সোমবার, ২৬ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Minneapolis church connects hip-hop to ministry

Minneapolis church connects hip-hop to ministry

NIKKI TUNDEL
Minnesota Public Radio News

MINNEAPOLIS ? Many urban churches are finding it increasingly difficult to get young adults through their doors.

But one Minneapolis minister is engaging religion-wary teens and twenty-somethings by mixing a little hip-hop in with the holiness.

On a recent Saturday night, disco lights blasted colored rays around the room at Urban Jerusalem, a Pentecostal church in north Minneapolis. The DJ settled in behind a stack of vinyl. Stacey Jones, the senior pastor at Urban Jerusalem, commanded the microphone.

"Every time the religious leaders came to Jesus to try to catch him," he told the congregation, "Jesus would just blow their mind. Jesus would just throw one or two lines and they were like, `Oh, snap.' "

Here, turntables stand in place of a pulpit. Graffiti art, rather than stained glass, frames the sanctuary. And the hymns are the kind which can, and do, move congregants to breakdance.

Stacey and his wife, Tryenyse, launched this Twin Cities church five years ago, with the goal of connecting urban youth with Christ. The best way to do that, they figured, was to incorporate a culture many kids already worshipped ? hip-hop.

"Drop the track, man," the preacher calls. "Praise God! Yeah!"

In many ways, the Jones' are just like generations of pastors before them ? they're using modern music to make religion more relatable.

"We still bring the word," Gerald Shepherd said. He's the evening's emcee, or minister of music, as he likes to be called. But he's just one of the worshippers who bring their faith to the dance floor.

"We still believe Jesus died, he rose, everything like that," Shepherd said. "We bring a different style to worship."

About 30 twenty-somethings in baseball caps and baggy jeans supplement the sermon with their own songs and poems ? anything that expresses their spiritual side.

"The king of angels, the messiah, the sacrifice," raps a singer. "Why in this whole universe was he willing to pay this price?"

One of the rappers introduces himself as Brad Peglow. "My rap name is B.P. the Preacher Man," he said. "I had some secular hip-hop artists ask me one time, `How can you flow for a whole song and not curse and keep it clean?' And I tell `em, `Well, I don't listen to any of that other stuff.

"Therefore it's not hard for me at all. I put the word in me and surround myself with godly influences so when the beat drops that's what comes out. Music kinda flows out of what you allow yourself to influence.' "

Jones can't help but tap his Bible to the beat. But the way he sees it, hip-hop worship requires more than just spinning records to the scriptures.

"Our mission statement is to present the word of God in relevant form," Jones said. "Relevancy is not just the musical aspect. Relevancy is dealing with everyday life issues. You have drugs. You have people struggling with depression. Those are real life things. And one thing about hip-hop: hip-hop deals with everyday issues." "Say hello to my little friend," sings a congregant. "The one who washed away my little sins, the one who kept from sipping a little gin." "If there is any place you can talk about issues of struggle, why not the church?" Jones asks.

Since Pastor Jones hit the scene, at least five new hip-hop churches have popped up the in Twin Cities.

There are traditionalists who find beat boxing akin to blasphemy. But for the worshippers at Urban Jerusalem, spirituality just seems to go better with strobe lights.

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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News,

http://www.mpr.org

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://ap.brainerddispatch.com/pstories/state/mn/20111224/932727752.shtml

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Source: http://nl.hardware.info/extern/21543888/kein-android-4-fur-das-galaxy-s-a-tab

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২২ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Steelers-49ers real game of week

NFLPA Executive Committee Meet In Washington DC To Vote On New Labor AgreementGetty Images

Things are getting ugly between the NFLPA and its executive director, DeMaurice Smith.

With a proposed $1 million bonus for Smith not yet authorized by the union?s Executive Committee, Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com reports that, if Smith doesn?t get the money, Smith could quit.

It?s unclear whether Smith has made such a threat, or whether he even has hinted at it.? Freeman?s article doesn?t mention whether he spoke to Smith ? or whether Freeman spoke to one or more players who spoke to Smith.

