tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1741941418008019172024-02-02T12:43:22.499-08:00BREAKING NEWS TODAYDaily News Around the WorldAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-63254226313061150882010-03-23T23:14:00.000-07:002010-03-23T23:16:24.365-07:00Internet firm in China stops using Google services<p>HONG KONG – An Internet company run by one of Asia's richest men said Tuesday it has ended its affiliation with <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_0">Google Inc</span>. as the American search giant stopped censoring the Internet in violation of Chinese regulations.</p> <p>Making good on threats made more than two months ago, Google began shifting its Chinese-based search functions to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_1">Hong Kong</span>, a Chinese territory where companies are not legally required to censor Internet search results.</p> <p><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_2">TOM Online</span>, a mainland Chinese Internet firm controlled by <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_3">Hong Kong tycoon</span> <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_4">Li Ka-shing</span>, said Tuesday it was stopping use of Google's search services after "the expiry of agreement."</p> <p>"TOM reiterated that as a Chinese company, we adhere to rules and regulations in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_5">China</span> where we operate our businesses," the company's parent, Hong Kong-based TOM Group, said in a statement Tuesday.</p> <p>TOM Online, which runs online and mobile Internet services in mainland China, did not say when it stopped using Google or provide any details of its agreement with the company.</p> <p>TOM likely used Google's search box feature, allowing visitors to its Web site to search the Internet with the U.S. company's technology.</p> <p>It's still unclear whether other Chinese companies that partner with Google will follow suit. Representatives for heavyweight Internet portal operator <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_6">Sina Corp</span>. did not answer calls seeking comment Tuesday.</p> <p>Companies, however, are liable to think twice about maintaining a partnership with a company that has been condemned by <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_7">Beijing</span> for running afoul of its censorship rules. From a business perspective, there are also uncertainties and risks for mainland Internet users relying on a <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_8">Hong Kong service</span> that could end up blocked.</p> <p><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_9">China Mobile</span>, the world's largest phone company by subscribers, with more than 500 million accounts, could find its partnership with Google for <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_10">mobile search services</span> in danger, analysts at brokerage CLSA said in a recent report.</p> <p>"Some of the Chinese companies may want to play it safe and look at other options," said Elinor Leung, CLSA's head of Asia Internet and telecommunications research in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_11">Hong Kong</span>.</p> <p>Google's action did not translate into unfiltered results for millions of Chinese, but shifted responsibility for restricting content to the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_12">central government</span> and its formidable Web filters.</p> <p>Hong Kong, a former British colony with a separate government and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1269403133_13">civil liberties</span> denied mainland Chinese, maintains open Internet policies.</p> <p>The territory's government "does not censor the content of Web sites hosted in Hong Kong" and "places no restrictions on access to Hong Kong based Web sites from anywhere in the world," the government said in a statement.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Source: Yahoo! News</span><br /></p>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-45540434081253202672010-03-12T15:28:00.000-08:002010-03-12T15:34:24.333-08:00Prius with stuck accelerator glides to safe stop<p>EL CAJON, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.</p><p><img style="width: 200px; height: 118px;" src="http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/8/R/8/prius05_frt.jpg" alt="2005 Toyota Prius" /> <img src="http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/8/S/8/prius05-int.jpg" alt="2005 Toyota Prius Interior" /> <img src="http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/8/T/8/prius05_side.jpg" alt="2005 Prius Aerodynamics Revealed" /></p> <p>Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said.</p> <p>"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.</p> <p>A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.</p> <p>"They also got it going on a steep upgrade," said Officer Jesse Udovich. "Between those three things, they got it to slow down."</p> <p>After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt.</p> <p>The officer then maneuvered his car in front of the Prius as a precautionary block, Udovich said.</p> <p>In a statement, Toyota said it has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the incident.</p> <p>Toyota has recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide — more than 6 million in the United States — since last fall because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius.</p> <p>Toyota owners have complained of their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000.</p> <p>One of the crashes claimed the life of a CHP officer last August.</p> <p>Off-duty CHP Officer Mark Saylor was killed along with his wife, her brother and the couple's daughter after their Lexus' accelerator got stuck in La Mesa.</p> <p>The Toyota-manufactured loaner vehicle slammed into a sport utility vehicle at about 100 mph, careened off the freeway, hit an embankment, overturned and burst into flames.</p><br /> Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.comAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-61859739957279524422009-01-17T22:25:00.000-08:002009-01-17T22:32:47.806-08:00Video shows jet crash-landing into the Hudson River.<script src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=int&vid=/video/us/2009/01/17/vo.surveillance.plane.cnn" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript>Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a></noscript><br /><br /><br />An US Airways jetliner that landed on the Hudson River Thursday was successfully hoisted out of the water late Saturday, following several hours of work by crews in frigid conditions.<br /><br />Investigators planned to tow the plane on a barge to an undisclosed location for their examination.Searchers using sonar believe the left engine of the aircraft lies on the river bottom. Divers will try to confirm the finding. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- both critical to determining exactly what happened during the brief flight Thursday -- remained on the aircraft.<br /><br />Earlier on Saturday, a National Transportation Safety Board official provided a detailed narrative, saying the pilot who landed the plane on the river thought that if he tried for a nearby airport in a densely populated area, there could have been "catastrophic consequences."<br /><br />NTSB board member Kitty Higgins, relaying the first public comments from the two pilots who were in the cockpit during the emergency landing Thursday, said at a news conference that both the pilot and the first officer saw a flock of birds seconds before the plane was rocked by loud thuds and both engines failed.<br /><br />City officials, passengers and others lauded pilot C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, 58, and other crew members for their handling of the landing and also praised first responders who acted quickly to minimize passengers' injuries in below-freezing temperatures. All 155 people on board the plane survived.<br /><br />Higgins said the first officer -- identified by US Airways as Jeffrey B. Skiles, 49 -- was flying the aircraft on takeoff from New York's LaGuardia airport when he noticed a flock of birds as the plane climbed between 3,000 and 5,000 feet.<br /><br />"He commented (to Sullenberger) on the formation, and he said the next thing he knew the windscreen was filled with birds. There was no time to take evasive action," Higgins said.When both engines went out following thudding impacts, Sullenberger took control of the aircraft and Skiles began complicated procedures to try to restart the engines, Higgins said. She added that interviews with the two indicated there was limited conversation between them as the aircraft began losing altitude.<br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size:100%;">TECH NEWS ONLINE</span></h2> <ul id="Feed1_feedItemListDisplay"><li> <span class="item-title"> <a href="http://technoroll.blogspot.com/2008/08/psp-3000-sony-to-launch-new-high.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The PSP-3000: Sony to launch new high-resolution PSP </span></a> </span> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"> <span class="item-title"> <a href="http://technoroll.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-use-limewire.html"> How to use Limewire? </a> </span> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"> <span class="item-title"> <a href="http://technoroll.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-make-accounting-software-cool.html"> How to make accounting software cool </a> </span> </li></ul><br /><br /><br />"These are both very experienced pilots. They knew what they had to do," Higgins said. Neither Sullenberger nor Skiles attended the news conference.Also Saturday, authorities released audio and transcripts of two 911 calls from people who said they saw that the plane was in trouble.<br /><br /><br />One caller said he saw the plane descend and reported hearing a loud noise shortly after the aircraft took off.<br /><br />"Oh, my God! It was a big plane, I heard a big boom just now. We looked up, and the plane came straight over us, and it was turning. Oh, my God!" a man calling from the Bronx told a 911 operator at 3:29 p.m., three minutes after the plane left LaGuardia.Minutes later, at 3:33 p.m., a woman called 911 and reported seeing the plane in the water.<br /><br />"A plane has just crashed into the Hudson River," she told an operator. "A US Air big DC-9 or -10 has crashed into the Hudson River. ... Oh, my gosh!"<br /><br />Source: CNNAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-90274171297401655932008-09-03T07:35:00.001-07:002008-09-03T07:39:20.661-07:00World's tallest building just got tallerDUBAI (AFP) - The <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1220379242_0">world's tallest building</span> just got taller -- the Burj Dubai tower in the booming Gulf emirate of Dubai has now reached a height of 688 metres (2,257 feet) and is still growing, developers Emaar said on Tuesday.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyb_QjuasXfyV6WuqoSxcrh4diqSmRnIpAnRj_yz6fuwUkMJac9ktY-1IInCi8CRE8Yl4gBtvQcUYDevyTDeXFFDKrWTzw2fgNQUQ7siZSxNSs3OHmQP59mHX4gHduisZh6EAypRg1U06Y/s1600-h/burj.