news live online: November 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Amid the ruins, Gazans say pity the living, not the dead

Mohammed Saber / EPA

A man stands in the rubble of a destroyed house belonging to the Dallo family after it was hit by an Isareli air strike in the north of Gaza City on Sunday. The airstrike killed at least 10 members of the same family, including four children.

By Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News

GAZA CITY -- Thousands of Palestinians filled Gaza City?s main square on Thursday to celebrate their "victory" in the latest round of violence with Israel, even as rescue workers were still sifting through the rubble of a home in the neighborhood of El Nasr on the city's outskirts.

Earlier in the week, rescue workers frantically combed through the three-story house, which was reduced to rubble by an Israeli airstrike that killed 12 people -- ?ten from a single family that included four children. Israel claimed it was home to a high-ranking commander with Hamas? military wing.

The incident -- or, as Palestinians here describe it, "the Dallo massacre," in reference to the family that lived there -- has become one of the defining moments of the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Israel, Hamas claim victory amid Gaza cease-fire

After eight days of fighting -- 1,500 Israeli airstrikes and 1,500 Palestinian rockets fired, according to Israel Defense Forces -- both sides emerged claiming to be victorious: Palestinian factions for "resisting" and "withstanding" the might of the world?s fourth largest military; Israel for dealing Hamas a blow while minimizing the casualties of Hamas rockets on Israel.

Shops and stores are reopening and a semblance of normalcy is returning to Gaza's streets after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is put into effect. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Gaza.

But in the small farming community of Attatra, there were no winners.

Walid, 42, and has family were at home on Tuesday night when the Israeli military began dropping leaflets on their farm. Even before the leaflets hit the ground, Walid knew it what they were -- a warning sign. The Israeli military ordered them and their neighbors to evacuate their area immediately.

In 2008, Walid was sitting at home when the same leaflets fell on his house. Back then, he did not heed the warning. Instead he and his family remained on their farm. During that Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, Walid?s brother was killed, Walid?s home was destroyed and their farm, the source of their livelihood, razed.

Marco Longari / AFP - Getty Images

Members of the al-Attar family, displaced during the eight-day conflict with Israel, return to their home in the Atatra area in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.

His is one of a thousand similar stories. This time around, he knew what a ground invasion would mean for his family. So he didn?t chance it. Once he saw the leaflets fall he packed his children and wife in the back of a car, grabbed whatever blankets, sheets and clothes they could, and headed to his sister's house where along with 40 other extended family members they took shelter until a ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday evening.

Israel's Iron Dome shield cost up to $30 million

There are no early warning systems, no bunkers or shelters to find a moment of refuge in the chaos of war for the people of Gaza. There is no Israeli-style Iron Dome system to protect them, just "Naseeb" ? the Arabic word for destiny.

As the shops opened up and storekeepers surveyed the damage, families began setting up mourning tents to welcome condolences for those who died.

Near NBC News' hotel,?a mourning tent was set up for?44-year-old Mohammed Saeed Al Qaddada. He was a member of Fatah, Hamas? political rival that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the American-backed Palestinian Authority, belongs to.

Former Ambassador to the U.N. Stuart Holliday explains the ongoing delicate diplomacy keeping the conflict between Israel and Hamas from escalating.

He was killed by an airstrike on his car while he was with fighters ferrying weapons and rockets, according to family. He was not loyal to Hamas, but felt compelled to join their ranks when Israel began another attack on Gaza.

At the Red Crescent ambulance dispatch center in Tel el Hawa, first responders worked nonstop for eight days. It?s not uncommon for the men and women here to spend days at a time away from their homes and families.

Israel declares mission accomplished, Hamas claims victory

On the day our crew spent a few hours with them they were dispatched multiple times, all to rescue or treat casualties from Israel?s attacks -- including a young child suffering from shock after a wall in the family home collapsed.

The plight of the first responders pales in comparison to the doctors at Gaza City?s main hospital. Poorly equipped, understaffed and inadequately trained, doctors and nurses worked endlessly to treat ?-- sometimes unsuccessfully -- the flow of patients. By the end of the fighting, the death toll stood at 162 people killed, according to hospital officials.

The painful reality of Gaza is that even after the fighting, the return to "normal" is far from it.

Blockaded since 2006 and under siege since 2007, Gaza has become a tough place to live. The U.N. predicts it will be uninhabitable by 2020. Stifled, underdeveloped and destitute, Gaza is a place where residents wait for their "Naseeb" to change.

Bernat Armangue / AP

Emergency workers help a woman after she was injured during an Israel strike on a sports field next to her house in Gaza City on Monday.

At a small auto mechanic shop a young technician named Wissam was covered in the grime of grease, car oil and dirt. His shop had reopened for the first time in days. He was not expecting any patrons on Thursday but for him it was important to get back to normal.

"Don?t feel sorry for those who died in this war, they are martyrs and will go to heaven," he said. "Feel sorry for those us who will have to stay here trapped in Gaza."

Back at the Dallo house, the workers sifting through the rubble made a gruesome discovery. Days after the attack and hours after they had begun once again to clear the rubble, they found the body of seven-year-old Ranin and the body of 35-year-old Mohammed el Dallo -- raising the death toll to 164.?

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/22/15364242-amid-the-ruins-gazans-say-pity-the-living-not-the-dead?lite

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving inspiration: Bone marrow donation stories

Happy Thanksgiving!
Here are some food for soul:

Romans 1:21-23
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
1 Timothy 6:17
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
James 1:17
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Psalm 100:1-5
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Philippians 4:4-7
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/video/thanksgiving-inspiration-bone-marrow-donation-080000552.html

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William Shatner Gets Autotuned in Deep-Fried Turkey PSA [VIDEO]

Helen Philpot is not dead yet (she wants to make sure you know that). Far from it. To the blogging octogenarian, Thanksgiving is still an important tradition -- and, as far as she's concerned, there's a certain set of rules to doing it right. So if you're still interested in being included in the family will, you best be on time, keep the politics talk to a hush and leave your cell phones at the door with your vegetarian friends. And don't even think about bringing Jell-O salad.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/william-shatner-gets-autotuned-deep-fried-turkey-psa-142247402.html

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To Script 'Star Wars' Pics 2 and 3 -- Lawrence Kasdan, Simon ...

EXCLUSIVE: Here?s some tantalizing dish to chew on before the Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings. After hiring Michael Arndt to script the first installment of the relaunch of George Lucas? Star Wars franchise, I?ve heard Disney has approached Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg and I believe it is to get the ball rolling on the subsequent installments mapped out by Lucas. Both of the scribes in question have franchise experience.