NFLPA spokesman George Atallah declined to comment on the report in response to an email from PFT.

Regardless of how the report came to be, if the players perceive Smith?s fingerprints, the players could conclude that Smith is trying to force their hand.? And for the same reason that the players wouldn?t allow themselves to be bullied by the owners during the labor negotiations, there?s a good chance that they?ll decide not to allow themselves to be bullied by the man who united them against the owners.

Freeman?s article points out some of the good things Smith has done for the players.? And Smith indeed has secured victories, especially when it comes to the financial aspects of the new labor deal.

But players continue to be upset with Smith for several details that were overlooked in the eleventh hour of the negotiations, including the handling of players who violated the personal conduct policy and players who violated the substance-abuse policy in the days after the lockout ended.? Also, the open-ended agreement to submit to HGH testing has upset more than a few players.? Even though Smith and the NFLPA successfully have been able to block implementation, the agreement to submit to HGH testing has been made ? and it eventually will have to be honored.

?I don?t see how anyone could be a Monday morning quarterback now that the deal is done,? former NFLPA player representative and current free-agent offensive lineman Chester Pitts told Freeman.? ?I think there were things we could have gotten or ways to better the deal but I watched DeMaurice fight like hell.? I find it crazy players would complain now when they have the chance to complain then and didn?t.?

Some players would disagree with that, pointing out that the issues identified above were swept under the rug and/or dropped through the cracks in the final moments without full consultation of the Executive Committee and the player representatives.

Though it?s unclear how this situation will be resolved, it?s entirely possible that Smith is contemplating reliance on the bonus payment, if denied, as a way to save face by quitting in lieu of not being re-elected in March 2012, and/or not having to suffer the actual or perceived indignity of having to fight for another three-year appointment at a time when Smith possibly believes that the players should be more than willing to give him three more years without serious discussion or debate.

Regardless of whether it would be wise or unwise for the two sides to part ways, right now there?s a good chance that a divorce is inevitable.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/19/the-real-game-of-the-week-is-on-tonight/related/

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শুক্রবার, ১৬ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

The Top Gadget-Related Search Query Of 2011: ?iPod? (But ?iPhone? Isn?t In The Top 10?)

ipodshotIt's Google Zeitgeist day ??the annual event where Google rounds up the year's top search queries and trends to present a data-centric recap of the last twelve months (minus, ahem, any adult searches). Most of the Zeitgeist data went live this morning ??see our earlier post for the top trends overall. Spoiler: Rebecca Black took the top spot. And now Google has given us some additional datapoints that haven't been published yet, which focus on electronics ??namely, the top gadgets, the top consumer electronics, and the fastest rising consumer electronics. I'm not sure exactly how Google defines a gadget versus a consumer electronics product (I asked and was told gadgets are a subset of CE), though I'm guessing it has something to do with the device being portable. Note that these lists apply to the United States, only.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7wTSWDL9Oik/

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বুধবার, ৭ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers

Monday, December 5, 2011

Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown.

In the first functional MRI brain scan study to investigate the impact of physical abuse and domestic violence on children, scientists at UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, found that exposure to family violence was associated with increased brain activity in two specific brain areas (the anterior insula and the amygdala) when children viewed pictures of angry faces.

Previous fMRI studies that scanned the brains of soldiers exposed to violent combat situations have shown the same pattern of heightened activation in these two areas of the brain, which are associated with threat detection. The authors suggest that both maltreated children and soldiers may have adapted to be 'hyper-aware' of danger in their environment.

However, the anterior insula and amygdala are also areas of the brain implicated in anxiety disorders. Neural adaptation in these regions may help explain why children exposed to family violence are at greater risk of developing anxiety problems later in life.

Dr Eamon McCrory, lead author from the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences and the Anna Freud Centre, said: "We are only now beginning to understand how child abuse influences functioning of the brain's emotional systems. This research is important because it provides our first clues as to how regions in the child's brain may adapt to early experiences of abuse in the home".

