tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334887392024-03-14T05:38:29.023-04:00Newsnews! news! news! Just anything that makes news.Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.comBlogger1016125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-55662500562746535402012-01-11T14:26:00.001-05:002012-01-11T14:36:36.524-05:00Nigerians' Reactions to Removal of Fuel Subsidy<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100002257560136" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002257560136">Adeayo Samuel</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Hello hiz excelhensin emere jonatharam worstluck u and ur widowed wife hw far. U re doin d wronger at d wrongest tym, d bad at the badest tym. Bt remember dat thre is reward 4 everytin and also 4 the subsidization of fuel. Becos of the reason of dis u re hereby sentenced 2 sufferin and proverty 4 a week and after dat lif in prison til ur bar remains 0.01%.but b4 dat 1 week is completed, if u re angry withn dat period, u can look 4 the nearest well h2o and jump inside okay. I rise. Court.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=773188381" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=773188381">Ayoola Oke</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">We the people of Nigeria will fight for the right to survive in the face of tyranny and deceit and I am calling on all the great Nigerian youths to join the mass action and rally everywhere in the country and abroad.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=524422977" href="http://www.facebook.com/onyeka.evans">Evans Onyeka</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Mr president we the corpers in akwa ibom are solidly behind u. We cant afford to finish our youth service without work. Remove subsidy and create jobs for the nigerians who have no job. All u ignorant fellowss hacken to the voice of change and it shall be well with u and your generation peace.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000117810471" href="http://www.facebook.com/adenolaj">Adenola Joseph</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Jonathan,you are an instrument of destruction.I lately see how God is harding your heart so that you can be destroy with your household.It is not a matter of opinion, it is what is going to happen to you.There is nothing like fuel subsidy.Refinery produce a liter for N31 and plus tax amount to N41 and now u sell for N65.What is the subsidy there?Those that support your course like lamido sanusi and other governors will die premature death.So shall it be in jesus name</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100002206448639" href="http://www.facebook.com/toyib.olarewaju">Toyib Olarewaju</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">But u never think better b4 taking ur decision,many lifes as been taking by ur gunmen. But know God will decide on u soon.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000539128828" href="http://www.facebook.com/Ibagwa">Eze Emmanuel</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I & many other Corps members (NYSC) here are encouraging you to stay fast on this fuel subsidy removal. Of course, there is never a time you espect it to be accepted without any opposition. So, I encourage you to remain on your good innovative work.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100003079039574" href="http://www.facebook.com/chukwuma.christian2">Chukwuma Christian</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">@mr president removal of fuel subsidy is a wellcome development is only a fool can say no to that,as a matter of fact you are a messiah to this nation God bless you mr president carry on oh em wit you</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1204166428" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1204166428">Kafayat Aminu</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Jonathan is callous, he's a liar. You can imagine a president dat make national broadcast on saturday dat he will cut executive salary by 25% and reduce all foreign trips and cut down d size of delegates to abroad still went ahead to attend ANC_a political party 100th year anniverssary in SOUTH AFRICA. He is a HYPOCRITE, he should not be trusted again, never. If you still believe him then YOU ARE A BIG FOOL!</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100003025173945" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003025173945">Akpos Emma</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">mr.president,it'll only tak sum tyme everytin'll die a natural dearth.9ja complain abt Gsm dat's 2 xpensive sim was sold 20,30,40thousand naira,today now hw much is sim sold now,almost free.i surport it.God bless goodluck j.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100002489452004" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002489452004">Chinedu Ahamefula</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">sir keep on from now to 3years niger ll be good in Jesus name.sir de luck is ur way niger ll be good soon read this roman 5vs1to7.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1196248285" href="http://www.facebook.com/noskichristopher">Noski Christopher Enendu</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I'll urge all of us in the name of God to mind the way and manner we speak to our president, we stood in the sun in April to vote for him, we where happy that he won and now we have awarded him the most cursed president, this is very bad as a people. The policy is very good but the mode and timing of the implementation is wrong but that doesn't give us the right to insult our president.<br />
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Dear president Goodluck, i urge u sir to hear the plea of the people, the same people that voted you in and the same people whose future you're saving, revert the pump price to N65, then open negotiations afterwards and when all stake holders have agreed on the mode and time of implementation, then you can implement the policy.<br />
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Sir, you once didn't have shoes which means you know how it pains to walk with bare foot, please sir, don't allow us to loose the slippers we already have.<br />
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Don't allow IMF and World bank to push you around sir.<br />
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God is with you sir.<br />
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Long live president GEJ<br />
Long live NLC<br />
Long live Nigeria</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1848608532" href="http://www.facebook.com/smanm">Sman Maina</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Our nation needs strong and honest leadership now! Strong leadership begins when the President understands the power of the personal example. We call on the President and the National Assembly to begin the process of arresting this drift before darkness falls. If they don’t, they stand a good chance of going down in history as the leadership that sat over the disintegration of Nigeria with the consequential losses in human lives.<br />
We call on the National Assembly to begin to show the required leadership now that it seems the President isn’t ready.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1594040754" href="http://www.facebook.com/jakesjacob.onoriodeorgorgor">Jakes Macbillion Onoriode</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Pls somebody should help me with the president number's to call him now b4 people keep dying, I'm d only one person that can make him change his mind </span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=617269214" href="http://www.facebook.com/sylvester.a.ekpen">Sylvester Abumere Ekpen</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">If the cabal were bringing in petroleum products, collecting subsidy on them and taking same out to neighbouring countries for sale, why is the Chief Police of our borders (air, water, land) - The Comptroller General of Customs still keeping his job? GEJ finds it easier to take on the hapless Nigerian populace than deal with a few powerful people. What shame! Let's see how this "movie" ends.............</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000590266889" href="http://www.facebook.com/kingswatty">King Taiwo Samson Tolulope</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">you should have given the people a good and sound orientation about what the benefits are and what difficulties they will face.Many of those misquoting this subsidy removal are mischievous .And the illiterate population is apparently higher than those who can sit down and think.But this mischievous fellows who are a bit educated mislead those who don't understand it.Blind followers.That is the problem....I am totally in support of the removal of the subsidy and i am trying my best to give a full orientation and they are yielding to this.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100001614418265" href="http://www.facebook.com/childrenscandy">Gina Candy</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Please let us join together in prayer for President GEJ each day . If we Africans pray , collectively at the same time, it will make a difference!!!! So much pressure, disrespect, and hatred . He needs our love and our prayers!!!! II Chronicles 7:14 says,"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and "PRAY", and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" Our land really needs healing!!! We also need to pray for the president's enemies too. Matthew 5:44 says, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." God sees all that's being said and done to our COUNTRY NIGERIA. The Lord is going to fix it, but in the meantime, AFRICANS , NIGERIANS, THE WHOLE WORLD !!!!! please!! let's Pray!!!!!!!!! Pray!!!!!!!! Pray!!!!!!!!! Prayer is the ANSWER!!!!!!!!<br />
Please keep this going by email, word of mouth or facebook. Pray!!! Pray!!! Pray!!</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100001104148028" href="http://www.facebook.com/rarity.campaign">Rarity Campaign</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Pple r not lookin @ dis issue frm d angle i'm lookin @ it,since Jonathan & his cohorts claim dey r removin subsidy because of our benefit & we say we don't want it,if not 4 personal interest,i tink he ought 2 have respected our opinions cos we voted him into power not 4 him 2 dictate 2 us.U need 2 come outside & see d way people r carrying ur mock coffin & number of pple loosing their lifes daily & reverse dis decision.Ppl's voice at times is d voice of God,act fast & ignore okonjo's advise cos she's not wiser dan every Nigerians.</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000144031097" href="http://www.facebook.com/chinenye.umeugo">Chinenye Umeugo</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">The man wit no shoes now have millions of designer shoes witout tinkin of sparin not even one aba shoe for his fellow citizen.bia gej,did we elect u to do wots on ur mind or wot will benefit d entire populace?why hv u chosen to ignore d voice of d people?subsidy removal is ok bt hv u sit down to educate nigerians on d benefit or u just woke up on d 1st of january to remove subsidy?do u hv conscience?i comment my reserve sha</span><br />
