Tuesday, January 31, 2012

With Americans holed up in Cairo embassy, Egypt's lobbyists in DC quit

It takes a lot to get K Street to distance itself from a regime. Egypt's ruling military junta has manged the feat by investigating a group of American NGO workers for criminal prosecution.

On Sunday, a group of Egyptian officers landed in the US to lobby for their annual $1.3 billion stipend form Congress to keep flowing. Not coincidentally, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Egypt's military ruler, Field Marshall Mohammed Tantawi, to ask a little favor at about the same time. Would he please lift the travel ban on a group of Americans working on democracy promotion in Egypt??

Skip to next paragraph

The answer, apparently, was no. Tonight the Americans, a group of employees for the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), are holed up in the US Embassy in Cairo, avoiding possible arrest.

One of them is Sam LaHood, IRI's Egypt director and the son of US President Barack Obama's Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The US-funded groups' offices were raided in December, cash and equipment confiscated by armed Egyptian security officers.? A number of their local executives have been banned from leaving Egypt pending a criminal investigation, and the US Embassy has taken the group in on concerns that further measures will be taken against them.

How badly are Egypt's military rulers handling the relationship with the US? This badly: The lobbyists representing Egypt's interests in DC, led by former Representatives Robert Livingston (R) of Louisiana and Toby Moffet (D) of Connecticut, dropped their $90,000 a month contract a few days ago. The two former Congressmen had stuck with Egypt as Mubarak refused to step down last January, as the military killed and jailed protesters throughout the course of last year, and even defended the December NGO raids. But the direct targeting of the Americans, most with ties to the DC establishment, was a bridge too far.

Egypt's aggressive moves against IRI, NDI and others reflects the longstanding desire of Egypt's rulers, whether the junta running the show now or Hosni Mubarak before them, to control money flowing to domestic groups. Egypt has refused to grant operating licenses to either IRI or NDI despite multiple requests -- yet has allowed them to operate mostly unmolested (except for shutting them down for a time in 2006) for years.

Egypt describes its investigation into the groups for illegally funding Egyptian NGO's as a matter of national sovereignty. But spearheading the movement against the NGOs has been Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul Naga, who has for years pushed for America's economic aid to Egypt to be put into an endowment fully under Egypt's control, without preconditions.

Ms. Abul Naga demanded the criminal investigations that led to the raids. When she served Mubarak, her concern was the prevent the flow of foreign money to pro-democracy groups and regime opponents, something she was largely successful at. And if Egypt had simply been interested in restricting the activities of the NGOs, there would have been much less provocative means of going about it.

Egypt's funding is now on the line. While the $1.3 billion per year has generally been treated like an annuity, the Egyptian officers currently in the States are going to get an earful when they make their case for cash in Washington (and without their long time lobbyists to help out). Expect a climbdown by Abul Naga and her bosses in SCAF.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/pokSo6KYwN0/With-Americans-holed-up-in-Cairo-embassy-Egypt-s-lobbyists-in-DC-quit

paranormal activity 3 trailer oomph oomph cmj olin kreutz olin kreutz au pair

Must See HDTV (January 30th - February 5th)

This week is all about the big game, but even if you're not watching the Super Bowl, there's a lot to tune in for. We've got a slew of new premieres, plenty of NBA and NHL action, and even an old favorite coming home on Blu-ray. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Next Level
One of the best science fiction series ever returns, this week, remastered and in HD. Check after the break for a video splitscreen showing off the original video crossed over with the new special effects, which were recomposited back on top of the original film negatives for what seems to be an incredible new experience. Not every revisitation in the past has gotten a positive reception, but it appears this is one fans will enjoy. The release this week is a quick three episode teaser of what's to come, the full meal of season one is still on the way later this year.
(January 31st, $14.99 on Amazon)

Super Bowl XLVI
*Cough*
(February 5th, NBC, 6PM)

I Just Want My Pants Back
Yet another young adult dramedy on MTV, but after the solid efforts of RJ Berger and Awkward (we're going to pretend the ill-fated port of Skins never happened) it may be worth a shot. The title comes from the main character, who is left looking for his pants which were taken by a particularly special one night stand that he's trying to find in the big city. Yeah.
(February 2nd, MTV, 11PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (January 30th - February 5th)

Must See HDTV (January 30th - February 5th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/yvdsdic1lZw/

pentatonix nicki minaj barbie doll nicki minaj barbie doll black dahlia drew drew lady gaga marry the night video

Monday, January 30, 2012

Finnish, Swedish Games Heavily Favored At International Mobile ...

This year Barcelona is playing host to the eighth International Mobile Gaming Awards as part of the Mobile World Congress.?Almost 500 games in total were submitted for review, and the list has been whittled down to 30 games in 6 categories. We noticed the Nordics and Baltics were heavily favored on the list, and includes 5 games from Finland, 3 from Sweden, and one game from Lithuania.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi makes political tour in south

In this photo taken Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits a photo exhibition at the Yangon Photo Festival in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

In this photo taken Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits a photo exhibition at the Yangon Photo Festival in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

(AP) ? Thousands of supporters in Myanmar's countryside cheered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday as she made a political tour ahead of by-elections, highlighting how quickly and dramatically politics is changing in the long-repressed Southeast Asian nation.

Throngs of people lined the roads of several towns in the southern district of Dawei shouting, "Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!" ''Daw" is a title of respect in Myanmar.

Many waved bouquets of flowers, and some hoisted babies on their shoulders to glimpse the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former political prisoner on her first political trip since announcing a bid for parliament.

"We will bring democracy to the country," Suu Kyi told an exuberant crowd of thousands. "We will work for development. We will bring rule of law to the country, and we will see to it that repressive laws are repealed."

"We can overcome any obstacle with unity and perseverance," she said from the second-story balcony of a provincial office for her National League for Democracy party.

Suu Kyi, 66, has devoted much of her life to a struggle against authoritarian rule, but spent 15 of the past 23 years under house arrest and has never held elected office. If she wins, she is likely to have limited power in the legislature, which remains dominated by the military and the ruling party, but victory would be highly symbolic and give her a voice in government for the first time.

The one-day trip to Dawei follows a series of unprecedented reforms enacted by the nominally civilian government that took over when a military junta ceded power last year. The government has released hundreds of political prisoners, reached cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increased media freedoms and eased censorship laws.

The April 1 by-election is being held to fill 48 seats in the lower house of parliament that were vacated after lawmakers were appointed to the Cabinet and other posts.

Suu Kyi's party boycotted the last vote in 2010, but registered earlier this month for the by-election after authorities amended electoral laws, enabling her party to legally participate.

The Election Commission must still accept Suu Kyi's candidacy. A ruling is expected in February.

Suu Kyi is hoping to run as a representative of the constituency of Kawhmu, a poor district just south of Yangon where villagers' livelihoods were devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

The vote is being closely watched because it is seen as a crucial test of the government's commitment to change.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, has rarely traveled outside Yangon, the country's main city, over the last two decades.