Dr McCrory added: "All the children studied were healthy and none were suffering from a mental health problem. What we have shown is that exposure to family violence is associated with altered brain functioning in the absence of psychiatric symptoms and that these alterations may represent an underlying neural risk factor. We suggest these changes may be adaptive for the child in the short term but may increase longer term risk".

In the study, which is published in the journal Current Biology, 43 children had their brains scanned using an fMRI scanner. 20 children who had been exposed to documented violence at home were compared with 23 matched peers who had not experienced family violence. The average age of the maltreated children was 12 years old and they had all been referred to local social services in London.

When the children were in the scanner they were presented with pictures of male and female faces showing sad, calm or angry expressions. The children had only to decide if the face was male or female ? processing the emotion on the face was incidental. As described, the children who had been exposed to violence at home showed increased brain activity in the anterior insula and amygdala in response to the angry faces.

Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre and professor of psychology at UCL, said: "Dr McCrory's groundbreaking research has undoubtedly taken us an important step closer to understanding the devastation which exposing children to violence can leave in its wake. His exciting findings confirm the traumatic effects these experiences have on brain development.

Professor Fonagy added: "The report should energize clinicians and social workers to double their efforts to safeguard children from violence. By helping us understand the consequences of maltreatment the findings also offer fresh inspiration for the development of effective treatment strategies to protect children from the consequences of maltreatment."

Dr McCrory said: "Even though we know that maltreatment represents one of the most potent environmental risk factors associated with anxiety and depression, relatively little is known how such adversity 'gets under the skin' and increases a child's later vulnerability."

"The next step for us is to try and understand how stable these changes are. Not every child exposed to family violence will go on to develop a mental health problem; many bounce back and lead successful lives. We want to know much more about those mechanisms that help some children become resilient."

###

University College London: http://www.ucl.ac.uk

Thanks to University College London for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115724/Maltreated_children_show_same_pattern_of_brain_activity_as_combat_soldiers

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মঙ্গলবার, ৬ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Yeast Sex Life Gets Wild, Especially in Hard Times (LiveScience.com)

Voyeuristic scientists have caught yeast having sex, and lots of it, a finding that questions the assumed chastity of the microscopic fungi that cause yeast infections in humans.

Such sexual antics may explain how these yeast evolve into drug-resistant strains that are tricky to treat.

Most of the 1,500 known species of yeast, such as those involved in making breads and wines, primarily reproduce asexually through budding. Sexual reproduction is known to occur, but it is rare. The more harmful infectious yeast species, however, were thought to be exclusively asexual ? until now.

Scientists at Brown University have discovered that Candida tropicalis, one of the multitudes of fungi living in and on the human body that can cause yeast infections, can mate selectively, creating new and potentially dangerous strains. The finding was reported on Dec. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Graduate student Allison Porman discovered the yeast sex show during a rotation through the lab of Richard Bennett, an assistant professor of biology at Brown. Porman noticed that a white colony of C. tropicalis in a petri dish divided into lighter and darker regions, highlighting new combinations of genes, the telltale sign of mating.? Asexual reproduction would have created genetic clones of the parents.

Bennett speculates this behavior is likely an evolutionary mechanism to better ensure the survival of their prodigy. "Sex is really good for microbes when times are hard," he said. "That's the time when you need to adapt and try various combinations of your genes."

The curious thing is, Bennett doesn't know what hard times trigger mating.? Maybe it is heat, or maybe it is the scent of a particular pheromone released in response to stress.?Bennett and his team now are attempting to uncover what gets yeast in the mood for mating to prove this theory of survival of the fittest.

More than a prurient pursuit, the research has important repercussions of understanding drug resistance. The yeast's adaptability by switching sexual reproduction on and off could mean that it can evolve faster than what scientists had thought and thus is more capable of developing increased virulence and drug-resistant strains.

The ease at which C. tropicalis can reproduce sexually might imply that the practice among fungi is likely common. "I think the really asexual fungi are going to turn out to be the exception, rather than the rule," Bennett said.

