Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/155655028?client_source=feed&format=rss
wanda sykes napoleon dynamite bristol palin bethenny frankel morgan freeman orlando brown orlando brown
সোমবার, ৩১ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Philly seeks to prove pattern of pedophile priests (AP)
PHILADELPHIA ? Prosecutors seeking to convict four Roman Catholic priests and a teacher in a pedophilia case want to use evidence of other sexual assault complaints and priest transfers in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
They filed a motion Friday to include relevant conduct at the high-profile trial, which is scheduled for March.
Monsignor William Lynn, 60, is the first U.S. church official charged with child endangerment and accused of transferring predator priests who then abused more victims. Two priests, an ex-priest and a teacher are charged in the same case with raping two boys.
Prosecutors hope to show that Lynn had a pattern of transferring known predators and that priests "had the opportunity and cover" to abuse minors.
They also want to show the jury broad evidence of the archdiocese's handling of sex-abuse complaints, to try to prove the complaints were ignored, enabling predators and exposing them to new victims.
"The Commonwealth needs the `other acts' evidence to make out core elements of the crimes charged: Lynn's knowledge, and the intent he shared with his supervisors and with accused priests, are established by the patterns evident in his extensive history of handling priests who sexually assaulted children," city prosecutors wrote in a pretrial motion filed Friday.
Defense lawyers have a month to file their response and cannot comment on the filing because of a gag order.
They have sought, unsuccessfully, to separate the rape charges from the case against Lynn, who is charged solely for his administrative actions as secretary for clergy.
Lynn's lawyers say their client was acting on orders from Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, whom he served from 1992 to 2004.
In another key pretrial issue, prosecutors are seeking to preserve Bevilacqua's testimony before trial. However, the archdiocese argues that the retired cardinal, at 92, suffers from cancer and dementia and should not be dragged into court.
Lynn's lawyers will clearly try to limit the scope of the trial testimony to job transfers involving the three priests on trial with him. They are the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, 64, the Rev. James Brennan, 48, and former priest Edward Avery, 69, along with former teacher Bernard Shero, 48. All of them have denied the charges.
A 2005 grand jury report details sexual assault complaints filed against 63 priests over several decades, many of whom were transferred repeatedly. Lynn features prominently in the report. His lawyers have argued, in part, that Lynn never supervised children and cannot therefore be charged with endangering them.
Lynn's motion to limit the trial evidence will be argued in December or January.
Three of the defendants are accused of raping the same child, starting when the victim was a 10-year-old altar boy in northeast Philadelphia, according to a February grand jury report underlying the charges. The fourth co-defendant is charged with raping a second boy from a suburban parish.
9 9 9 delmon young sprint chris tucker phoenix jones zuccotti park danielle chiesi
রবিবার, ৩০ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
NYSE price mix-up causes headaches (AP)
A technical glitch caused NYSE Euronext to release incorrect price information on more than 1,000 stocks and other securities late Thursday.
The error resulted in some online sites showing closing prices for some securities that were actually based on trades that had occurred in electronic trading after markets had closed.
The problem started at 7:27 p.m. Thursday when NYSE's Arca platform sent incorrectly coded share price information.
An e-mail sent to traders on Friday said the problem involved prices from aftermarket trades on Thursday that were incorrectly coded as if they had happened during regular trading that day. The e-mail says the mix-up affected the closing price in some shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange as well as its Arca platform.
The mix-up confused some investors. The share price for Precision Castparts Corp. showed a decline of as much as 9.6 percent on Friday, but that was based on an incorrect comparison to the after-hours price. In reality, its shares were down less than 3 percent from Thursday's close.
"`Not fun' would be a good description of my entire morning," the company's communications director, Dwight E. Weber, said.
The error affected some stocks, exchange-traded funds, and mutual funds that started with the letters A though T. Symbols starting with U through Z were not affected.
NYSE spokesman Rich Adamonis said more than 1,000 ticker symbols were effected. He said the mix-up is still being investigated.
In the case of Precision Castparts, the erroneous price showed up as an artificially high closing trade ? exaggerating the shares' decline on Friday. On Friday it closed at $161.92, down 2.7 percent from their correct Thursday close of $166.48.
Some websites were still showing the wrong Thursday closing price for Precision Castparts on Friday afternoon. Adonis said websites have to manually update their databases with the corrected closing prices.
About 8,000 issues trade on NYSE Euronext stock exchanges, according to the company.
The foul-up didn't have much effect on professional traders.
"As somebody who trades on the floor for a living, it hasn't generated much attention," said Gordon Charlot, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities, from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
___
AP Business Writer Matthew Craft in New York contributed to this report.
alec baldwin erin brockovich prius c crocodile dundee crocodile dundee sharjah sharjah
Change in succession rule may help girls to throne (AP)
LONDON ? First came love, then came marriage. But what if ? someday ? it's a girl in Kate Middleton's baby carriage?
If she's the royal couple's eldest child, new rules could push the princess to a prime place in history: the first girl to accede to the throne and beat out any younger brothers.
The Commonwealth countries agreed Friday to change centuries-old rules of succession that put male heirs on the throne ahead of any older sisters, following nations such as Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway that have scrapped male primogeniture.
The move is a baby step ? the changes must still be approved by the legislatures of the 16 nations where she is head of state before they could take effect ? but is seen as a triumph over outdated, sexist practices.
April's lavish wedding of Prince William and Middleton ? now known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ? renewed a decades-long debate over succession.
Middleton has rarely spoken about her plans for married life, but she did tell a well-wisher in Canada this summer that she hopes to start a family. William has said the same.