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 403px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyb_QjuasXfyV6WuqoSxcrh4diqSmRnIpAnRj_yz6fuwUkMJac9ktY-1IInCi8CRE8Yl4gBtvQcUYDevyTDeXFFDKrWTzw2fgNQUQ7siZSxNSs3OHmQP59mHX4gHduisZh6EAypRg1U06Y/s320/burj.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241803871105047426" border="0" /></a>It now boasts 160 storeys, the highest skyscraper in the world, Emaar said in a statement. <p> The skyscraper, set for completion in September 2009, is one of several mega projects taking shape in Dubai, which is a member of the oil-rich <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1220379242_1">United Arab Emirates</span> (UAE) federation.</p> <p> Burj Dubai, which was started in 2004, overtook Taiwan's Taipei 101 tower as the world's tallest building when it reached 512 metres (1,533 feet) in April 2007.</p> <p> It became the tallest man-made structure on the planet, when Emaar announced in April that it has surpassed the 629-metre (2,063-foot) <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1220379242_2">KVLY-TV mast</span> in the United States.</p> <p> Its eventual height remains a closely-guarded secret, though there is speculation it will reach a final height of 900 metres (2,953 feet).</p> <p> It had been due for completion in the bustling city state at the end of 2008, but Emaar said in June that "finishing touches" had pushed back the date until September next year.</p><p><strong>Dont Miss:</strong><br /></p><ul><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-surprising-reasons-to-get-more-sleep.html"><strong>5 Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep</strong></a></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/food-to-feed-your-brain.html"><strong>What's The World's Worst Sound?</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/food-to-feed-your-brain.html">Food to Feed Your Brain</a> </strong></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-not-just-what-you-eat.html"><strong>It's Not Just What You Eat...</strong></a></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-is-l-carnitine.html"><strong>A Juicy Cure for Prostate Cancer</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-is-l-carnitine.html">What is L-Carnitine ?</a></strong></li></ul><p><br /></p> <p> The skyscraper is being built by a consortium involving Arabtec Construction LLC of the UAE, Samsung of South Korea and Besix of Belgium.</p> <p> Many <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1220379242_3">building projects</span> in Dubai, which is going through a construction frenzy, have been facing delays caused by shortage of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1220379242_4">building materials</span> and skilled labour.</p><p><br /></p><p>Source: Yahoo News<br /></p>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-81898502840807350552008-08-22T18:47:00.000-07:002008-08-22T20:34:56.304-07:00MIT Students Hacked Boston SubwayThree MIT graduates ( Zack Anderson, R.J. Ryan and Alessandro Chiesa ) planned a scheme to hack Boston's transit payment system. They have managed to reprogram the cards to increase their credit balance, thus allowing them to ride for free.<br /><br />Of course, being MIT students, they have decided to write up their prank on academic newspaper. But the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) took it to the courts, citing computer fraud, and asking for time to fix the system before the paper was presented.<br /><br />MBTA lost. Judge George O'Toole ruled that "presenting an academic paper would not violate computer fraud laws."<br /><br />The students went to receice "top marks" for their paper, from which we can conclude the following: RFID is very insecure, and MIT is awesome.!<br /><br />More Links:<br /><br /><ul><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://pinoytourist.blogspot.com/2008/07/where-to-find-terracota-warriors-from.html">Where to Find Terracota Warriors from The Mummy 3 Movie?</a></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://pinoytourist.blogspot.com/2008/05/angkor-wat-video.html">Angkor Wat Video</a></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blogs247.blogspot.com/2008/08/spanish-basketball-team-poses-for.html">Spanish basketball team poses for offensive picture</a></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blogs247.blogspot.com/2008/07/2-competitors-die-in-german-mountain.html">2 competitors die in German mountain race</a></li></ul>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-69294244310739684742008-08-16T09:28:00.000-07:002008-08-16T09:30:25.501-07:00So fast! Bolt smashes own world record to win 100<p>BEIJING (AP)—<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/jam/usain+bolt/8003383/;_ylt=ApPuvKnqiF2eVYmI6p8MY.3Q1Zl4">Usain Bolt</a> of <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/jam/;_ylt=AgLVylYWsJ6BcIOJXFfo8h3Q1Zl4">Jamaica</a> easily broke his own world record in the 100 meters to win the Olympic gold medal Saturday night, slowing up to celebrate and still finishing in 9.69 seconds.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/photo;_ylt=AjBedpw8tthv1Nwe2c5qiHXQ1Zl4?slug=fec23e618a0b4c59bc238f01cf40adcc.beijing_olympics_athletics_mens_100m_olyat350&prov=ap"><img style="width: 240px; height: 234px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.fec23e618a0b4c59bc238f01cf40adcc.beijing_olympics_athletics_mens_100m_olyat350.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=305&hc=339&q=70&sig=4d5KuQERi4DCUAbhuS.cOw--" class="photo photo0" title="Jamaica's Usain Bolt, front, crosses the finishline to win gold in the men's 100-meter final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. " alt="Jamaica's Usain Bolt, front, crosses the finishline to win gold in the men's 100-meter final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. " /></a></p> <p>Bolt stretched his arms out wide and put his palms out, then slapped his chest just before crossing the line. He came in well below his old mark of 9.72 seconds, set May 31 in New York—less than a year after Bolt took up the dash.</p> <p>What had been billed as a showdown was not close at all. <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/tri/richard+thompson/8003666/;_ylt=AqdW4o9do.zknJsOMedKRO_Q1Zl4">Richard Thompson</a> of Trinidad took the silver medal in 9.89, and <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/walter+dix/247216/;_ylt=AkcblgjEdfMbRUBiOoCRvufQ1Zl4">Walter Dix</a> of the <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/;_ylt=AgQUrfzAs1DjxQqNgznr6ZLQ1Zl4">United States</a> was third in 9.91.</p> <p>The 21-year-old Bolt’s performance left no doubt whatsoever about who deserves the title of “World’s Fastest Man.”</p> <p>Former world record-holder <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/jam/asafa+powell/8002573/;_ylt=AqDTkis9AfeFDfLunJa3SuTQ1Zl4">Asafa Powell</a> of Jamaica was fifth, while reigning world champion <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/usa/tyson+gay/241604/;_ylt=AkYKk_pGPP8ds9fO1nN3iaPQ1Zl4">Tyson Gay</a> of the United States failed to qualify for the final.</p> <p>Bolt’s specialty has been the 200 meters, which he will be a heavy favorite to win next week in what would be first men’s Olympic sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1988. But he persuaded his coach to let him try the dash—and what quick progress Bolt has made.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Source: Yahoo </span><br /></p>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-41477045071948972532008-08-12T16:19:00.000-07:002008-08-12T16:23:47.271-07:00Spanish basketball team poses for offensive picture<p><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/esp/">Spain</a>'s Olympic basketball team <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2540221/Spanish-basketball-red-faced-over-slit-eyed-Olympic-photo.html">posed for an advertisement prior to the Games</a> which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper <em>La Marca.</em></p><p><br /><em></em></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em></em><img src="http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_oly_experts__2/ept_sports_oly_experts-633900547-1218549565.jpg?ym.sy1_ClT_CzSdG" border="0" /></p><p><br /></p><p>As the uproar over the picture has grown today, more information about the advertising shot has come to light. <em>The New York Times</em> reports that <a href="http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/spanish-ad-spurs-charges-of-racism/">Spain's basketball team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear</a>, a Chinese company founded by Li Ning, the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony finale. The ad reportedly references the Spanish team recently extending their contract with the footwear giant for another four years. </p><p>The Spanish-language paper <em>El Mundo</em> has a piece <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elmundo.es%2Fjjoo%2F2008%2F2008%2F08%2F12%2Fbaloncesto%2F1218564829.html&sl=es&tl=en&hl=EN&ie=UTF-8">debating whether the ad was racist</a> that basically calls out the British press for trying to smear Spain's good name. But they miss the point. Whether the picture was made in good fun is irrelevant. It was a ridiculous idea that was bound to upset a lot of people.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Dont Miss:</strong><br /></p><ul><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-surprising-reasons-to-get-more-sleep.html"><strong>5 Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep</strong></a></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/food-to-feed-your-brain.html"><strong>What's The World's Worst Sound?</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/food-to-feed-your-brain.html">Food to Feed Your Brain</a> </strong></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-not-just-what-you-eat.html"><strong>It's Not Just What You Eat...</strong></a></li><li><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-is-l-carnitine.html"><strong>A Juicy Cure for Prostate Cancer</strong></a></li><li><strong><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-is-l-carnitine.html">What is L-Carnitine ?</a></strong></li></ul><br /><br />It's baffling that nobody involved in the picture -- from the photographers to the players -- even seemed to consider that this ad would be looked at negatively. Did it not occur to somebody that it might not be a good idea to mock an entire continent before the world's largest athletic competition that, by the way, <em>happens to take place on that continent</em>. Were they not aware of an invention called "the Internet" that allows pictures taken in Spain to be transmitted all over the world for the eyes of everyone? <p>And now that the inevitable controversy has hit, they're still defending themselves when a simple, "the ad was in poor taste, we apologize" would have sufficed. This story would be slowing down if the Spanish Basketball team had apologized immediately. Now it's just picking up steam. </p><p>The Organization of Chinese-Americans has released <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=5563668&page=1">multiple statements condemning the picture</a>. George Wu, deputy director of the group, said, "it is unfortunate that this type of imagery would rear its head during something that is supposed to be a time of world unity." Response in Beijing has been muted so far. </p><p>Madrid is thought to be one of the frontrunners to land the 2016 Summer Games (the site will be announced next year). Could this controversy hurt Spain's chances of landing another Olympics?