Christopher Wanjek is the authorof the books "Bad Medicine" and "Food At Work." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111205/sc_livescience/yeastsexlifegetswildespeciallyinhardtimes

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Two claim sexual abuse by former Red Sox staffer (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) ? Two men came forward on Monday to accuse a now-deceased Red Sox official of sexually abusing them two decades ago when they were teenagers working for the baseball team.

They are the ninth and tenth people to charge former clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick, who died in 2005, with victimizing them while they worked at a job that for many American teens would be a dream -- cleaning up the baseball team's locker room and running errands for the players.

The pair, who retained high-profile Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, each seek $5 million in compensation from the team for the abuse, which occurred during the 1990-1991 baseball season.

"This is one of the biggest secrets I've held in my life," self-described victim Charles Crawford, 36, told a news conference. "It's always been in the back of my mind."

Crawford and the other victim, who did not identify himself publicly, came forward in the wake of a similar scandal at Penn State, where a former assistant football coach has been accused of sexually abusing young boys.

"It's Penn State all over again," said Garabedian, who has also represented people sexually abused by Catholic priests. "Is there no accountability? Baseball is not more important than protecting the lives of innocent children against predators."

Garabedian said he is negotiating with the team on the two men's behalf but will not file a lawsuit as the statute of limitations on the incident has passed. He added that he had been contacted by a third victim whom he may also represent.

Red Sox officials had no immediate comment on the claims.

The Red Sox fired Fitzpatrick in 1991 after another victim held up a sign at a televised ballgame played in California accusing Fitzpatrick of abuse.

The team in 2003 paid a $3.15 million legal settlement to seven Florida men who alleged Fitzpatrick abused them during the team's spring training sessions in the 1970s. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to charges in connection with that case in 2002.

Crawford said Fitzpatrick had abused him twice, first fondling him in an equipment room of the team's locker room, then performing oral sex on him in a nearby bathroom.

Crawford, whose job had him sweeping up the locker room and laundering players' uniforms on the days of home games, said neither he nor his friend were called back to work after the 1991 televised sign incident.

"Why did no one come to look for us because we worked with him?" Crawford said. "I think ... they knew but no one cared."

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111205/us_nm/us_baseball_redsox_abuse

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সোমবার, ৫ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

Ex-head of state appears in dock over murder, rape

Peter De Jong / Pool via EPA

Laurent Gbagbo, center, is accused of crimes against humanity in the aftermath of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential elections in November 2010.

By msnbc.com wire services

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Ivory Coast's ex-president appeared at the International Criminal Court Monday, becoming the first former head of state to face judges at the world's first permanent war crimes court. Laurent Gbagbo vowed to fight the charges against him.

Gbagbo, 66, was calm and smiled at supporters in the public gallery as the 25-minute hearing opened. He told judges he did not need them to read the charges.

Gbagbo was extradited to the Netherlands last week to face charges including murder and rape committed by supporters as he attempted to cling to power.

Prosecutors say about 3,000 people died in violence by both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede electoral defeat.


A?four-month war that?displaced more than a million people erupted when?when he refused to accept the results of the?November 2010 election.

President Alassane Ouattara took power in April with the help of French and U.N. forces.

The former president, speaking in French, said he wanted to see the evidence against him.

Former Ivory coast President Laurent Gbagbo is now? in the custody of his challenger Alassane Ouattra - and he's asked the United Nations for protection.? Mr Gbagbo had barricaded himself inside a bunker at his presidential palace in Abidjan for days, resisting all efforts to negotiate his surrender.??John Sparks, Channel 4 Europe reports

"I will challenge that evidence and then you hand down your judgment," he told the three-judge panel.

Gbagbo also complained about his arrest by opposition forces backed by French troops in April, saying he saw his son beaten and his interior minister killed in the fighting.

"I was the president of the republic and the residence of the president of the republic was shelled," he said.

'Deceived'
He also complained about his transfer to The Hague last week from the north of Ivory Coast where he was under house arrest.