Once her honeymoon was over, baby talk started, adding urgency to the dialogue, although officials insist that talk of a pregnancy is premature.
Historians think it's about time the rules of the monarchy caught up with the times.
"You shouldn't muck around too much with the constitution, but it's a good idea to change this at this time," said royal expert Hugo Vickers. "It's much better to have it sorted out before any babies come along."
The thorny issue of changing succession rules has been an on-and-off topic in Britain, but has never been resolved.
The review started before William married commoner Kate Middleton in April.
William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, who is the queen's first-born child. Charles' sister Anne is lower in the line of succession than her younger brothers Andrew and Edward by virtue of their male gender.
Charles, in turn, had only sons, William and Prince Harry, so the issue of gender was never raised.
The new rules would only apply to future heirs and would have no impact on the current line to the throne.
In 2009, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government considered a bill that would end the custom of putting males ahead of females in the succession line, as well as lift a ban on British monarchs marrying Roman Catholics. The government did not have time to pursue it before Brown's left office.
The rule has excluded women from succeeding to the throne in the past. Queen Victoria's first child was a daughter ? also called Victoria ? but it was her younger brother who succeeded to the throne, as King Edward VII.
But Prince William and his wife have been credited with freshening up a staid monarchy, and new succession rules will bring the royals more in line with modern mores in the 21st century.
"In this day and age, why should a royal son be more important than a royal daughter?" said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, following the announcement of the agreement reached Friday in Perth, Australia, at a meeting of Commonwealth nations.
The same goes for the decision there to lift a ban on monarchs marrying Roman Catholics ? which critics say is blatant discrimination since royals have free rein to wed Jews, Muslims, Hindus or members of any other religion.
"Britain is no longer the religious country that it once was," Little said. "While not denigrating the importance of religion, it plays much less of a role now then it did 60 years ago."
Still, some Britons remain wary of a Catholic monarch, like 73-year-old Anna Marsh.
"The pope is responsible for some horrors," she pointed out while on a break from cycling in London.
But her biking buddy Jill Gregory, 71, said she was fine with the idea ? and also fully in favor of giving first-born females an equal right to the throne.
"In terms of ability, I don't think women are any different than men," Gregory said, pointing to Elizabeth II and her mother as examples.
Elizabeth II succeeded her father, King George VI, because he had no sons. If she had had a brother, however much younger he was, he would have jumped above her in the line of succession.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron had pushed the changes regardless of the difficulties or complexities in effecting them as he prepared for the Commonwealth meeting.
"We need to get on and do it," he said, calling it a matter of equality.
Now that the changes are agreed, New Zealand will chair a working group of Commonwealth countries to discuss how to accomplish the reforms set out Friday.
The 16 nations will need to begin their own individual legislative processes. In the U.K., that means passing and amending several pieces of legislation.
It's not a simple process ? the complexity of getting all of the countries to begin legislative processes is what has held up these changes for decades in Britain and kept the debate from gathering full steam in the past.
However long it takes, Londoner Patricia Wager, 71, said changing the rules would clear up something that in the modern world should not still be an issue.
"It's a good idea, and a long time coming," she said.
_____________
Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.
much ado about nothing sean hayes ndamukong suh ndamukong suh caroline manzo caroline manzo the haunting in connecticut
শনিবার, ২৯ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Economy grew 2.5 pct. in Q3 as consumers rebound (AP)
WASHINGTON ? A summer of modest economic growth is helping dispel lingering fears that another recession might be near. Whether the strength can be sustained, though, is far from clear.
Buoyed by a resurgent consumer and strong business investment, the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the government said Thursday.
The expansion, the strongest quarterly growth in a year, came as a relief after anemic growth in the first half of the year and weeks of wild stock market shifts.
The economy must grow at nearly double the third-quarter pace to lower high unemployment, which has been near 9 percent for the more than two years since the recession officially ended.
And though consumer spending was triple the level of the second quarter, Americans earned less, on an inflation-adjusted basis, in the July-September period. That meant that many people financed their spending binges by cutting back on savings. Few economists think that can continue.
Economists believe that growth in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, will be restrained until incomes start growing at healthier levels. That is unlikely until hiring picks up.
Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, predicts that growth will cool off in the fourth quarter and next year.
Nonetheless, the report on U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, sketched a more optimistic picture for an economy that only two months ago seemed destined for another recession.
And it was delivered on the same day that European leaders announced a deal in which banks would take 50 percent losses on Greek debt and raise new capital to protect against defaults on sovereign debt.
Stocks surged on the European deal and maintained their gains after the report on U.S. growth was released.
"This has been a morning of encouraging news," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist for BMO Capital Markets. "The fourth quarter may see some pullback in U.S. economic growth ... but the positive details underlying the GDP report should help ease fears of a U.S. recession..somewhat."
Consumers helped drive much of the growth. They spent at an annual rate of 2.4 percent. Many bought more furniture and clothing.
And spending on services rose 3 percent, the most in more than five years. Much of the gain was due to consumers paying more for health care and to cool their homes during an unseasonably hot summer.
Still, after-tax incomes adjusted for inflation fell at a rate of 1.7 percent in the summer. It was the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2009 ? just as the recession was ending.
Businesses also helped boost third-quarter growth by stepping up their investment in equipment and software. That category surged 17.4 percent ? nearly three times the rate from spring. They also invested more in building, a sign that some businesses could be expanding despite the sluggish economy.
The GDP report measures the country's total output of goods and services. It covers everything from bicycles to battleships, as well as services such as haircuts and doctor's visits.