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<a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000452076466" href="http://www.facebook.com/glitteringemerald">Falodu Victoria</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">N2N initiative asked if the poor were benefitting from fuel susidy. So U even understd the way Poor pple live in Nigeria, but turned a deaf ear. U are only trying to convince them into believing dt the rich only benefit from Fuel subsidy like U did to the Bayelsa pple. The fact dt they are poor doesn't mean they av no sense of humour or cant reason right. We all know dt fuel price is the determinant factor of market price. How do U expect them to afford a #450 bowl of rice,when dey cld hardly did wen fuel subsidy removal hasn't affected it.<br />
Nigerians aren't smiling @all.</span><br />
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<a class="actorPic UIImageBlock_Image UIImageBlock_SMALL_Image" data-ft="{"type":34}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1461636456" href="http://www.facebook.com/fasomoyin.o.oluwayomi" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" class="uiProfilePhoto uiProfilePhotoMedium img" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/211819_1461636456_828068289_q.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="UIImageBlock_Ext"><div class="uiSelector inlineBlock commentHideSelector stat_elem uiSelectorRight" data-autosubmit="1" data-name="hide_option[4273871]" id="uqxqc8_31"><input class="submitButton" type="submit" value="Submit" /></div></div><a class="actorName" data-ft="{"type":35}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1461636456" href="http://www.facebook.com/fasomoyin.o.oluwayomi">Faxzomoryeen DrPharxzo Prince</a> <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(y)THE BEST BROADCAST SO FAR----GEJ...the man who won an election few months ago on his Claim of having no shoes as a boy.....the son of a fisher man from Otuoke creek has bluntly refused to listen to voice of reason....and I wonder what is wrong with this man...have you forgotten the child of whom you are......what are you doing in the midst of Sanusi Lamido, Iweala and Allison Madueke......Ere ki ni Aja n ba ekun she.....(what game would bring a dog and a tiger together) what good advise would you get from these spoilt brats).....Sanusi....a grandson of the emir and son of a permanent secretary.....a noble blood with a university degree in sharia from SUDAN.....he was never as hungry as you were...You are even an infidel where he is concerned .....Your association can only mean trouble.......and then Iweala........the daughter of a Professor and king in ogwashi ukwu and.....An IMF returnee.......everybody in her family went to harvard.......she had ice cream for breakfast while you were walking barefoot looking for fish in the sun of ogbia.....come on!what are you doing with her.............And then diezani madueke ......the daughter of chief Agama and wife of Admiral madueke......what are you doing around these people........please listen to people who are just like your father.....fisher men,boat maker ,mechanic,tailor,okada man etc who would suffer greatly from your stubbornness. Listen to people like you who had no shoes.....like femi falana,Chinua Achebe.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-85062175840983710372010-12-18T10:05:00.000-05:002010-12-18T10:05:51.303-05:00Nigeria's Dawanau Grains Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3Lx4cy6eaVojO_vJF16OlK3h3y20pnwnvocBYIvbS7oNftGnIyb1ui9NljExU2aNOUHiNfBChpVA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>A trip to Northern Nigeria's Dawanau grains market, the largest of its kind in West Africa.Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-65563080287678206832010-12-04T07:07:00.002-05:002010-12-04T07:17:13.116-05:00Sarah Palin Aides Try to Stop CNN’s Jim Acosta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/America-Heart-Reflections-Family-Faith/dp/0062010964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291464158&sr=8-1&tag=prado-20"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxiYGhrUcOklOM6o4VDcWU9HMvO74Pq6MAIxNTuEx68JOsiGiQ4_UL9dhw-DGfBFgA5h2A-6rttmMc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sarah Palin’s aides opted to use force to end an otherwise polite conversation with a CNN news crew, who dared to ask Palin if she were running for President in 2012.</b></div><div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>CNN’s Jim Acosta and his camera crew were invited to attend a Palin book signing in a Spirit Lake, Louisiana Wal-Mart. But one of Palin’s handlers put a hand in front of the camera before Acosta could finish his questions.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“They brought the media in three by three if you can believe this, and led us into a room where Sarah Palin was signing those books,” Acosta explained to CNN host Wolf Blitzer Thursday.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“They had the music playing loudly presumably to discourage us from asking questions. At the end of our time with the governor, observing her during the book signing, we decided to ask her the question which is often asked of presidential contenders in Iowa, ‘When are you going to make your announcement on running for president?’” Acosta said.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>At that moment, the music stopped.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“Are we doing interviews?” Palin asked. “I thought we were talking to the nice people. Where’s the music and where’s our good enthusiasm?”</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“Well, we’re nice too,” Acosta told Palin.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“Not always, but maybe you are,” Palin replied.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Not surprisingly, the former Alaska governor said that she was not any closer to announcing her run for president.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The British newspaper Guardian reported that Palin aides were searching for office space in Iowa, a crucial primary state.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Acosta asked Palin for a reply to Mitt Romney’s comment on the Tonight Show that he wouldn’t have quit his job as governor of Massachusetts like Palin did in Alaska.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“It’s hard to imagine a circumstance where I’d have quit,” Romney had told Jay Leno. “It’s a great job. I loved it. But [Palin] had her reasons.”</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As the loud music returned to the book signing, an unhappy Palin answered the question about Romney’s comments. “He probably had some different conditions,” she said.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Acosta could get out another question, one of Palin’s handlers put a hand in front of the camera and the CNN crew was forced to leave.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“Who stuck his or her hand in front of that camera lens at then end of that little clip?” Blitzer wanted to know.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“That was one of her handlers and at that moment we were asked to leave,” Acosta answered. “Asking the question obviously did not go over well.”</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>“They should not put their hands in front of the camera lens like that,” Blitzer said.</b></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-60870978402188352692010-10-13T00:28:00.000-04:002010-10-13T00:28:23.376-04:00Chile Frees First of 33 Miners in World's Longest Mine RescueChilean rescue workers pulled the first of 33 trapped miners to the surface in the world’s longest underground mine rescue. <br />
Florencio Avalos emerged from the San Jose copper mine at 11:12 p.m. New York time after spending two months trapped in a tunnel more than 600 meters (1,970 feet) underground. <em></em><em>CNN.com is streaming live from beginning to end <b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream2">HERE</a></b>. </em>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-20145179480780939652010-02-18T13:43:00.002-05:002010-02-18T14:50:52.813-05:00The Sucidal Austin Crash Pilot is Joseph Andrew Stack<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Joseph Andrew Stack</b> who reportedly set his house on fire earlier today crashed his Piper Cherokee PA-28 plane into a seven-story building located in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard of Austin, Texas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two people were injured and one person was missing, local officials said. There were no reported deaths.<br />
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Excerpts in a message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note stating: <br />
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"If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, 'Why did this have to happen?' The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time."<br />
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"I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different," the online message says. "I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well."<br />
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The building into which the airplane crashed is a federal IRS center with 199 employees. Two people were transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge, said hospital spokeswoman Matilda Sanchez. She could not provide additional information. However, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said one person remained unaccounted for Thursday afternoon.<br />
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The crash which occurred around 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET), resulted in an infernal scene that shook nearby buildings and sent fire and smoke bellowing into the sky. <br />
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The flames seemed mostly extinguished about 75 minutes later by Firefighters who used two ladder trucks and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the Echelon office building in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard.<br />
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The FAA said preliminary information indicated the plane departed Georgetown Municipal Airport north of Austin about 9:40 a.m. CT.<br />