Kasdan scripted two of the original Star Wars films in the 1980 The Empire Strikes Back and the 1983 follow-up Return of the Jedi. He also scripted?Raiders Of The Lost Ark for Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Kinberg?s franchise work: X-Men: The Last Stand, Sherlock Holmes and the upcoming X-Men: Days Of Future Past which Bryan Singer will direct.

Disney?s $4 billion buy of George Lucas? signature franchise certainly has stirred up passions from fans. I?m still feeling so let down by the last three films that I am not sure they can bring back the magic on the original trilogy, which was so groundbreaking for its time. But that time seems like a galaxy so far far away.

Back in the late 1970s, Star Wars set the bar for visual effects in science fiction. Doing that again is very difficult in the age of The Hobbit, The Dark Knight and Avatar. But Disney was certainly proven right when it spent the same money on Marvel, and already has made back much of that cash with The Avengers.

Disney plans to generate a film every other year starting in 2015. Getting great writers is the right way to relaunch Star Wars, and the studio got off to a good start hiring Star Wars fanatic Arndt to do the first installment. The studio has told me that they will not address speculation. Fair enough. But I?m going to go with my sources on this one and I would not be surprised if these guys sign on, or if they are already in the fold.

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Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/star-wars-lawrence-kasdan-simon-kinberg-writers-script-disney/

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What Do Anonymous and MTV Have in Common?

Bad news for bullies. There's someone looking out for teens on the Internet now.

Photo by Willbrasil21/iStockphoto/Thinkstock.

Last week, a 15-year-old named Kylie tweeted her suicidal thoughts, and a Twitter account called @KillYourselfKylie tweeted back a series of ugly responses. These included ?We have 3 bitches who should cut and drink bleach? and ?I think i just made someone cut herself yayayyyy? and ?We hate you just die?? That last note was followed by a list of six first names?apparently teenagers who knew Kylie.

?Thats it. Im done,? Kylie wrote back. @KillyYourselfKylie replied, ?I WILL NEVER LET YOU IN PEACE? NEVER!!!?

At this point, the Internet groups Anonymous and Rustle League showed up in Kylie?s Twitter stream. ?We?ll get to work on this problem NOW,? one message promised. Another one addressed itself to Kylie?s tormenters, ?So, you think this is FUNNY? Let me introduce you to the REAL Internet Hate Machine, you dumb-ass bullying Twats. Game: On.?

What followed, in an exchange collected by the Daily Dot, was a series of threats and mewling apologies. The Anonymous and Rustle League rescuers threatened to post the full names of the teenagers who?d been goading Kylie, unless she made it clear that they?d apologized.? When Kylie reappeared on Twitter?blessedly tweeting thank yous to her supporters?she found messages like this one waiting for her: ?It's nice to see the power of twitter do good. It's a new day for you, @YayyImKyliebaby. A new beginning, with your new friends.?

I?m not in favor of outing minors for their online misconduct, but I can?t read the full Daily Dot account without cheering for Anonymous and Rustle League. In writing about bullying, I?ve seen too many posts, on several social network sites, in which kids suggest that other kids should go kill themselves. I find it utterly dismaying and weird?why on earth would anyone court that kind of danger? Think how these kids would have felt if Kylie had taken their bait. I agree with Laura Beck at Jezebel that it would have been nice to see some of Kylie?s peers step up to defend her, but in their absence, I?ll take the adults who showed up this time to police the Internet. The personal attack on Kylie is much more harmful than spewing racism about President Obama, however gross that is. The Web can make life worse for vulnerable teenagers?and, this time thanks to Anonymous and Rustle League, it can also make life better.

Another example of good online citizenship: MTV?s efforts to get kids to out themselves or people they know for crossing over from ?digital use to digital abuse.? This is happening on a popular app called Over the Line?. The app hosts more than 6,800 posts, like this one: ?Okay soo this boy ask 4 a pic of me without a top on, cause he sent me a pic of his? ...I really don't want to..... Idk wat 2 do HELP!!!? Users can post anonymously or by name. Other users vote on whether the behavior described is over, on, or under the line?meaning, socially acceptable or not. (Being asked to send a topless photo when you don?t want to: definitely over the line.)

Now MTV is rolling out a new feature, based on a partnership with a lab at MIT. The lab designed an algorithm that categorizes users? stories and then helps them find other stories that are similar in terms of subject matter. The idea is that kids posting about bad online behavior will know they have company, and with luck, will find comfort in seeing their own troubles in the context of others? struggles and solutions. It?s crowd-sourcing, by and for teenagers, about the boundaries of online behavior.

?We wanted to help our audience come up with their own answers,? said Jason Rzepka, senior vice president of public affairs for MTV. ?Rather than us putting up a list of digitals do?s and don?ts, it?s more valuable to ask them to collectively draw the line between what?s innocent and appropriate, and what?s not.? The evidence that MTV?s approach speaks to its demographic comes from the time users spend with the app. They?ve posted more than 350,000 story ratings and spend seven minutes on Over the Line?, on average per visit, which on the Internet is enviable.

It was a relief to think about the good the Web can do as I read Oddly Normal, New York Times reporter John Schwartz?s sensitive and perceptive account of his son Joe?s suicide attempt at the age of 13. Joe was gay but just coming out when he swallowed handfuls of pills, and he spent a couple of weeks in a locked psych ward after his parents found him in the bathroom. In the period that followed, Schwartz watched his son in fear and then tried to analyze what had gone wrong, at home and at school. He?s willing to write about ?our own missed clues along the way, so agonizingly clear in hindsight.? The best thing about this book is that it?s not about blame: It?s about understanding. Even the mean kids?so often lately the target of ?bullycide? narratives?aren?t portrayed as ogres.

Schwartz explains that gay teenagers are at higher risk than straight kids for attempting suicide, and he talks about the way in which it was harder for Joe to find social acceptance. There was no Gay-Straight Alliance at his middle school, for example, and those groups can be a crucial buffer for kids who are unhappily questioning their sexuality. But Schwartz doesn?t demonize the kids who made stupid comments to his son about sex and homosexuality. ?It wasn?t harassment, since they didn?t know he was gay,? Schwartz writes. ?But because Joseph knew he was gay, the comments?and the fact that he didn?t feel comfortable participating?increased his sense of isolation.?