In August, many feared the economy was destined for another recession after the government said growth fell to less than 1 percent for the first six months of the year.
High gas prices, the growing debt crisis in Europe and wild fluctuations in the stock market also contributed to those fears, which have receded in recent weeks after reports showed improvements in hiring and consumer spending.
Economists project an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent to 3 percent for the October-December quarter and for all of next year ? just enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
For the 14 million people who are out of work and want jobs, that's discouraging news. And it's an ominous sign for President Barack Obama, who will be facing voters next fall.
There have been some encouraging signs.
A measure of business investment plans rose in September for the second straight month and by the most in six months, according to a government report Wednesday on orders for longer-lasting manufactured goods.
And consumers stepped up their spending on retail goods in both July and September. The main reason for the September gain was more people bought new cars, a purchase people typically make when they are confident in their finances.
Economists warned that even their modest assessment of growth of around 2.7 percent for next year will fall short if the European debt crisis isn't resolved. And the outlook could dim further if U.S. lawmakers allow a Social Security tax cut and extended unemployment benefits to expire at the end of this year.
cough new facebook layout new facebook layout yalta dancing with the stars results ron artest hpq
শুক্রবার, ২৮ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Officials: Twin bombs kill 18 in Baghdad (AP)
BAGHDAD ? A twin bombing killed 18 people Thursday in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad ? the deadliest attack to rock Iraq since President Barack Obama declared the full withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of the year.
Two police officials said the first explosion, at a music store shortly after 7 p.m., killed two people. The second bomb struck four minutes later, as rescue workers and others rushed to the scene, the officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Thirty-six people were wounded in the attack, according to a medic at Imam Hussein hospital.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Many Iraqis fear violence will increase when the U.S. troops leave the country, and insurgents have for months sought to exploit continued instability and security gaps that Iraqi forces have been unable to close.
"I stood outside my shop and saw burning cars and dead bodies on the ground," said Ahmed Jalil, 27, who owns a grocery near the attack site in Ur, a Shiite neighborhood in northeast Baghdad. "The situation was miserable, and I could see wounded people being loaded on police pickups," he said.
"Today's attack proves that the government's allegations that the security is under control are nothing but baseless allegations and that the tens of checkpoints scattered all over the capital are useless and a waste of resources," Jalil said.
Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq since just a few years ago, when sectarian violence brought the nation to the brink of civil war. But deadly bombings and attacks still happen nearly every day, although death tolls are usually relatively low.
American troops have all but ended street patrols in Iraq ? a stark turnabout to 2006 and 2007, when widespread sectarian violence required their participation at the heart of the battle.
Iraqi security forces still rely heavily on the American military for intelligence, air support and surveillance. Also, U.S. special forces continue to assist Iraqis in targeting insurgents and other extremist groups.
There are currently 39,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The Dec. 31 deadline is part of a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington that was negotiated by the administration of then-President George W. Bush, a Republican.
Obama, a Democrat, pledged to end the war on time shortly after he took office in 2009. But over the last year, his administration considered leaving thousands of troops in Iraq beyond 2011 to help maintain security and curb growing Iranian political influence in Baghdad.
Iraqi and U.S. officials failed to come up with an agreement to protect the remaining American military force from legal prosecution ? a deal-breaker for Washington.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the largest American diplomatic mission in the world, and it has hired more than 700 contractors to continue training Iraqi security forces. Also, an estimated 5,000 private security contractors will be brought in to protect the embassy and U.S. diplomatic posts around Iraq.
Still, experts note, that falls far short of some proposals floated by the Pentagon that called for as many as 16,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond the December deadline.
Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the White House had little choice but to withdraw the troops if the Iraqi government refused to meet their conditions.
However, Cordesman said, "There also is little doubt that the withdrawal of all combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2011 will increase the risk of failure."
___
Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes contributed to this report.
zack greinke zack greinke siri san diego news ford evos ford evos ides of march
Business Advice From Drug Dealers | Investing Featured ...
article_investing
- |
?Cart?(0) -
MARKETS
INVESTING
SPECIAL FEATURES
VIDEO- Hoofy & Boo
- Pop Biz
- T3 Live
- Todd Harrison TV
- Specials
BLOGS
PRODUCTS
- Buzz And Banter
- Gary K's Equity Trading Setups
- Housing Market Report
- TechStrat Report
- The Stock Playbook
- MPTrader ETF Diary
- Cooper's Market Report
- Active Investor
- OptionSmith
- Ad Free Minyanville
- Minyanville Book Store
BUZZ & BANTER
sharjah sharjah observe and report observe and report auburn football auburn football miami hurricanes
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৭ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Libya gives Gaddafi inglorious secret burial (Reuters)
TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mo'tassim were buried in a secret desert location on Tuesday, five days after the deposed Libyan leader was captured, killed and put on grisly public display.
The saga has made Western allies of Libya's interim leadership queasy about the prospects for the rule of law and stable government in the post-Gaddafi era.
"He (Gaddafi) has just been buried now in the desert along with his son," National Transitional Council (NTC) commander Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters by telephone.
Gaddafi's cleric, Khaled Tantoush, who was captured with him, prayed over the rotting bodies before they were taken from the compound in the coastal city of Misrata, where they had been on show, and handed to two NTC loyalists for burial, he said.
The NTC had disquieted many outsiders by displaying the corpses in a meat locker in the fiercely anti-Gaddafi city of Misrata until their decay forced them on Monday to call a halt.
Under pressure from Western allies, the NTC promised the same day to investigate how Gaddafi and his son were killed. Mobile phone footage shows both alive after their capture. The former Libyan leader was seen being mocked, beaten and abused before he was shot, in what NTC officials say was crossfire.
