You are naive if you don't see a full-court press right now on the national level picking apart a good point guard," Palin said, using a basketball analogy.
"She closed a chapter in Alaska politics on a very weird and bizarre note," said former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat who served two terms, in a telephone interview.
"Friends or foes alike would have never thought that she would be a quitter, but that's what she did today."
WHAT LIES AHEAD
The announcement at the beginning of a three-day holiday weekend, with little Washington news expected, gave Palin wide access to the airwaves and could make for a strong start at gaining public attention.
Republican strategist Sophia Nelson said in the online publication Huffington Post that Palin vowing to work for change "from outside government" was "code for 'I'm running for president.'"
Other analysts wondered if it was a smart political move.
Andrew Halcro, a Republican who ran against Palin in 2006, said he did not think resigning would help her chances.
"If she was trying to transition to the national stage, there was a much better way to do it," he said.
Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer said Palin's future in public life depends on the reason she stepped down.
"If there is any evidence that the decision was a result of political problems or looming scandals, she is done," he said.
"The Republican Party already feels to be in a moment of crisis," after losing the presidency and control of Congress to the Democrats. He noted that in 2008 "she revealed many weaknesses ... limited policy knowledge, association with fringe groups, weak performances on television and more."
Palin faced criticism and ridicule from Republicans and Democrats alike after embarrassing television interviews that raised questions about her knowledge and experience.
During the campaign, the mother of five revealed her unmarried 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant but planned to marry the baby's father. The couple split in March.
Palin was cleared of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power probe into the firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner.
In May, Palin signed a book deal to tell her own story, for an undisclosed sum, with News Corp's HarperCollins.
Palin established herself as a party outsider by promoting a natural gas pipeline project opposed by Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski. She ran against the governor in 2006, defeated him in the primary, and then won the general election.
The project to ship abundant North Slope gas reserves to U.S. markets has been dimmed by the economic recession and a sharp dip in natural gas prices.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Robert Campbell in Mexico, Andrea Shalal-Esa, Chris Wilson, Jeff Mason in Washington; writing by Doina Chiacu, editing by Jackie Frank and Todd Eastham)

Honduras Pulls Out of OAS

2009-07-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

The new government of Honduras says it no longer recognizes the charter of the Organization of American States and is withdrawing its membership from the group.

Honduras made the announcement late Friday, a day before the OAS was due to vote on suspending the Central American country, following its refusal to adhere to demands by OAS to return toppled President Manuel Zelaya to office. The OAS has called an emergency meeting in Washington on Saturday.

The Supreme Court of Honduras told OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza Friday that its decision to oust Mr. Zelaya is irreversible, and that the leftist leader would be arrested if he returned home.

Jose Miguel Insulza

Mr. Zelaya has said he will attempt to return to Honduras on Sunday, and expects to be joined by Insulza, as well as Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and others.

Thousands of Hondurans staged an anti-Zelaya demonstration Friday. Acting President Roberto Micheletti told the crowd he is the "president of all Honduras." Zelaya supporters have also continued to hold protests against the coup.

Coup leaders accuse Mr. Zelaya of treason and abuse of power. Soldiers forcibly expelled Mr. Zelaya from Honduras June 28, the day he planned to hold a referendum on a constitutional change that would allow him to seek another term. The Supreme Court ruled the referendum was illegal.

Ousted Honduran Pres. Manuel Zelaya speaks at an Organization of American States meeting in Washington 01 Jul 2009

The coup has been widely condemned by the international community. Several countries, including Spain, Italy and France, have withdrawn their ambassadors from Honduras.

The World Bank also has announced it is suspending loans to Honduras. The U.S. State Department is considering freezing aid to the Central American country.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Gamer steals from virtual world to pay real debts

2009-07-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Facing real world debts, a trusted figure in a popular online game stole money from the virtual bank he ran and exchanged it for cash through the black market.
It happened in EVE Online, where more than 300,000 subscribers pay US$15 a month to play. They gain wealth through hard work, manipulating the market, or killing rivals in a distant future where humans have colonized the stars in an online game similar to World of Warcraft and Second Life.
EBank, EVE's largest player-run financial institution which has thousands of depositors, is at the centre of the scandal.