"We were deceived," he said. "Things could have been done in a more regular manner."

Monday's brief hearing was scheduled to confirm Gbagbo's identity and ensure he understood his rights and the charges.

Presiding judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi of Argentina scheduled a hearing for June 18 next year at which prosecutors will have to present a summary of their evidence and judges will decide whether it is strong enough to merit committing Gbagbo for trial.

Hundreds of people were kidnapped and killed in a crackdown by Gbagbo's forces following last year's contested election, sparking a war that only ended when Ouattara's French-backed rebel forces captured Gbagbo in April.

But Ouattara's forces were also behind some of the atrocities, including rapes and executions, as they swept toward the coast from their northern stronghold.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9222915-ivory-coasts-ex-president-laurent-gbagbo-appears-at-war-crimes-court

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Arkansas officials have McCready's son in custody (omg!)

FILE - In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. A missing persons report has been filed for McCready and her 5-year-old son Zander. The Department of Children and Families says the report was filed with Cape Coral Police Tuesday night after McCready took Zander from McCready's father's home. McCready doesn't have custody of her son ? her mother does ? and was allowed to visit the boy at her father's home. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) ? Authorities say they've located country singer Mindy McCready's 5-year-old son in Arkansas and taken him into custody.

Florida Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Terri Durdaller said in an email Friday night that her agency was working with Arkansas state officials to bring the boy, Zander, back to his legal guardian in Florida, his grandmother. Officials say he's safe and in good health.

Authorities say McCready took the boy during a recent visit at her father's Florida home, and a judge there signed an order Thursday telling authorities to take the boy into custody and return him. It's not yet clear whether the singer could face criminal charges.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_arkansas_officials_mccreadys_son_custody041715022/43790791/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/arkansas-officials-mccreadys-son-custody-041715022.html

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Video: Wisconsin governor fights recall efforts



>>> the effort to recall governor scott walker collided with the annual lighting of wisconsin's christmas tree at the state capital . take a look at this. this is an incredible sight. protesters turned their backs as governor walker lit the tree. many carrying recall walker signs. recall organizers have more than half the signatures they need to trigger a recall. governor walker says he's taking this effort, this recall effort seriously.

>> do i take the recall seriously? absolutely. if the unions who spent in total there was about 40 plus million dollars spent on six senate recall elections in my state , i spent $13 million running for governor. so if that many outside influences of my state are going to come in, i'm going to take that seriously no matter what.

>> joining me via skype milwaukee daniel, thank you for your time. protesters turning their backs on governor walker there. this image reminds people how tense and i guess how the anger exists there. this is not the headline as it was several months ago. the anger and the divide still exists in that state .

>> the hostility is clearly still here. you know, early on in the recall process, i was telling people i thought the first 300,000 signatures would be easy to get. it would be the second 300,000 would be difficult. it's been much easier than anyone expected. even the democrats have been surprised how quickly they have been able to gather signatures this time. the electorate is here is undecided. there aren't many people undecided about who scott walker is.

>> he's done ads to counter the recall. what else is he doing to shore up the support in that state . he's incredibly unpopular.

>> he's shoring up in the state by going out of the state . he's going to a number of locations. in fact, sometimes we don't even know where he is until we see in the media that he's in another location. the other thing, as you said is tv. look at the numbers today. it appears in just the last four weeks he spent $1.7 million, which would be the equivalent of what you would expect in the final month of a gubernatorial campaign here.

>> that's interesting that you would take his message out of state . as you know, that was part of the influence, the brothers influencing this governor's agenda against union workers in that state .

>> actually the allegations have gone both ways. you just heard him talk about out of state unions and how much money they spent here.

>> you're right.

>> both sides are trying to play that up. he's got a lot of support, a lot of national publicity. so he's gone to a number of locations where people like what he has to say and raise money . in this race, he can raise as much money typically in a governor's race someone can contribute $10,000 to his race. in a recall lec, wisconsin has this unusual thing that allows him to raise unlimited contributions. so that's part of the reason. he can raise as much as he wants anywhere across the united states .