</p><p>Interestingly, the Spanish basketball team took on <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/chn/">China</a> tonight, winning 85-75 in overtime. No word on whether <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/esp/pau+gasol/213588/">Pau Gasol</a> was on the receiving end of any elbows from <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/chn/ming+yao/236800/">Yao Ming</a>. The Chinese crowd did have a message for the Spainards though, booing vigorously during the game.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Source: Yahoo sports! </span><br /></p><p><em></em></p>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-86953847266984813192008-08-03T04:58:00.000-07:002008-08-03T05:02:39.291-07:00"Transformers" star injured in auto accident last weekend<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/02/shia.labeouf.ap/art.%20labeouf.gi.jpg" alt="LaBeouf" vspace="0" width="292" height="219" hspace="0" /><br /></div><br />Shia LaBeouf could have a long road before him as he recovers from the accident that crushed his hand, his <span style="font-weight: bold;">lawyer</span> says.<p> LaBeouf, 22, was injured in a late-night crash last Sunday in West Hollywood that flipped his truck. </p><p> The "Indiana Jones" star was cited for drunken driving, but authorities have since said he was not at fault, and that the other driver apparently ran a red light.</p> Michael Norris, LaBeouf's attorney, said in a statement Friday LaBeouf underwent four hours of surgery. His left arm remains immobilized from the elbow down.<br /><br />"He will need regular medical supervision until his doctors clear him to return to work," Norris said in the statement. "His doctors remain hopeful that he will fully recover, but due to extensive surgery and the nature of the injuries, there remains a substantial risk of both infection and other complications."<br /><br /><p><br /></p> <p>More Links: <a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html"><br /></a></p> <ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html">Major Reason Behind Oil Price Hike</a><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/08/forex-trading-basics.html"><br /> </a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/08/forex-trading-basics.html">Forex Trading Basics</a></span></li></ul><br /><br />Photos posted on entertainment blogs Friday showed <a href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Shia_LaBeouf" class="cnnInlineTopic">LaBeouf</a> wearing jeans, a ballcap and a T-shirt missing one sleeve as he smoked a cigarette outside the Los Angeles hospital where he has been recovering since the surgery. Bandages and a brace cover his left arm, leaving only his pinkie finger exposed.<p> LaBeouf has been filming the "Transformers" sequel, "Revenge of the Fallen." Director <a href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Michael_Bay" class="cnnInlineTopic">Michael Bay</a> said the injury may be added to the script.</p><p>"His two fingers are pretty smashed, but we're figuring out a way to shoot around it, kind of write it into the story," Bay told "Access Hollywood" in an interview that aired Friday.</p><p> Bay claimed his leading man was not drunk at the time of the crash and insisted that "that's gonna go away."</p><p> "He was drinking hours and hours before," Bay told the syndicated entertainment show.</p><br /><p>Source: CNN<br /></p>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-61216973146256998032008-07-23T16:38:00.000-07:002008-07-23T16:45:28.413-07:00Bear pack kills 2 Russian miners<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3I2zcehf9H-j9Sqhutl-RL4lCmJA0RMrGbZs-J8n2jG5F6_xd13-lvu3Ji1NJVHUhZj2QS_vTK-kd9x7oyThY1HTDGxL9BCdPmXMzvs0giMy_AKqsJ8OQyZNnK7LNsVt_8UgnKf1-aVM/s1600-h/russia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3I2zcehf9H-j9Sqhutl-RL4lCmJA0RMrGbZs-J8n2jG5F6_xd13-lvu3Ji1NJVHUhZj2QS_vTK-kd9x7oyThY1HTDGxL9BCdPmXMzvs0giMy_AKqsJ8OQyZNnK7LNsVt_8UgnKf1-aVM/s320/russia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226358505822931922" border="0" /></a><b>MOSCOW, Russia (AP)</b> -- A pack of enormous bears searching for food killed and ate two men at mines in Russia's Pacific Kamchatka region and have kept hundreds of geologists and miners from reaching the mine, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday.<br /><br />A pack of up to 30 Kamchatka bears -- which are similar to grizzlies -- prowled around two mines of a local platinum mining company where they killed the two guards on Thursday, local officials were quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying.<p> About 400 company workers have refused to return to the mines for fear of the bears, which stand 10 feet (three meters) tall on their hind legs and weigh up to 1,500 pounds (700 kilograms), Interfax reported.</p><p> About 10 bears have also been seen near the village of Khailino sniffing fish remains and other garbage.</p><p> Village official Viktor Leushkin was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying that a team of hunters will be dispatched to shoot or chase off the bears.</p>"These predators have to be destroyed," Leushkin was quoted as saying. "Once they kill a human, they will do it again and again." Rampant fish poaching in the Kamchatka tundra often forces the bears to seek other sources of food, such as garbage. Bears frequently attack humans in the scarcely populated peninsula region.<br /><br />Source: CNN<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">More Links:</span></span></span></span><br /><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html">Major Reason Behind Oil Price Hike</a><div style="text-align: left;">http://pinoytourist.blogspot.com</div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-38690238184415514192008-07-14T08:15:00.000-07:002008-07-14T08:16:59.624-07:002 competitors die in German mountain race<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWimMGchVJcrrs96w2a_NuvRk1FVzzZ6cC52265xo1uhrm3cP4ptku0zY168q4FvP0yryptKhfrJi2HOKU6_knvH2P5fZ0h62ekdRjLVwp6-HtMKoD1MYxxyMMBS1XhgSNaSQcRJtdtmMS/s1600-h/munich.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWimMGchVJcrrs96w2a_NuvRk1FVzzZ6cC52265xo1uhrm3cP4ptku0zY168q4FvP0yryptKhfrJi2HOKU6_knvH2P5fZ0h62ekdRjLVwp6-HtMKoD1MYxxyMMBS1XhgSNaSQcRJtdtmMS/s320/munich.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222888918828227458" border="0" /></a><b>MUNICH, Germany (AP)</b> -- Police say two competitors died of hypothermia and lack of oxygen during an endurance race up Germany's highest mountain. Six other people were hospitalized.<br /><br />Police and prosecutors say they have opened an investigation.<p> Both men collapsed shortly before arriving at the end of the race Sunday up the Zugspitze mountain on the German-Austrian border, some 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) above sea level.</p><p> Police say German and Austrian rescue teams were unable to revive the two racers and both died as a result of hypothermia and lack of oxygen.</p><p> Police say that six more people who showed signs of exhaustion and hypothermia were taken to hospitals. None are in critical condition.</p> The 14.6-kilometer (9.1-mile) race started in Ehrwald, Austria.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Source: CNN</span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-44101147540486786082008-07-14T08:08:00.000-07:002008-07-14T08:13:34.430-07:00Bush to lift ban on offshore oil drilling<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ-LFX6h77evwGmBcTf1V-UlH27uKg4a5vTLkj5rqLV1YgSEKyP51oRI4o4l82plwP47XiWhxCqhShKasw6ks3mkxDNhUiKNOD8pWB_6XnF7MN_ovlX56PGpok3zyvK90ynSd8iciJf1n/s1600-h/oil.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ-LFX6h77evwGmBcTf1V-UlH27uKg4a5vTLkj5rqLV1YgSEKyP51oRI4o4l82plwP47XiWhxCqhShKasw6ks3mkxDNhUiKNOD8pWB_6XnF7MN_ovlX56PGpok3zyvK90ynSd8iciJf1n/s320/oil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222888063840353218" border="0" /></a>President Bush will announce Monday he is lifting an executive order banning offshore oil drilling, the White House said.<br /><br />The move is largely symbolic because there is also a federal law banning offshore drilling. <p> Bush has been pushing Congress to repeal the law passed in 1981.</p><p> "There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a Rose Garden statement last month.</p><p> "In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said, adding that there is no more pressing issue for many Americans than gas prices. </p><p> Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, signed the executive order in 1990 banning offshore drilling.</p><p> The president plans to announce his decision at 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Garden.</p><p>The issue has gained prominence in the presidential race. Sen. John McCain recently announced he supported offshore oil drilling, reversing his previous stance.</p><p> Sen. Barack Obama wants to keep the ban in place.</p><p> Experts say offshore oil drilling would not have an immediate impact on oil prices because oil exploration takes years.</p><p> "If we were to drill today, realistically speaking, we should not expect a barrel of oil coming out of this new resource for three years, maybe even five years, so let's not kid ourselves," said Fadel Gheit, oil and gas analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. Equity Capital Markets Division.</p><p> But it almost certainly would be profitable.</p><p> Candida Scott, an oil industry researcher at Cambridge Research Associates, said oil needs to be priced at $60 a barrel or more to justify deep-shelf drilling. With oil now selling for $134 a barrel, companies are almost assured of profiting from offshore drilling, Scott said.</p><p>In his statement last month, Bush also renewed his demand that Congress allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas such as the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.<b> </b></p> The White House estimates that there are 18 billion barrels of oil offshore that have not been exploited because of state bans, 10 billion to 12 billion in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Green River Basin.<br /><br /><br />Source: CNNAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-49395621755306108032008-07-11T06:57:00.000-07:002008-07-11T07:02:40.061-07:00Oil price surges near $147<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMy8s7dIZMQcChwhI_JXgoTOxnbVTQoIGMEYOpB5pPRth4C-nX9wXcxLCz_9PwjEkURXhYI-z7Ppb67mWqOw8hwN9svIsA6RD5xOf7izln3ISMYoIM7oBPwVzh1rmTxse_RNlX4T3_DAy/s1600-h/oil.