"Basically this character was one of the people that had been running EBank for a while. He took a bunch of (virtual) money out of the bank, and traded it away for real money," said Ned Coker, of the Icelandic company CCP, which developed the game.
The CEO of EBank, a 27-year-old Australian tech worker who identified himself only as Richard and used the online name Ricdic, embezzled about 200 billion interstellar kredits, the game's virtual currency.
He broke the rules of the game by exchanging the stolen virtual funds for A$6300 (NZ$7950) with players who preferred to buy virtual money rather than earn it playing the game.
"It was a very on the spot decision," the married father of two explained in an interview.
He said a spam email for a black market website that traded online money for real cash popped up on his screen, prompting him to exchange the virtual cash for real money to cover a deposit on his house and expenses related to his son's medical problems.
"I saw that as an avenue that could be taken, and I decided to skim off the top, you could say, to overcome real life (difficulties)."
Word of the theft spread quickly within EVE. Panicked customers started a run on the bank, worried that they would lose the money they had amassed by hunting space pirates or mining asteroids.
Ironically, if Ricdic had merely stolen the online money he could have stayed in the game. But exchanging the virtual cash for real dollars broke the rules and CCP banned Richard's EBank accounts.

"It unbalances the game," Coker said.
Players can only buy virtual money with real money, or use virtual cash to pay for playing time, but they cannot exchange game money for the real thing.
"We have never seen ourselves as gods who make the rules of social interaction," said Eyjolfur Gudmundsson, an economics adviser to CCP. "You are able to lose the things you have created. That's what makes the world interesting."

Ironically, Richard had built a reputation as one of EVE's few trusted players – a rare commodity in a game where repeatedly blowing up a violator's spaceship was the only way to enforce some contracts.
Asked if he had any regrets about the scam, Richard said he felt he let down his fellow EBank staffers, many of whom he considered friends.
"I'm not proud of it at all, that's why I didn't brag about it. But you know, if I had to do it again, I probably would've chosen the same path based on the same situation," he said.
EBank survived the crisis. But Richard will not be returning to EVE anytime soon.
"At the moment, we've got our hands full," Richard said about his family responsibilities in the real world.

Source : Stuff.nz

Williams sisters in doubles final

2009-07-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Venus and Serena Williams swept through to the final of the ladies doubles with an emphatic 6-1 6-2 victory over Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

The sisters, who meet in Saturday's singles final, showed no sign of fatigue en route to a 61-minute win.
Black and Huber offered late resistance defending several match points before succumbing to their opponents' power.
The defending champions will be hoping to land a fourth doubles title after victories in 2000, 2002 and 2008.
Either Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs or Anabel Medina Garriques and Virginia Ruano Pascual will form the opposition in the final.

Microsoft pulls 'puke ad' off YouTube

2009-07-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has yanked a controversial ad for its Internet Explorer 8 browser - which features a woman vomiting several times - after an outcry among users.
» View Video

The ad, starring former Superman actor Dean Cain, depicts a woman spewing uncontrollably after apparently finding hardcore pornography on her husband's computer. The man then slips over on the mess before his wife continues to vomit on top of him.

Cain then steps into the foreground telling viewers that none of this would have happened if the man had used Internet Explorer 8, which includes a feature called "InPrivate Browsing" that lets users browse without leaving a trace.

Cain diagnoses the woman's problem as "Oh My God, I'm Gonna Puke" (O.M.G.I.G.P) syndrome.

The type of content on the computer is not detailed but, due to the nature of the woman's reaction, some have interpreted the ad as alluding to child pornography. Taken to the extreme, the ad could be seen by some as Microsoft offering tips on how to browse such material without getting caught by a spouse.

The ad, which only ran online and was described by one veteran technology commentator as the "worst tech commercial ever", was directed by comedian Bob Goldthwait, who starred in the Police Academy series of films.