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Jack Lillis, an attendant at Georgetown airport, said initial indications are that the flight originated there but there were conflicting reports and he could not verify that information.<br />
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The pilot evidently did not file a flight plan, the FAA said. No flight plan was required because flights Thursday morning were under visual flight rules, or VFR, because of clear weather.<br />
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Leffingwell downplayed any possible terrorism links to the crash.<br />
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"It is an isolated incident," the mayor said. "The people of Austin, the people of the nation, are in no danger whatsoever."<br />
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He added that "there is evidence that the gas tank was just about full. ... That amount of gasoline ... can do a lot of damage."<br />
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Two F-16 fighter jets were sent from Houston as a precaution, but federal authorities said preliminary information did not indicate any terrorist connection to the crash.<br />
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Official release from the Department of Homeland Security said: "We do not yet know the cause of the plane crash, at this time, we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to terrorist activity. We continue to gather more information, and are aware there is additional information about the pilot's history." </div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-58613562919315613592010-01-08T14:36:00.000-05:002010-01-08T14:36:27.426-05:00Indian newspaper's 'Ku Klux Klan' cartoon Offensive<div style="text-align: justify;">A Catoon depicting a Victorian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan is ''deeply offensive'', the acting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said.<br />
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The cartoon appeared in the newspaper Mail Today in Delhi on Tuesday and was created in response to police statements that it was unclear whether the fatal attack on Nitin Garg, 21, an Indian graduate, in a Yarraville park was racially motivated.<br />
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Ms Gillard, in Brisbane yesterday, condemned the content and intent of the cartoon.<br />
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The secretary of the Police Association Victoria, Greg Davies, said members of the homicide squad investigating the murder of Mr Garg were ''personally offended'', but it would not detract from their determination to find the killer.<br />
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The Victorian Police Minister, Bob Cameron, told Fairfax Radio that ''this business about racism is just wrong''.<br />
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Amid the media frenzy the incident has caused in the subcontinent, Australia's high commissioner in India, Peter Varghese, whose parents are Indian, sought to defend Australia from the charge of racism in a news conference on Wednesday that was screened live on four television channels.<br />
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Mr Varghese said: "There is an unfortunate tendency in the tabloid media to equate anything bad happening to a person of Indian origin to racism. Then they focus on why you won't admit it is racism, because they take it as a given that any attack has to be a racist attack.''<br />
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Mr Varghese said the media were not ''particularly anti-Australian'' but some self-proclaimed Indian community spokesmen in Australia had helped to inflame the hysteria.<br />
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''It is partly the success of Indian spokesmen in Australia jumping onto the media bandwagon and providing quotable quotes to the Indian media.''<br />
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Within weeks of arriving in India last August Mr Varghese was doing the media rounds and drawing on his own experiences - he was born in Kenya and arrived in Australia when he was eight - to present a picture of tolerance in modern Australia.<br />
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"Did I ever encounter a hostile reaction or an incidence of racism? Sure,'' he told NDTV's Walk the Talk chat show.<br />
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''But I could probably count on one hand in the 40-plus years that I have been in Australia when that has happened.''<br />
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It is a fact Indians living in Victoria are 2½ times more likely to be assaulted than non-Indians.<br />
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So far, Victoria Police confirmed that assault and robbery victims of Indian appearance had increased 5.4 per cent in the past year: 1525, up from 1449 in 2007-2008. In the 2006-7 financial year there were 1082 attacks on Indians in Victoria.<br />
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The assault rate for Indians in the state was about 1700 in every 100,000, against about 700 in every 100,000 for non-Indians<br />
</div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-48651758500575053962010-01-08T13:10:00.002-05:002010-01-08T13:23:35.925-05:00Nigeria's Almajiri, Child Abuse in the Guise of Religion<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Christian Purefoy</b> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A forlorn murmur of young voices echoes from a shack pieced together from rusted corrugated iron.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside, more than 50 children with torn clothes and unwashed faces hunch over small wooden tablets or torn scraps of paper with sections of the Quran.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Above them stands a 20-year-old with a small whip -- the children are here to memorize the Quran.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are the Almajiri.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the walls hang small bags with their few belongings. In these dark, cramped conditions, the children must study, sleep and eat.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's an ancient tradition. Poor families from rural areas across West Africa send their children to a network of Islamic boarding schools in the cities of northern Nigeria.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once here, often hundreds of kilometers from their families, they receive little education and no money.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Almajiri must beg to survive. Across the north, an afternoon break in classes sends the children flooding into the streets with small bowls to search for any scraps.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past few decades, the system has been overwhelmed and neglected.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And abused.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One young man sent by his family from neighboring Niger told CNN how the schools use him and other children as foot soldiers in religious clashes.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fearing for his life, he spoke on condition of anonymity, telling how he lost his arm in 2000 in religious violence that killed about 1,000 people in the northern city of Kaduna.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I blame my Quranic teacher, who sent me to fight during the riots," he said.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"He has ruined my life."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2000, about 1,000 people died in religious violence, and hundreds more two years later, after the Miss World competition was to be held in Kaduna. Many of the perpetrators came from the Almajiri.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Nigeria-based Almajiri Education Foundation says on its Web site: " 'Almajiri' is a word borrowed from Arabic for someone who leaves his home in search of knowledge in Islamic religion. In the ideal situation, the communities should support these children as they leave their families to become a servant of Allah.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Unfortunately this has not been the case," the foundation's site continues, "and many young boys are leaving their homes only to end up in the streets begging. They have no one to turn to."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though there are no exact figures on the Almajiri, they are estimated to number in the millions.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only census ever taken was in Kano state, which found in 2006 that there were 1.2 million Almajiri in Kano alone. One researcher working with UNICEF estimates that 60 percent of the children never return home.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We can see the manifestations in child begging, child destitution, child trafficking," said Muhamed Laden, a professor of law at Ahmadu Bello University.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"And then they're easily instigated for them to be involved as children in such conflicts that have largely been violent and very bloody in this part of the world."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government is looking into monitoring and licensing the schools, but the National Council for the Welfare of the Destitute, which is piloting such a program, complains of too little funding.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Council officials warn that the consequences of ignoring the children could be dire.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"They're a real threat -- a real problem -- to the society, unless you address this issue now," said Usman Jibrin, the council's president.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Otherwise, these children will one day take over control of this country -- in a very unpleasant way."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The children are a violent threat to Nigeria, but also its first victims.<br />
</div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-89435136313912970322010-01-04T05:41:00.001-05:002010-01-04T05:49:44.220-05:00New airport rules target passengers via Nigeria and 13 other countriesThe Feds issued the toughest airport security rules ever for U.S.-bound passengers Sunday, ordering patdowns, body scans and other new screenings for most fliers.<br />
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The TSA directive targets people flying from or through 10 countries of interest -- Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen -- and four countries that the <a class="iAs" classname="iAs" href="http://www.freep.com/article/20100104/NEWS07/1040374/1001/News/New-rules-for-airport-security-take-effect-today#" itxtdid="16114625" style="background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted darkgreen ! important; color: darkgreen ! important; font-size: 100% ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; padding-bottom: 0px ! important; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none ! important;" target="_blank">State <nobr id="itxt_nobr_1_0" style="color: darkgreen; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Department</nobr></a> says sponsor terrorism -- Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.<br />