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221756484789984434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMy8s7dIZMQcChwhI_JXgoTOxnbVTQoIGMEYOpB5pPRth4C-nX9wXcxLCz_9PwjEkURXhYI-z7Ppb67mWqOw8hwN9svIsA6RD5xOf7izln3ISMYoIM7oBPwVzh1rmTxse_RNlX4T3_DAy/s400/oil.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html">Oil</a> hit a record trading high Friday as tensions with Iran, the possibility of renewed violence in Nigeria and a planned labor strike in Brazil threatened already tight supplies.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Light sweet crude for August delivery was up $5 to $146.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier prices touched a new trading record of $146.90, eclipsing the mark of $145.85 set July 3.</div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html"><strong>Oil</strong> </a>rallied more than $5 a barrel late Thursday after the oil producing nation of Iran conducted a second missile test in the Persian Gulf Thursday evening, increasing tensions with Israel and the West over its nuclear program.</div><br /><div><br />One of the great fears facing oil investors is the possibility that Iran could blockade the nearby Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that carries a large percentage of the world's oil traffic.<br />Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had earlier warned Iran that the United States would defend its allies. Iran then responded with another missile launch.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Unrest in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, has also set investors on edge. The nation's main rebel group threatened to renew attacks after the British expressed support for the country's current government. Militants have commonly targeted Nigeria's oil infrastructure.<br />Also adding to concerns was a potential labor strike against Brazilian oil company Petroleo Brasileiro. Brazil's Oil Workers Confederation said it was planning a 5-day strike that could affect 80 percent of the South American country's oil supply.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"There's always a fear premium in pricing. The tensions in Iran and the threat of supply disruption will help support oil prices," said Jeff Brown, managing director of FACTS Global Energy in Singapore told The Associated Press.</div><br /><div><br />JBC Energy in Vienna, Austria, told AP the news about Iran, Nigeria, as well as a reported threat of a strike by oil workers in Brazil were "enough to wake the market from its two-day slumber."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Still, while supply worries abound and the U.S. dollar remains weak compared with levels a year ago, many investors are seeing reasons to believe that oil might be peaking because of resistance to the record-level prices.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br />"Here in the United States, airplanes are being grounded. Travel has definitely changed. People are looking at hybrids," James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com, told AP. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Related Links:</div><br /><div><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/07/major-reason-behind-oil-price-hike.html"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;">Major Reason Behind Oil Price Hike</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;"><br /></span></strong><a href="http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/04/whats-worlds-worst-sound.html"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;">What's The World's Worst Sound?</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;"> </span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;">http://forexpinoy.blogspot.com</span></strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Source: CNN</div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-76198186252149212702008-07-02T20:51:00.000-07:002008-07-02T20:53:33.848-07:00Brinkley spouse had sex with teen, paid her $300K<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmVp5DAf2m5iC1gBhVjStir7zhW_-SoT4jv_ZpypzAfzP5KWkpF7WPTL8raXzdUxgv74NHnnQk4TINN16T9fb-qzVi8GHUwY_lvkvzfDBngrpODDABk3AGT-fcgwYSnicIUk2ouSxltzJ/s1600-h/art.brinkley.ap.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218630884950684578" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmVp5DAf2m5iC1gBhVjStir7zhW_-SoT4jv_ZpypzAfzP5KWkpF7WPTL8raXzdUxgv74NHnnQk4TINN16T9fb-qzVi8GHUwY_lvkvzfDBngrpODDABk3AGT-fcgwYSnicIUk2ouSxltzJ/s320/art.brinkley.ap.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>CENTRAL ISLIP, New York (AP)</strong> -- Christie Brinkley's estranged husband said Wednesday he had sex with his teenage lover in his office, then paid her $300,000 while hoping to keep their affair quiet. He also showered her with spending money, including $500 hidden under a rock.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Peter Cook, called to the stand by his wife's divorce lawyers, was questioned about his affair with Diana Bianchi, who is expected to testify that Cook seduced her shortly after hiring her for his Hamptons architectural firm.</div><div><br />Earlier, the fashion model's lawyer said Cook spent about $3,000 a month on pornographic Web sites."That is the man who's come before this court and asked for custody of his 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter," attorney Robert Stephan Cohen said. The couple's daughter, Sailor, had her birthday on Wednesday.</div><div><br />"It was wrong and he said it was wrong," Cook's lawyer, Norman Sheresky, said of the porn.</div><br /><div>But the main focus of the trial is Cook's affair with the 18-year-old, which set off a frenzy in the tabloids. Cohen said <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/christie_brinkley" _extended="true">Brinkley</a> found out about it from the teenager's stepfather; the fashion model got the bad news moments before she was to speak at the Southampton High School graduation. </div><br /><div>"There is no way to make that right," Sheresky said. "Peter has apologized. He's cried his eyes out. He's lost his marriage."Cook's lawyer said Brinkley is partly to blame for the public spectacle.<br />"For goodness sake: She's on her fourth husband," Sheresky told the court. "Your honor, we're here because of the self-indulgent wrath of a woman scorned."</div><br /><div><br />Cook said he met Bianchi in early 2005 when she was working at a Hamptons toy store. Their affair began that March, around the time he hired Bianchi. She was paid $20,000 to type magazine articles onto the company's Web site. He also left her cash payments in various spots: $500 under the rock outside his office; more behind a painting.</div><div><br />Before their relationship ended in late 2005, they had sex in the office a number of times, and at homes in the Hamptons owned by Brinkley.</div><div><br />Bianchi got the $300,000 in May 2007. The exact purpose of the money was not specified, but Cook said he was trying to protect himself and his family from scandal.<br />Sheresky said the case is no different than that of politicians who were unfaithful to their wives: former President Clinton, and former governors Eliot Spitzer of New York and James McGreevey of New Jersey.</div><br /><div>More on <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/02/brinkley.divorce.ap/index.html?iref=werecommend">CNN</a></div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-17591082181027452402008-07-02T20:48:00.000-07:002008-07-02T20:50:23.540-07:00Could Heath Ledger really win an Oscar?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmId0et31FM-4mGgqGJzh5JsIyT20ccZtivP2dkS5YkuFVxf_9kSb5PF61Pu5ooQTo1xEOfApbGj7uMxdM2_5o7CPcG8BzaEh_ELq7LwGQEGafNvZyr3lKOBkivTaRU8GQdgZiBmmRcsJX/s1600-h/art.knight.ledger.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218630141194611906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmId0et31FM-4mGgqGJzh5JsIyT20ccZtivP2dkS5YkuFVxf_9kSb5PF61Pu5ooQTo1xEOfApbGj7uMxdM2_5o7CPcG8BzaEh_ELq7LwGQEGafNvZyr3lKOBkivTaRU8GQdgZiBmmRcsJX/s320/art.knight.ledger.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Jack Nicholson's Joker was a blast. Heath Ledger's Joker is as dark and anarchic a figure as Randle McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the role that brought Nicholson his first Academy Award.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Ledger's performance in the Batman tale "The Dark Knight" is so remarkable that next January 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination.</div><br /><div><br />"I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award," said Christian Bale, who reprises his "Batman Begins" role as the tormented crime fighter. "But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy."</div><br /><div><br />Superhero flicks usually are not the stuff Oscar dreams are made of. Yet Ledger delivered so far beyond anyone's expectations that he could end up as the second performer to win Hollywood's top honor after his death.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"He may be the first actor since Peter Finch. He may even win the damn thing," said Gary Oldman, who co-stars as noble cop Jim Gordon in "The Dark Knight," which hits theaters July 18.</div><br /><div><br />Finch is the only person to win posthumously, earning the best-actor prize for 1976's "Network" two months after he died.</div><br /><div><br />News of Ledger's death at age 28 from an accidental drug overdose broke just hours after the Oscar nominations were announced last January, darkening what normally is one of Hollywood's happiest days. The nominations next year fall on the same date because they were moved back two days from their traditional Tuesday announcement to avoid conflicting with the presidential inauguration.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>More on <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/02/film.ledger.oscarbuzz.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">CNN</a></div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-90670534074878398312008-07-02T20:41:00.000-07:002008-07-02T20:46:55.948-07:00Betancourt, U.S. contractors rescued from FARCIn a secret operation a U.S. official called "brilliant," the Colombian military infiltrated rebel group FARC and deceived its members into giving up 15 hostages including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, Colombia's defense ministry said.<br /><br />Appearing healthy after being held hostage for six years in the jungle, Betancourt walked down from a Colombian military jet in Bogota on Wednesday and hugged her mother and husband, a broad smile on her face.<br /><br />"God carried out this miracle," she said. "This is a miracle because I know that all of you suffered with my family, my children, with me. This is a moment of pride for all of Colombia for such a perfect operation."<br /><br />Along with Betancourt, three American contractors and 11 other hostages who were Colombian police were rescued in Wednesday's operation.<br /><br />The 46-year-old Betancourt is a former senator who fought Colombia's drug cartels as a congresswoman in the 1990s. She ran for president in 2002, calling for a nation "free of corruption, violence and free of drugs."