It?s profound isolation that the Anonymous/Rustle League intervention for Kylie, and MTV?s Over the Line? tool, are trying to combat. For some kids, like Joseph, there is help to be found at home?by the end of Schwartz?s book, I felt like his son?s great luck was to have two parents who made mistakes, sure, but who did their utmost to learn how to support him. That?s still the ideal. But even the best parents can?t protect their kids from everything the Internet serves up.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=959812c33803d98e1ddba36b5f22ef9b

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Europe Leaders Face Greek Aid Gap in Brinkmanship With IMF ...

Europe Leaders Face Greek Aid Gap in Brinkmanship With IMF

By James G. Neuger ? Nov 19, 2012
Bloomberg

European finance ministers will try to plug a 15 billion-euro ($19 billion) hole in Greece?s finances and win over the International Monetary Fund in the latest installment of three years of debt-crisis brinkmanship.

Recycling European Central Bank profits on Greek bonds, charging Greece lower interest rates and extending repayment deadlines are among the options under consideration today for filling the new gap in Greece?s public accounts.

European governments tore open the hole last week, by giving Greece two extra years to cut its budget deficit. The required extra financing provoked a clash with the IMF, since it would add to Greece?s debt load instead of reducing it.

?Greece is in a mess,? James Mirrlees, a Nobel economics laureate, told Bloomberg Television yesterday. Europe won?t solve the problem by ?fiddling around with little bits of extra bailout and allowing them to go a bit slower.?

Officials said today?s meeting, starting at 5 p.m. in Brussels, won?t make a final decision to release the next tranche of aid to Greece, partly because parliaments in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland have yet to weigh in.

The ?troika? representing creditors also has to certify that Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras?s coalition government has delivered economy-boosting steps ranging from improvements to tax collection to the deregulation of closed professions.

The meeting comes a day after France lost its top credit rating with Moody?s Investors Service, increasing pressure on President Francois Hollande to find ways to bolster growth in Europe?s second-largest economy.

Euro Falls

France was cut to Aa1 from Aaa, the rating company said. The Moody?s downgrade follows one by Standard & Poor?s in January.

The euro slid versus most of its 16 major counterparts after the Moody?s action renewed concern the currency bloc?s debt crisis is deepening. The 17-nation euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.2783 as of 9:29 a.m. in Tokyo, and lost 0.3 percent to 103.99 yen.

Greek bonds gained for a seventh day yesterday amid expectations that creditors will keep money flowing to the Athens government. The yield on 10-year Greek notes fell 25 basis points to 17.22 percent.

One option is to deliver about 44 billion euros to Greece in December, by bundling 31.5 billion euros on hold since mid- year with two other tranches due before year-end, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said after the ministers failed to finalize the financing last week.

Paris Meeting

Finance officials from Germany, France, Spain and Italy met yesterday in Paris to overcome differences. Spokesmen for the four finance ministries declined to comment on the meeting, which was also attended by European Union Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn.

Last week?s decision to grant Greece two extra years, to 2014, to cut its deficit to 2 percent of gross domestic product without offering debt relief stirred tensions with the IMF, provider of about a third of 148.6 billion euros in loans funneled to Greece since 2010.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, gearing up for a campaign for a third term next year, has ruled out writing off a portion of Greece?s debt. Dutch and Finnish leaders have told their bailout-weary voters the same thing.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who began the crisis as French finance minister, sparred publicly with the chairman of the euro meeting, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker, over the European inability or refusal to bring down Greece?s debt burden.

?We clearly have different views,? Lagarde said at a joint briefing with Juncker after the Nov. 12 crisis meeting.

Deadline Extended

The trigger was a decision by the ministers to extend by two years, until 2022, a deadline for paring Greece?s debt to 120 percent of GDP. The debt load is set to peak at 190 percent of GDP in 2014, according to the troika, made up of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission.

Lagarde, who cut short a trip to southeast Asia to return to Brussels for today?s talks, declined to say whether the IMF would budge on the debt target. In an interview in Manila, she said the IMF?s credibility is at stake in pursuit of ?a solid program for Greece that convinces investors today that it will stand tomorrow.?

Plugging the financing gap through 2014 is easier than demonstrating to the IMF that Greek debt is on a glidepath to ?sustainability,? officials said. Greece?s loan rates have been lowered and repayment schedules lengthened twice before, and no one has publicly contested doing so again.

Tapping Profits

Finance ministers are also considering how to tap profits made by the ECB and national central banks on Greek bonds, drawing on a February commitment to recycle that money back to Greece. The question of how to treat future ECB profits also has to be addressed.

The central bank is sitting on 208.5 billion euros of bonds of debt-hit governments that it started buying in May 2010 in a controversial program that contributed to the resignation of two Germans from its policy council. While the purchases were halted in March, ECB President Mario Draghi has sketched out a new bond-buying program that would only benefit countries that meet strict conditions.

Asked if unrealized ECB profits on Greek bonds held to maturity could be eventually earmarked for paying off Greek debts, Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said in an interview in Helsinki yesterday: ?There are different proposals on the table, of which this is one. We?ll have to see how it looks like as a whole.?

To contact the reporter on this story: James G. Neuger in Brussels at jneuger@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

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Source: http://happilynaturalday.com/consciousness/europe-leaders-face-greek-aid-gap-in-brinkmanship-with-imf/

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Suicide blast hits near US base in Afghan capital

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Two Taliban suicide bombers struck near a U.S. base in Kabul early Wednesday, killing two Afghan guards in the heart of a neighborhood filled with foreign forces and embassies. The attack came despite increased security ahead of a Muslim holy day that last year saw one the capital's deadliest attacks.

The bombers apparently meant to target the American base but were spotted by security guards as they approached on foot. The guards fired on the assailants, killing them, but not before one of the vests exploded, said Gen. Mohammad Daoud Amin, the deputy provincial police chief.

Two Afghan security guards were killed and five civilians were wounded in the morning explosion, he said.

The blast reverberated around Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood. An alarm started going off at the nearby U.S. Embassy, warning staff to take cover. The neighborhood also is home to many high-ranking Afghan officials, international organizations and the headquarters of the international military coalition.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in an email to reporters.

The attack came as foreign and Afghan forces tightened their watch over the capital ahead of the holy day of Ashoura on Saturday, when Shiite Muslims commemorate the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

Last year, the commemoration saw the first major sectarian attack since the fall of the Taliban regime. In that strike, a suicide bomber on foot detonated his vest amid scores of worshippers at a Shiite shrine, killing 56 people and wounding more than 160 others.

Attacks in Kabul are relatively rare and more recent strikes have not been particularly deadly, but have shown the continued ability of the insurgents to penetrate the security cordons that surround the city. The last previous attack before Wednesday's strike took place last week, when insurgents fired four rockets into the city, killing one person. The rockets hit near the airport, a private television station and close to a compound used by the Afghan intelligence service.