Although she conducted one successful day of rallies in two small towns north of Yangon last August, a previous political tour to greet supporters in 2003 sparked a bloody ambush of her convoy that saw her forcibly confined at her lakeside home.

Suu Kyi was finally released from house arrest in late 2010, just days after the country's military rulers held elections widely viewed as neither free nor fair.

In Dawei, a coastal district south of Yangon, Suu Kyi was garnering support for another candidate running for a parliament seat, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

She will make similar campaign trips to other areas, including the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, in early February before campaigning for her own seat, Nyan Win said.

Dawei is home to activists who recently helped persuade the government to ditch construction of a 4,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant over environmental concerns.

A 400-megawatt coal plant is still planned, however, because it will be needed to power a massive industrial complex project that includes construction of a deep sea port, a steel mill and a petrochemical plant. The project also includes railroads and highways that will connect Myanmar's coast directly to Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Banners with Suu Kyi's pictures decorated the area.

"People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long," said Aung Zaw Hein, an environmental activist whose Dawei Development Association helped stop the huge power plant. "Now that she's visiting the political spirit of people has been awakened."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-29-AS-Myanmar-Suu-Kyi/id-fa8678b804234b5187a0e193e35a6afa

darknet james ray williston nd williston nd mists of pandaria mists of pandaria 20 20

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Michigan Gray Wolves Off Endangered Species List (ContributorNetwork)

Gray wolves in Michigan have taken off the federal endangered species list and may now be shot if they pose a threat to local wildlife. Last December, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) placed management of wolves into the hands of local DNR officials in Michigan. The Wolf Management Plan went into effect Friday, says Click on Detroit. Here are details about Michigan's wolf population and the new guidelines surrounding them.

* Gray wolves were once nearly extinct in Michigan and all over the Midwest. Now there are over 1,000 of them. According to the U.S. FWS species profile, most gray wolves live in Michigan's upper peninsula in all 15 counties. In Michigan's lower peninsula, gray wolves have been spotted in Emmet, Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties.

* Michigan's increasing wolf numbers has led to a redefining of national wolf populations. The U.S. Department of the Interior FWS federal registry was recently revised. Wolves in Michigan, which were formerly counted in the Minnesota population, are now being delineated as the Western Great Lakes (WGL) Distinct Population Segment (DPS).

* The WGL DPS gray wolves were removed from the national endangered and protected list because they no longer meet the department's qualifications. Michigan's gray wolf designated "critical habitat"' classification has been removed as well.

* As per the Michigan DNR Wolf Management Plan, farmers and dog owners may now shoot wolves if they are harassing, endangering or engaging dogs or farm animals. The wolf must be in the act of threatening the animals.

* The Michigan DNR lists three things that residents must do if they kill a predatory wolf: Contact Report all Poaching (RAP) within 12 hours of the kill. Retain the carcass until a DNR officer arrives to collect it (within 12 hours of the call). Do not touch the carcass or move it, unless it is blocking a traveled area (it may be moved to a secure place, but must be photographed before moving).

* The MDNR asks that homeowners find non-lethal ways to address problems with wolves. They offer their consultation services in the event a wolf is spotted. Michigan Wolf Sightings offers humane resources for dealing with wolves as well.

* The MDNR will continue to list gray wolves on their threatened species list. It is illegal to hunt or trap wolves unless they pose a viable threat to livestock or pets. Violation of these laws means a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues in her home state of "Pure Michigan."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/pets/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120128/us_ac/10894861_michigan_gray_wolves_off_endangered_species_list

flight search jackie kennedy ringer ringer cathedral high school terry fator terry fator

Suspect shown by Mexico cops says he beat Canadian (AP)

CULIACAN, Mexico ? A Mexican man charged with severely beating a Canadian woman at a resort hotel has told journalists that he tried to hold her in an elevator and punched her several times when she yelled for help.

Jose Ramon Acosta said during a Saturday news conference held by police that he had sneaked into the hotel in Mazatlan early the morning of Jan. 20 and encountered Sheila Nabb of Calgary, Alberta, by chance.

State prosecutor Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez says Acosta had been drinking and using drugs. Prosecutor have said the suspect was seen on a hotel security camera as he left the elevator.

The victim has been flown to Canada where she remains hospitalized.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_canadian_attacked

occupy occupy midnight madness midnight madness john henry john henry zack greinke

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Afghanistan's Karzai in UK for talks with Cameron (AP)

LONDON ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Britain for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, a day after France announced it would withdraw its troops a year earlier than the 2014 date agreed by NATO.

Cameron is due to meet Karzai at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat outside London. Britain's Foreign Office said the meeting "is about long-term partnership and commitment beyond 2014 and the need for progress on the political track."

It is also sure to include the effects of the announcement by President Nicolas Sarkozy that French troops would speed up their withdrawal plans and leave the country by the end of next year, instead of by 2014.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan and says it plans to withdraw almost all of them by the end of 2014.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_afghanistan

andy williams nyc marathon nyc marathon coriolis effect coriolis effect giants patriots yolo

Friday, January 27, 2012

Willy Wiener and the Tunnel of Doom in no way is a bad metaphor for sex

Willy Weiner and the Tunnel of Doom

OK. Maybe it is.

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/8dc7VTLP4uI/story01.htm

heisman cp3 lakers news rachel crow rachel crow steelers browns albert pujols

Hyundai Motor reports record $7.2B profit for 2011 (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? Hyundai Motor's net profit jumped 35 percent to a record high last year after selling more than 4 million cars for the first time.

The company's 2011 earnings reached 8.1 trillion won ($7.2 billion), up from 6 trillion won a year earlier, the automaker said Thursday in a regulatory filing. Operating profit rose 36.4 percent to 8.07 trillion won.

Company officials said in a telephone conference that sales increased in countries such as the United States and China as well as at home. For the first time, the company sold more than 4 million cars in a year, they said.

Hyundai Motor Co., the maker of the Elantra and Sonata sedans and the Tucson SUV, is South Korea's largest automaker and a major force in the global auto industry. It has expanded aggressively overseas in recent years with factories in China, India, the Czech Republic, the United States and Russia.

Despite last year's growth, the company is wary of uncertainties in the global market as financial worries trouble European and other nations, it said in a statement.

Challenges from U.S. automakers are also expected to intensify in markets for small and medium-size cars while Japanese competitors are poised to unveil new models, Hyundai Motor said.

The South Korean automaker said it will focus on quality and consolidate its internal management rather than excessively expanding this year as it tries to deal with challenges.

"This means the company will concentrate on raising the profitability of its existing models through various sales tactics," said Chung Sung-yop, an analyst with Daiwa Securities in Seoul. He also expects the company to invest further this year in burnishing its brand at home and abroad.