<br /><br />As a hostage, she was reduced to a frail woman whose health was reportedly in serious jeopardy.<br />She said she awoke Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. and said the rosary, then was told by her guards that she and the other hostages were to be transferred to another location, where their detention was to continue.<br /><br />"My heart broke because I did not want another transfer, another time, in captivity," she said.<br />But her guard, a woman, was unmoved, and ordered Betancourt to cross a river to the pickup spot -- "very harsh, move, hurry up fast, as always," she said.<br /><br />But her guard, a woman, was unmoved, and ordered Betancourt to cross a river to the pickup spot -- "very harsh, move, hurry up fast, as always," she said.<br /><br />Soon, two white helicopters approached and several men approached the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia commanders who were overseeing their transfer, she said.<br /><br />"They spoke with Commander Enrique and Cesar," she said of her captors. As she looked closer, she saw that the men from the helicopter were wearing shirts emblazoned with the likeness of Che Guevara, the Argentine hero of the Cuban revolution. "I thought, this is FARC," she said.<br />Placed in handcuffs, Betancourt got into the helicopter, still unaware of what was happening.<br /><br />"They closed the helicopter doors, the helicopter started flying and suddenly there was something happening," she said.<br /><br />"Suddenly I saw the commander who, during four years, had been at the head of our team, who so many times was so cruel and humiliated me, and I saw him on the floor naked with bound eyes."<br />Then, the reality of her liberation hit home.<br /><br />"The chief of operations said, 'We are the national army and you are all free,' and the helicopter almost fell because we started jumping, we screamed, we cried, we hugged. We couldn't believe it."<br /><br />More on <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/02/betancourt.colombia/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">CNN</a>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-682332950788300942008-05-20T22:22:00.000-07:002008-05-20T22:27:29.928-07:00Florida Everglades fire scorches 33,000 acresAlmost 33,000 acres of the Everglades National Park were burning Sunday, fire officials said, the latest in a series of wildfires that have scorched parts of Florida in May.<br /><br />The smoke cast a haze over parts of South Florida, including Miami, prompting a dense smoke advisory from the National Weather Service.<br />The fire, which threatened private property as well as an endangered bird, started Friday, the Southern Area InterAgency Management Blue Team said.<br /><br />By Sunday morning it was 20 percent contained, and fire crews were working to restrict it to the park while protecting the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, a federally protected species whose only habitat is in the Everglades.<br /><br />Windy conditions Sunday morning pushed the <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Wildfires" _extended="true">fire</a> into the corner of the park closest to Miami, fire officials said.<br />About 200 personnel battled the blaze in southern <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/Florida" _extended="true">Florida</a> Saturday night, but more crews were expected to join them Sunday.<br /><br />It is the latest wildfire to scorch Florida. More than 12,000 acres burned in the "Brevard Complex" fire near Palm Bay, on Florida's Atlantic Coast just south of Daytona Beach. That series of fires is about 75 percent contained and is expected to be fully contained on Tuesday, the National Interagency Fire Center said Sunday.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Source: CNN</span><br /><br />Last week, Florida authorities charged a suspect, Brian Crowder, with arson in connection with some of the fires in Palm Bay.<br /><br />The Brevard County fires have destroyed about 22 homes and structures, and damaged another 160 homes. Damage totals more than $9 million, officials said.<br />A 19,000-acre fire near Clewiston, Florida, on the south end of Lake Okeechobee, is about 50 percent contained, the fire center said Sunday.<br /><br />And a 1,300-acre fire north of Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle was 80 percent contained by Sunday, it said.<br />Last week, U.S. Navy officials said a Navy jet sparked a 257-acre forest fire in the Ocala National Forest in the north-central part of the state. The jet had missed a target on a practice bombing run, the officials said.Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-36177680544076443712008-05-20T22:18:00.000-07:002008-05-20T22:22:16.264-07:00Kennedy has Brain Tumor<div>U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor, doctors treating him at Massachusetts General Hospital said <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaYBRayPuj4zBk2C2_QzjiAPHG7Sxo1d3S7AxFaMap7T9YuSSUsJ7FacXT5VdiEPBSYj1N0UtzAcdcFnpVHGaT9M3FMAc4OW8EctIZDk9SzNJ-drBv8bvXbv8unmaMos47oWvrs1-hTBs/s1600-h/ted+kennedy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202697129534226338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaYBRayPuj4zBk2C2_QzjiAPHG7Sxo1d3S7AxFaMap7T9YuSSUsJ7FacXT5VdiEPBSYj1N0UtzAcdcFnpVHGaT9M3FMAc4OW8EctIZDk9SzNJ-drBv8bvXbv8unmaMos47oWvrs1-hTBs/s200/ted+kennedy.jpg" border="0" /></a>Tuesday.<br /><br />Kennedy, 76, was hospitalized Saturday morning after suffering a seizure at his family's compound at Hyannisport, Massachusetts.<br /><br />"Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe," according to a hospital statement.<br /><br />Malignant glioma is the most common primary brain tumor, accounting for more than half of the 18,000 primary malignant brain tumors diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.<br /><br />A tumor in that area of the brain could affect Kennedy's ability to speak and understand speech, as well as the strength on the right side of his body, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta said.<br /><br />The parietal lobes are also responsible for interpreting signals from parts of the brain that focus on vision, hearing, motor skills, sensory input and memory, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.<br /><br />The usual course of treatment for Kennedy's type of tumor includes radiation and chemotherapy, said Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, primary care physician. </div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-44365023577551714252008-05-17T03:56:00.000-07:002008-05-17T03:59:50.926-07:00Fears over China lake sparks more panic<b>BEICHUAN, China - </b>Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides.<br /><p> The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.</p><p> Landslides caused by Monday's quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Beichuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guanzhuang disaster relief center said.</p><p> Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver, he said.</p><p> About 30,000 people live downstream, not including the many rescuers and others who were in the area because of the quake relief effort, he said.</p><p> Journalist Diego Laje, one of those ordered to evacuate, said a stampede of thousands of people began as military officers warned them to leave a low-lying area near the river.</p><p> The official at the relief center said the one lake has an estimated 11 million cubic meters of water and the other has 1.5 million cubic meters.</p><p> Chinese government experts were considering blasting holes to allow controlled releases of the water, which was quickly rising, the official said.</p><p> The communities ordered evacuated, all in the northern Sichuan province's Beichuan county, include: Guanzhuang township, Suhe township, Liangshui township, Qifo township, Malu township, Zhuyuan township, Shangsi township, Xiasi township, Baolun township, and Jiuhexiang township.</p><p> Elsewhere in Sichuan province, rescuers continued to search for more survivors, buoyed by news of the rescue of two men more than 110 hours after the quake.</p><p> A German tourist was pulled out alive from under rubble in Taoguan village Saturday, 114 hours after being buried, China's official news agency Xinhua reported. The man's identity remained unknown, Xinhua reported.</p><p> Xinhua also reported that soldiers dug out a 52-year-old man who was buried in ruins for 117 hours.</p><p> Xinhua said Saturday that the man had been buried under a collapsed building in Beichuan, not far from the epicenter of Monday's earthquake.</p><p> A German Foreign Ministry official said that country's government had no information about the German man or the rescue. The Xinhua report said more than 20 Chinese soldiers helped rescue the tourist Saturday morning.</p><p> The man was rushed to the medical center at the Wenchuan disaster relief headquarters, but his condition was not immediately clear, Xinhua reported.</p><p> The discovery of the tourist added urgency to China's massive rescue operations. </p><p> "Saving lives is still the top priority," Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday, as he arrived in the quake zone. Hu described the current situation as "the most crucial phase" of the rescue effort. "We must race against time to overcome all difficulties."</p><p> The original magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan Province the hardest, shattering communities, leveling dozens of schools and burying transportation routes with landslides.</p><br /><p><br /></p><p> At least 12,300 people remain buried in the debris of the ruins of at least 436,000 properties, officials say. More than 4.8 million are homeless.</p><p> The Chinese Embassy in Washington's estimate of the number still buried is less than half of the more than 25,000 reported Thursday by state-run news agency Xinhua. Official reports and Xinhua's numbers have often differed, reflecting the chaotic situation in the days after the earthquake hit.</p><p> Most of the victims died in Sichuan province, the embassy spokesman said, quoting provincial officials. At least 500 people died elsewhere. One of the victims was a German citizen, Wang said.</p><p> China's State Council says the number of deaths could top 50,000.</p><p> Yet hope still emerged from amid the horror of the nation's worst disaster in recent years, with survivors pulled from the rubble four days after being buried in the rubble.</p><p> Rescuers pulled a student from the debris of Beichuan Middle School, 80 hours after the quake collapsed the building, Xinhua reported. </p><p> Two more people were saved after being buried for 95 hours, the agency added.</p><p> Rescuers said they could hear a weak yell for help from under the building's rubble and are "expecting more miracles," according to state-run media.</p><p> Hu flew to Mianyang in the hard-hit Sichuan province, which has become a massive refugee camp for survivors, China's Xinhua news agency reported.</p><p> "The challenge is still daunting, the task is still arduous and the time pressing," Hu said.