Wednesday's bombers were also armed with grenade launchers, said Amin, the deputy police chief. He said they were stopped near a building that was under construction near the U.S. base.

An international coalition vehicle was also damaged in the attack but there were no initial reports of casualties among the foreign forces, said Jamie Graybeal, a NATO troops spokesman.

Police had already set up extra checkpoints around Kabul and specifically near shrines to search cars and people in the run up to the Ashoura.

On Tuesday, Amin said that all his forces were "in the first security alert position" and doing their "best to provide good security and prevent any possible incident on Ashoura."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suicide-blast-hits-near-us-afghan-capital-082657263.html

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Art's perfect theft: the 'Ghent Altarpiece'

GHENT, Belgium (AP) ? The main suspect in the legendary art heist is said to have whispered with his dying breath: "Only I know where the 'Adoration' is..."

More than seven decades later, the whereabouts of a panel belonging to one of Western art's defining works, the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," also known as the "Ghent Altarpiece," remains a mystery.

If the stunning heist of Picasso, Monet and Matisse paintings in Rotterdam, Netherlands, last month focused attention on the murky world of art theft, the gothic Saint Bavo cathedral in Ghent has been at the center of a crime that has bedeviled the art world for decades.

"The Just Judges" panel of the Van Eyck brothers' multi-panel Gothic masterpiece hasn't been seen since 1934, when chief suspect Arsene Goedertier suffered a stroke at a political rally and died after murmuring those fateful words to a confidant.

The theft has kept the country enthralled ever since, with its heady mix of priceless art and scintillating detective story.

Ghent was hit by two thefts on the night of April 10, 1934: "One was a wheel of cheese," said detective Jan De Kesel. "The other was the panel."

That slowed up the investigation of the art theft, in which a minor panel of the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" representing St. John the Baptist, was also lifted.

"Don't laugh," said De Kesel, one of a long line of detectives searching for the lost work: "It was 1934, there was an economic depression ? and the wheel of cheese had priority."

The probe went nowhere until the St. John the Baptist panel was found that year in the luggage claim of a Brussels train station wrapped in brown paper. It wasn't the sign of a guilty criminal conscience ? just an extortion ploy proving that the thief, or thieves, had "The Just Judges." A note demanded a million Belgian francs, a massive sum at the time, for the panel's return.

The local bishop produced only a fraction of the ransom demand and more extortion letters followed.

Then Goedertier died, yielding another clue in his apparent confession: "In my office ... drawer ... closet." There, copies of the old extortion letters and the draft of a new one were found.

Adding to the theft's mystique, this last one read: "'The Just Judges' are in a place where neither I nor anyone else can take it without drawing the public's attention." Police also found indecipherable drawings possibly pointing to a hiding place.

Ever since, Belgium has been in the grip of a decades-long treasure hunt, one that has drawn detectives of every ilk: cab drivers, computer scientists, lawyers, retired police inspectors, among others.

From divining rods to endoscopes to SS Nazi search parties, it has all been to no avail. Overanxious amateur sleuths have even drilled holes in important monuments on the hunch the panel might be there.

One of the more popular theories is that Goedertier, a stockbroker, may never have taken the panel out of the cathedral, but hidden it somewhere inside. But lifting every pane or tile in the massive St. Bavo would carry a prohibitive cost and risk damaging the historic edifice.

"There are not even indications as to what part of the church it might be in," said De Kesel. "And I tell you, there are an awful lot of nooks and crannies."

Perhaps closest to the mystery these days is art restorer Bart Devolder, at Ghent's Museum of Fine Arts. He is working on the most ambitious restoration yet of the 15th-century painting. Devolder hopes the five-year restoration will raise interest in the theft of "The Just Judges," which was replaced in 1941 by a much-lauded copy by art restorer Jozef Vander Veken.

The ongoing restoration "offers the opportunity for a new boost to look for it," Devolder said in an interview while taking a break from work. "It really bothers me that the work is not complete."

"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" was finished in 1432 as medieval times gave way to the Renaissance, and the work's stunning detail and sense of light were at the time unsurpassed.

Much as the restoration of Rome's Sistine Chapel a dozen years ago wiped the grime off Michelangelo's multicolored glories, there is hope the same will happen to the "Ghent Altarpiece" under Devolder's efforts.

"If we remove the yellowing varnish, people will see the genius of Van Eyck even more," Devolder said.

He maintains hope that he will one day get his hands on "The Just Judges"? for restoration only of course. "I am sure it will take a great deal of work," he said, "depending where it was kept."

He made an appeal to whoever might have possession of the panel.

"We have an extra easel here," said Devolder. "They can quietly bring it in here. "No questions asked."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arts-perfect-theft-ghent-altarpiece-075958588.html

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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Israel steps up airstrikes, mobilizes troops

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Warning: Graphic image (single)

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Tunisia said it is sending a delegation to Gaza in a show of solidarity
An Israeli airstrike leveled Palestinian Cabinet headquarters in Gaza, Hamas says
Israel Defense Forces announced it was mobilizing 30,000 troops on the border
The Israeli government has authorized the call up of 75,000 troops

Are you there? Share your story with CNN iReport, but please stay safe. Or read more at CNNArabic.

Gaza City (CNN) -- Convoys carrying tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers rolled toward the Gaza border Saturday, raising the specter of an imminent ground invasion after Palestinian militants appeared to raise the stakes by firing rockets at the holy city of Jerusalem.

The mobilization of troops along the Israel-Gaza border follows news Friday that the Israeli government authorized the call up of 75,000 reservists, the latest move by Israel in its days-old military campaign to stop rockets attacks from Gaza.

"We are in the process of expanding the campaign," Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman, told Israel's Channel 2.

At least 30,000 Israeli troops were being mobilized along the Israeli-Gaza border late Friday and into early Saturday, according to an IDF statement.

Q&A: Gaza strikes could be beginning of ground attack

World leaders and the United Nations have called on Israeli and Palestinian governing bodies to show restraint, fearing at the very least a possible repeat of Israel's 2008 invasion that left at least 1,400 people dead.

Eight people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, raising to 39 the number killed since Israel's military operation, dubbed Pillar of Defense, began Wednesday, according to Palestinian government and health officials. Israel is reporting three deaths from a Hamas rocket attack in the southern community of Kiryat Malachi.

More than 330 in Gaza have been wounded since Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials.

For days, Israel has been using airstrikes to target what it describes as rocket-launching sites operated by Hamas and other militant groups.