Hyundai Motor owns a large stake in Kia Motors, South Korea's second-largest automaker, and they together form one of the world's largest auto groups.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/as_skorea_earns_hyundai_motor

amazon prime spina bifida new kindle trill amazon tablet amazon tablet carl sagan

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Artist plans to bury 727 jetliner in US desert

(AP) ? A Swiss artist plans to bury an intact Boeing 727 jetliner in California's Mojave Desert and build a tunnel to give visitors a chance to see it.

Christoph Buchel has applied for a permit that will allow him to bury the 153-foot-long (46-meter-long) decommissioned airliner.

The Bakersfield Californian newspaper reports the project, called "Terminal," already has approval from the local planning department staff.

The jetliner would be buried 38 feet (11 meters) below the surface.

Visitors will be able to experience the subterranean art project via a tunnel connecting the plane to a parking area. And they'll be able to use the plane's restrooms, which will be connected to a septic system.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-26-Jetliner%20Burial/id-eab62a2ecfd24238a30c8c03e66ebcbc

veterans day 2011 cnbc debate family circus spanier walmart black friday ad walmart black friday ad rick perry gaffe

NY model tells of drug-fueled romp with De La Hoya (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? A Playboy model said on Wednesday she feared she would die while trapped in a luxury hotel room with former boxing champ Oscar De La Hoya during a night of drugs and kinky sex.

Angelica Cecora, 25, in a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, accused the former Olympic gold medalist and world champion of multiple weight divisions of dressing in women's underwear while trying to force her to engage in "disgusting" sexual acts in March 2011.

Cecora spoke to reporters outside a court hearing during which De La Hoya's lawyers asked to dismiss the lawsuit, which seeks $5 million for emotional distress, false imprisonment, assault and battery.

"Once 12 o'clock hit that night, he just started doing more and more drugs and wanted me to do more and more things," she said.

De La Hoya, 38, the so-called "Golden Boy" who for years was the biggest name in boxing, did not appear in court Wednesday but after the hearing his attorney Judd Burstein said the encounter was consensual and he's confident the court will dismiss the lawsuit.

"These allegations are offensive and frivolous," he said, declining to elaborate.

The complaint says Cecora and De La Hoya had sex and shortly afterward the boxing champ put on her underwear and walked around the room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York City. De La Hoya then picked up a phone and ordered around $300 worth of cocaine and marijuana to be delivered to his room, the complaint said.

The intercourse was consensual but De La Hoya's increasingly strange behavior and sexual requests afterward were against her will, Cecora said.

She feared for her life, afraid to run away, when "things took a wild turn that I didn't sign up for."

De La Hoya met Cecora in March of last year and invited her to meet for dinner at his hotel. After a long conversation, he invited her up to his room, according to the lawsuit.

Cecora, whose lawyer said she has modeled for magazines including Playboy and Maxim, said she accepted the offer to his room but was unaware he was married at the time.

Attorney Tony Evans said De La Hoya used his fame to manipulate her, promising to use her as a ringside girl in his boxing promotion ventures.

"It's the old Hollywood show business story," he said. "Find a girl who wants to be a model and say 'Oh you can come work for me.'"

De La Hoya was 39-6 in his professional boxing career, winning world boxing titles in several weight classes before retiring in 2008.

De La Hoya has gone through drug rehabilitation since the incident and is turning his life around, his attorney said.

"His life was spiraling out of control," Burstein said. "He's a changed person now."

(Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Daniel Trotta)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/people_nm/us_boxer_sex_drugs

nelson cruz nelson cruz michael young bears bears lions terrelle pryor

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

GOP using Obama's address to blame him for economy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republicans took the offensive Tuesday and cast President Barack Obama as the culprit for the economy's persistent frailty, hoping to shift the focus away from his State of the Union address' theme of economic fairness.

As they awaited the president's election season speech to the nation Tuesday night, Republicans in the Capitol and on the campaign trail accused Obama of three years of higher spending, bigger government and tax increases that have left the economy stuck in a ditch.

"If the president wants someone to blame for this economy, he should start with himself," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "The fact is, any CEO in America with a record like this after three years on the job would be graciously shown the door."

White House officials argue that the economy has resumed growing and generating new jobs on Obama's watch, though growth has been generally listless and the jobless rate remains at a high 8.5 percent.

One of Obama's themes will be economic fairness, including protecting the middle class and making sure the wealthy pay an equitable share of taxes. Republicans seemed determined to blunt that message and prevent the president from making it the top issue of this year's presidential and congressional elections.

"This election is going to be a referendum on the president's economic policies," which have worsened the economy, said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The politics of envy, the politics of dividing our country is not what America is all about."

Boehner said nearly 30 House-passed bills aimed at helping the economy have stalled in the Democratic-run Senate, most of them rolling back or blocking environmental, workplace and other regulations. He said he hoped Obama "will extend somewhat of an olive branch" to work with Republicans on boosting the economy.

Despite that plea, Boehner planned a symbolic move to underscore Obama's decision to put off, for now, work on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast. Republicans say the project would create thousands of jobs, a claim opponents say is overstated.

Boehner invited three officials from companies he said would be hurt by the pipeline's rejection to watch the speech in the House chamber as his guests, along with a Nebraska legislator who helped plan a new pipeline route through his state, where environmental concerns have been raised.

Poised to give the GOP's formal, televised response to Obama was Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who flirted with running for his party's presidential nomination before deciding against it last May.

The first White House budget chief under President George W. Bush, Daniels has portrayed himself as a foe of budget deficits. He has described Obama's fiscal policies as "catastrophic."

Obama was delivering his State of the Union address during a rowdy battle for the GOP presidential nomination that has ended up playing directly into Obama's theme of economic fairness.

That fight has called attention to the wealth of one of the top contenders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and the low ? but legal ? effective federal income tax rate of around 15 percent that the multi-millionaire has paid in the past two years. Romney, who is in Florida campaigned for that state's Jan. 31 primary, released his tax documents for that period on Tuesday.

"The president's agenda sounds less like "built to last" and more like doomed to fail," Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. "What he's proposing is more of the same: more taxes, more spending, and more regulation."

Romney's chief rival so far, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said in a written statement that the top question about Obama's speech was whether he "will show a willingness to put aside the extremist ideology of the far left and call for a new set of policies that could lead to dramatic private sector job creation and economic growth."

The Republican National Committee was airing a television commercial in North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan and Washington, D.C., blaming Obama for 13 million people out of work and citing the bankruptcy of California energy company Solyndra, which received more than $500 million in federally backed loans.

The ad shows an Obama interview from 2009, in which he said about the faltering economy, "If I don't have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition," a reference to his presidency.

The chairman of the House GOP's campaign arm, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, also used Obama's speech to reach out to supporters in an email.

"Unlike Democrats, House Republicans are fighting to strengthen our economy and allow small businesses to create jobs for hard working Americans," he wrote.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_union_gop_reaction

dragonfly courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day joe frazier

Turkish film highlights gay honor killing (omg!)