</p><p>housands of people who were uprooted around the region have taken shelter at the city's main sports gym and other facilities. Reports say 7,395 people have died and 18,645 are trapped in debris in the city.</p><p> Xinhua reported 135,000 Chinese troops and medics are involved in the rescue effort across 58 counties and cities.</p><p> The scope of the operation is such that Beijing has allocated until now nearly $5 billion for the rescue relief fund. </p><p> Search-and-rescue help is also coming from outside the country. A team from Japan entered Sichuan province early Friday, Xinhua reported. Rescuers from Russia, South Korea and Singapore were expected to arrive soon.</p><p> This weekend, the United States will send into China two U.S. Air Force C-17's carrying supplies, which include tents and generators. The U.S. offer of assistance is open-ended and the flights could be followed by others, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Friday.</p><p> Earlier, the United States pledged $500,000 to help China in its quake relief efforts and that money has been delivered by the U.S. Red Cross.</p> <!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--><p> Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam and Poland were among the countries providing humanitarian assistance, according to Xinhua.</p>Meanwhile, Louis Michel, Development Aid Commissioner to the EU, has said it will give initial emergency aid of $3.1 million to cover supplies including food and blankets, The Associated Press has reported, to demonstrate solidarity with China.Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-67319183819120081182008-05-17T03:54:00.000-07:002008-05-17T03:55:37.012-07:002 indicted in UCLA body parts case<p> <b>LOS ANGELES, California (AP) </b> -- The former head of UCLA's cadaver program and a businessman were indicted Friday on eight felony counts involving black market sales of human body parts.</p><p> Henry Reid, the former director of UCLA's willed body program, allegedly sold donated body parts to businessman Ernest Nelson, who then resold them to medical, pharmaceutical and hospital research companies.</p><p> "As a result, Ernest Nelson was able to supply over 20 of his clients with hundreds of body parts and received over $1 million for the supplied body parts," according to the indictment.</p><p> Reid, 58, of Anaheim, and Nelson, 50, of Rancho Cucamonga pleaded not guilty in <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Los_Angeles_Superior_Court" class="cnnInlineTopic">Los Angeles County Superior Court</a> to single counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, grand theft and grand theft of personal property.</p><p> The charges were similar to those brought more than a year ago, but the indictments allowed prosecutors to avoid a preliminary hearing scheduled Friday.</p><p> Both men were released on their own recognizance pending a May 30 bail hearing. Defense attorneys said they expected to prevail at trial.</p><p> The illegal sales ran from 1999 until 2004 with Reid using his position to cover up the scheme, authorities said.</p><p> During that time, Nelson, who owned the Empire Anatomical Company, wrote several checks to Reid ranging from $5,000 to $9,000 for body parts. Reid deposited them into his personal bank account.</p><p> Nelson also pleaded not guilty to four counts of filing false income tax returns and one count of failing to file an <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Income_Taxes" class="cnnInlineTopic">income tax</a> return.</p><p> Deputy District Attorney Marisa Zarate said prosecutors decided to go to the grand jury after defense attorneys delayed the case with more than a year of postponements. The D.A.'s office originally brought charges against the men in March 2007.</p><p> "This case is a significant matter to many people and it's very serious and it has been continued to the detriment of many witnesses for over a year," Zarate said.</p><p> The move eliminated the requirement for a preliminary hearing, at which a judge would have determined whether there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial after hearing testimony by both sides.</p><p> "The D.A. took the chicken way out by not having a preliminary hearing and going to the grand jury," Reid's attorney, Melvyn Sacks, said outside court. "You can get a grand jury to do anything."</p><p> Reid has posted bail of $500,000 and Nelson posted $350,000. Their attorneys said they would argue May 30 that those amounts remain in place.</p> The case will likely go to trial 90 days after the bail hearing, Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Source: CNN</span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-6318829792215427702008-05-17T03:50:00.000-07:002008-05-17T03:53:45.297-07:00MySpace sexual assault suit dismissedFederal law gives MySpace.com immunity from a lawsuit over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl by a man she met on the social networking Web site, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.<p> The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that a Texas girl's family filed against MySpace and its parent company, News Corp. The family said MySpace didn't protect young users from sexual predators.</p><p> The appeals court ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 bars such lawsuits against Web-based services like MySpace. A federal judge in Austin, Texas, dismissed the $30 million lawsuit on the same grounds last year.</p><p> "Parties complaining that they were harmed by a Web site's publication of user-generated content have recourse; they may sue the third-party user who generated the content, but not the interactive computer service that enabled them to publish the content online," Judge Edith Brown Clement wrote in the ruling.</p><p> The girl's family argued in the appeal that MySpace isn't immune from liability because it partially creates the content of its profiles. The <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/U_S_Court_of_Appeals" class="cnnInlineTopic">appeals court</a> refused to consider that argument because it wasn't presented in district court.</p><p>he 5th Circuit also noted that the girl, identified in court papers as Julie Doe, circumvented the Web site's safety features when she lied about her age. The girl was 13 but misrepresented herself as 18 years old when she created a MySpace profile in 2005. MySpace requires its users to be at least 14.</p><p> The girl was 14 when authorities say a 19-year-old man she met on <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/MySpace_Inc" class="cnnInlineTopic">MySpace</a> sexually assaulted her in a Texas parking lot. The man was later indicted on a sexual assault charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison.</p><p> MySpace applauded the court's ruling and said it "takes the safety and security of our members very seriously."</p><p> "However, a lawsuit against MySpace was not the appropriate way to redress any harm to Julie Doe," the company said. "We continue to make our site even safer by creating new features and educating our users about online safety."</p> Gregory Coleman, a lawyer for the girl's family, said he was disappointed but needed more time to review the ruling before he could comment.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Source: CNN</span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-91659391091490647412008-05-17T03:44:00.000-07:002008-05-17T03:50:16.389-07:00Woman's dead body lies in flat for 35 yearsZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Governments have changed. War erupted and ended. Neighbors had children, and then grandchildren. But Hedviga Golik never left her tiny apartment in Croatia's capital -- until her mummified body was carried out this week, 35 years after she died.<br /><br />Police said Friday that no one ever reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body.<br /><br />Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik's flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.<br /><br />Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her. Expert Davor Strinovic said she seemed to have died of natural causes, but "it's almost impossible to say for certain" after so much time.<br /><br />Some of Golik's neighbors claimed she had talked about going abroad.<br /><br />Experts said her windows had been open, likely diminishing the smell. It remained unclear who -- if anyone -- was paying her bills and who exactly owned the apartment. In the 1970s, when Golik died, apartments were state-owned.<br /><br />Neighbors now argue the apartment should be divided among the remaining tenants.<br /><br />The discovery of Golik's body on Tuesday prompted media debates on how it is possible for a woman to die so long ago without anyone noticing. One local journalist said it showed people were becoming more alienated.<br /><br />"My dear neighbors! Please keep on being curious and a bit tiresome, as you have been so far," Merita Arslani wrote in the Jutarnji list daily.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Source: CNN</span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-11550324558101463852008-05-14T01:06:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:12:37.339-07:00China Quake: More than 12,000 DeadChina's death toll from a massive earthquake appeared to soar Wednesday as rescuers delved into some of the hardest-hit areas of the country's southwest.<br /><br />The official death toll reported by state-run media stands at just over 12,000, but an unofficial tally of individual communities provided by the news services added up to 19,565.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj7l9QnESm2p-Zpwx2vo1ytHIrLECF72CU4Eu_MSi9PfzbQzT2h30oXKZTJrww_WIPWHz57hkHsdEQj1yvgf9_rSMt6PiPMlmsHPVr0lgEWeKPSJDyA744I75E8Qdt7cvu_QyE8GJuh9B/s1600-h/china+quake.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200143114346758002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj7l9QnESm2p-Zpwx2vo1ytHIrLECF72CU4Eu_MSi9PfzbQzT2h30oXKZTJrww_WIPWHz57hkHsdEQj1yvgf9_rSMt6PiPMlmsHPVr0lgEWeKPSJDyA744I75E8Qdt7cvu_QyE8GJuh9B/s200/china+quake.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Local officials said the quake killed more than 7,700 people in the town of Yingxiu -- about three-quarters of everyone who lived there, according to the Xinhua news agency.<br /><br />Yingxiu is in hard-hit Sichuan province, where 20,000 Chinese soldiers have been mobilized for rescue and recovery, state media reported. Another 30,000 were en route to the region.<br /><br />Rescuers found at least 500 dead Tuesday in the Chinese district at the epicenter of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake, while heavy rain, collapsed bridges and damaged roads complicated efforts to get troops and aid workers to the worst-hit towns.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6cocQ-wbCX_fH7XBlZGq_XndV5xU0WZs7MqRTGiXR_g4Pkd5kfhPHvUWSbn2kEyGDL8nAy6ha34ZwW5WyXLUuT08_2Asb2nCn4Gncs1w0GFnW-9BYzM3Cfj6hlUjMXhlKGOu0_WsoJ2n/s1600-h/sichuan.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200143256080678802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6cocQ-wbCX_fH7XBlZGq_XndV5xU0WZs7MqRTGiXR_g4Pkd5kfhPHvUWSbn2kEyGDL8nAy6ha34ZwW5WyXLUuT08_2Asb2nCn4Gncs1w0GFnW-9BYzM3Cfj6hlUjMXhlKGOu0_WsoJ2n/s200/sichuan.