>> all right, daniel. we'll see what happens. both sides still digging their heels in there. thank you very much. a

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/45527537/

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রবিবার, ৪ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১

2.6 million Afghans at risk of hunger from drought

In this Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 photo, Zara, an Afghan woman, in blue burqa, sits close to her received sack containing humanitarian aid donated by International Organization for Migration (IOM) for drought-hit families in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The United Nations appealed for $142 million on Oct. 1 to help those hit by the drought in 14 northern provinces where up to 80 percent of non-irrigated fields yielded little to no crops. So far, about $49 million has been pledged by aid groups, the U.S. and European nations. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

In this Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 photo, Zara, an Afghan woman, in blue burqa, sits close to her received sack containing humanitarian aid donated by International Organization for Migration (IOM) for drought-hit families in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The United Nations appealed for $142 million on Oct. 1 to help those hit by the drought in 14 northern provinces where up to 80 percent of non-irrigated fields yielded little to no crops. So far, about $49 million has been pledged by aid groups, the U.S. and European nations. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

In this Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 photo, an Afghan wheat farmer Mir Ahmad, a 58-year-old receives a sack containing humanitarian aid donated by International Organization for Migration (IOM) for drought-hit families in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. "There was no rain so everything was burned up,'' said Mir Ahmad, a 58-year-old wheat farmer who also moved to Mazar-e-Sharif from the mountains. The United Nations appealed for $142 million on Oct. 1 to help those hit by the drought in 14 northern provinces where up to 80 percent of non-irrigated fields yielded little to no crops. So far, about $49 million has been pledged by aid groups, the U.S. and European nations. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

In this Nov. 24, 2011 photo, an Afghan woman clad in a burqa stands near packed bags of humanitarian aid donated by International Organization for Migration (IOM) for drought-hit families in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The United Nations appealed for $142 million on Oct. 1 to help those hit by the drought in 14 northern provinces where up to 80 percent of non-irrigated fields yielded little to no crops. So far, about $49 million has been pledged by aid groups, the U.S. and European nations. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AP) ? Zara, an Afghan mother of seven, doesn't know what to tell her children when they ask about dinner.

"I simply tell them that we must wait until their father gets home to see if he's going to bring anything," she said, speaking from under a dusty blue burqa covering her from head to toe.

Zara, who uses just one name, is one of an estimated 2.6 million Afghans facing food shortages after one of the worst droughts to strike northern Afghanistan in a decade, according to Afghan officials and aid agencies. Already living in poverty in a country at war, many have been left destitute by the drought, which has affected 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces ? all in the north.

Wells have dried up. Hundreds of children have been treated for malnutrition. Families are selling their animals at below-market prices. People are moving to cities to try to find food, water, work and, in some cases, a refuge from the fighting.

The Afghan government and aid agencies are racing to help them before snow blocks access to remote areas.

Rahmatullah Zahid, disaster coordinator in Balkh province, which has been hard-hit by the drought, said he is not worried yet about people starving to death, but he wonders how people will survive the winter, especially in remote areas.

"If the weather gets very, very cold in the remote areas and if the aid doesn't come, those families will be in danger of starvation," he said.

Beyond the relief effort, aid officials are trying to figure out how to end a vicious cycle of drought, drought relief and drought again in an area of the country that has suffered water and food shortages in eight of the past 11 years. Instead of trying to cultivate chronically dry land, perhaps farmers could grow almonds or grapes, which require less water than wheat, or industry could be lured to the area to extract its prevalent gas and oil.

Zara and her family moved to Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, so her husband, whose crops dried up, might find work as a day laborer.

She and hundreds of others who fled the rugged Alburz Mountains in the province gathered last week in a dirt lot in Mazar-e-Sharif to receive large canvas bags of kitchen supplies, blankets, lamps and other items, including a phone card. The aid was distributed by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

"We have very little food," Zara said, squatting next to her aid bag. "If my husband finds work, he can buy some breads and vegetables on his way home, but otherwise there is nothing."