FILE - Jan. 2012 file photo of the poster of the film "Zenne Dancer," in Istanbul, Turkey. Shortly after coming out to his parents in 2008, Ahmet Yildiz, a gay, 26-year-old student was gunned down inside his car by his father, in a crime that shocked Turkey and was billed as the country's first reported gay honor killing. The award-winning film, inspired by Yildiz's tragic story, and which opened in some 50 cinemas in Turkey last week is putting the spotlight on homosexuality in the Muslim country which is seeking European Union membership but remains influenced by conservative and religious values. (AP Photo/Sara Anjargolian/CAM Film/File, Handout)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? Shortly after telling his parents he was gay, Ahmet Yildiz was gunned down inside his car by his father in Istanbul. It was Turkey's first officially recognized gay "honor killing."

An award-winning film partly inspired by Yildiz's story, which opened in dozens of cinemas across Turkey last week, is putting the spotlight on gays in a Muslim country that is seeking European Union membership but remains influenced by conservative and religious values.

The film "Zenne Dancer" ? or male belly dancer ? is not the nation's first gay-themed movie but is the first to explore the little-known phenomenon of men killed by family members for being gay. So-called honor killings in Turkey usually target women accused of disgracing the family.

"Our main aim was to convey Ahmet's story, but by doing so we also wanted to expose the pressure the (gay and lesbian community) faces from their family, the society and the state," said Mehmet Binay, who co-directed and produced the film with his partner, Caner Alper.

"Zenne Dancer" won four awards at Turkey's coveted Antalya Golden Orange film festival this year, including best First Film and Best Cinematography. Erkan Avci, who plays Yildiz's character, won Best Supporting Actor. The movie was also recently chosen a Best Film by an association of Turkish film critics.

Yildiz, a physics student at Istanbul's Marmara University, was shot dead on July 15, 2008 after he went out for an ice cream break while studying at home for his final exams.

An arrest warrant has been issued for his father, Yahya Yildiz, who has been charged in absentia for the murder. The father, who has been on the run for three years, is believed to be in hiding in northern Iraq.

Yildiz, who was a close friend of Binay and Alper, came from the conservative, mostly-Kurdish Sanliurfa province, where homosexuality is taboo and where officials have been struggling to stem the practice of honor killings of women. Women there have been killed for flirting or having a boyfriend without the family's consent.

Gay honor killings are believed to be common in Turkey's conservative heartland. But Yildiz's murder was the first in Turkey to be reported by authorities as a gay honor killing.

Binay said Yildiz's family suspected his homosexuality but believed he could be treated by imams and were pressuring him to return to Sanliurfa.

"He was killed shortly after he told them he would not be cured, would not return and that he was considering leaving for Germany where he might marry (his boyfriend)," he said.

In "Zenne Dancer," Yildiz's life is intertwined with the stories of two other male characters ? a flamboyant Zenne dancer named Can and a bisexual German photographer, Daniel.

A stranger to Turkey's conservative traditions, Daniel encourages Yildiz to come out to his parents, insisting honesty was the best way to deal with his family.

"You don't understand," Yildiz responds in one scene: "Honesty would kill me."

Binay said he and Alper were filming a documentary on male belly dancers when Yildiz was killed. Shocked by the murder, they put the documentary on hold and decided to create a feature film that blends the story of the Zenne dancers with Yildiz's tragedy.

Turkish attitudes toward gay and lesbians are more relaxed compared to the 1980s and 1990s when police routinely raided gay bars, detained transvestites and banned gay festivals. Gay sex is not considered a crime in the country, and some bars and clubs in major cities openly cater to gays.

But a majority of gays still choose to hide their lifestyle in a country where liberal views have yet to make inroads in rural areas and many urban settings.

Last year, a former government minister described homosexuality as a biological disorder that needs to be treated, while municipalities have some leeway to introduce laws safeguarding "morality," which gay activists view as a potential threat to their freedom.

Some gays openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, including poet Murathan Mungan and the late singer Zeki Muren. Zenne dancing itself harks back to the Ottoman Empire, a time when there was a degree of tolerance toward gay sex among some sectors of the elite.

Hebun LGTB, a gay and lesbian group based in the conservative city Diyarbakir that neighbors Sanliurfa, described the film as an opportunity to break ingrained attitudes toward gays in traditional areas.

"There was a piece of us in each of the characters," said a group member, Arif, who declined to give his surname because his family does not know about his sexual orientation. "I am in the same situation as Ahmet Yildiz: If I was honest, I would be killed by my family."

"If out of all the people who watch it, just 10 are able to change their attitudes, then the filmmakers should be happy," he said.

Despite one article in a pro-Islamic newspaper that branded "Zenne Dancer" a "film for perverts," Binay says he and Alper have not received any threats or hate mail, and that some 35,000 people have seen the movie in its first week.

Gulsah Simsek, a 23-year old student, watched "Zenne Dancer" in Ankara.

"Some of the swearing and some of the scenes shocked me," she said. "But there must be so many people like (Yildiz) and it's good that the pain they suffer is being told."

Binay and Alper have been same-sex partners for 14 years and openly came out as a couple during one of the film's early screenings. They regularly attend showings where they hold discussions on attitudes toward homosexuality.

The film is showing in 50 cinemas in 16 out of Turkey's 81 provinces, including conservative Diyarbakir.

"The (positive) response we got in Istanbul wasn't much different to the response we got in Diyarbakir," Binay said. "We are encouraged by the attitudes in (traditional) regions."

FILE - In this March 14, 2011 file photo, cast member Kerem Can, center, who stars in the film "Zenne Dancer," poses with co-directors Caner Alper, left, and Mehmet Binay in Istanbul, Turkey. Shortly after coming out to his parents in 2008, Ahmet Yildiz, a gay, 26-year-old student was gunned down inside his car by his father, in a crime that shocked Turkey and was billed as the country's first reported gay honor killing. The award-winning film, inspired by Yildiz's tragic story, and which opened in some 50 cinemas in Turkey last week is putting the spotlight on homosexuality in the Muslim country which is seeking European Union membership but remains influenced by conservative and religious values. (AP Photo/Sara Anjargolian/CAM Film/File, Handout)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_turkish_film_highlights_gay_honor_killing083244036/44282347/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/turkish-film-highlights-gay-honor-killing-083244036.html

social security adderall muskingum county muskingum county barometer barometer intc

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Kim K: Wedding was a 'bad business decision'

Three months after filing to end her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian is still forced to defend rumors that her televised nuptials -- and her union to the NBA star -- was a sham.

During a Monday cohosting gig with Kelly Ripa on "LIVE! With Kelly," the 31-year-old reality star mogul slammed rumors she tied the knot just for fame and fortune.

PHOTOS: Kris and Kim's doomed wedding

"Being a hopeless romantic, I wanted to believe in something so badly. If you think I really made all that money that everyone claimed we made on the wedding and that it was for TV...I'm a smart businesswoman, I would have stayed married longer!" Kardashian reasoned to Ripa during the morning show's Host Chat segment. "This was a bad business decision. I really didn't think following my heart would create this much backlash."