On Saturday, Israel stepped up its air campaign, leveling the Palestinian Cabinet headquarters where a day earlier Egyptian Prime Minister As Kandil met with Hamas officials, according to Hamas TV.

Israeli airstrikes also targeted the Hamas Ministry of the Interior, a police compound, the headquarters of senior Palestinian political leader Ismail Haniyeh and a Hamas training facility, according to a statement released by IDF.

"Overnight, the IDF targeted a terror activity site in the central Gaza Strip, deliberately located and hidden inside a mosque, in the vicinity of a school," the IDF said, accusing Hamas of using "the Palestinian civilian population as a human shield."

It was unclear from the statement whether the mosque was targeted in the airstrike. The IDF did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment, and Palestinian officials did not identify the destruction of a mosque in its latest list of buildings and facilities damaged and destroyed in the Israeli airstrikes.

Among the airstrikes on Saturday, Hamas accused Israeli warplanes of hitting an apartment building in the northern Gaza community of Jabalia Camp, killing at least three people and wounding more than 30, according to Hamas-run al Aqsa TV.

Footage broadcast by al-Aqsa showed people clamoring over smoking ruins, searching for survivors.

From northern Gaza, Mohammed Sulaiman said he could hear bombs intermittently falling from Israeli warplanes as well as, from the other side, rockets periodically whistling toward Israel.

"The situation is totally dangerous here, and it is not safe to be out in the street," Sulaiman said.

iReporter captures wailing sirens warning of rockets in Jerusalem

The IDF said 97 rockets launched from Gaza had hit Israel since midweek, while another 99 were intercepted by its missile defense system.

Among the rockets fired Friday were two that targeted Jerusalem, setting off air raid sirens. The rockets struck an open area south of the city, with Hamas claiming responsibility for firing the rockets toward Jerusalem.

Sirens sounded, too, in Tel Aviv, prompting people to scramble for cover, witnesses said.

No damage was reported, but Israelis consider the attacks on its major population centers to be an escalation, said Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

Israeli authorities said the military campaign has hit more than 600 targets for what it calls terror activity and stifled rocket launches out of Gaza, a claim denied by Hamas' military wing.

Photos: Deadly attacks in Gaza, Israel

So far, Israeli tank units and troops have stayed outside Gaza. But a senior U.S. administration official familiar with U.S.-Israeli talks in recent days said the United States unequivocally supports Israel's right to self-defense, but the U.S. message is for Israel not to invade Gaza.

"Escalation is what we are concerned about. We don't want it to escalate to the point where Israel feels it has to take additional action, specifically ground force action," the official said.

Chief among U.S. and European concerns is Egypt's possible reaction to an Israeli ground invasion.

"What action would Egypt take? Would they move into the Sinai?" the official said.

A large part of the concern is over the fate of the Camp David Accords, the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that is considered critical to the region's stability.

Egypt has strengthened its relations with Hamas following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, and President Mohamed Morsy sent his prime minister to meet with Hamas officials in Gaza on Friday.

Egypt's Cabinet chief, Mohamed Refa'a al-Tahtawi, said Friday the peace treaty was safe.

"But respecting a peace treaty does not mean to stay idle or indifferent to what is going on along our borders," he said.

While the United States, Britain and Germany have said Hamas bears the brunt of the blame for the current crisis, Morsy put it squarely on Israel: "Egypt will not leave Gaza alone, and what is happening there is a blatant aggression against humanity."

Israeli: 'How would you feel if your children were constantly scared?'

Tunisia, meanwhile, is the latest country to lend its voice to a growing chorus of a predominantly Arab-led denouncements of Israel's airstrikes, with Tunis announcing it would send a delegation Saturday to Gaza to reiterate its "unconditional solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

It was unclear whether a temporary cease-fire would be attempted for the visiting delegation.

The militant group al-Qassam -- the military arm of Hamas -- rejected the idea of a temporary cease-fire requested Friday by Israel because of the Egyptian prime minister's visit to Gaza. The group reported on its Twitter feed that it had fired a Grad missile Friday on the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva.

Watch: Senior Hamas member on strikes in Gaza

In Ashkelon, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of Gaza, local officials said on Friday that rocket strikes had increased dramatically in recent days. Such attacks are nothing new for residents accustomed to hunkering down in bunker rooms, but the emptiness of the town's marina and streets suggested the uptick had left people on edge.

"It is really frightening," Shiraz Wieselhof said. "I cannot sleep at night."

Will Twitter war become the new norm?

CNN's Sara Sidner reported from Gaza City; CNN's Fred Pleitgen reported from southern Israel; CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali, Amir Ahmed and Chelsea J. Carter reported from Atlanta; CNN's Jessica Yellin and Joe Vaccarello as well as journalists Per Nyberg and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/SYkckCswHxs/index.html

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Video: Talk of cease fire as violence rages in Middle East

>>> we do begin with escalating violence in the middle east . the latest from gaza this morning. good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, erica. to say the 1.5 million people of the gaza strip a really held hostage by the circumstances all around them is an understatement, a few hundred miles south of here negotiations are under way for a truce. meanwhile for the people here, though, it was another deadly night of strikes overnight. gaza's nighttime sky lit up by israeli air strikes . more than 15 killed in the assault. overnight two more children killed by israeli fire. this woman trapped under the you rubble of her home. workers desperately trying to rescue her. israel claims to be targeting locations with precision but in this densely populated enclave, the ordinary citizens are caught in the middle . and now it is being if felt by foreign and local journalists working out of this building that was also broadcasting a hamas affiliated news channel. we're inside one of the media buildings struck by the israeli air force . you can see the destruction. one journalist was injured. a trail of blood and debris list litters the stairwell. it is an attempt to silence the med media, says this worker. hamas is still firing backfiring hundreds of rockets into israel . israel 's anti-rocket shield called iron dome intercepted many but it's not enough for the country's leader shship. israel has amassed thousands of soldiers on the border ready for an invasion.

>> we are suffering a heavy price from hamas and the terrorist organization . the israeli defense forces have prepared for a significant expansion of the operation.

>> reporter: now the civilians here brace themselves for a possible ground invasion, egyptian officials are working to broker a truce within the next 48 hours . but if that fails, both sides, israel and the palestinian factions, say they are prepared to fight a war that could be averted. back to you, erica.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49873999/

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http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/09/occupy-wall-street-2-0-the-debt-resistors...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=248095728651962&id=360998598554

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Art student reflects in life through sculpting | Coyote Chronicle

By Jocelyn Colbert |Staff Writer|

Strolling the halls of the Visual Arts Center is like taking a trip to a museum. There are so many interesting things to view. My favorite part of the art area is the outside workstations for the students.