As she spoke, a light mist began to fall. The rain came too late. The crops were ruined months ago.

"There was no rain so everything was burned up," said Mir Ahmad, a 58-year-old wheat farmer who also moved to Mazar-e-Sharif from the mountains.

"There is not much work here in the city right now," he said, fingering a strand of yellow prayer beads as the large blue bags were unloaded from a truck. "Some days there is nothing and I have to borrow food or money to feed my family."

The U.N. issued an appeal for $142 million on Oct. 1 to help those hit by the drought in 14 northern provinces, where up to 80 percent of non-irrigated fields yielded little to no crops. So far, about $49 million has been pledged by aid groups, the U.S. and European nations.

The Afghan government also is distributing about 40,000 tons of wheat, 5,000 tons of rice, 10,000 tons of wheat seed and 20,000 tons of animal feed.

Sayed Anwar Rahmati, the governor of neighboring Sar-e-Pul province, said more aid is needed.

"Every day people are coming and complaining," he said. "The crops were lost and the cattle were seriously affected."

Zainab Noori, a member of the local council in nearby Bamiyan province, said people in six districts were waiting for aid.

"If the aid is not delivered in the next month, the road will be blocked by snow," she said. "At least 50 families have left already to go to Kabul and Iran to find work."

Aidan O'Leary, head of the U.N. office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said repeated droughts in northern Afghanistan suggest that economic development is needed in addition to drought relief.

"What you're dealing with here is basically trying to maintain a rural, agrarian lifestyle in a climate that might not be conducive," O'Leary said. "What's the solution? Are you looking at better seeds? ... Are you looking at alternative crops? Are you looking at alternative livelihoods?"

With the international focus on pulling troops from Afghanistan, it's difficult to get nations sending development aid to discuss long-term solutions that would end the need for drought relief in the north every couple of years, he said. Compounding the problem is that while international aid has been flowing into Afghanistan for years, only a fraction has been targeted to reducing poverty, he said.

O'Leary noted a World Bank report this month that said the expected decline in international aid will have only a modest impact on the poor. The report said the majority of aid was spent to improve security and governance mostly in more urban areas where there is less poverty.

Ironically, it rained both days last week that O'Leary traveled to the north to check on drought aid with Michael Keating, deputy special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Afghanistan with responsibility for relief, recovery and reconstruction. The first day it sprinkled. The second day it poured. Muddy water filled deep ruts in unpaved roads in Dawlat Abad district.

Keating and O'Leary tried to visit a nearby village, but one of the heavily armored U.N. vehicles in their convoy got stuck. They left the vehicle, turned around and drove on better roads to their next stop: a medical center where children are being treated for acute malnutrition.

The number of cases of malnutrition treated at the clinic increased threefold after the drought, said Dr. Said Mahmood Shah, nutrition coordinator for Save the Children. In the summer months, up to 90 malnourished children showed up at the center where a tiny office was crowded with cardboard boxes of eeZee Paste Nut, a peanut butter-like food with high energy, proteins and nutrients.

Now, rain, snow and poor roads have prevented some children from getting help, Shah said. "There are lots of cases, but they can't get here," he said.

The last stop was a meeting with villagers, including women who had received seeds and tools as part of a backyard garden project run by ActionAid, a British aid group.

One of the women, Jan Bibi, said that because of the drought, she and 10 other members of her family eat only once a day. Bibi, who is in her 70s with no land or home of her own, said she had not eaten meat for six to eight weeks.