NEWS: Medium John Edward helps Kim realize she should end her marriage

Pulling the plug on her marriage so quickly was a necessity for the reality star. "I definitely tried everything I could [to save it], but also heard stories of people who had kids and stayed married for years and it didn't end up working out," she said. "I want babies and that forever love and if I felt in my heart that this wasn't right, why wait years for the same result?"

PHOTOS: Hollywood's shortest marriages

In the wake of her Oct. 31 divorce filing from Humphries, 26, Kardashian says she found herself leaning heavily on her mom, Kris Jenner, who divorced her first husband, Robert Kardashian, Sr., in 1990.

PHOTOS: LOL! Kelly Ripa and Nick Lachey reenact Kim's wedding day

"My mom and dad had four kids and they split up. I couldn't even fathom it at the time but as I got older, I began to understand her a bit more," Kardashian told Ripa. "Thinking of myself in that situation, if my mom had four kids and she was able to get out of a situation that she felt like didn't fit her, I think anybody could."

PHOTOS: The Kardashian family photo album

Still, the suddenly-single star hasn't given up on finding her happy ending.

"I just have to rewrite my fairytale," she told Ripa.

Copyright 2012 Us Weekly

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46103219/ns/today-entertainment/

rickross rickross uganda rick ross black hawk down black hawk down dennis the menace

Monday, January 23, 2012

Non-Consenting Adults

The law required the researchers to offer a means for opting out. Northfield's answer was to provide plastic bracelets inscribed with the words "I decline the PolyHeme study." Crucially, to opt out, one first had to know the study existed?a challenge, because the obligatory community notification tended to be desultory. Ross McKinney Jr., vice-dean for research at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, estimated that consultation in his area reached about 450 out of a possible 267,000 people.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3c68c356eb589acaaab64ded43deef9a

napoleon dynamite michelle williams the descendants the descendants homeland homeland packers giants game

Reno fire that claimed 29 homes is contained

Rain and snow helped firefighters surround a brush fire that destroyed 29 homes and forced thousands to flee near Reno, leading officials to declare the blaze contained early Saturday and lift all remaining evacuations.

Fueled by hurricane force winds, the blaze burned nearly 3,200 acres with flames as high as 40 feet. The break in the weather for firefighters arrived with calmer winds on Friday, allowing crews to gain the upper hand on a blaze Gov. Brian Sandoval described as "horrendous."

"There is nothing left in some of those places except for the chimneys and fireplaces," he said in a tour of the area Friday.

The next challenge for emergency workers may be a storm in the Sierra Nevada, which for many brings welcome snow and rain amid one of the Reno's driest winters in more than a century but could create headaches for officials who fear its potential for causing flooding in burned areas.

Authorities say an "extremely remorseful" elderly man admitted to accidentally starting the fire Thursday when he improperly discarded fireplace ashes at his home south of town.

Investigators already had tracked the origin of the fire that raged south of Reno to a location in East Lake on the north end of the Washoe Valley, where the man lives about 20 miles south of downtown Reno.

"He came forward on his own accord," Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said. "He has given statements to our investigators as well as law enforcement officers. He is extremely remorseful."

Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley said a formal case file will be forwarded to the district attorney next week for consideration of charges.

In addition to the potential for facing jail time on arson charges, the man could also be ordered to pay the cost of fighting the fire, which already totals $690,000.

Washoe County Manager Katy Simon said she expects the final bill to run into the millions of dollars.

The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by the wind, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno.

  1. Only on msnbc.com

    1. After drone hit on al-Qaida planner, is Zawahiri next?
    2. Syria's capital delivers show of support for Assad
    3. 'Miracle' baby born from single frozen sperm
    4. China braces for Year of the Dragon travel rush
    5. Should couples share passwords?
    6. 1,137 dogs rescued from Chinese dinner table
    7. Poker players sue over online cheating scheme

The strong, erratic winds caused major challenges for crews evacuating residents, Sierra Front spokesman Mark Regan said. "In a matter of seconds, the wind would shift," he said.

The sheriff confirmed that the body of June Hargis, 93, was found in the fire's aftermath, but her cause of death has not been established, so it's not known if it was fire related.

Jeannie Watts, the woman's 70-year-old daughter, told KRNV-TV that Hargis' grandson telephoned her to tell her to evacuate but she didn't get out in time.

Fire officials said Thursday's fire was "almost a carbon copy" of a blaze that destroyed 30 homes in Reno during similar summer-like conditions in mid-November.

"There was fire in front of me, fire beside me, fire behind me. It was everywhere," said Connie Cryer, who was relieved to learn Friday that her home survived the flames. "I don't know how more didn't burn up. It was terrible, all the wind and the smoke."

She had seen wildfires before, but nothing on this scale.

State Forester Pete Anderson said he has not seen such hazardous fire conditions in winter in his 43 years in Nevada. Reno had no precipitation in December. The last time that happened was 1883.

An inch of snow Monday ended the longest recorded dry spell in Reno history, a 56-day stretch that prompted Anderson to issue an unusual warning about wildfire threats in a fire season that has stretched well past the usual endpoint of November.

Kit Bailey, U.S. Forest Service fire chief at nearby Lake Tahoe, said conditions are so dry that even a forecast calling for rain and snow might not take the Reno-Tahoe area out of fire danger.

"The scary thing is a few days of drying after this storm cycle and we could be back into fire season again," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Scott Sonner in Reno, Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas and Sandra Chereb in Carson City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46083729/ns/us_news-life/

kc chiefs judy garland duggars j r martinez j r martinez long island serial killer wizard of oz

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Taliban video highlights revenge on Pakistan military (Reuters)

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) ? Fifteen Pakistani soldiers stood blindfolded, handcuffed to each other on a barren hilltop as one of their bearded Taliban captors held an AK-47 rifle and spoke with fury about revenge.

He left no doubt what would come at any second.

Pakistan's Taliban abducted the paramilitary troops on December 23 from near the country's lawless tribal areas to avenge military operations.

Now they have released a video as a warning to Pakistan's 600,000-member army, which has failed to break the back of the insurgents despite superior firepower and a series of offensives against their strongholds in forbidding mountain regions.

"Twelve of our comrades were besieged and mercilessly martyred in the Khyber Agency (area)," said the militant.

"Our pious women were also targeted. To avenge those comrades, we will kill these men. We warn the government of Pakistan that if the killing of our friends is not halted, this will be the fate of you all."

Before death, one of the men described how dozens of Taliban fighters stormed their fort in the northwestern Tank district and kidnapped the soldiers.

"They attacked us with rockets, killed a sentry. One ran away. The Taliban entered the fort and captured us with our weapons," he said, sitting in rows with other soldiers with their arms folded and legs crossed in front of Taliban banners.

"They tied our hands, put us in a Datsun and took us away."

The video then shows the men standing quietly. Taliban chanting can be heard. "We will cross all limits to avenge your blood," it said, referring to fighters killed by Pakistani security forces.