Here, art students can free their minds and create whatever their hearts desire. Entering the sculpture work area I was greeted by a friendly face, art student Gaston Imai.

Imai is a Graphic Design and Marketing major who also coincides with the Sculpture plan here in the Art Department.

He describes himself as a, ?playfully sarcastic, all around good-guy who?s a bit of a smart-ass.?

Imai has been interested and influenced by art since birth. Both of his parents have a degree in art, so it is a continual process in his life.

His parents brought about his interest in art and have always influenced him to express what he was thinking and put it to form.

Growing up in LA during the 80s and 90s, Imai was awed by large wall murals of art and sculptures in the park.

I asked Imai what inspires him to create. ?Something deep inside me. I want to be constructive. I just start putting things together. It?s like a constant fire under my butt,? he said.

For Imai, the creative process is organic. He can visualize what he?s doing while he?s working on a piece. ?All I need are a few references. I?m working on a skeletal piece, so I?m looking up human anatomy for a visual reference to check myself.?

Being Hispanic and Japanese, Imai is influenced by both cultures, with the Japanese culture being his heaviest influence. ?Both cultures are contrasted in my work. The theme of my work is rebirth [and] believe in reincarnation.?

Imai depicts his own personal view of reincarnation through his pieces. ?Mexican?s celebrate death and I like that. Death for Japanese people isn?t celebratory, but it still influences me.?

Imai allowed me to enter his mind, describing some of the pieces he had on display in the sculpture studio. His work is eerie, yet captivating and I couldn?t look away.
He is now working on a skeletal piece.

It currently features amazing human anatomy of the spine and rib cage, all of which he?s created by heating metal and steel to conform to the shapes he wants.

What I found fascinating was that Imai doesn?t want to do away with the scrap metal he uses.? He loves the fact that one can still see elements of the original scrap he used.
For instance, Imai has finished a couple of bones that will piece together with the skeleton.

Looking at the bones, he pointed out certain bar codes and numbers featured in this piece that he did not melt away from the original scrap.

The bones look like legit human bones, but are constructed through metal and steel.? It?s absolutely amazing. ?I like that this will be one whole piece, but taken apart, individually, all the pieces can stand alone,? said Imai.

My absolute favorite piece Imai showed me, not apart of his skeletal piece, was his construction of a human arm. It at first shocked me because it looked like something out of a horror film.

The arm was painted to depict a bloody, badly damaged limb. I asked Imai what was the inspiration behind this particular piece. He was quiet and didn?t answer for a while. ?This is the most difficult piece to talk about,? he said.

Imai informed me that he is an Iraq War veteran, where he served in the Army from 2002-2007. His rendition of a severely injured limb is his ode to the war. I then felt an incredible sense of sadness scanning from his face to the limb.

He paused for a second and I imagined he has to relive and reflect on the war every time someone asks him about the piece.? The arm captured the hurt, the raw emotion of war and in that moment, I developed the most upmost respect for Imai.

Imai?s work is subjective.? His professors even find his work to be ?creepy.? At first glance his work might be a little eerie, but having him there to explain his work was an incredible experience.

Have you ever been to a museum, gazed upon a piece of someone?s work and pondered, ?I wonder what was the inspiration behind this?? I had the opportunity to view an artist?s work and know exactly what that inspiration was.

?My work is just me. I do this because I can, not because I have to. Sometimes I don?t know why I do it, it just happens,? said Imai.

Source: http://coyotechronicle.net/art-student-reflects-in-life-through-sculpting/

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Mali: Islamist attack secular rebels in north

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? Fighters from one of the al-Qaida-linked rebel groups controlling northern Mali on Friday attacked a position held by a secular rebel group, in the first clash between the two sides since the Islamists seized the territory in June, according to local officials and a rebel spokesman.

The fighting, which began at around 10 a.m. local time near the northern locality of Ansongo, comes as the secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or NMLA, held its first mediation session with the Islamists in the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso.

Oumar Ould Hamaha, spokesman for Islamist group MUJAO, said that the clash started Friday morning around 50 to 65 kilometers (30 to 40 miles) from Ansongo, a town on the road between the northern cities of Gao, controlled by MUJAO, and Menaka. The NMLA fled to Menaka after the Islamists pushed them out of the main cities in northern Mali in June.

"I confirm that they are fighting, yes of course," said Hamaha, who was reached by telephone while on patrol in northern Mali. "It was the NMLA that started it. They kidnapped 12 to 13 of our guys. ... It's they that started it and forced us to riposte. The fighting began this morning. And we have now encircled the area of Menaka. We burned their vehicles. We are in the process of strangling them."

Reached in Paris, a spokesman for the NMLA, Moussa Ag Assarid said that he had heard reports of fighting between the two sides near Ansongo. But he denied that MUJAO had gotten as far as Menaka, the NMLA's main base in Mali.

Djibril Moussa Diallo, the village chief of Fafa, located not far from the fighting, said that MUJAO sent dozens of fighters overnight to flush out the NMLA.

In April, several rebel groups including the NMLA and MUJAO, seized the main towns in northern Mali, after an army mutiny and subsequent coup in the capital, Bamako. The NMLA planted their multi-hued flag at the main government buildings and declared the independence of a new Tuareg nation, which they called "Azawad."

But within weeks the Islamist rebel factions that had helped take the north began tearing down the NMLA flags and planting their own, ominous black flag. In a matter of days in June, the Islamists attacked the NMLA positions, pushing them out of the three major cities, Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao. The secular NMLA rebels regrouped in Menaka, a tiny locality situated in the country's far east, near the border with Niger.

"You know that after the attack on Gao, and the other cities, the NMLA and MUJAO no longer got along," explained Diallo, the mayor of Fafa. "So the NMLA was pushed back to Menaka in the far east. That became their zone of influence. But ever since the feast of Tabaski (in late October), MUJAO has been threatening that they will attack Menaka. And then yesterday, there was a small clash. MUJAO pulled back and asked for reinforcements. They brought troops in from Bourem, from Gao, from Timbuktu and today there were violent clashes," he said. "MUJAO says that they are 'kafirs' (infidels). They say they are people who don't want to apply Shariah."

Mali, a landlocked nation of 15.4 million people, has always been among Africa's poorest, but until this spring, it was also considered an example of democracy and stability. Since the coup in March, and the subsequent rebel invasion, it has become the continent's latest failed state.