"I laughed when I saw him being beaten as he deserved to be. And I laugh again now that I know he is in the ground," said Emani Zaid, 20, a student in Tripoli. "If the men who buried him are true free Libyans, they can keep the secret (of his grave)."
Determined to prevent Gaddafi's grave from becoming a shrine for his supporters, the NTC wants to keep its location secret, refusing custody to his tribe, many of whom live in Sirte.
The prayers for the dead were attended by two of Gaddafi's cousins, Mansour Dhao Ibrahim, once leader of the feared People's Guard, and Ahmed Ibrahim. Both were captured with him after a NATO air strike hit a convoy of vehicles trying to break out of Sirte, the ousted leader's home town, just after it fell.
"The NTC officials were handed the body after the sheikh completed the early morning ceremony and are taking him somewhere very far away into the desert," Mlegta said.
"THROW HIM IN A HOLE"
For Ali Azzarog, 47, an engineer, it was good riddance.
"Throw him in a hole, in the sea, in garbage. No matter. He is lower than a donkey or a dog and only foreigners say they care about how we killed him. And they are lying," he said.
Mohammed al-Sharif, a 22-year-old describing himself as an aspiring writer, said: "Let the dust of the desert sweep over the hole where he was buried ... Then the name 'Muammar' can be forgotten and our children will never know of this time."
Libyans rose up against Gaddafi's 42-year rule in February, defying a violent response that was parried by NATO air power under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians.
The 69-year-old strongman's death ended eight months of war that had dragged on in Sirte and elsewhere even after the NTC's ragtag militias captured the capital, Tripoli, in August.
Hatred of Gaddafi unified his disparate opponents, who may now tussle for power during a planned transition to democracy in a broken nation with regional and tribal rivalries to overcome.
"Leaders from different regions, cities, want to negotiate over everything -- posts in government, budgets for cities, dissolving militias," said one senior NTC official in Tripoli, though he defended this as a healthy expression of freedom.
BARGAINING CHIP
At times, Gaddafi's body appeared to have become a macabre bargaining chip for Misrata, which endured a pitiless war-time siege, and whose leaders now demand a big say in the new Libya.
Fears that Gaddafi's sons might wage an Iraq-style insurgency have faded since the deaths of Mo'tasssim and his brother Khamis, a military commander, who was killed earlier.
But well-armed fighters encountered in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, which fell to the NTC this month, told Reuters they were planning to keep up their struggle.
Abuses apparently committed by both sides in the civil war may also impede reconciliation. New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the NTC on Monday to probe an "apparent mass execution" of 53 people, apparently Gaddafi loyalists, whom it found dead, some with their hands bound, at a Sirte hotel.
In Tripoli, a 33-year-old waiter, who said he was too scared to give his name, praised what he said was Gaddafi's courage.
"If you say Gaddafi died like a coward, you are wrong. He died proud like a lion. He said he would never leave Libya and he did not leave. Fight, fight, fight. I was not a Gaddafi supporter before this revolution but when I saw his bravery, I knew he was the only man for Libya," he said.
One of Gaddafi's sons, the enigmatic Saif al-Islam, remains on the run. Once viewed as a moderate reformer, Saif vowed to help his father crush his enemies once the Libyan revolt began.
An NTC official said Saif al-Islam had a false passport and was in the remote southern desert near Niger and Algeria and was set to flee Libya, with the NTC powerless to stop him.
He said Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi who, like Saif al-Islam, is wanted by the International Criminal Court, was involved in the escape plan.
"The region is very difficult to monitor and encircle," the official said of Saif al-Islam's purported whereabouts.
Gaddafi's death allowed the NTC to declare Libya's "liberation" on Sunday in Benghazi, the seat of the revolt.
NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil also announced that Libya had "taken Islamic sharia as the source of legislation", raising concerns about the country's future direction.
Many rejoicing Libyans brushed off unease among human rights groups and Western capitals about the manner of Gaddafi's death.
Until the public was finally denied access on Monday, fighters were still ushering sightseers into the chilled room where the bodies of Gaddafi, Mo'tassim and his former army chief were sprawled, their flesh darkening and leaking fluids.
The U.N. human rights arm has joined the Gaddafi family in seeking an inquiry into his killing. The NTC promised one on Monday, saying most Libyans had hoped to see Gaddafi on trial.
Some Libyans are also uncomfortable at the way Gaddafi had been killed and his body treated.
"I regret it, really," said lawyer Sawani Ghanem, 30, adding that Gaddafi had tainted Libya as a land of terrorists.
"We should have tried to show the world we could be more humane and aspire for change."
(Reporting by Taha Zargoun in Sirte, Barry Malone and Jessica Donati in Tripoli, Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor in Misrata, Christian Lowe, Jon Hemming and Andrew Hammond in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Samia Nakhoul in Dubai and Matt Falloon in London; Writing by Alistair Lyon)
progeria watch free movies online watch free movies online montreal canadiens montreal canadiens jason aldean new york time
বুধবার, ২৬ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Six Tools to Carry Out a Successfully Spooky Ghost Hunt [Toolkit]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3m5AnPBsbRE/
soa hydrangea hydrangea latin pj harvey sons of anarchy season 3 hydrangeas
মঙ্গলবার, ২৫ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Jobs Bill -- Reply to 'We Can't Wait' Should Be 'Yes We Can' (ContributorNetwork)
COMMENTARY | As a former political consultant, I have to shake my head at how President Barack Obama continues his attempt to pressure Congress into passing a jobs bill that Republicans and many Democrats do not agree with. His new technique of going around the country repeating the words "We Can't Wait" continues to support the idea the president has no clue how to fix the problems he promised he would take care of. His plan of borrowing and throwing money at a problem with the hope that it will go away does not work.