One of the men shoves a clip into his assault rifle and fires a few rounds into the back of the heads of a few of the soldiers. "God is greatest," the Taliban yell.

Other fighters step up and take turns pumping bullets into the men, some wearing green military uniforms. Each time a soldier collapses, the man standing next to him is pulled in that direction by the handcuffs.

The Taliban and Pakistan's military, one of the largest in the world, have entered exploratory peace talks that raised hopes that their conflict, which has killed thousands of people, could ease, or even end one day.

But the talks have faltered, a senior Pakistani security official told Reuters, and the video -- copied to compact discs and distributed in street markets in areas near the porous border with Afghanistan -- is likely to enrage the army.

Formed in 2007, the TTP is an umbrella group of Pakistani militant factions operating in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Allied with the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda, it pledged to overthrow the Pakistani government after the military started operations against militant groups.

It is blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the country and has carried out audacious attacks, including one on army headquarters near the capital Islamabad in 2009.

After the shooting ends in the video, the Taliban militants stare at the bodies slumped over on the earth.

"If the killing of our friends is not stopped, this will be the fate of all infidel armies, God willing," says one militant.

Majeed Marwat, a commander of the Frontier Corps said morale among his men would always remain high despite such videos.

"Our soldiers enlist because they want to sacrifice for the country. We are taking care of the families of the martyred soldiers," he told Reuters. (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/wl_nm/us_pakistan_military_video

st. croix st. croix threadworm nick swisher pirates of silicon valley htc flyer tablet htc flyer tablet

Dual-earner families: Mum and Dad share the workload, Norwegian study suggests

ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2012) ? For the first time research is being carried out on the degree to which dual-earner families in Norway share paid and unpaid work. A great many couples distribute the total workload fairly evenly between them.

Ragni Hege Kitter?d and Trude Lappeg?rd, Ms Kitter?d has looked at the overall distribution of both domestic and professional work duties among women and men.

Based on a representative survey from 2007, their analysis encompasses professionally active women and men who have children between the ages of one and 12.

The participants were asked to indicate how they distributed household and maintenance chores and child-care duties, as well as how many hours per week they worked in their main occupation and any side occupations. If they worked overtime or brought work home with them, they were to include this in the last category.

Four types of families

The researchers developed a typology -- in other words, a summary of the types of dual-earner families found in Norway. The typology is based on how the couples allocate paid work and domestic duties between them. The researchers distinguish between four types of couples:

  • 25 per cent "Neo-Traditional" One-fourth of the couples were classified as "Neo-Traditional." According to Ms Kitter?d, in this group the mother often works part-time and assumes the main domestic responsibilities, whereas the father works full-time, and sometimes more, outside the home.
  • 34 per cent "Gender-Equal Light" In this group the mother works part-time or a normal full-time week. She usually has the main responsibility for the housework, but the couple often shares the child-care duties equally. The father works full-time, often more, outside the home.
  • 23 per cent "Generalised Gender Equal" In this group both the man and the woman work full-time, and some work even more, outside the home. The housework and child-care duties are shared fairly equally.
  • 18 per cent "Specialised Gender Equal" She works full-time, and sometimes more, outside the home. He works at least full-time. The mother works outside the home more than the father in only 10 per cent of the cases in the overall sample.

"In the last group we saw a general sharing of the housework and child-care duties, but the distribution was more specialised based on the type of task than in the other groups."

A common feature of all four groups was that it was the father who most often had the main responsibility for maintenance duties in the home.

40 per cent share equally The researchers concluded that roughly 40 per cent of the couples have a gender-equal relationship in that the mother and the father share both unpaid and paid work equally.

"This situation is most common when both, or perhaps just the mother, has a high level of education, when both have day jobs during regular work hours, and when the father works in the public sector," says Ms Kitter?d.

The Neo-Traditional couples often have a lower level of education. It is also common for couples to fall into this group if the mother has health problems and if one or both spouses work outside of regular, daytime work hours, such as a night shift or rotation schedule.

Overall, child-care duties are more evenly distributed than housework. Still, the father seldom performs the majority of these tasks. But more domestic duties on the part of the mother are counterbalanced by more professional work on the part of the father.

The project has received funding under the Programme for Welfare, Working Life and Migration (VAM) and the Programme for Gender Research at the Research Council of Norway.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Research Council of Norway, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120182922.htm

steve wynn lytro camera lytro camera st. louis cardinals gaddafi bodyguards gaddafi bodyguards muammar gaddafi

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Ticketmaster?s New Facebook App Recommends Concerts From Your Listening Activity

Facebook Ticketmaster RecommendationsOf all the new Open Graph apps launched tonight, Ticketmaster's new Facebook experience is the most impressive. Sure it can share that you've "bought" tickets, but lots of apps have similar publishing functionality. What makes Ticketmaster's app cool is that it pulls your Facebook profile's music app activity from services such as Spotify or Rdio, and recommends nearby concerts of artists you actually listen to, not just those you say you Like.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/voW18EYLLl8/

brian wilson freedom writers lemony snicket lemony snicket jim thome jim thome fun fun fun fest

A year later, Egypt activists seek more revolution

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 photo, a man stands next to an impromptu video presentation in the Zamalek neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, as part of the "Liars" campaign _ "Kazeboon" in Arabic. Hundreds of impromptu street shows highlighting military abuses have been put on around the country in past weeks, sometimes more than 10 a day. Egypt is nearing the first anniversary of the start of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and activists are trying to garner public support to reinvigorate the revolution, now to pressure the ruling military and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 photo, a man stands next to an impromptu video presentation in the Zamalek neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, as part of the "Liars" campaign _ "Kazeboon" in Arabic. Hundreds of impromptu street shows highlighting military abuses have been put on around the country in past weeks, sometimes more than 10 a day. Egypt is nearing the first anniversary of the start of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and activists are trying to garner public support to reinvigorate the revolution, now to pressure the ruling military and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 photo, Egyptians gather in the Zamalek neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, to watch videos of violations by Egyptian military as part of the "Liars" campaign _ "Kazeboon" in Arabic. Hundreds of impromptu street shows highlighting military abuses have been put on around the country in past weeks, sometimes more than 10 a day. Egypt is nearing the first anniversary of the start of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and activists are trying to garner public support to reinvigorate the revolution, now to pressure the ruling military and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A woman holds a placard that reads, in Arabic, "if it wasn't for the revolution, the National Democratic Party would still be there," during a protest in the Shubra neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, nearly a year after the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt is nearing the first anniversary of the start of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and activists are trying to garner public support to reinvigorate the revolution, now to pressure the ruling military and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 photo, Egyptian artists post an art piece made by Sad Panda, unseen, on a wall in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt is nearing the first anniversary of the start of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and activists are trying to garner public support to reinvigorate the revolution, now to pressure the ruling military and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

(AP) ? A crowd of anti-military activists suddenly converged on a bustling Cairo boulevard, erecting makeshift screens and showing videos of soldiers beating protesters, dragging women on the ground, partially stripping one and stomping on her chest. Their message: The generals ruling Egypt have to go.