At the United Nations later this month, western nations will be discussing a military intervention plan put forward by the countries bordering Mali. The plan, which was approved this week by the African Union, calls for 3,300 troops to press a ground assault to take back the north. The land attack is expected to be preceded by strategic air strikes over the three major towns in the north, with the aim of taking out the leadership of MUJAO, and its sister Islamist organization, Ansar Dine.

Also on Friday, a delegation from Ansar Dine met with representatives of the NMLA in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The mediation effort sponsored by Burkina's President Blaise Compaore is considered a last-ditch effort before the military incursion.

After the two sides met, Burkina's Foreign Affairs Minister Djibril Bassole told reporters: "(This) dialogue will not replace the military intervention, and the military intervention will not replace dialogue. We need to take care to combine a diplomatic process, with a military process in order to stamp out the terrorist groups that are now threatening this process, and the region," he said.

Unlike Ansar Dine, MUJAO has refused to take part in the negotiations, with Hamaha saying that theirs is a holy war, aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate.

___

Associated Press writer Brahima Ouedraogo contributed to this report from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mali-islamist-attack-secular-rebels-north-171144091.html

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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Tyler Wins Award for Its Use of Social Media

The City of Tyler has made an effort lately to make a broader use of social media, and reach residents in new ways.

That has paid off now with an award from the Texas Municipal League. Tyler won the award for something you can download to your smart phone, PC, or tablet.

The 2012 Municipal Excellence Award in Communications was given to Tyler during the Texas Municipal League?s annual conference in Grapevine recently. The award recognizes Tyler for its 2011 E-Annual Report, viewed as the best communication tool among Texas cities of more than 25,000 residents.

Mayor Barbara Bass says in a statement, ?As people become increasingly dependent upon websites and social media for their news and entertainment, it is vital for us, as a Municipal Government, to offer information in a format that fits into our citizens? daily lives.?

The city used to print hard copies of that big report, but moved to the electronic version to save money. Instead of printing 25,000 copies, they still print 5,000 so those without Internet access can still access the info. That saved about $10,000 and led to the award.

The report even has the QR codes inside it that, when scanned, will take you to a youtube video.

So while we?re on our smart phones Facebookin? and Tweetin?, we can learn a thing or two about our fair city too. Nice goin? Tyler!

Source: http://mix931fm.com/tyler-wins-award-for-its-use-of-social-media/

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Friday, November 16, 2012

University President Greenwood Apologizes, Keeps Job

Independent. News. Opinion.

BY JIM DOOLEY -After insulting the state?s political leaders and demanding $2 million from theUniversity of Hawaii regents, today UH President M.R.C. Greenwood took it all back, said she was sorry and kept her job.It was a quiet end to a dramatic chain of events that has roiled the Manoa Valley...

Source: http://www.facebook.com/hawaiireporter/posts/10151280137767621

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Ford gets a Gatorade shower after Don Bosco?s football victory

Posted at 8:18 on November 15, 2012 by Josh Tapper

When the final buzzer sounded, Ford screamed into the late-afternoon twilight and received congratulations from his brothers, Councillor Doug Ford and Randy Ford. Also on hand was aide Chris Fickel, who over the course of the afternoon was tasked with doling out play formation sheets and lugging shoulder pads. While the mayor bounded across the field to shake hands with the opposing team, the Eagles doused their coach with a cooler of orange Gatorade. Several of them lifted Rob Ford on the...

Source: http://wellingtonstpost.com/journalists/ford-gets-a-gatorade-shower-after-don-boscos-football-victory

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Still looking for Thanksgiving table ideas? Here's a California modern table w/...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/designsponge/posts/179323305539249

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Impact of Cyber Crime and Security on Social Media | Social Media ...

The rise and evolution of social media has changed the definition of communication and social interaction. We have seen how different social media platforms like Facebook and twitter have brought a revolutionary change the way we used to use Internet for both personal and professional purpose. There is no doubt or space to deny the effective impact of these social media platforms on our regular life, professional life, and even on our business. Every good this has some drawbacks and loopholes, and it is advised to be aware about those loopholes before getting trapped inside of those loopholes. Online or cyber security is one such issue which is directly involved with the uses and impacts of social media networks.

Risk Factors and Threats of Using Social Media

The concept of cyber security came in front when the number of Internet users are started increasing around the world and people are involved with online financial transactions. The term cyber crime is confirmed as the official crime term as criminals started getting more aggressive over the online and becoming a threat for millions of Internet users. Social Medias are considered as part of life for a major portion of Internet users. Almost every internet users have at least one or more accounts in different social media platforms. The risk factors of social Medias can be categorized to the following categories.

Identity theft is the key threat to many social media users, as millions of online users use their personal information in order to getting registered with one or more social media platforms. Such huge information with personal data of so many people is one of the easiest targets for many cyber criminals. Many users are also provided information about their credit or debit card and use those cards to purchase different products, items or services through these social media platforms. This is why the cyber criminals around the world are continuously trying to get inside the personal details of many users from those social media platforms.

Some Precautions Which We All Must Follow

Many people have to pay the price after being the victim of cyber crime at different social media platforms. Many people even terminate and deactivate their social media account after such bad experiences.? It is not the solution to deactivate or terminate the account when we can minimize the risk of cyber attack on our social media profiles by following some easy principles. At first you must determine which information to share and which are not. Almost every social media platforms will give you the option to decide how much information you want to share with your friends and other people on that network. You can make you profile extremely private or extremely public as per your requirement.

It is advised to customize the security setting of your social media profile at the time you are configuring your account for the first time and check those setting in a regular manner after a while. Be very selective and careful for both send and accept friend request, especially from unknown people. Be very careful when you are going to join any group over those social media platforms. Always try to verify the identity of any individual before you are going to send or accept any friend request. Avoid any request from those people, who are not known to you. Be very careful if you need to provide too much personal information during joining any group.

Summary

We can minimize the threat of cyber attack or cyber crime by getting a little aware and conscious while using social media platforms. It is possible to ensure the security of your personal data of those social media platforms with a very minimal effort. Do not share your password with any of your friends or colleagues or even on any online form. It is also suggested avoiding share information about your debit or credit card over these social media networks in order to avoid credit/debit card fraud, as well.

Authored by:

Dave G.

Having a strong investment constituent at all times, along with receiving?fast cash loans online when you need them, can bolster your investment portfolio quickly, painlessly, and even put you ahead.

See complete profile

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/freelancewriter/995206/impact-cyber-crime-and-security-social-media

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AMWA Breast Cancer Awareness ? Medical College Council ...