<br />
The new directive will be in place indefinitely and replaces the order the TSA imposed after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria was accused of trying to blow up a plane landing in Detroit on Dec. 25.<br />
<br />
Every passenger holding a passport from these countries, or flying through these countries en route to the United States, will undergo enhanced scrutiny, the official said.<br />
The "majority" of all other passengers, including U.S. citizens, will also be subjected to the stricter security, the official said. These passengers will be selected at random.<br />
<br />
The enhanced screening measures will include some combination of a full-body patdown, a full-body scan, a thorough hand inspection of all carry-on luggage and the use of explosives-detection technology, such as swabbing a passenger's hands, clothing and luggage.<br />
<br />
"The bottom line is they are going to do enhanced screening measures, which would either be a full-body patdown, or if they have the [full-body scan], they can use that instead," the official said.<br />
The official declined to say whether the full-body patdowns will include passengers' private areas in an attempt to detect explosives hidden in underwear, as was the case with the botched Christmas Day attack.<br />
The TSA has the authority to mandate security screening levels for air carriers that are flying into U.S. air space. Security officials at airports around the globe will be responsible for carrying out the U.S. government's new security directive.<br />
<br />
A White House spokesman said it approved the new rules.<br />
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</div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-25705252133480662332009-11-19T13:40:00.002-05:002009-11-19T13:55:56.369-05:00Should France Soccer Team go to next year’s Soccer World Cup in South Africa?<div style="text-align: justify;">France captain and striker, Thierry Henry's handled assist broke Irish hearts in Paris on Wednesday night, denying Giovanni Trapattoni's team a spot in World Cup 2010.<br /><br />Thierry Henry, admitted accidently fouling with a handball. This allowed France to advance to the final round of the tournament with a 2-1 win over Ireland. Henry touched the ball with his hand twice before passing it on to defender William Gallas who scored the fateful goal against Ireland at the Stade de France outside Paris. </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The referee did not see the foul and honored the goal, despite protests by Irish players. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Henry, a well liked player with a previously pristine reputation, admitted his mistake. “Yes, there is a handball but I’m not the referee” he told reporters after the match, adding “I was behind two Irish defenders, the ball bounced and touched my hand. Of course, I continued to play. The referee did not blow his whistle for the handball, but I can’t say that there was no handball”. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Irish players were outraged following their loss. “This is a shame! It is totally ridiculous that the referee and his assistants did not see Henry’s handball. It’s so obvious. It’s disgusting,” Ireland’s goal keeper Shay Given told reporters. “I am very disappointed by what Henry has done. He is a cheater. For me, he has tarnished his image forever,” he added. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">On internet websites many criticized Henry’s integrity. “Henry must be heavily sanctioned, this man is disrespectful towards everyone” Meze wrote on lequipe.fr, France’s #1 sports newspaper. “What a lack of fair play. This is shameful. I am extremely disappointed by Henry” Etienne06 wrote on the same website. “I think Henry will never be able to play an international match without getting booed. His career is over” matteo_ddp wrote. “I’m ashamed to be French” added grego61. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Henry later apologised, “I’m not the referee… but if I hurt someone I’m sorry” he Twittered a few hours ago.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite the outrage there were supporters backing the French team. “There is a handball, but it is in our favor! Good!” wrote kimausoleil. “What is shameful is not Henry’s handball, it is the fact that the referee did not blow his whistle” Boubou74 wrote. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">This latest episode reopens the debate on the use of video to help referees do their job and avoid mistakes. Soccer’s governing bodies have been against the use of video in soccer matches. They argue that all soccer rules should be the same at both the amateur and professional levels. Another suggestion up for debate is the use of assistant referees behind each goal. The Union of European Football Associations started testing this solution recently. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The most famous case of overlooked foul play in a soccer match is former Argentine player Maradona’s “hand of god” goal in the 1986 World Cup quarter final against England. Following the unpenalized handball Argentina advanced in the tournament and won the World Cup that year. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-8363896190118109022009-10-29T06:17:00.004-04:002009-10-29T06:29:20.599-04:00Lil Wayne's “No Ceilings” hits the Web before official release<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lil+wayne&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYybkOpsB_mf4qm0SQUG7JegRMW-zGzAot2q2V5GVRemPL_aFqveh44oQePw2zJEpNmPPOxbVHoKEecjZviI-LC-KNNMAhl7aip3NEoZck-3twfjHWe0sBEorZyV1fnqC7kapUQ/s400/lil+wayne.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397965917094990146" border="0" /></a><br />Lil Wayne’s new mixtape <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lil+wayne&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20"><i>No Ceilings</i></a> has hit the Web four days before its planned Halloween release — and less than a week after <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lil+wayne&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20"><i>Tha Carter III</i></a> rapper pleaded guilty to gun charges in New York City. With a prison sentence looming, rhymes like “T.I., hold your head” in the opener “Swag Surfin’ ” feel pretty weighty. But overall, it’s a stellar mixtape that features Wayne rapping over beats from some of the biggest hip-hop cuts of 2009. Nah Right has the goods. <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lil+wayne&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20">Lil Wayne’s</a> World: photos of the rapper’s rise.</p> <p>Wayne is in full alien mode on <i>No Ceilings</i>, weaving together pop culture references from all over the map into his lyrics. He name checks three football players alone in his version of Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” — Deion Sanders, Tim Tebow and former Saints QB Aaron Brooks — carves similes out of <i>300</i> and Nicole Kidman and conjures up lines that only a mad scientist like Tha Carter could concoct.<span id="more-16191"></span></p> <p>Jigga’s “D.O.A.” and “Run This Town,” The-Dream’s awesome “Fancy” and even the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” get Carterized on <i>No Ceilings</i>. “Young Money baby, and the building grows. As we look up, where did the ceilings go,” Lil Wayne raps in “Wasted,” giving the mixtape its title. <i>No Ceilings</i> looks like it’s the first phase of what promises to be a prolific Weezy in the months before he’s sentenced to prison, with <i>Rebirth</i> reportedly due out December 15th and <i>Tha Carter IV</i> possibly on the horizon.</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lil+wayne&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20"><i>No Ceilings</i></a> track list:</p> <p>1. “Swag Surfin’”<br />2. “Ice Cream Paint Job”<br />3. “D.O.A.”<br />4. “Interlude”<br />5. “Wasted”<br />6. “Watch My Shoes”<br />7. “Break Up [ft. Short Dawg & Gudda Gudda]”<br />8. “Banned From TV”<br />9. “Throw It in the Bag (Remix)”<br />10. “I Think I Love Her [ft. Tyga & Shanell]”<br />11. “Interlude #2 [ft. Shanell]”<br />12. “Wetter”<br />13. “I’m Good [ft. T-Streets]”<br />14. “Poke Her Face [ft. Jae Millz]”<br />15. “Run This Town”<br />16. “I Gotta Feeling”<br />17. “Outro ”</p>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-77317510427292852062009-07-28T10:29:00.001-04:002009-07-28T10:38:13.017-04:0010,000 Friend Requests Chased Bill Gates Out of Facebook<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br />Microsoft co-founder <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bill+gates&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20">Bill Gates</a> says he was forced to abandon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend.<br /><br />Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured on Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends".<br /><br />Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".<br /><br />"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bill+gates&x=0&y=0&tag=fity-20"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZsQ8QShqcVKVkZ43KIoZ611DwVBD2MTab0ePJ8L0828eqtJ-TeBCIAILXtu26sLrAHODPV2o6lGauncHuNEUyQvXNSBmy9uYl70IoFlOhq1RHOEE6zi4MkFgdaBeemw4vCUHfg/s400/10,000+Friend+Request+Chased+Bill+Gates+Out+of+Facebook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363519784226064434" border="0" /></a>Gates told the business forum.<br /><br />Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the Government for his work for his charitable organisation the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.<br /><br />The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed nearly $US1 billion to health and development projects in India, especially targeting AIDS and polio.<br /><br />Gates also confided to the audience that he was "not that big at text messaging" and that "I'm not a 24-hour-a-day tech person".<br /><br />"I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer," he said.<br /><br />Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been "hugely beneficial" but added: "All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful."<br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-22456073250567267102009-07-27T19:02:00.003-04:002009-07-27T19:10:59.871-04:00Milorad Cavic: Lack of Technology Saved Michael Phelps in Beijing Olympics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mother-All-Seasons-Memoir/dp/0061780014?tag=fity-20"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingFhqK9cef6CmoFHvfm8TrCCZHkmO_u1yzZrgjB52IkzsmhWWPffLzwXCVMGQ6GF51a5t48ntFmJqcAFGswhuJFnT547R6VFGJJGf8ON8Q396_q_Bu_gtKfTpMMHIjMfyzy2saA/s400/Milorad+Cavic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363281303889680802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic said tonight it was only because of the lack of technology that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mother-All-Seasons-Memoir/dp/0061780014?tag=fity-20">Michael Phelps </a>created history last year winning eight gold medals in Beijing. Cavic said that he did touch the wall ahead of Phelps in the Olympic 100m butterfly final, and technology could again be the reason why Phelps does not win their return clash in Rome.<br /><br />At the time, last year in China, Cavic was diplomatic after the memorable 100m butterfly final. All television replays and still photography appeared to show he had touched the wall first, but the verdict went to Phelps. Despite protests, the result stood and Phelps went on to later pass Mark Spitz's record by winning eight gold medals at a single Olympics.<br /><br />Cavic said last year he was just happy to win silver, but after winning the 50m butterfly world title tonight in Italy, Cavic - who wears an Arena suit - was asked about whether a victory in the 100m butterfly over Phelps would be as sweet because he has chosen to wear the obviously slower Speedo swimsuit.<br /><br />"I've given this a lot of thought," he said when asked the suit question. "Throughout this whole year I've just been hearing a lot of white noise over this suit battle. FINA has spoken, they have approved the suits. I don't like it, but they made a decision.<br /><br />"Who knows what would have happened last year if ... I guess what I am trying to say is technology is the problem here and I think everybody is blaming the technology.<br /><br />"Last year it was me and a lot of people blaming Omega for not having a better technology (in their touch pads) because I did touch the wall first, but I did not activate the wall (timing system) first. This is a problem with technology. This is FINA and Omega's problem.<br /><br />"Now if I was to beat Phelps they would say: 'Cavic beat Phelps because of the suit. This is again FINA's decision and too bad that Speedo has not had the foresight to see this and produce a (fast) suit which would have a Speedo emblem on it."<br /><br />Cavic said he has put behind him what happened at the Olympics. He added that upon reflection, he may have retired from the sport had he won gold in Beijing.<br /><br />"What happened in the past Olympics is behind me. I can sit and cry about it, but there's nothing positive which comes of this," he said. "This is behind me. I decided that a long, long time ago. I never lost any sleep over what happened. I won an amazing medal at the Olympic Games, maybe it could have been different, but I decided to put it behind me and go back to work and it's been an incredible motivation to get back into training and try to go after Phelps one more time.<br /><br />"I think this (the 50m win) is a great confidence booster and I feel good going into the 100m butterfly. It's a great feeling to be crowned world champion and I am very happy and grateful but I believe I am overly-focused on the 100m butterfly to thoroughly enjoy this moment.<br /><br />"For me losing that race probably saved my career because I have a strong feeling I would have stopped swimming if I had won the gold medal.<br /><br />"The reality for me is I'm an animal of emotion and excitement and if I feel the desire that there is something left for me to do in swimming and that is to be crowned world champion, then I have to keep going. As long as there is a fire inside my heart I will keep going.<br /><br />"Because of what happened I did return to swimming with a desire which I probably would not have had if I won the Olympic gold."<br /><br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-47966912048552624802009-07-27T18:09:00.007-04:002009-07-27T18:56:29.117-04:00NFL Considers Michael Vick For Full Reinstatement<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Premium-Collection-Michael-university/dp/B000N8TYXS?tag=fity-20"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVe3bc3dhs5LIIWO4oBfGXBvF_oyX-afZoXUjKEMtTS0muQ6p1tjphRTFmI8FmyqjORlz4fjlIxfj8NUv5OC4ShTacTbJ2jYsi8VBjHnwZxB5TVwYHl3HKZh-X74Ic_AJleGV2A/s400/michael+vick.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363270303334679218" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Some two years after pleading guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Premium-Collection-Michael-university/dp/B000N8TYXS?tag=fity-20">Michael Vick</a> was reinstated to the National Football League on a conditional basis, according to an NFL statement Monday.<br /><br />Vick "will be considered for full reinstatement and to play in regular-season games by Week 6 based on the progress he makes in his transition plan," the statement said. Week 6 of the NFL season is in October.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Premium-Collection-Michael-university/dp/B000N8TYXS?tag=fity-20">Vick</a> may participate in practices, workouts and meetings and may play in his club's final two preseason games under the conditions of his reinstatement, the league said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Premium-Collection-Michael-university/dp/B000N8TYXS?tag=fity-20">Vick</a>, in a statement, thanked the league's commissioner and former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, who has served as his mentor.<br /><br />"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Commissioner Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Premium-Collection-Michael-university/dp/B000N8TYXS?tag=fity-20">National Football League,</a>" Vick said in a statement. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given."<br /><br />Vick, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to his home to serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement.<br /><br />Vick also said in his statement that he is re-evaluating his life after the "terrible mistakes" he made.<br /><br />"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward," Vick said in the statement. "Again, I would like to thank the commissioner for the chance to return to the game I love and the opportunity to become an example of positive change."<br /><br />The former Atlanta Falcons player is a free agent and has not been signed by any team.<br /><br />Dungy has agreed to continue working with Vick as an adviser and mentor, the NFL statement said.<br /><br />In a letter to Vick, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote that his decision regarding full reinstatement "will be based on reports from outside professionals, your probation officer and others charged with supervising your activities, the quality of your work outside football" as well as factors such as the absence of any further law enforcement issues.<br /><br />"This step-by-step approach is not meant to be a further punishment and should not be viewed as such," Goodell wrote, according to the NFL. "Instead, it is intended to maximize the prospect that you can successfully resume your career and your life. I believe that a transitional approach with a strong network of support will give you the best opportunity to manage effectively the various issues and pressures that you will inevitably face in the coming weeks and months and earn your full reinstatement."<br /><br />The league suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after his guilty plea. Although he was released from federal custody July 20, he must serve three years of probation, the league said.<br /><br />In reviewing Vick's status, Goodell considered court records, submissions from Vick and others, reports from outside professionals and conversations with current and former players, among other items.<br /><br />At a hearing July 22, Goodell spoke to Vick along with his representatives and others including NFL Players' Association officials.<br /><br />"As I emphasized to you when we met ... it is actions that count," Goodell wrote to Vick. "I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around and that you intend to be a positive role model for others. I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."<br /><br />Vick has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At a hearing in that case, he told the judge that he earned 12 cents an hour as an overnight janitor while in prison.<br /><br />The Humane Society of the United States has said Vick has offered to work with the organization on anti-dogfighting campaigns.<br /><br />Wayne Pacelle, the organization's president, has said Vick was to work on programs aimed at preventing youths from getting involved in dogfighting and on programs to assist young people who have been involved.<br /><br />In testimony before the bankruptcy judge, Vick acknowledged committing a "heinous" act and said he should have acted more maturely.<br /><br />"Your margin of error is extremely limited," Goodell wrote to Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."</div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-71641120206208367442009-06-26T12:03:00.004-04:002009-06-26T12:31:40.323-04:00Michael Jackson: His Successes Vs His Woes<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20"><br />Michael Jackson's</a> bizarre private life and change in appearance ended up eclipsing his musical achievements, according to the world's media.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson's</a> death from cardiac arrest Thursday has sparked an outpouring of grief from fans, and his life has been given a more measured summing up by news media.<br /><br />Britain's Guardian newspaper said "his bizarre life-style and personal notoriety eclipsed his talent and his numerous achievements."<br /><br />The Guardian said his fame, from the age of 11, "had such a damaging effect that his life was permanently affected."<br /><br />"A combination of dysfunctional family and invasive fame ate away at the essentially private singer, whose initially minor eccentricities escalated into grotesque changes to his appearance and lifestyle.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpppLNJNL2Zem9vfDlxyQIxWSW0Vvl26z3Ebf52z79HzTFdje-b4LAA2LQkrrCRTL3a_P215TrzcNM0ZtUWlDj1wUHJ18PoRj6-rvQwKS6ydogiBFFAfFWKj22JdibO67VECPQlA/s400/Michael+jackson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351671418558734898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"If ever there was an illustration of the adage that celebrity destroys what it touches, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> was it," the Guardian said.<br /><br />Daily Mail agreed, saying <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> "courted controversy and acclaim in equal measure.