Goldthwait made three other IE8 commercials for Microsoft, all featuring Cain as public service announcer, including "S.H.Y.N.E.S.S." (Sharing Heavily Yet Not Enough Sharing Still), "F.O.M.S" (Fear Of Missing Something) and "G.R.I.P.E.S" (Gripping Rage Internet Pathetically Extra Slow').

In an interview with the TechFlash website, Goldthwait said the series of ads were the first commercials he had ever directed.

"I think they were trying to do something that was a little less mainstream, and I think that's (what led to) my involvement," Goldthwait said.

In a statement, Microsoft said the OMGIGP ad was intended to be a "tongue-in-cheek" look at IE8's InPrivate Browsing feature using "irreverent humour".

"While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it," the company said.

Microsoft has removed the ad from its official YouTube channel, its own website and its ad agency's website, but it has already been re-published by other YouTube users.

Microsoft, after incurring significant damage to its brand from Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad campaign, has attempted to retaliate in recent months with edgy but bizarre commercials.

Last last year it launched a US$300 million ad campaign to spruce up Windows Vista's image, which featured comedian Jerry Seinfeld, actress Eva Longoria, singer Pharrell Williams and even the author Deepak Chopra.

Those ads received significant media coverage but they were heavily criticised for being too abstract and not funny enough.

Jackson's will filed, funeral details sketchy

2009-07-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

Details of Michael Jackson's will began to emerge on Wednesday with all of his multimillion-dollar estate being placed in a family trust, even as plans for his highly anticipated funeral remained sketchy.

The will, signed in 2002, estimates his estate at that time to be worth in excess of $500 million and was filed with a Los Angeles Court. In it, Jackson leaves his entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which ultimately benefits his three children, mother and unnamed charities.
Jackson's 79-year-old mother, Katherine Jackson, is nominated to be guardian of Jackson's children Prince Michael I, 12, Paris Michael Katherine, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7, and if she should be unwilling and unable to be guardian, Jackson nominated his friend, pop star Diana Ross, to be the children's guardian.
The five-page document said "I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife, Deborah Rowe Jackson."
The will names Los Angeles-based attorney John Branca, a long-time Jackson counsel, and music industry executives John McClain and accountant Barry Siegel as co-executors, but Siegel resigned as a co-executor in 2003, leaving the administration of the will to Branca and McClain.
Jackson's will has been the subject of much speculation since the pop star died last Thursday, age 50, after suffering cardiac arrest at his rented Los Angeles home.
NEVERLAND OUT AS BURIAL SITE?
The pop star whose 1982 record "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time left behind an estate that includes part ownership in a Beatles music catalog and his own music company that held rights to some of his music.
He was said to be as much as $500 million in debt when he died, but his assets have been reported to be worth as much as $1 billion. That value could rise over time if his popularity in death grows, as with other entertainers like Elvis Presley.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that Jackson's body will not be buried at his Neverland Ranch in Central California due to legal regulations about private residence burials.
California Highway Patrol spokesman, officer Miguel Luevano, told Reuters that late on Tuesday, CHP officials did meet with Jackson's family.
The CHP and Jacksons "discussed some options, and at this point the family has still to decide what they want to do and where they want to go," Luevano said.
A spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, David Sadecki, said his office was still planning "as if something was going to take place tomorrow" but he had no further details and added that his office has not talked directly to Jackson's family.
The Times said plans for a memorial service may be shifted to Los Angeles' huge Staples Center arena, but that could not immediately be confirmed.

China babies 'sold for adoption'

2009-07-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

Dozens of baby girls in southern China have reportedly been taken from parents who broke family-planning laws, and then sold for adoption overseas.

An investigation by the state-owned Southern Metropolis News found that about 80 girls in one county had been sold for $3,000 (£1,800) to foreigners.
The babies were taken when the parents could not pay the steep fines imposed for having too many children.
Local officials may have forged papers to complete the deals, the report said.
Unpopular policy
Parents in rural areas are allowed two children, unlike urban dwellers who are allowed one.
But if they have more than that, they face a fine of about $3,000 -several times many farmers' annual income.
The policy is deeply unpopular among rural residents, says the BBC's Quentin Somerville in Beijing.
Nearly 80 baby girls in a county in Guizhou province, in the south of the country, were confiscated from their families when their parents could not or would not pay the fine, Southern Metropolis News said.
The girls were taken into orphanages and sold to couples from the United States and a number of European countries.
The adoption fee was split between the orphanages and local officials, the newspaper said.
Child trafficking is widespread. A tightening of adoption rules for foreigners in 2006 has proved ineffective in the face of local corruption.