The activists who led the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year have been holding hundreds of so-called flash mobs around the country, in a campaign they call "Liars." By showing people recent abuses by the military, they say they have injected new public support for their demand that the generals quickly surrender power.

But it also raises questions.

"What do they want?" one passer-by, Mohammed Ali, asked at one such gathering this week.

"Even if (the military) are liars... we are going to get power transferred to civilians in six months. That is not bad," the 30-year-old said. "It doesn't deserve all this noise. Let's wait and see."

Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the start of the 18-day wave of protests that toppled Mubarak. Activists are trying to turn public discontent over lack of change into support for continuing revolutionary protests. But they face the task of explaining to Egyptians who are sick of turmoil: Revolution for what?

The revolution's second year, the activists say, must pressure both the ruling military, which they maintain is as authoritarian as Mubarak, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which dominates the new parliament and which they fear is allying itself with the generals.

The anniversary shows the tensions. Each of the country's power brokers has its own plans to mark the day, underlining the stark differences over the very meaning of the revolution and raising the potential for a clash. State and pro-military media blare warnings that the protesters aim to "burn the country," raising concerns over a crackdown.

The activists are organizing new nationwide protests for the occasion. Thousands rallied in Tahrir Square on Friday, kicking off what they say will be several days of demonstrations, including Monday when parliament convenes and on the Wednesday anniversary.

The military has put together its own elaborate Jan. 25 celebrations, declaring the day a national holiday. It plans a nationwide air show, including flyovers by warplanes that it boasts will be bigger than those it holds for anniversaries of the 1952 coup that first brought the generals to the helm of Egyptian politics. Other planes will drop gift coupons to the public. Officers will be decorated for their role helping the anti-Mubarak protests.

The military's message is that it supported the anti-Mubarak uprising, but the time for revolution is over.

"Stability is the first goal," said Maj. General Ismail Etman, a member of the military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 fall. "If there is tension between the people and the armed forces, it must be removed ... We want the big family to enjoy love and stability."

For the activists and many others in Egypt, the army celebrations aim to co-opt their movement.

"We are not going down to celebrate, we are going to finish our revolution," activist Ahmed Imam said at a news conference by youth movements this week. "We will not celebrate while the blood of martyrs is shed without retribution. ... We will not celebrate, because they are liars."

Critics say the military is keeping the status quo with a slight reshuffle of the cards but with the same authoritarianism and abuses by security forces, if not worse. They point to almost 100 protesters killed in military crackdowns since Mubarak's fall, some run over by armored vehicles. Nearly 12,000 civilians have been tried by military tribunals, and female protesters have been subjected to humiliating "virginity tests."

They say the revolution's vision of "freedom, social justice and dignity" has been aborted in favor of an emerging ruling coalition between the Islamists and the military.

The difficulty for the activists is that a transition plan is in place, set by the generals and backed by the Brotherhood.

The military promises to transfer power to an elected civilian president by the end of June. Before that, a constitution is to be written by a committee chosen by the Islamist-controlled parliament while the generals are still in charge.

Brotherhood officials deny any alliance with the military. They say they want the army to step down, but maintain parliament not protests can ensure they do so. They warn protesters endanger the process by creating turmoil.

Ahmed Abou Baraka, a leading Brotherhood member, said the revolution against Mubarak aimed "to grant the people sovereignty and build a state based on the rule of law."

Protests must be "within the law and ...uphold the higher interests of the state," he said.

The "Liars" campaign ? "Kazeboon" in Arabic ? has been a new way for revolutionaries to reach out to a skeptical public.

Hundreds of impromptu street shows highlighting military abuses have been put on around the country in past weeks, sometimes more than 10 a day. The campaign has mobilized thousands of volunteers, a sign of the activists' increasing reach, said Rasha Azab, an organizer.

"Kazeboon is a bridge between the street and the square ... They are now seeing that Tahrir is no longer the only expression of the revolution," she said. "They cornered us in the square. Now there are 50 squares."

Many of the gatherings have been harassed by hecklers the activists believe are hired. At this week's flash mob in Cairo's Mohandessin district, young men tried to disrupt the show. One shouted that the screen and video projectors had to be packed up in five minutes. Across the street, another yelled, "Down with revolution."

Still, the activists' plan for the future remains hazy. They want the military to step aside, but are divided about whether it should hand executive powers to the parliament, a president or to a council of civilians.

Some fear handing power to the parliament would further strengthen the Brotherhood.

"We would replace a tyrant with no popularity and a corrupt majority, with a tyrant supported by religious legitimacy and an organized majority," said Abdel-Gelil el-Sharnoubi, a former Brotherhood member who since last year's revolution has become a fervent opponent.

Ahmed Maher, of the April 6 activist movement, counters that it is the best tactic to draw the Brotherhood away from the military.

"They are civilians. We will argue with them, negotiate, fight, whatever," said Maher. "But with the military council, they will drive over us with armored vehicles."

Despite disagreements, the activists' main intention remains to use street pressure for the long haul.

"It is hard ... (but) we are creating a new country, we are creating the future," said Lobna Darwish, an activist with Mosireen, a media collective that produces most Kazeboon videos. "It is not even a choice ? when you see people die ... you feel this is a commitment to go on."

At the Kazeboon rally, Mostafa Abou-el-Wafa parked his motorcycle and joined the crowd. He intends to attend the activists' anniversary rallies, his first ever protest.

Nothing has changed under the military, the 26-year-old delivery man said, pointing to a recent bribe he had to pay to get his motorcycle licensed.

"The military council has no shame," he said. "I will go with what these people are saying."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-20-ML-Egypt-Revolution's-Second-Year/id-1a92bdcf769c4ba598cb1c592553d594

gifts for mom pepper spray storage auctions storage auctions les miles les miles beyonce dance for you video

Friday, January 20, 2012

Adzuna Raises New Funding To Make Job Ads Fully Social

117410v2-max-250x250Adzuna, a startup with something it calls the next-generation job search engine, has raised a round of funding from Index Ventures, The Accelerator Group and existing investors including Passion Capital. The latest funding follows a seed round last year. It's landed ?500,000, taking its total funding to ?800,000 (?300,000 from Passion Capital in July). Launched in July 2011, Adzuna is aiming to be a global search engine for classified job ads, effectively aggregating ads, then putting a social layer over them. Yes, I know similar things have been tried before but here's how they'll do it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/nOU5pGDFPZU/

rally squirrel rally squirrel scumbag steve scumbag steve day of the dead rocksmith blackbeard

Snowfall totals scaled back in Seattle, up for other areas (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Seattle residents bracing for an epic storm on Wednesday may now only see up to 6 inches of snowfall while towns in the southwest interior of Washington were likely to be slammed with more than a foot of snow, forecasters said.

In the greater Seattle area about 1 to 2 inches of snow dusted the ground in the early morning hours with about 3 to 6 inches expected, down from forecasts of up to 10 inches, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dustin Guy.