<br /><br />"It was the tales of oxygen chambers, chimp chums, shopping sprees and physical transformation that have brought intrigue and amusement and earned the singer the nickname <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Wacko Jacko</a>."<br /><br />The Mail said star's behavior drew increasing alarm following a "documentary in which he pronounced sharing a bedroom with a child to be 'charming' and an incident in Germany in which he dangled his baby son Prince Michael II over a balcony."<br /><br />The country's Times newspaper said only a "handful of performers -- (Elvis) Presley, (Frank) Sinatra, the Beatles -- could outrank <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Michael Jackson</a> as the most successful popular music entertainer of all time."<br /><br />However, "as he approached middle-age, it was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson's</a> abiding interest in children which was his undoing."<br /><br />Australia's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper also compared <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> to Presley. "Just as Presley was the iconic voice and presence of the 1950s so <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> enjoyed a similar status during 1980s and 1990s. And just as Presley, driven by the strange demons that seem to haunt the super-famous, died before his time so <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> has died, aged 50, in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest."<br /><br />France's Liberation newspaper described <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> as the "total artist," but said his physical transformation and way of life brought controversy.<br /><br />Le Monde said <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> was one of the most famous singers of the 20th century but his image was tarnished by his private life.<br /><br />Germany's Bild tabloid agreed, saying <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson's</a> private antics had seem him "dethroned" as the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">King of Pop</a>.<br /><br />China's People's Daily newspaper said <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> had "set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades."<br /><br />"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson's</a> dramatic stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.<br /><br />"His one-gloved eccentric style also earned him plenty of critics and another nickname, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Wacko Jacko</a>."<br /><br />Thailand's Bangkok Post newspaper said: "While <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jackson/e/B000APU04Q?tag=fity-20">Jackson</a> ruled the charts and dazzled audiences with electric dance moves like the backwards "moonwalk" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career was overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse."<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-7613403178168646812009-01-20T07:20:00.001-05:002009-01-21T04:46:33.751-05:00Obama at concert: The dream of our founders will live on<div style="text-align: justify;">Inauguration revelry began Sunday afternoon as thousands of people packed the National Mall in Washington for a free concert featuring big stars.<br /><br />President-elect Barack Obama addressed a roaring crowd after 90 minutes of high-energy acts such as U2, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Beyonce.<br /><br />"Welcome to this celebration of American renewal," he said.<br /><br />"In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now."<br /><br />"I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure," Obama said. "That it will prevail; that the dream of our founders will live on in our time."<br /><br />Obama spent the morning visiting Arlington National Cemetery and attending church before heading to the "We are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration" at the Lincoln Memorial. It was nothing but good vibes -- a brief respite for an incoming president who will face huge problems after he takes office Tuesday.<br /><br />Bruce Springsteen opened the concert with his song "The Rising," singing, "How far I've gone/How high I've climbed/On my back's a 60 pound stone/On my shoulder a half mile line."<br /><br />Along the National Mall, between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, people watched the concert on massive screens and sang along with "America the Beautiful" and "This Land is Your Land."<br /><br />During U2's performance of "Pride (In the Name of Love)," a tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., frontman Bono referenced the civil rights leader's "I Have a Dream" speech, saying that it was also, "an Irish dream, a European dream, and African dream, an Israeli dream, and a Palestinian dream."<br /><br />Obama mentioned the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, and also referred to King's "I Have a Dream" speech, which took place in the same spot where he was standing.<br /><br />"Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character's content," he said.<br /><br />Obama said what gives him "the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you -- Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there."<br /><br />Vice President-elect Joe Biden also spoke, pointing to those "marble domes" and towers of Washington surrounding the crowd which represent the "majesty of a great nation -- all built stone by stone by American men and women."<br /><br />Work is about "dignity" and "respect," he said, praising the ethic of hard-working Americans. "We owe them the chance to go to work each day knowing they have the thanks of a grateful nation."<br /><br />Comedians and actors such as Steve Carell and Jamie Foxx brought some comic levity to the inauguration of a president who will face some serious problems in just a few days.<br /><br />Foxx, always the showman, urged "Chi-town" to "stand up!"<br /><br />Joined by his wife Michelle and their children, the President-elect stood up, laughing and clapping.<br /><br />Foxx did an impression of Obama's speech election night, as Obama laughed.<br /><br />Stevie Wonder belted out "Higher Ground" with Shakira and Usher. Herbie Hancock backed Sheryl Crow and will i. am. as they sang Bob Marley's "One Love."<br /><br />Garth Brooks sang the 1971 folk rock classic "American Pie" followed by a choir-backed version of "We shall be free." Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Jack Black and Rosario Dawson also addressed the crowd.<br /><br />The celebration caps Obama's shortened version of President Abraham Lincoln's 1861 rail trip to Washington. Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president in Washington on Tuesday.<br /><br />A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday morning suggests most Americans see Obama's inauguration as a chance for a divided America to unify.<br /><br />"You know the country is in the middle of a honeymoon when 6 in 10 Republicans have a positive view of Obama," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.<br /><br />CNN's John King interviewed Obama this week in Ohio. King noted that Obama will take the oath of office on the steps of a Capitol built on the backs of slaves and live in a house built on the backs of slaves.<br /><br />"This has to be incredibly overwhelming," King said.<br /><br />Obama replied, "The notion that I will be standing there and sworn in as the 44th president, I think, is something that hopefully our children take for granted. But our grandparents are still stung by it and it's a remarkable moment."<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-16707953634156288402009-01-19T08:21:00.001-05:002009-01-21T04:45:17.543-05:00Boy George jailed for 15 months<div style="text-align: justify;">Karma caught up with former Culture Club singer Boy George on Friday when a court sentenced the star to 15 months for falsely imprisoning a male escort, a court spokeswoman said.<br /><br />Full details of the sentence weren't immediately clear.<br /><br />A jury unanimously found the pop star and DJ, whose real name is George O'Dowd, guilty of the charge last month after a seven-day trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in northeast London.<br /><br />The jury determined O'Dowd, 47, had chained male escort Audun Carlsen to a wall at his apartment in London's hip Shoreditch neighborhood. Carlsen had also said the singer beat him with a metal chain.<br /><br />O'Dowd, who maintained his innocence, came to court Friday sporting a multicolored tattoo on his bald head, none of his trademark makeup, and a black winter coat.<br /><br />The star quit Culture Club in 1987 after a string of hits with the group, including "Karma Chameleon," "Do you really want to hurt me?" and "Church of the Poison Mind."<br /><br />He has since become a DJ and revived his singing career, releasing a single last year called "Yes we can," inspired by Barack Obama and featuring clips of the U.S. president-elect.<br /><br />O'Dowd is no stranger to the law. In August 2006, he spent five days cleaning the streets of Manhattan as part of a community service sentence for falsely reporting a break-in at his New York City home.<br /><br />He has also publicly battled drug addiction.<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-18181986642654742222009-01-19T08:14:00.001-05:002009-01-20T06:01:34.244-05:00Photographs of Madonna could sell for $10,000 each<div style="text-align: justify;">Two photographs of Madonna set to appear in a Christie's auction next month will probably sell for at least $10,000 each, according to estimates posted on the company's Web site.<br /><br />One, a full-frontal nude black-and-white photograph of the singer, was taken in 1979 by celebrated American photographer Lee Friedlander for a series of nudes he was working on, said Milena Sales, a spokeswoman for the auction house.<br /><br />Madonna was about 20 when the photograph, one of several, was taken.<br /><br />A handful from the shoot appeared in Playboy magazine in 1985, Sales said. Christie's put price estimates for the photograph at $10,000 to $15,000.<br /><br />The second photograph of Madonna was taken in the 1980s by Helmut Newton.<br /><br />In the Newton photograph, which is in color, Madonna is wearing a short dress and black stockings with garters. The circumstances behind the photo shoot were not immediately clear.<br /><br />The auction will take place in New York on February 12.<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-4776824430358043122009-01-19T07:10:00.002-05:002009-01-20T06:00:17.195-05:00Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" Defied The Odds<div style="text-align: justify;">The casting director of "Slumdog Millionaire" credited the director's risky decision to have actors speak Hindi through much of the film for making it "real to the core."