Soon after taking office, we were given the stimulus package. Essentially, he borrowed money and squandered it on programs that never got off the ground. Instead of reducing unemployment, unemployment went up and so did the debt. When unemployment continued to be a problem, he borrowed more money and gave more weeks of unemployment to those that had run out. Instead of trying to find viable and cost-effective fixes for the health care crisis, he threw borrowed money at the issue and gave us Obamacare.
Out of the three points of legislation, the only one that made a measurable difference was the unemployment extension. The other two were meant to create jobs, and all of us are still waiting to see when that will happen. I find it interesting how President Obama mirrors the actions of many that drowned at the beginning of the downturn.
They borrowed money to pay a certain bill, then they had to borrow more to pay the second. This continued in a vicious cycle until bankruptcy. Now we are seeing this issue on a national level. How many more federal credit scores have to be lowered until the president gets the picture?
I understand President Obama could not get these bills passed on his own. These three points of legislation went through Congress and were eventually passed. Now, though, the Republicans are taking heat from the president, his administration and many in the media for not passing the current jobs bill.
Why should they pass it? When you look over the president's track record, all you are going to see is a history of stumbling over hurdles. All you are going to see is a president who throws money at problems. When he says "We Can't Wait," Congress should reply "Yes We Can."
when is daylight savings time 2011 when is daylight savings time 2011 renaissance festival melanie iglesias catherine tate clemson andy rooney
রবিবার, ২৩ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
15 Classic Braun Gadgets that Inspired Apple [Design]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/zo_MfmrwxTA/
bob hope mariano rivera mariano rivera anderson cooper dadt repeal comedy central roast neal schon
শনিবার, ২২ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Zoologger: Female monkeys indulge in synchronised sex
Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals ? and occasionally other organisms ? from around the world
Species: Macaca assamensis
Habitat: dense forests of south-east Asia, doing what their neighbours do
Supposedly, if women live together their hormonal cycles start to synchronise, thanks to a pheromone. If that were true it would mean that they all have their period simultaneously. Just think about it.
This "menstrual synchrony" argument was first reported in 1971 by psychologist Martha McClintock, who noticed signs of it in her own college dorm. But it may not really exist. Studies have had mixed results, often reporting no synchrony at all.
Assamese macaques, however, have evolved an unmistakable kind of synchrony: they all have sex at the same time.
Monkey business
Assamese macaques live in troupes of a few dozen, including about a dozen adults of each sex, plus offspring. Although there are strong social bonds within the troupes, they are dominated by the males, who compete vigorously to mate with the females. The mating season runs from October to January, and the males become increasingly aggressive as it goes on.
The males do show some solidarity. If a female attacks a male, other males will rally to his defence. But it is the females who form close friendships with each other, while males are only loosely allied with their fellows.
The females also have ways of resisting the males' control of the troupes, says Ines F?rtbauer of the University of G?ttingen in Germany. For one thing, like human females, they do not show external signs of fertility, so males have no way of knowing whether the female they are mating with is actually able to conceive. The females mate throughout their cycles, further confusing the issue.
As a result, the dominant males can't monopolise fertile females. Instead each female mostly mates with her preferred male, regardless of how high-ranking he is ? although she will mate with every male at some point.
This suggests that the females are trying to keep all the males friendly. Not knowing who fathered which baby, the males ought to refrain from killing young. In fact, F?rtbauer says, the young spend most of their time being cared for by the males.
Synchronised sex
It's easier for a female to keep the males onside if she mates with all of them, but the dominant males will try to monopolise her. To find out how the females get around this problem, F?rtbauer and colleagues monitored a troupe of wild Assamese macaques in Thailand over two mating seasons.
As well as monitoring their behaviour, they took samples of their dung: the hormone levels in it told the researchers where each female was in her cycle. There was no sign of the females synchronising their hormonal cycles, but they did synchronise their sexual receptiveness.
On a given day, each female was more likely to mate if other females were mating. Spoilt for choice, the alpha male could only mate with some of them, ensuring that the other females could mate with someone else.
F?rtbauer thinks the females are working together to thwart the dominant males, ensuring that each female can sleep around without getting punished for it.
Journal reference: PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026144
Read previous Zoologger columns: The toad that's part clone, part love child, The first reptile with a true placenta, The fearsome jaws of a mini movie monster
, Stealth millipede wears living camouflage, Dozy hamsters reverse the ageing process, World's nicest bird murders chicks, Architect mouse builds a food mansion, The amphibious fish that mates with itself, The world's smartest insect, The most athletic ape in the canopy, The monkey that really gets brotherly love, Bullied boobies develop brain of a bully.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
Subscribe now to comment.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
9 9 9 plan hell on wheels hell on wheels caroline manzo caroline manzo dina manzo dina manzo
Tunisia rivals stake positions in election rallies (Reuters)
TUNIS (Reuters) ? The main contenders in Tunisia's first free election after the fall of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali held final campaign rallies on Friday, with both Islamists and their secular opponents claiming they would protect women and represent modernity.
Tunisians will vote to create a constituent assembly charged with writing a new constitution and forming a new interim government before parliamentary and presidential elections expected next year.
The once-banned Islamist Ennahda party -- whose name means "renaissance" -- is seen as the front runner in the first such vote after Tunisians in January set off a wave of Arab uprisings when they ousted a man whose 23 years in power was based on rigged elections and security policies.