Gay sex decriminalised in India

2009-07-02T09:32:00.001-07:00

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act.

The ruling overturns a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence".
Homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison sentence.
Many people in India regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate. Rights groups have long argued that the law contravened human rights.

Delhi's High Court ruled that the law outlawing homosexual acts was discriminatory and a "violation of fundamental rights".

The court said that a statute in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines homosexual acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and made them illegal, was an "antithesis of the right to equality".
'India's Stonewall'
The ruling is historic in a country where homosexuals face discrimination and persecution on a daily basis but it is likely to be challenged, says the BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi.

Activists welcome 'historic' ruling

It also promises to change the discourse on sexuality in a largely conservative country, where even talking about sex is largely taboo, our correspondent says.
Gay rights activists all over the country welcomed the ruling and said it was "India's Stonewall".
New York's Stonewall riot in 1969 is credited with launching the gay rights movement.
"It [the ruling] is India's Stonewall. We are elated. I think what now happens is that a lot of our fundamental rights and civic rights which were denied to us can now be reclaimed by us," activist and lawyer Aditya Bandopadhyay told the BBC.
"It is a fabulously written judgement, and it restores our faith in the judiciary," he said.
Leading gay rights activist and the editor of India's first gay magazine Ashok Row Kavi welcomed the judgement but said the stigma against homosexuals will persist.

TEXT OF COURT JUDGEMENT

Delhi High Court judgement overturning Section 377 of India's Penal Code

Download the reader here

"The social stigma will remain. It is [still] a long struggle. But the ruling will help in HIV prevention. Gay men can now visit doctors and talk about their problems. It will help in preventing harassment at police stations," Mr Kavi told the BBC.
But the decision was greeted with unease by other groups.
Father Dominic Emanuel of India's Catholic Bishop Council said the church did not "approve" of homosexual behaviour.
"Our stand has always been very clear. The church has no serious objection to decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults, the church has never considered homosexuals as criminals," said Father Emanuel.
"But the church does not approve of this behaviour. It doesn't consider it natural, ethical, or moral," he said.
The head cleric of Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, criticised the ruling.
"This is absolutely wrong. We will not accept any such law," Ahmed Bukhari told the AFP news agency.
In 2004, the Indian government opposed a legal petition that sought to legalise homosexuality - a petition the high court in Delhi dismissed.
But rights groups and the Indian government's HIV/Aids control body have demanded that homosexuality be legalised.
The National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) has said that infected people were being driven underground and efforts to curb the virus were being hampered.
According to one estimate, more than 8% of homosexual men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1% in the general population.

Protesters awarded $200,000

2009-07-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

A group of student protesters who sued police and a former parliamentary speaker over their arrests in Parliament Grounds 12 years ago have been awarded over $200,000, their lawyers say.
Human rights lawyers Tony Ellis and Antony Shaw, and Graham Howell, spokesman for the 41 people who sued, released a statement late tonight welcoming an agreement to settle High Court proceedings.

They said 75 students attending a peaceful demonstration in Parliament Grounds in September 1997 were arrested, and some were detained overnight. Some protesters alleged they had been strip searched, assaulted, denied the right to a lawyer, unlawfully denied bail and unlawfully denied phone calls, while others claimed they were denied proper food, bedding or tampons.

All 75 arrested were prosecuted unsuccessfully for trespass and 41 sued in the High Court believing the actions of then speaker Doug Kidd and police were a breach of their fundamental freedoms.

The settlement meant each protester would receive compensation ranging from $2500 to $5000 - totalling $152,500 and about $50,000 would be paid towards the costs of the long running dispute.

"For many the written apologies from the speaker and police commissioner, was the turning point for settlement," the statement said.