<br /><br />Loveleen Tandan, who also served as co-director, called the movie's success "an amazing tsunami" that was completely unexpected.<br /><br />The movie -- filmed on location in Mumbai, India, with a $15 million budget -- won Golden Globe awards Sunday for best drama, best director (Danny Boyle), best screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and best original score (A.R. Rahman).<br /><br />It's a story about a poverty-raised orphan in Mumbai who goes on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."<br /><br />Tandan said casting was unusually challenging.<br /><br />"I've never seen a script where the main character gets to comes alive in three age groups and all with equal screen time, almost -- and here there were three characters who were going to be portrayed in three age groups," she said.<br /><br />She had to find nine people to play the three characters at ages 6, 12 and 18 years of age "who could feel each other, be like each other, look like each other at three different age groups," Tandan said.<br /><br />"As we went along and as I was looking, especially the youngest ones to play slum kids, I started to get a sense very early on that it needed not be in English but to be in Hindi so that it could come alive in a way that's most authentic, most sort of real to the core," she said.<br /><br />She suggested to director Danny Boyle that one-third of the movie be spoken in Hindi, she said.<br /><br />"I thought it was an idea that was probably going to get turned down because it's a movie for an international audience and needs to play everywhere and therefore needs to be in English, but he was so open to it."<br /><br />A day later, after he discussed the idea with the writer and investors, he agreed, she said.<br /><br />Tandan, who did not make the trip to the United States for the awards, watched from Mumbai.<br /><br />"I was completely exhilarated, but with disbelief because it's a small film with no expectations," she said. "We were working under very harsh conditions on real locations here in Mumbai and trying to bring out the best intensity."<br /><br />"It kind of feels surreal, but at the same time it's very heartening and really, really fantastic," Tandan said.<br /><br />With the film's victories at the Critics' Choice Awards last week, it must be considered the front-runner in the Academy Awards' best-picture race. The Academy Award nominations will be announced January 22.<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-46729285025874046082009-01-16T01:06:00.001-05:002009-01-16T01:06:49.204-05:00Seven Convicted of Global Child Porn Trafficking in Florida<div style="text-align: justify;">A federal court jury in Florida convicted seven people of participating in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise, according to the Department of Justice.<br /><br />Jurors convicted the seven Wednesday of multiple counts of child exploitation, pornography and obstruction of justice.<br /><br />Members of the organization used Internet news groups to swap and share "illegal images and videos depicting prepubescent children, including toddlers, engaged in various sexual and sadistic acts," prosecutors said.<br /><br />An indictment filed in the case detailed interactions between group members as they swapped and commented on images.<br /><br />"My thanks to you and all the others that together make this the greatest group of pedos to ever gather in one place," Freeman wrote in response to one posting, according to the indictment. And a posting from Castleman, cited in the indictment, read, "Thanks to all for the wonderful material that has been posted."<br /><br />An Australian constable who infiltrated the group in August 2006 was among 50 witnesses testifying at trial. He told the jury that the group traded more than 400,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse before being dismantled by law enforcement, according to the Justice Department statement.<br /><br />Each defendant faces a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, fines and the possibility of supervised release for the rest of their lives, authorities said. The seven will be sentenced April 14.<br /><br />During the six-day trial, evidence showed the seven participated in what prosecutors called a "well-organized criminal enterprise whose purpose was to proliferate child sex abuse images to its membership during a two-year period."<br /><br />"This was a wide-scale, high-volume, international trafficking enterprise that used sophisticated computer encryption technology and file-sharing techniques," Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, said in the statement.<br /><br />The seven defendants were James Freeman of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; Gary Lakey of Anderson, Indiana; Marvin Lambert of Indianapolis, Indiana; Neville McGarity of Medina, Texas; Warren Mumpower of Spokane, Washington; Daniel Castleman of Lubbock, Texas; and Ronald White of Burlington, North Carolina, according to the Department of Justice.<br /><br />The charges included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography, transporting child pornography, receiving child pornography and obstruction of justice, prosecutors said.<br /><br />Seven additional American defendants previously entered guilty pleas, prosecutors said.<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-77325947290846905692009-01-16T01:00:00.001-05:002009-01-16T00:59:57.401-05:00Third-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza killed<div style="text-align: justify;">An Israeli artillery strike Thursday killed the third most senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Hamas television announced.<br /><br />Saeed Siam was killed "in the latest shelling on a house" in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, said Al-Aqsa TV, which showed images of a body it identified as Siam.<br /><br />Siam served as interior minister in the Hamas-led government before it was dissolved in 2007. He ranked behind only former Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and former Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar in Hamas' Gaza hierarchy.<br /><br />The Israeli military confirmed it targeted a house where Siam was believed to be present.<br /><br />Hamas vowed to avenge Siam's death.<br /><br />"His blood will be the fuel for the coming victory," according to a statement on Al-Aqsa TV.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Israel ground forces -- backed by massive air power and heavy shelling -- pushed deep into Gaza City on Thursday.<br /><br />Heavy battles with Hamas militants damaged the United Nations' main relief compound, a foreign media building and a Red Cross hospital.<br /><br />U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in the region as part of the diplomatic effort to secure a truce. He met with Israeli officials on Thursday, and condemned the attack on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency's compound in Gaza City that destroyed relief supplies and wounded three people.<br /><br />Speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Ban said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the shelling of the compound "was a grave mistake and he took it very seriously."<br /><br />Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that Barak actually told the U.N. chief that "if it was Israel's fire, it was a grave mistake."<br /><br />Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed sorrow over the incident, but maintained that Israeli forces were responding to militant fire near the compound.<br /><br />UNRWA Director John Ging denied there were any militants at the compound, and also said that at the time there was no fighting in the area.<br /><br />Ging said UNRWA's headquarters -- located in a densely populated neighborhood -- was hit repeatedly by shrapnel and artillery, including white phosphorus shells -- the use of which is restricted under international law.<br /><br />"It looks like phosphorus, it smells like phosphorus and it's burning like phosphorus," Ging said. "That's why I'm calling it phosphorus."<br /><br />Some 700 Palestinians were taking shelter in the compound at the time. Read an aid worker's diary<br /><br />Ging said that Olmert apologized to Ban over the incident.<br /><br />There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the allegation of the use of white phosphorous, but Israeli spokesman Regev said Hamas recently fired phosphorus shells at Israelis.<br /><br />In addition, the Foreign Press Association said international news agency offices in Gaza City were hit by Israeli fire Thursday and demanded Israel stop shooting at the building that houses them.<br /><br />Palestinian security sources said two employees for Abu Dhabi television were wounded in the incident.<br /><br />As it stepped up its military campaign, Israel on Thursday also dispatched senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad to Cairo to discuss a cease-fire proposal.<br /><br />A Hamas delegation is also in the Egyptian capital, talking with leaders there who are trying to hammer out a temporary truce.<br /><br />Israel said it initiated the operation into Gaza -- which is controlled by Hamas -- to stop rocket fire on its southern cities and towns.<br /><br />Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have died in the operation in Gaza and from rocket strikes on southern Israel, according to the Israeli military.<br /><br />More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, including many civilians, Palestinian medics said.<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-240881829639120632009-01-10T06:36:00.002-05:002009-01-10T06:41:32.853-05:00Patrick Swayze in hospital for pneumonia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1TQ9FH8p-O9RLpRpBcqbQCRGtwUw_1vapyyImx0IoP7jBn8PdtniTaAi2P2p7oTcu_8OoyQB3IGv7ALAWhKqWo_ptmHxxa07W_f7vS5Tcys5GCYkAmjXo7e9gUQNYfHqbTwbpw/s1600-h/Patrick+Swayze+in+hospital+for+pneumonia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1TQ9FH8p-O9RLpRpBcqbQCRGtwUw_1vapyyImx0IoP7jBn8PdtniTaAi2P2p7oTcu_8OoyQB3IGv7ALAWhKqWo_ptmHxxa07W_f7vS5Tcys5GCYkAmjXo7e9gUQNYfHqbTwbpw/s400/Patrick+Swayze+in+hospital+for+pneumonia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289627836394698514" border="0" /></a><br />Patrick Swayze was hospitalized and being treated for pneumonia Friday, days after he said in a prime-time special that he's "angry" and "going through hell" in his fight to beat inoperable pancreatic cancer.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The news was revealed during an event for television critics in Los Angeles, where Swayze, 56, had been scheduled to discuss his upcoming A&E series "The Beast." He "asked us specifically to go forward with today's panel," said A&E Television Networks president and chief executive Abbe Raven.<br /><br />Last year, the actor revealed he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. His publicist said there would be "no statement at this time."