"The Ennahda supporter is moderate and peaceful, Muslim and contemporary. He wants to live in this age but wants to live with dignity and as a Muslim in this life," Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi told a gathering of thousands at an open-air sports stadium in a low-income suburb of Tunis.
"They said Islam is the enemy of democracy, women, arts and creativity, but we will increase women's rights. Tunisia is safe in your hands, you are the protectors of the revolution."
"The people want renaissance again!" the crowd chanted, repeating one of the key slogans of a slick campaign that reflects Ennahda's desire to present itself as a modern Islamist party in the mold of Turkey's Justice and Development Party.
Banned under Ben Ali, the party has been at pains to allay fears of secularists and Western countries that it would roll back women's rights.
Many women at the event were not wearing the Muslim headscarf that most Islamist movements in the Arab world say women should wear. They included Suad Abdel-Rahim, a tall, glamorous Ennahda candidate who addressed the rally.
"Ennahda isn't just a political party, it's the renewal of Tunisia via this party. The renewal of Tunisia is not possible without Ennahda. I'm proud to be on their list," she said, adding Ennahda would demand the education ministry to ensure that curriculums promote Tunisia's Arab and Muslim identity.
Abdel-Rahim said Ben Ali had used women and secularism as a tool in the repression of opposition in his police state. "Before women were just a number, they were just used for propaganda," she said.
RALLY AGAINST EXTREMISM
Inside a hall in the Ariana district outside Tunis, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) said it was the true defender of modernity and secular gains in the face of Ennahda.
Islamist fundamentalists known as Salafis attacked a TV station this month for airing a film deemed as blasphemous. Ennahda says it has nothing to do with them, but its critics say the party is a natural home for radical elements.
"We are sure Tunisians will vote for moderation, not for extremism," said secretary general Maya Jribi. "Tunisia needs to protect the torch of moderation. My call to women is to vote to save their gains from the risks posted by extremism."
With a DJ on stage playing pop songs, the rally projected an image of youth and progress. "I'm young and Ennahda does not represent me. I love the PDP," said a placard held by a young boy.
Even if Ennahda wins, observers say the proportional representation system applied in Tunisia could limit its share to around 30 percent of the vote, while the PDP hopes to push as far as it can above 20 percent.
Both parties have hinted to other parties in recent days at post-election coalitions they could make to box the other in.
"The PDP is ready to govern but whatever the percentage of the vote, there is a need for an alliance of democratic forces," party leader Nejib Chebbi said after taking the stage to thunderous chants of "freedom, freedom, social equality!"
"We are going to build an alliance in the constituent assembly ... but if there is a balance of forces, we suggest a technocrat government," he added.
Ben Ali's government prevented Chebbi from standing against him in 2009 presidential elections.
Ghannouchi, Chebbi as well as Moncef Marzouki, head of the Congress for the Republic Party, and communist party leader Hamma Hammami are all seeking to benefit from reputations for suffering under the former ruler, now in exile in Saudi Arabia.
(Writing by Andrew Hammond)
tough love patriots jets patriots jets denver broncos wes welker the music man the music man
শুক্রবার, ২১ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Fresh iPhone Apps for Oct. 19: IMDb Buzz, LikeList, Word vs Word, Zombie Parkour Runner (Appolicious)
Keep up on the latest in entertainment news with the help of IMDb Buzz, the online movie information website?s source for celebrity and film industry news. It leads the latest apps to hit the iTunes App Store, followed closely by LikeList, an app for finding local businesses in your area and sharing them with others. Word game nuts will enjoy Word vs Word, a multiplayer word-guessing game, and for you zombie fans, check out Zombie Parkour Runner, an endless runner that mixes in jumping over obstacles and the undead.
IMDb Buzz (iPhone, iPad) Free
You probably know about the Internet Movie Database as an online source for all kinds of information about film, from what they?re about to the people involved in making them. IMDb Buzz uses that wealth of information to bring you entertainment news about the industries of film and television, and the celebrities involved in them. The app aggregates news from lots of sources and is filled with stories as they happen.
You also get a lot of other entertainment coverage besides just news. IMDb Buzz includes things like red carpet photographs and images from TV shows and movies. You can customize what news comes your way from within the app to follow specific celebrities or projects, and get direct access to the IMDb?s informational database, too. And all your favorite stories can be shared on Facebook or Twitter.
LikeList (iPhone, iPad) Free
Find the perfect business in your area for whatever you need with LikeList, an app that lets you search for business around you and get a sense of what?s good and what isn?t from the opinions of others. LikeList uses your device?s GPS capabilities to allow you to search the area around you. Once you find the business you?re looking for, you can check out reviews from your other LikeList friends, from locals, or from both.
You can ?like? businesses whose services you enjoy from within the app, and that allows any friends or followers of yours to see your favorite businesses from anywhere in the country. Businesses you find that other people recommend you can also save to your ?Try It? list, which then allows you to remember them for later. You can also access information like phone numbers for your lists quickly and easily, so once you?ve added a business, it?ll be easy to get in contact with it to use it again.
Ready for a new word game obsession? Word vs Word is a word game in which two players take turns trying to guess one another?s ?secret word.? To do so, you type in a word with the same number of letters (the number is defined at the outset, and determines the game?s difficulty) to take a guess. The game then tells you how many of your letters were correct. You use that information to make more and more guesses, eliminating letters and identifying the ones you?re looking for, until one of you guesses the word and wins the game.