On Oct. 29, 2012 the American Medical Women?s Association (AMWA) celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness Month with special case presentations from Dr. Duff. Students were presented with several cases and worked through them to understand how to diagnose breast cancer and breast related issues. Additionally, Sheila McThenia, MS1 also shared her remarkable story of breast cancer survival. This was a wonderful interactive learning session allowing students to think through clinical diagnoses and hear firsthand from a breast cancer survivor.

Source: http://mcc.med.ufl.edu/2012/11/13/amwa-breast-cancer-awareness/

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The Reference Frame: Journey towards idiocracy may have begun ...

In the 2006 Idiocracy film (Wiki), an average soldier is hibernated and appears in the year 2505 AD to find out he is the brightest person in the world. So he is elected the U.S. president and tries to save the world that will have been plagued by centuries of deterioration and brainwashing.

The U.S. president in 2505 AD

Now, the geneticist Gerald Crabtree of Stanford has published two papers in Trends in Genetics:

Our fragile intellect. Part I
Our fragile intellect. Part II.

He argues that the decline isn't starting now; it began 2,000-6,000 years ago.

The Guardian offers a clear summary of the papers:

Is pampered humanity getting steadily less intelligent?

They're purely theoretical papers but they contain much more than an unjustified guess. The author tries to quantify the number of genes responsible for the intelligence and the degree of selection that the lifestyles at various moments of the human history imposed on the genes.

Because the punishment for low intelligence was arguably severe and mostly lethal when humans were hunterers, people were smarter. The decline is linked to the appearance of agriculture. Well, in some regions, the agricultural revolution already began with the neolithic era, perhaps 20,000 years ago. But there are other complaints one could invent.

In particular, the choice of agriculture as the main culprit seems a bit arbitrary. There are lots of other achievements that have both simplified human lives as well as encouraged the people to be ever less intelligent. After all, agriculture also needs some thinking. In my opinion, nothing like agriculture or steam engine or computers can match the crippling effect that the modern welfare states and political correctness have on the genetic quality of the human population when it comes to the intelligence.

The timing is subtle and hard to measure and there may also be "different types of intelligence" that peaked at different moments. However, I think that the most universal assertion of the papers, namely that there is a point ("peak IQ") at which the people's intelligence starts to decline, has to exist, is valid.

I've been often thinking about the true intelligence of folks like Isaac Newton ? who was arguably the smartest famous man who was ever walking on the surface of the globe. I included the word "famous" because it seems very plausible to me that there have been smarter folks who just weren't as lucky as Newton so they didn't make the same impact. But if one focuses on the famous folks, Newton was arguably #1.

It's interesting to guess how quickly Isaac Newton would be able to learn quantum mechanics, general relativity, string theory, and all the things needed to become the #1 physicist in the world of 2012 who would also discover new things we are unable to find. It seems more likely than not that he would have the potential to become a top physicist, I am slightly less certain that he would be considered #1 ? of course, the folks who judge others may often be wrong ? but it's also plausible that he would have trouble with the new physics in a similar way as Albert Einstein had trouble with quantum physics (and there are other examples). Some great personalities may have only been given the potential to lead a particular revolution or two but not "any revolution".

There are many theoretical questions about the actual behavior and evolution of the mankind's IQ distribution. And there are also many practical questions whether it matters and whether something should be done about it ? and what should be done about it if the answer is Yes. I am agnostic about it. Any policies of this kind that would try to intervene into people's reproductive life look repulsive to me. On the other hand, if I were assured that the mankind would converge to the middle between current humans and chimps within 150 years, of course that I would prefer some mitigation policies. ;-)

What do you think about those matters?

Source: http://motls.blogspot.com/2012/11/journey-towards-idiocracy-may-have.html

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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

President Obama breaks his silence on CIA scandal saying there is 'no evidence' that leaked classified documents hurt national security

First press conference since re-election, said no major security threat as a result of the leaked classified documents
Focused on the good that Petraeus did during his lengthy career
Left timeline questions of when he should have been informed to FBI

By Meghan Keneally

PUBLISHED: 14:22 EST, 14 November 2012 | UPDATED: 15:12 EST, 14 November 2012

President Barack Obama spoke out for the first time since General David Petraeus resigned from his post as CIA director in the wake of the extra martial affair that has resulted in the unravelling scandal, saying that he does not think the country is in danger of a threat from any leaked intelligence.

'I have no evidence at this point from what I?ve seen that classified information was disclosed that would have in any way have had an impact on our national security,' the President said.

He went on to focus on Petraeus' legacy before his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell was unveiled, saying that it was a matter for the four-star general and his family.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Breaking his silence: President Obama spoke out about the Petraeus scandal that continues to unfold saying that he didn't think it caused any major negative impact on national security

'By his own assessment, he did not meet the standards that he felt were necessary as the director of CIA with respect to this personal matter that he is now dealing with with his family and with his wife. And it?s on that basis that he tendered his resignation, and it?s on that basis that I accepted it. But I want to emphasize that, from my perspective at least, he has provided this country an extraordinary service.

'We are safer because of the work that Dave Petraeus has done. And my main hope right now is ? is that he and his family are able to move on and that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career' he said.

'My hope right now is that he and his family are able to move and that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career.'

One of the tricky areas for the President is whether or not he should have been notified about the then-ongoing investigation before the election.

Focusing on the positive: Obama said that he hoped that by the end of the investigation the scandal would just be a side note to the legacy of Petraeus' long career

He said that he did feel it appropriate to 'meddle' in the FBI's process, referring all further logistical questions about the timeline of the investigation.

Troublesome twosome: David Petraeus (left) resigned over his affair with Paula Broadwell (right)

'I am withholding judgment with respect to how the entire process surrounding General Petraeus came up. We don?t have all the information yet, but I want to say I have a lot of confidence generally in the FBI,' he said.

When asked by NBC's Chuck Todd whether he felt that he- and voters- should have been told earlier than November 8: 'It is also possible that had we been told, you'd be sitting here asking why we were interfering with a criminal investigation.'

The White House first learned about the investigation into Petraeus' affair with Paula Broadwell- and the ensuing chain of harassing emails from Broadwell to another four-star general and a possible love rival- on Wednesday November 7, the day after Obama was re-elected.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told unspecified staffers at the White House on Wednesday, telling them that there was a chance that the CIA director may resign. President Obama himself was not actually told anything about the investigation until Thursday.

The President spoke with Petraeus that day, but did not immediately accept his resignation. He waited until Friday to allow him to quit, and it was announced publicly that same day.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2233010/President-Obama-breaks-silence-CIA-scandal-saying-evidence-leaked-classified-documents-hurt-national-security.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

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