<br /><br />Bob DeBitetto, a top A&E executive, said at the critic's session that Swayze had decided to check himself into the hospital "for observation" after coming down with pneumonia. "Patrick did want me to tell you that he is very sorry he couldn't be at the panel this morning, but he plans to get back to promoting 'The Beast' as soon as he is back on his feet."</div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-61655850204694579522009-01-01T07:32:00.001-05:002009-01-01T07:34:18.536-05:00Music and TV legend Dick Clark Still Rockin' New Year's Eve<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0dx5RdcMb54FdOAsm78imtaBSRhBB-0xZZEG1BBwScAeem8kII0TflyP0NzGSmpImXCx3XXQlQDVa9nYH1iaBr5XI7XGFTiDGvwUM6hNCQmo1sd2EKLQg4YJSYDiNZ4UAqosnA/s1600-h/Music+and+TV+legend+Dick+Clark+Rocks+New+Year%27s+Eve.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0dx5RdcMb54FdOAsm78imtaBSRhBB-0xZZEG1BBwScAeem8kII0TflyP0NzGSmpImXCx3XXQlQDVa9nYH1iaBr5XI7XGFTiDGvwUM6hNCQmo1sd2EKLQg4YJSYDiNZ4UAqosnA/s400/Music+and+TV+legend+Dick+Clark+Rocks+New+Year%27s+Eve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286302660396904178" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Four years after a stroke, Dick Clark is relishing the prospect of another New Year's Eve celebration, determined to appear for his 36th year in Times Square. And he's hardly surprised by the current state of the music industry he helped build — he predicted this, after all.<br /><br />Clark, who turned 79 last month and has been in front of the cameras for 61 years, said in a recent interview by e-mail that his involvement in "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009," diminished though it may be, is a labor of love and "not really a job."<br /><br />"Obviously, I'm not able to be as actively involved as I used to be out on the street, up on a platform and interacting with the crowds in Times Square" in New York, Clark wrote. "Thank goodness my friend Ryan Seacrest is able to handle that end of the activity on the show these days.<br /><br />ABC-TV's 3 1/2-hour live extravaganza will include performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange and Robin Thicke. Fergie hosts the Hollywood segments.<br /><br />Clark woke up with right-side paralysis on Dec. 6, 2004 — "Your life changes overnight," he said. (Regis Philbin filled in for Clark on the New Year's Eve show that year.) Clark still uses a walker or wheelchair, and speaking is difficult.<br /><br />"I am one of the fortunate ones who survived and have been minimally impaired, so I'm just thankful I'm still able to enjoy this once-a-year treat of bringing in the New Year."<br /><br />The "American Bandstand" icon and longtime producer of the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Golden Globes has long considered them "my television kids."<br /><br />He's also watched their ratings plummet in recent years.<br /><br />"There was a time when they attracted a huge audience," Clark wrote. "The audiences have dropped off as the years have gone by because of increasing television competition.<br /><br />"What we are seeing is more and more talent and less emphasis on people getting awards. Television's award shows have now become gigantic showcases for variety."<br /><br />Clark was there at the birth of rock 'n' roll ("American Bandstand" kicked off July 9, 1956), and he's watched dramatic changes in the music industry. Not that those changes would come as much of a surprise.<br /><br />"I can remember writing an article several years ago where I let my imagination run wild," Clark wrote. "I said we'd see the day when music is delivered directly to our homes, and delivered to us in some form of wireless communication.<br /><br />"The fun of actually holding a record in our hands will disappear and we'll all have our own individual library of our favorite songs that we'll listen to at home, at work, in the car wherever we happen to go."<br /><br />These days, Clark divides his time between his Malibu home and Burbank office. There's an hourlong therapy session each morning, then he answers mail and phone calls, attends meetings and reads.<br /><br />The day ends with his devoted wife Kari.<br /><br />"My wife and I may join friends for dinner at a restaurant, attend a movie or just grab a bite to eat by ourselves away from home," Clark wrote. "Occasionally, we'll attend a music concert. Recently we've seen Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Frankie Valli and Cher." - AP<br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-22848563246916248392008-11-30T11:12:00.004-05:002008-11-30T11:44:43.960-05:002 Americans Killed in Nigerian Religiopolitical Crisis<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudcsZbjgb-D0UvOeQF1K19fZzVbYBSyn0Cvy-PQcuN5jf0YnYk39EP4OpFLewBc1UIfYPsmulj43kfYhczztKxnm81hBVQPnNrzHC6S8X3SkNGgqC9iAP1sK3wOGb9NjAFy4MRA/s1600-h/Nigerian+Religiopolitical+Crisis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudcsZbjgb-D0UvOeQF1K19fZzVbYBSyn0Cvy-PQcuN5jf0YnYk39EP4OpFLewBc1UIfYPsmulj43kfYhczztKxnm81hBVQPnNrzHC6S8X3SkNGgqC9iAP1sK3wOGb9NjAFy4MRA/s400/Nigerian+Religiopolitical+Crisis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274489715695323970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />As you begin to read this, I want to ask you, why are you reading it?<br /><br />Is it because it says 2 Americans were also killed?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately this reflects how much American Television Networks value other nations around the world and how they determine what Americans should know about. In the past few days, international news segments reported the Mumbai terrorist attack. But surprisingly none said anything about the religious/political crisis in Nigeria which killed even more people than the Mumbai Attack ,even if you can find the news on their websites.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;" ><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/29/nigeria.riots.ap/index.html">CNN</a>: "Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam at the Jos, Nigeria's main mosque, said more than 300 bodies were brought there Saturday, and 183 more could be seen near the building waiting to be interred."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;" ><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27967681/">MSNBC</a>: "Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam at the Jos, Nigeria's main mosque, said more than 300 bodies were brought there Saturday, and 183 more could be seen near the building waiting to be interred."</span><br /><br />Fortunately No American was killed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The lesson?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">As long as Americans are not dying, the bloodshed does not make news to the American public.</span><br /><br /><script><br />digg_url ='http://knuws.blogspot.com/2008/11/2-american-killed-in-nigerian.html';<br /></script><br /><script src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js"></script><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-57249940866775444012008-11-29T08:48:00.001-05:002008-11-29T08:51:40.926-05:00French Men use the Largest Size of Condoms in Europe<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The French male is not noted for modesty when it comes to discussing his sexual prowess, and a survey of condom size appears to underline the point.<br /><br />More than 10,500 men across 25 European countries were asked to measure their penis - and the French came out on top with a claimed average length of 6.09 in (15.48 cm).<br /><br />This was 1.2 in (3 cm) longer than the Greeks, who had the shortest average measurement in Europe.<br /><br />The Frenchman's French letter requirements were disclosed during an eight-month study conducted by the Institute of Condom Consultancy, based in Singen, southern Germany.<br /><br />Jan Vinzenz Krause, the institute's director, refused to comment on how honest he thought the Frenchmen had been in reporting the data.<br /><br />The purpose of the survey was to educate teenagers about the importance of effective contraception.<br /><br />The institute also offers online advice about condom size and hosts "Pimp Your Condom" - an annual fair organised in cooperation with the national Aids Trust - with the aim of informing teens about sexually transmitted diseases.<br /><br />Krause was in the spotlight in the past when he produced a prototype of the "spray-on condom" - an aerosol can which contains latex that creates a perfectly fitting condom.<br /><br />However, the idea was not developed further.<br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33488739.post-78112177754276172282008-11-29T08:42:00.000-05:002008-11-29T08:48:37.762-05:00Arsonist Given Beer by Police Officers<div style="text-align: justify;">Jason Wallace, 26, walked into the city's main police station and told how he had set fire to a flat because the occupant owed him money, Swansea Crown Court heard.<br /><br />Wallace smelled strongly of alcohol and claimed he had downed nine litres of cider.<br /><br />While at the police station he became worked up and officers asked a doctor for advice.<br /><br />He told them to serve him lager to lessen the withdrawal symptoms of coming off a massive drinking spree.<br /><br />Judge Gerald Price said: "Wonders will never cease. Does this mean that if you turn up at a police station and ask for alcohol you might get a drink?"<br /><br />Wallace admitted arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.<br /><br />Prosecuting, Christopher Talfan Davies said Wallace lived in the same block of flats at Heol Maes-y-Cerrig, Loughor, as Jamie Thomas.<br /><br />Wallace was to explain later that he became angry because Mr Thomas owed him money.<br /><br />Knowing Mr Thomas was out on September 28, he entered his flat and set fire to newspapers on a bed.<br /><br />Other residents had to flee for their lives and the blaze caused almost £10,000 worth of damage.<br /><br />"Fortunately, firemen were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to other homes," said Mr Davies.<br /><br />He added that Mr Thomas, who denied owing Wallace any money, had been left very nervous by what had happened.<br /><br />Mr Davies told the court that while in custody Wallace refused medication, but agreed to take glucose if it came with alcohol.<br /><br />Wallace's barrister, Nic Sefton, said he had a serious drink problem and was now enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous.<br /><br />Mr Sefton confirmed that lager had been obtained for Wallace in police custody as a way of getting him to calm down.<br /><br />Judge Price said arson was a "grave offence" and a prison sentence was inevitable.<br /><br />"Fires can easily spread," he added.<br /></div>Wilson Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865172370364816721noreply@blogger.com0