Seattle typically averages just six to seven inches of snow each year.

Toward the southwest interior of the state, however, residents were preparing for up to 20 inches of snow, he said, with reports of 12 to 15 inches already on the ground in an eight hour period just south of the capital city of Olympia.

"For western Washington, those are pretty extreme numbers," Guy said.

State agencies were prepared early to monitor the developing weather situation as dozens of school districts around Seattle closed for the day and transportation snarled.

Air travel was expected to be disrupted throughout the day, with Alaska Airlines already cancelling 38 west coast flights into and out of Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Southwest and JetBlue airlines also urged passengers to check with carriers before traveling to the region.

The brunt of the snowstorm was expected through the early afternoon, tapering off into the evening, NWS said. By Thursday forecasters expected to see a gradual warming trend followed by rain.

"That will help to melt the snow but it will also create a very messy situation," said NWS meteorologist Guy.

(Reporting By Lauren Keiper, additional reporting by Laura Myers in Washington. Editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_snowstorm_northwest

nascar news emmys 2011 emmys 2011 emmy nominations 2011 knowshon moreno knowshon moreno dennis hopper

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Recession slows growth in public prekindergarten (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren't going to preschool.

Kids from low-income families who start kindergarten without first attending a quality education program enter school an estimated 18 months behind their peers. Many never catch up, and research shows they are more likely to need special education services and to drop out. Kids in families with higher incomes also can benefit from early education, research shows.

Yet, roughly a quarter of the nation's 4-year-olds and more than half of 3-year-olds attend no preschool, either public or private. Families who earn about $40,000 to $50,000 annually face the greatest difficulties because they make too much to quality for many publicly funded programs, but can't afford private ones, said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

And as more students qualify for free or reduced lunch ? often a qualifier to get into a state-funded prekindergarten program ? many families are finding that slots simply aren't available, he said.

In Arizona, a block grant that funded prekindergarten for a small percentage of kids was cut altogether, although a separate public fund still supports some programs. In Georgia, a drop in state lottery dollars meant shaving 20 days off the prekindergarten school year. Proposed cuts in such programs have led to litigation in North Carolina and legislative battles in places like Iowa.

But even in states like New York, where state funding available for prekindergarten has remained relatively steady in recent years, fewer children have access to the programs because inflation has made them more expensive or districts can't come up with the required matching dollars, said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education in Albany, N.Y.

Today's climate contrasts with that of 2007, when then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer promised universal, public prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Other governors made similar commitments when the economy was stronger.

Far from meeting Spitzer's goal, just 40 percent of 4-year-olds attend a state-funded prekindergarten program in about two-thirds of the state's school districts, according to the advocacy group Winning Beginning NY.

"I think it's a moment in time when we have to really push harder," Easton said. "Pre-K is proven to be the most effective education strategy that we can invest in. What it means is that because we failed to live up to our commitment so far to our youngest children, more of them will end up out of work or they will make less money than they would've otherwise and more of them will end up in prison."

Barnett's institute has estimated it would cost about $70 billion annually to provide full-day prekindergarten to every 3- and 4-year old in America, including before- and after-care services.

About 40 states fund prekindergarten programs, typically either in public schools or via funds paid to private grantees, for at least some children. That's in addition to the federal Head Start program, which is designed to serve extremely poor children and offers a broader range of social services. In some places, state-funded prekindergarten and Head Start programs are combined.

Typically, state-funded prekindergarten programs have a narrower focus on education and cognitive development and serve a broader population than the federal Head Start program, which serves nearly 1 million kids.

In Wisconsin, school districts that offer prekindergarten to 4-year-olds must offer it universally, and roughly 90 percent of districts do. But budget cuts mean districts are forced to make other changes like increasing the size of pre-K classes.

"Unfortunately, as the awareness and the need (for early learning) becomes more and more evident, our money gets tighter and tighter and tighter and more programs are not instituted in those areas," said Miles Turner, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.

Three states offer prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds, according to Pre-K Now, a decade-long project of the Pew Center on the States.

The District of Columbia goes a step further, with universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. The program is viewed by many as not just a way to help low-income children in the historically low-performing district, but also as a driver to keep middle- and upper-class families in the city and the school system.

At D.C.'s Powell Elementary School, 3- and 4-year-olds sit cross-legged with whiteboards and black markers in hand as teacher Laura Amling belts out, "Up, down, up, down" over classical music. The tots scribble marks similar to an "M" at her command.

This program is not child care. The schedule is filled with Spanish and other lessons, including "buddy reading," with kids describing books to one another.

The kids eat breakfast and lunch family style, so they learn proper etiquette. Songs are sung as the children move to activities to help curb behavior problems. Teachers teach children coping skills and make home visits to bond with parents and children.

While it's too early to know the long-term impact, Principal Janeece Docal says kindergarteners with a pre-K background are writing sentences and discussing books with 3rd-grade level content.

"They trust their teachers. They love their friends," Docal said. "They are invested in their education and you can see that they own that classroom."

Over the past decade, state dollars for prekindergarten more than doubled nationally to $5.1 billion, while at the same time access increased from a little more than 700,000 children to more than 1 million, according to Pre-K Now.

But cuts in state-funded programs began showing up in the 2009-10 school year, according to Barnett's group. He said he's concerned not just that fewer children will be served, but that the quality of the programs will also be affected.

Still, early childhood learning advocates say they are encouraged, in part, because of a recent federal emphasis on improving early childhood programs.

Nine states were awarded a collective $500 million in grants last month to improve access to and the quality of early childhood programs for kids from birth to age 5. A month earlier, President Barack Obama announced new rules under which lower-performing Head Start programs will have to compete for funding.

Not everyone is convinced it's worth the cost.

Chester E. Finn Jr., president of Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, said the government should tightly target its resources on families who really need the prekindergarten programs and otherwise aren't going to get them.

Finn, who has written a book about preschool policy, said Obama's effort on Head Start is a beginning, but more needs to be done. Finn also questioned whether the government was capable of funding universal prekindergarten at a quality level.

"What the universal programs do is they provide an unnecessary windfall for a lot of families that are otherwise doing this on their own just fine, or pretty well, and not enough for kids who really need it," Finn said.

Richard M. Clifford, senior scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said other developed countries ? including much of Europe ? provide prekindergarten programs.

"Kids come into the regular school better prepared to succeed in school," Clifford said. "In the long term, eventually, I think you'll see all 4-year-olds be eligible for pre-K in this country, but it will take a long time."

___

Online:

Alliance for Quality Education: http://www.aqeny.org

FPG Child Development Institute: http://www.fpg.unc.edu

Head Start: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs

National Institute for Early Education Research: http://nieer.org

Pre-K Now: http://www.preknow.org

Thomas B. Fordham Institute: http://www.edexcellence.net

___

Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_go_ot/us_prekindergarten_cuts

jack del rio fired made in america made in america icam patrice o neal. osteopathy osteopathy