Word vs. Word can be played online with friends or random opponents using an Internet connection. It also includes a solo mode, so you won?t need an opponent to start guessing. It also tracks your stats and lets you view your game history, and even teaches you the definitions of the words you guess in each game.
A one-touch endless running title, Zombie Parkour is all about careful timing. As you run through each stage, you?ll need to do your best to jump to avoid falling to your death, collect coins, run along billboards, vault over obstacles, and squash zombies, all executed with a tap. The more stuff you gather and the faster you move through each side-scrolling level, the higher your score at the end.
You get 20 levels with Zombie Parkour, plus 16 zombies to smash along the way. It also includes Game Center support, which provides you with achievements and online leaderboards on which to measure your skills against other players all over the world.
*Full disclosure: Zombie Parkour Runner is made by Up Up Down Down Games, a subsidiary of Break Media, which owns GameFront.com, for whom I write about video games. My affiliation with Break is how I found out about the game, but that?s all the interaction I?ve had with anyone from Break regarding it. I paid for it and enjoyed it, which is why it?s included here.
desean jackson monsters vs aliens jeremy maclin nascar news emmys 2011 emmys 2011 boxing
The caveman in us votes for tall presidents
We like our presidents tall, it seems. And now researchers think they know why, saying leftover caveman instincts draw us toward strong and mighty (or tall) leaders who we view as able to protect us.
"Some traits and instincts that may have been acquired through evolution continue to manifest themselves in modern life, seemingly irrationally," study researcher Gregg R. Murray of Texas Tech University said in a statement, adding that our fear of snakes, for instance, likely evolved from a time when snakes were a common threat. [ Top 10 Phobias Explained ]
"We believe similar traits exist in politics," he said.
-
More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science
-
Himalayas: The future of solar?
Future of Tech: The high peaks of the Himalayas may soon be a beacon for adventurous solar power entrepreneurs, suggests a new study that identified the lofty region as having some of the world's greatest potential to capture energy from the sun.
- Black Death bug hasn't changed, but we have
- And weighing in at over 9 tons ... T. rex!
- Naked mole rat genome: The key to long life?
-
Himalayas: The future of solar?
Murray, along with Texas Tech graduate student J. David Schmitz, credited the "presidential height index" ? a popular observation that taller candidates have won 58 percent of U.S. presidential elections between 1789 and 2008 ? as piquing their interest in the role that height plays in leader selection.
"Culture and environment alone cannot explain how a preference for taller leaders is a near-universal trait we see in different cultures today, as well as in societies ranging from ancient Mayans, to pre-classical Greeks and even animals," Schmitz said.
For instance, past research based on skeletal measurements collected from pre-classical Greek and ancient Mayan excavations suggests that "political control" was associated with greater physical stature, the researchers write in the Oct. 18 issue of the journal Social Science Quarterly. And studies on animals ranging from chimpanzees and gorillas to African elephants and even some birds suggest height can serve as a cue of an opponent's strength and power.
Tall presidents
The researchers theorized that evolutionary psychology, or the study of universal human behaviors related to psychological mechanisms that evolved based on ancient humans' interactions with their physical and social environments, influenced the development of this height preference for political leaders.
-
Most popular
- Updated 116 minutes ago 10/19/2011 12:30:40 AM +00:00 Actress wants $1 million for age reveal on IMDb
- Some see danger in changing Social Security?s funding
- FAA halts flights near home of missing Mo. baby
- Skydiving sex stunt could land pilot in hot water
- Photog captures meteor, Milky Way, Northern Lights
To test their theory, the authors asked 467 U.S. and international students from both public and private schools in the United States to describe and draw a "typical citizen" and an "ideal national leader." They were then asked to draw the citizen and leader meeting each other. The findings showed that 64 percent of the participants drew the leader as taller than the citizen.
In a second study, the researchers asked participants to complete a questionnaire about their height and perceptions of their own leadership characteristics. For example, the participants rated how likely they would be to run for an elected position in an organization on a four-point scale. The results showed that the taller participants were more likely to think of themselves as capable leaders and were more likely to express an interest in pursuing a leadership position.
The findings suggest that humans' preference for tall leaders is likely an evolved psychological trait that is independent of any cultural conditioning, the researchers said. They also stated that individuals with a greater physical stature are more likely to view themselves as qualified to be a leader, and as a result of this increased sense of efficacy, are more likely to pursue a leadership position.
"So while at 6 feet 1 inch, Barack Obama towered over the 5-foot-8-inch John McCain in 2008, perhaps he?ll meet his physical equal in one of the 'big man' governors in the 6-foot-1-inch Rick Perry or the 6-foot-2-inch Mitt Romney in November 2012," Murray said.
Caveman instincts?
Murray said he expects some scientists will be skeptical about the interpretation of the results, for one, because proving a theory in the social sciences is tricky. "We don?t 'prove' things in the social sciences, we present evidence in support of our arguments then look for or do other research to see if we get results that confirm or disconfirm our findings," he told LiveScience.
In addition, some reject evolutionary psychology as an explanation for modern phenomena. "I think mostly because they have not had full exposure to the arguments and evidence [of evolutionary psychology]," Murray said.
Murray's team has ruled out other explanations for our preference of tall leaders, he said, including a cultural reason, such as the possibility that our society is biased against shorter people. The researchers accounted for this idea, finding the phenomenon happens in nonhuman animals, across cultures and in pre-modern human cultures.
Past research has also suggested humans have retained our caveman instincts. A study published in 2007 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that modern humans are still experts at spotting predators and prey, despite the developed world's safe suburbs and indoor lifestyle.
You can follow LiveScience writer Remy Melina on Twitter @remymelina. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescienceand onFacebook.
? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44949896/ns/technology_and_science-science/
tanzania setup dart dart progeria watch free movies online watch free movies online
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২০ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Mexican clown convention holds 'laugh for peace' (AP)
MEXICO CITY ? About 300 professional clowns in Mexico say they hope their 15-minute non-stop laugh-a-thon will make a contribution to world peace.
The clowns from Mexico and Central America are in Mexico City for a four-day convention to trade jokes and hone skills like making balloon figures.
They gathered Wednesday at Mexico City's Mother's Monument under the slogan "Clowns For Peace, A World Without Violence."
They posed for a group picture and then set about laughing, tee-heeing and guffawing for about 15 minutes, on the premise that a world with more laughter will have less time or appetite for violence.
The demonstration comes amid continuing violence in Mexico's drug war.
build build miss usa 2011 miss usa 2011 richard hamilton richard hamilton stevie nicks
বুধবার, ১৯ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Hester, Bears run to victory
Hester scores two long TDs before getting hurt in Chicago's 39-10 blowout
Getty ImagesChicago's Devin Hester (23) tried to hold off Minnesota's Cedric Griffin during Sunday night's game in Chicago.
updated 12:20 a.m. ET Oct. 17, 2011
Between the long touchdown catch and an even bigger kickoff return, this was shaping up as a special night for Devin Hester.
Then, a chest injury cast a big cloud over it.
Hester set the tone with a 48-yard touchdown catch and scored on a career-best 98-yard kickoff return before leaving with a chest injury, and the Chicago Bears routed the Minnesota Vikings 39-10 on Sunday night.
Jay Cutler threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Julius Peppers had two sacks, and the Bears (3-3) held Vikings star Adrian Peterson to 39 yards rushing.
But Hester's injury dampened the mood on a night when they got a much-needed win.
Coach Lovie Smith didn't think the injuries to Hester and tight end Kellen Davis (elbow) were serious, but he's made similar statements in the past about players who wound up missing big chunks of time. Hester did not make himself available for comment.
His 48-yard TD pass from Cutler on Chicago's first possession got the Bears started quickly as they grabbed a 26-3 halftime lead. Hester's kickoff return early in the third quarter erased any chance the Vikings (1-5) had at a comeback.
"You feel you're getting ready to come back, and that kickoff return really changed the momentum," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.
It's no secret that teams are inviting danger by kicking to Hester, and Minnesota paid a big price right after Peterson scored on a 4-yard run.
Hester took the kickoff, turned to his right and was touched maybe once on the way to the end zone, making it 33-10. It was his first kickoff return for a touchdown since Nov. 25, 2007, against Denver.
"The shocking part to us is that people still kick to him because he is such a threat," Cutler said.
Or, as Smith put it: "We're all kind of witnessing history every time he touches it."
Hester set a record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown against Carolina on Oct. 2, but the good feelings gave way to concern when the announcement came early in the fourth quarter that he was finished for the game.
Along with the big return, Hester had five catches for 91 yards.
Cutler, meanwhile, had all the time he needed and - for one game, anyway - avoided a big beating. Never mind that league sacks leader Jared Allen was lining up for the Vikings, the Bears' maligned blockers held their ground.
That allowed Cutler to complete 21 of 31 passes while being sacked just once.
The defense did its job, too.
A surprise starter sitting out practice this week with a sprained left knee, Peppers got his two sacks and the Bears made things miserable in general for the Vikings.
Donovan McNabb threw for 177 yards and completed 19 of 24 passes before being lifted for Christian Ponder, but it was a brutal night for Peterson aside from that scoring run.
He simply couldn't get anything against a defense that had been giving up plays at an alarming rate, but the Bears can breathe a little easier after dropping three of four.
They still trail unbeaten Green Bay by three games and Detroit by two with losses to both teams, but they have to feel a little better about themselves as they get ready to play Tampa Bay in London next week.
They looked particularly good in the early going, piling on 151 yards to the Vikings' 43 while building a 16-3 lead in the first quarter.
Hester's TD catch over the middle on Chicago's first possession set the tone, and the Bears simply piled on from there.
Two plays after Adam Podlesh pinned the Vikings on their 5 with a punt, rookie Stephen Paea broke through the line for his first sack and the Bears' first safety since Danieal Manning got one on Aaron Rodgers at Green Bay in September 2009.
Chicago immediately drove 56 yards with Marion Barber running it in from the 3 to make it 16-0 with 3:39 left in the opening quarter. For the record, he didn't attempt a flip after a failed attempt against Carolina two weeks earlier when he landed on his face.
Then again, there were no missteps by the Bears early on.
A defense that came in ranked 29th overall and 28th against the run was all over the Vikings. The offensive line was doing its job, too. And the Bears were playing like a team that wasn't ready to fall into a last-place tie with Minnesota.
advertisement
More newsBrady rallies Pats to victory
Tom Brady threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left and the New England Patriots rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-16 on Sunday.
Giants bounce back, beat Bills
Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 104 yards and a career-best three TDs and Lawrence Tynes kicked a go-ahead 23-yard field goal with 1:32?left to give New York a 27-24?win over Buffalo on Sunday.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44923507/ns/sports-nfl/
trans siberian orchestra drive patch adams preamble preamble constitution constitution
রবিবার, ১৬ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Lego Anakin Skywalker Mini-Figure Alarm Clock Is Your Thank-God-It's-Not-Jar-Jar Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]
pumpkins pumpkins occupy wall st occupy wall st john lackey john lackey
এতে সদস্যতা:
পোস্টগুলি (Atom)