"However, the cash settlement, and apologies barely atone for the arrests and detention, and mistreatment in the cells."

Mr Kidd used his power to eject the students from Parliament Grounds when they were protesting the education policies of the then National government.

Has Britain Replaced the U.S. as Iran's 'Little Satan'?

2009-07-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

If the number of protesters on the streets of Tehran has thinned in recent days — a result of the bloody crackdown by police and militia that continued in parts of the capital on June 24 — there's little sign of a letup in Iran's overseas offensive. British passport holders "had a role" in the violent clashes sparked by Iran's disputed election on June 12, Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei told the Fars news agency on June 24. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced that Tehran might downgrade its diplomatic ties with the U.K. The twin swipes came a day after Iran banished two British diplomats from the country, accusing the pair of spying. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who dismissed the allegations as "absolutely without foundation," promptly banished two Iranian diplomats from London.
Foreign powers from the U.S. to Israel have been rebuked by the Iranian regime in recent days. When U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Iran to respect the "will of its people" amid violence that has claimed at least 18 lives since the poll, Tehran chided him for "meddling." But Iran has reserved much of its vitriol for Britain. "The diplomats who have talked to us with courtesy up to now have in the past few days taken the masks away from their faces and are showing their true image," Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, said in a speech on June 19. "And the most evil of them is the British government." (See pictures of the lasting influence of Ayatullah Khomeini.)
With the U.S. being the focus of the bulk of Iran's ire over the past three decades, why is Iran picking on the U.K. now? Long a hot spot for anti-regime Iranian opposition and a font of support for human rights and reform in Iran, Britain has enjoyed little favor from Tehran in recent years. The launch in January of a BBC Persian-language TV service, thanks largely to funds from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has further riled authorities in Iran. The news channel — beaming images of the recent protests via satellite from London, despite efforts by the Iranian regime to block it — has already drawn millions of viewers. An announcement last week that the British government had frozen some $1.6 billion of Iranian assets under international sanctions imposed in response to the country's nuclear program probably hasn't helped relations either. (See pictures of Iran's presidential election and its turbulent aftermath.)
Moreover, in attempting to point a finger at Britain for its troubles, the Iranian government can tap a rich vein of mistrust for its former imperial ruler. Many Iranians remember the British-brokered Treaty of Gulistan, under which Iran was forced to give up land to Russia in 1813, as one of the most humiliating episodes in their country's history. Hostilities sparked again in 1941, when the U.K. invaded Iran and exiled the country's leader on suspicion of pro-German sympathies. Furthering the mistrust, when Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq dared to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company — in which Britain had a majority stake — British and U.S. security services mounted a coup to oust the leader in 1953.
For all the antipathy, though, scapegoating the U.K. may have as much to do with Iran's reluctance to lay into the U.S. President Barack Obama's overtures to the wider Middle East — Washington announced on June 24 plans to return an ambassador to Syria for the first time in four years — and the specific offer of talks with Tehran "has wrong-footed the regime," says Adam Hug, policy director at London's Foreign Policy Centre. In that context, "Britain's closeness to the U.S. enables it to be used as a proxy — 'Little Satan' to America's 'Great Satan.' "

Osama in America: The Final Answer

2009-07-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

The question of whether Osama bin Laden has ever visited the United States, a subject on which I have expended an unhealthy amount of energy in the course of various journalistic and biographical research, has now seemingly been settled. Osama was here for two weeks in 1979, it seems, and he visited Indiana and Los Angeles, among other places. He had a favorable encounter with an American medical doctor; he also reportedly met in Los Angeles with his spiritual mentor of the time, the Palestinian radical Abdullah Azzam. All this is according to a forthcoming book by Osama’s first wife, Najwa Bin Laden, and his son Omar Bin Laden, to be published in the autumn by St. Martin’s Press.