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The rain drove some people back inside homes even as more aftershocks rattled the region, witnesses reported.<br />The epicenter of Monday's quake was in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, about 1,500 km (960 miles) southwest of Beijing. Xinhua reported the death toll exceeded 12,000 before Wednesday's latest reports, with more than 26,000 injured, 7,800 missing and more than 9,400 trapped beneath debris.<br /><br />During a visit to a school in Shifang, where more than 100 children were trapped beneath rubble, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised that saving lives was a top priority.<br /><br />"We will put our best efforts forward to save all those alive who can be saved," he said. "This disaster has all tested us. We all have to band together and have confidence and push forward."<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlG6rDXv8NLPcmhQ9nAuwwo8Ae3WlCKLG0dMOYV9DL0hdRJKzYbdv5wiXPFEienc_7O3FBfDv6jdLRo2u_caMblQAmUR6HahiRVpoR1axDWETc5VLXhN7fSE-94_taIue53eBHAmTyC9H/s1600-h/china+quake+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200143118641725314" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlG6rDXv8NLPcmhQ9nAuwwo8Ae3WlCKLG0dMOYV9DL0hdRJKzYbdv5wiXPFEienc_7O3FBfDv6jdLRo2u_caMblQAmUR6HahiRVpoR1axDWETc5VLXhN7fSE-94_taIue53eBHAmTyC9H/s200/china+quake+2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Wen also visited a stadium in the city of Mianyang, where more than 10,000 people have been temporarily resettled, Xinhua reported.<br /><br />"The transportation of food must be faster," the news agency quoted him as telling government officials. "Children are short of food."<br /><br />Hundreds of soldiers and disaster workers descended on Wenchuan, many of them digging by hand, according to the disaster relief headquarters of the Chengdu Military Area Command. Soldiers said only 3,000 of the town's 12,000 residents survived the quake.<br /><br />More than 70 percent of the town's roads were damaged, and almost all bridges had collapsed, the soldiers reported.<br /><br />All the beds were filled at Sichuan University Huaxi Hospital, one of the largest in the provincial capital of Chengdu.<br /><br />Nurses said the most common injuries were broken bones, bruises and scrapes. State media reported thousands of victims had sought care at the hospital, where medical supplies were running low.<br /><br />Fear of becoming trapped during an aftershock led about 200 people to sleep outside in cots, on lawn chairs and on the ground outside the hospital in an area intended for bicycles.<br /><br />At the Third Military Medical University Southwest Hospital, state-run media reported that nurses and doctors were donating their own blood.<br /><br />China is no stranger to natural disasters: A 1976 earthquake here killed more than 250,000 people. But analysts said the Chinese response to Monday's quake has been the most transparent of any disaster, with state media frequently updating casualty tolls and deploying troops rapidly to the worst-hit areas.<br /><br />"The government was very secretive about it, which in turn allowed the disease the spread across China and Asia a lot quicker than it otherwise would have done," Leather told CNN. "This time they have been very open about it, which I think is maybe showing signs that lessons have been learned."<br /><br />Li Chengyun, vice governor of Sichuan, said about 3.5 million homes were destroyed in the province. David Jones, an English teacher in the city of Chengdu, said residents were camping out on riverbanks, in parking lots and other open spaces, despite "terrible" weather.<br /><br />"People are doing everything they can to stay outside," he said. "In a lot of cases, they can't return to their buildings."<br /><br />He said survivors were lining up to donate blood and remained calm, but appeared "extremely tired."<br /><br />"The people here have been really helpful to each other, making sure everybody has supplies," he said. "I haven't seen any price-gouging. The mood here has gone from shock, fear, to tiredness."<br /><br />Wenchuan is the refuge for much of China's panda population, and the State Forestry Administration said the 67 captive pandas among the more than 130 pandas in the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve were not injured. However, the caregivers were worried about the bamboo leaf supply, the main source of food for the panda's.<br /><br /><strong>In other developments Tuesday:</strong><br /><br /><br />- U.S. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said President Bush had spoken with China's President Hu Jintao in the morning. "He expressed his condolences on the earthquake and reiterated his offer to assist in any way possible," she said.<br /><br />- China accepted a $500,000 U.S. contribution for relief efforts that will be given to the International Red Cross. The United States is "prepared to do more," said Ky Luu, director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for the U.S. Agency for International Development, but China has not requested aid from the United States.<br /><br />- Zhen Yao Wang, a spokesman for China's civil administration department, said China is thankful for international assistance, "and we will make efforts to ensure that these materials and money will reach the disaster hit area as early as possible."<br /><br />Source: CNNAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-42030893585963753162008-05-12T12:58:00.000-07:002008-05-12T13:03:52.893-07:008,600 Killed By Huge China QuakeThousands of people have been killed by Monday's powerful earthquake in just one affected region of central China, its government said, with the toll expected to keep rising as bodies are retrieved from schools, homes and factories.<br /><br />In addition, at least 48 people were killed in the northwest Gansu Province, Xinhua said. <p> Several hundred students<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXefFVXEE8Vwsj0zPYmyrue95PtbP7TZcjENmTMgBnR1tT1c4nqUzJ5Oe4N0DJwK1kj-BHZyTE1v8dObTAX-84GjYtH5Z5TZOGnje6_kCEqclWIapqq7lU5gSJjy-cdwuVmqNgkqCXgYPL/s1600-h/china+quake+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXefFVXEE8Vwsj0zPYmyrue95PtbP7TZcjENmTMgBnR1tT1c4nqUzJ5Oe4N0DJwK1kj-BHZyTE1v8dObTAX-84GjYtH5Z5TZOGnje6_kCEqclWIapqq7lU5gSJjy-cdwuVmqNgkqCXgYPL/s320/china+quake+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199584377756254050" border="0" /></a> were also feared to be buried in collapsed school buildings, the agency said.</p><p> China's Seismological Bureau said the earthquake had affected more than half the country's provinces and municipalities.</p><p> U.S. President <a href="http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/george_w_bush" class="cnnInlineTopic">George W. Bush</a> released a statement saying his country "stands ready to help in any way possible."</p><p> "I am particularly saddened by the number of students and children affected by this tragedy," Bush said.</p><p> China's government is releasing $2.89 million to respond to the disaster, Xinhua reported. China's Red Cross has dispatched 557 tents, 2,500 quilts and other aid to the disaster zone, Chinese television reported.<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/natural.disasters.html"><br /></a></p><p> The state relief disaster commission declared a level-two emergency, the second-highest level out of four, to cope with the aftermath of the quake, Chinese television reported.</p><p> In Sichuan's Shifang city, the quake buried hundreds of people in two collapsed chemical plants, and more than 80 tons of ammonia leaked out, Xinh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Pvz1IpUrH0lH_82ycfAtlsCUlTcaRkTZFYIYy0Iv-2agS8aCOtW9_dwUT2_4mAlGuyTIHLF6f5guSS5EwW6VHKrsKUaWZIHC8wGTyQJILp00qopn1nyUrp8-S3ihl4sLmzl_toHedMQi/s1600-h/china+quake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Pvz1IpUrH0lH_82ycfAtlsCUlTcaRkTZFYIYy0Iv-2agS8aCOtW9_dwUT2_4mAlGuyTIHLF6f5guSS5EwW6VHKrsKUaWZIHC8wGTyQJILp00qopn1nyUrp8-S3ihl4sLmzl_toHedMQi/s320/china+quake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199584369166319442" border="0" /></a>ua said.</p> The local government evacuated 6,000 civilians from the area after homes and factories were also destroyed.The Chinese government said at least 8,600 people were dead, but that the death toll was sure to rise as authorities began to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Thousands more were believed to be injured.<p> Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported that authorities were yet to reach Wenchuan County -- which sits at the epicenter of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake with a population of about 112,000 -- because of damage to roads. </p> In Beichuan County, close to Wenchuan, the number of deaths was estimated at more than 3,000, with 80 percent of the buildings destroyed.<br /><br /><br />CNNAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-1315474741958923012008-05-05T23:58:00.000-07:002008-05-06T00:07:02.241-07:00Myanmar: Death toll more than 15,000<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecuDUdjBcHfwlyxKa4mIi7ZdajimffmL7Xv9yZAykyaaZc19xEyxM3gHnZcuq_qxc9YlkJg9J9_c02TG2xX4zlmIw8rBnmLkL3BYwUNDUhJKzyvHNkmFQpBcmbrCC0HoIJTb-AeyldCh5/s1600-h/myanmar+cyclone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197156679359938274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecuDUdjBcHfwlyxKa4mIi7ZdajimffmL7Xv9yZAykyaaZc19xEyxM3gHnZcuq_qxc9YlkJg9J9_c02TG2xX4zlmIw8rBnmLkL3BYwUNDUhJKzyvHNkmFQpBcmbrCC0HoIJTb-AeyldCh5/s320/myanmar+cyclone.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong> YANGON, Myanmar </strong>-- The death toll from the Myanmar cyclone is more than 15,000 people, Myanmar's government has said, with at least 10,000 killed in the township of Bogalay alone, according to the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.<br /><br /><div>Survivors were facing their third night without electricity in the aftermath of the historic cyclone that also clogged roads with thousands of downed trees. </div><div><br />Diplomats were summoned to a government briefing Monday as the reclusive southeast Asian country's ruling military junta issued a rare appeal for international assistance in the face of an escalating humanitarian crisis.</div><div><br />A state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm that left swathes of destruction in its wake.<br />The death toll of more than 15,000, official sources told Xinhua, makes the weekend cyclone the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in recent history, according to figures compiled by a U.N.-funded disaster database. </div><div><br />The toll eclipses that from a 1926 wind storm that killed about 2,700 people in the country, according to the database.</div><div><br />The assessment is bleak, Kyi Minn of the international aid group World Vision told CNN Tuesday.</div><br /><div>"It could be worse than (the) tsunami," Minn said, comparing the cyclone's impact on Myanmar to the damage caused there following the tsunami that struck the region in late 2004.