First, some context for the book’s disclosures:
In the autumn of 2005, while conducting research in Saudi Arabia for the book that became “The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century,” I met a Saudi journalist named Khaled Batarfi, who had been a neighbor and friend of Osama Bin Laden in their teenage years. During one of our interviews, Batarfi offered an account of Osama’s early travels—to London, to Africa on Safari, and to the United States—that was suggestive of a young man who had more direct experience of the West than was generally understood. Batarfi’s account of Osama’s American trip was particularly striking. In December of that year, I wrote a story for this magazine about the private high school Osama had attended in Jedda, and how he was first introduced to the tenets of radical Islamic politics. In that story, I also reported Batarfi’s on-the-record but unconfirmed account of Osama’s visit to America; Batarfi believed the travel had occurred not long before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979. U.S. customs and immigration records from the relevant period had been routinely destroyed—and so the question of whether Osama had personal experience of America, and what that experience might have been, remained elusive. (Bin Laden has never referred to any trip to this country in his writings or statements.) While I found Batarfi to be credible, a single-source account, based on hearsay, could hardly be regarded as satisfactory.
Over the next several years, I came across several other fragments suggesting that Batarfi was essentially correct—these bits of evidence included a published account by one of Osama’s workplace supervisors in Saudi Arabia reporting that Osama had once traveled to the United States, and more recently, an interview with Yassin Kadi in the Times in which Kadi recalled meeting Osama during the nineteen seventies in Chicago.

After the original 2005 interviews with Batarfi, I reported that

only one aspect of the journey made a particularly strong impression on bin Laden: On the way home, Osama and his wife were sitting in an airport lounge, waiting for their connecting flight. In keeping with their strict religious observance, his wife was dressed in a black abaya, a draping gown, as well as the full head covering often referred to as hijab. Other passengers in the airport “were staring at them,” Batarfi said, “and taking pictures.” When bin Laden returned to Jedda, he told people that the experience was like “being in a show.” By Batarfi’s account, bin Laden was not particularly bitter about all the stares and the photographs; rather, “he was joking about it.”

Batarfi had it right, it now seems. Here is Najwa’s forthcoming account of their journey, according to a bound galley of “Growing Up Bin Laden” provided by St. Martin’s Press.

One evening he [Osama] arrived home with a surprise announcement: ’Najwa, We are going to travel to the United States. Our boys are going with us.’ I was shocked, to tell you the truth…Pregnant, and busy with two babies, I remember few details of our travel, other than we passed through London before flying to a place I had never heard of, a state in America called Indiana. Osama told me that he was meeting with a man by the name of Abdullah Azzam. Since my husband’s business was not my business, I did not ask questions.
I was worried about Abdul Rahman because he had become quite ill on the trip and was even suffering with a high fever. Osama arranged for us to see a doctor in Indianapolis. I relaxed after that kindly physician assured us that Abdul Rahman would soon be fine.
…I am sometimes questioned about my personal opinion of the country and its people. This is surprisingly difficult to answer. We were there for only two weeks, and for one of those weeks, Osama was away in Los Angeles to meet with some men in that city. The boys and I were left behind in Indiana with a girlfriend whom I would rather not name…
My girlfriend was gracious and guided me on short trips…We even went into a big shopping mall in Indianapolis…
I came to believe that Americans were gentle and nice, people easy to deal with. As far as the country itself goes, my husband and I did not hate America, yet we did not love it.
There was one incident that reminded me that some Americans are unaware of other cultures. When the time came for us to leave America, Osama and I, along with our two boys, waited for our departure at the airport in Indiana. I was sitting quietly in my chair, relaxing, grateful that our boys were quiet….
I saw an American man gawking at me. I knew without asking that his unwelcome attention had been snagged by my black Saudi costume…
I took a side glance at Osama and saw that he was intently studying the curious man. I knew that my husband would never allow the man to approach me…
When my husband and I discussed the incident, we were both more amused than offended. That man gave us a good laugh, as it was clear he had no knowledge of veiled women…
We returned to Saudi Arabia none the worse for our experiences.

Not a particularly consequential experience, perhaps, but surely one that has a life in Osama’s memory and imagination—and another indication, among many available in his life, that he should be understood not only as a self-isolating radical imbued with millenarian religious narratives, but also as a modern and globalized figure whose experiences and outlook belong very much to our age.

Source:Newyorker