<br />That tsunami was triggered by a a massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. It killed more than 150,000 across the region.</div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197157186166079218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETDQt9H_FVUaBt8QKRZhFi9zvYJAis7THuxVCii4vFAwDxEmE2Vm0ODE_5H2hoxWJo_AcuNKVfFgf3WfM950D_dQ1EmalPx6DXXSUmNPstlk8CfQRNVOCEgxkfbZDfh9tPIR1QKpPDHZc/s320/myanmar+cyclone+2.jpg" border="0" />Minn said clean drinking water, food, medicine and shelter are all at a premium in southern Myanmar. </div><br /><div>The government of neighboring Thailand said Myanmar's leaders had already requested food, medical supplies and construction equipment, AP reported. The first plane-load of supplies was due to arrive Tuesday, a Thai spokesman said.</div><br /><div>United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and the destruction suffered by the people of Myanmar" and pledged to mobilize international aid and assistance as needed.</div><br /><div>A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is on stand-by to assist the government in responding to humanitarian needs if required, the statement said.<br />Scenes of the destruction showed extensive flooding, boats on their sides in Yangon harbor, roofs ripped off buildings, uprooted trees and downed power lines after cyclone Nargis battered the Irrawaddy delta with 150 mile (240 km/h) an hour winds throughout Friday night and Saturday morning, dumping 20 inches of rain.</div><br /><div>Residents of Yangon trudged through knee-deep swirling brown waters Monday as the delta city remained mostly without electricity and phone connections.</div><br /><div>The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has issued a "disaster declaration" in the country and authorized the release of $250,000 for cyclone relief efforts, Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday.</div><br /><div>A disaster relief team is standing by, Casey said, but the Myanmar government had not given permission for the team to enter the country.</div><br /><div>U.S. first lady Laura Bush blasted the military government, saying the lack of warning before the deadly cyclone hit was the latest example of "the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs."<br />Hakan Tongkul, with the United Nation's World Food Programme, said residents in Yangon needed urgent assistance. "This has pushed people to the edge. All that they have has been blown away." </div><div> </div><div>Michael Annear, regional disaster manger for the Red Cross, said the group was helping provide safe drinking water.</div><br /><div>Relief agencies met at the United Nations' Bangkok headquarters Monday to coordinate their response to the disaster. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had released 200,000 Swiss Francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath.</div><br /><div>A state of emergency was declared Sunday across five regions: the city of Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and the states of Karen and Mon. All flights to Yangon, the former capital, were canceled.<br />"Most Burmese with whom we've been in touch report they lost their roofs, although so far everyone we have been able to contact reports that they and their families are safe," said a Yangon-based diplomat who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. </div><br /><div>Most telephone and cell phone service was down in Yangon, a city of about 6.5 million people, according to Dan Rivers, a CNN correspondent in the country.In some places, the price of fuel had quadrupled to $10 a gallon. Even with that price lines for gas stretched around the block and some sought to buy gas on the black market. </div><div><br />The main water supply has been cut in many areas and power lines are down, Rivers reported.<br />Earlier Monday, an editor for an independent Myanmar newspaper based in Thailand told CNN that people in the Southeast Asian nation were angry over the response to the disaster by the ruling military junta.</div><div> </div><div>"People are very angry with the slow response coming from the military government," said Aung Zaw of Irrawaddy news magazine. </div><br /><div>Khin Maung Win, a spokesman for the Democratic Voice of Burma -- a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates -- said the whole of the delta region had been affected and entire villages had disappeared. </div><br /><div>Pictures from inside the country showed a cyclone-ravaged region with tin huts crushed under trees. Bicyclists navigated around large branches that littered the deserted roads.<br />A man with his pant legs rolled up waded through knee-deep water and strained to clear massive limbs that were blocking the entrance to a house.</div><div> </div><div>Despite widespread damage, Myanmar's junta plans to proceed with a referendum on the country's constitution on May 10 -- the fourth step of a "seven-step road map to democracy" -- according to state-run media reports. Learn more about Myanmar »<br />A critic of Myanmar's government said the referendum must be postponed.</div><br /><div>"They would be very stupid to go ahead with it," said Khin Maung Win with Democratic Voice of Burma, a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates. "Thousands of people are dying or missing. It is very difficult to get around or get food and water. How can people vote?"<br />Myanmar, formerly called Burma, last held multi-party elections in 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy handily won. The military junta ignored the results. Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.</div><br /><div></div><div>Source: CNN</div></div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174194141800801917.post-85835573482901996052008-04-29T10:31:00.000-07:002008-04-29T10:34:02.311-07:00Josef Fritzl: Father who built the House of Horror?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0J8vHf_QMxMohsFUSFwVoZTQ9zDE5ywCfzqmtXbkvga9N5sknQ0hr-jSfvWd1r4RptU39oQ_QbLSbmQGE7c1_Cc82r0E5wL_LXSIWmTUZ37ix_Y4qvmsuwYtFnW0bPABtE14HIz4g6M2/s1600-h/Josef+Fritzl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0J8vHf_QMxMohsFUSFwVoZTQ9zDE5ywCfzqmtXbkvga9N5sknQ0hr-jSfvWd1r4RptU39oQ_QbLSbmQGE7c1_Cc82r0E5wL_LXSIWmTUZ37ix_Y4qvmsuwYtFnW0bPABtE14HIz4g6M2/s320/Josef+Fritzl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194721797975326402" border="0" /></a><br />As the world reacts with shock to the news that a man held his daughter captive for 24 years and fathered her seven children, police, medical professionals and those who know Josef Fritzl have begun to piece together just what sort of man he is.<br /><br /><p> What is evident is that Fritzl, a 73-year-old retired electrician was somehow able to lead a double life for more than two decades.</p><p> At his home on Ybbsstrasse in the quiet town of Amstetten, east of Vienna, he lived with his wife Rosemarie and their three children.<br /><br />But with them also lived three of the children Fritzl fathered by his daughter Elisabeth, imprisoned in a basement dungeon with another three of the children she bore after being raped by her father.</p><p> Fritzl told his wife that his missing daughter had dropped the unwanted children off at the house because she could not take care of them, police said, forcing his daughter to write letters to strengthen his case.</p><p> It was a deception he maintained from 1984 until just days ago.</p><p> Police spokesman Franz Polzer said that Rosemarie Fritzl was unaware of the deception. "Let me also add that we know the suspect not only possessed an increased sexual potency, he's also very dynamic, imperious and quite authoritarian in his conduct and relationship to his existing family," Polzer told a news conference Monday.</p><p> Polzer added that Fritzl made clear to his wife and the children living with them that the basement area was out of bounds. He bought food for his captives and took it to them in evening.</p><p> Medical professionals have also offered their interpretations of the character of Fritzl.</p><p> Clinical psychologist Dr. Kristina Downing-Orr told CNN: "What is chilling about this case is the cold, sociopathic detachment that Josef F[ritzl] went through year after year, decades even, to hide his crimes.</p><p> "It was as if there was no remorse, no empathy for his daughter, for his grandchildren, for his wife. That's what's chilling."</p><br /><p><br /></p><p> She said that Fritzl, who his daughter has said abused her since the age of 11, possibly didn't want the relationship to end when she turned 18 -- the age at which he first imprisoned her.</p><p> "Perhaps she would go out and have boyfriends of her own," Downing-Orr told CNN, "perhaps he was a bit afraid he would be caught, that she would go out and tell people, and that led him to imprison her in this dungeon basement."</p><p> "It's that chilling sociopathic methodology, that kind of logic, that I find particularly chilling. But fortunately it's very rare, we rarely see that kind of behavior."</p><p> Meanwhile Austrian psychiatrist Reinhard Haller told The Associated Press: "This man must have been insane and must have felt he was far superior to others."<br /><br />Haller added that the retired electrician seemed to have a pronounced narcissism and desire to wield control that might go some way to explaining why the imprisonment of her daughter and children carried on for so long.</p><p> Meanwhile Sigrun Rossmanith, a court psychiatrist, said in comments reported by AP that Fritzl consisted of two personalities, "the underground one, and the one that existed above."</p><p> "If someone has power and forces it on someone else, then his word is like the word of God," added Rossmanith.</p><p> CNN's Phil Black, reporting from Amstetten, said: "People here say this is difficult to understand or accept because their [the Fritzls} reputation in this community was as the kindly grandparents for taking in these children and raising them."</p><p> A woman in Amstetten , identified only as Gabriele H., told Austria's Kurier newspaper she thought Fritzl was a devoted grandfather doing his best to look after his abandoned grandchildren, "one who looks after their grandchildren whilst their mother just ran away. We were all asking ourselves what kind of mother would do that to their children?," she said.</p><p> "Mr. Fritzl and I grew up together" Erika Manhalter, who lives a few meters away from the Fritzl home, told Kurier. "We thought this would be a family just like others, but you cannot look through people."</p><p> Fritzl "was friendly -- that's why this is so unbelievable," Franz Redl, 56, who owns a shop across the street, told The Associated Press. "I'm sure the authorities did all they could. He planned everything so perfectly."</p><p> From Fritzl himself there has been no word on why he did what he did. At a news conference Monday, police said they were currently only interested in the facts of the case.</p> Rudolf Mayer, Fritzl's lawyer, asked if his client had demonstrated any regret, said in comments reported by AP: "I cannot say at this point."Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06452301210526167798noreply@blogger.com0