"We are sticking to one meal a day," Bibi said, holding up a forefinger. "This year, it's really, really bad."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-03-AS-Afghan-Empty-Plates/id-08808a90fc974989a505312ad685c835

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Wal-Mart to pay for medical costs in syringe case (Providence Journal)

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Romney faces 2 big rivals: Gingrich and Obama

FILE - In this June 13, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in a presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Suddenly Mitt Romney is fighting a two-front political war. The Republican presidential contender has skated along for much of the year as GOP challengers surged and faded, but now he faces an unexpected, more serious threat from Newt Gingrich _ just as Barack Obama's team is sharpening its criticism of Romney, the president's likeliest foe next fall. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

FILE - In this June 13, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in a presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Suddenly Mitt Romney is fighting a two-front political war. The Republican presidential contender has skated along for much of the year as GOP challengers surged and faded, but now he faces an unexpected, more serious threat from Newt Gingrich _ just as Barack Obama's team is sharpening its criticism of Romney, the president's likeliest foe next fall. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

(AP) ? Suddenly Mitt Romney is fighting a two-front political war.

The Republican presidential contender has skated along for much of the year as GOP challengers surged and faded. But now he faces an unexpected, more serious threat from Newt Gingrich ? just as Barack Obama's team is sharpening its criticism of Romney, whom the president's aides view as his likeliest foe next fall.

With only a month before the Iowa caucuses kick off the nominating fight, Gingrich's rise has forced Romney's campaign to evaluate a new reality: He no longer has the luxury of staying above the Republican primary fray, avoiding tough questions about his own record and hammering Obama at will while essentially ignoring his GOP rivals.

Well aware of the new challenge, Romney has started fighting back against two opponents from opposite ends of the political spectrum ? no easy feat ? while also defending himself from continuing criticism of reversals, equivocations and shifts on a range of issues.

What does he have to say now about Gingrich?

"He's a lifelong politician," Romney declared this week, signaling his intention to go after the former House speaker and long-time Washington insider in hopes of knocking him off course. Romney also is set to air his first television commercials on Friday in Iowa, where polls show Gingrich and Romney locked in a tight race. It's another indication of how seriously Romney is taking the Georgian's rise.

Gingrich sought Thursday to stay above board, telling The Associated Press while campaigning in Iowa, "I'm not going to focus on Romney or anybody else." He made the comment just days after saying in South Carolina that he was "a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney" and added: "It's wrong to go around and adopt radically different positions based on your need of any one election."

Romney also has started subtly contrasting his character with Gingrich's once rocky private life. He said on Fox News that he's a person "who has devoted his life to his family, to his faith, to his country."

At the same time, Romney intends to keep the heat on Obama, convinced that his best chance at clinching the GOP nomination is to persuade Republican primary voters that he's the strongest candidate to take on the Democratic incumbent on their biggest issue, the economy, next fall.

Romney's response was swift when the Democratic National Committee rolled out TV ads this week attacking Romney for flip-flopping on a series of issues, including abortion and health care.

The Republican's team quickly organized conference calls with top supporters in about a dozen states ? a demonstration of organizing power meant to serve as a warning to both Gingrich and Obama.

"They don't want to see me as the nominee, that's for sure," Romney chided in response to the ads. "It shows that they're awfully afraid of facing me in the general election. They want to throw the primary process to anybody but me, but bring it on. We're ready for them."

Obama's aides privately say they see Romney as the Republican most likely to win the party's nomination and they have been flummoxed that no GOP rival has gone after him aggressively. By stepping up the heat, the president's aides hope to bloody Romney so he emerges from the GOP fight as a damaged nominee. Or, in what many Democrats view as a less-likely scenario, the Republicans would pick a candidate who would be weaker in the general election.

Gingrich has advantages of his own, in the primary fight or a general election. He's universally known within the GOP with broad grassroots support, and he has a deep grasp of policy issues.

"Conservatives now have a credible, nationally known alternative in Gingrich," said longtime GOP consultant Rick Wilson, who works in Florida. "That's more of a problem for Romney than some other candidates have posed."

But Gingrich lacks any significant campaign organization after his staff resigned en masse in June. His fundraising dried up, and his campaign is still paying off debts from earlier this year. He also carries personal baggage ? including two divorces and acknowledged infidelity ? that could turn off conservative Republicans in Iowa, where voters will first choose among Romney, Gingrich and their rivals. And he has some political problems, having backed proposals now considered conservative apostasy such as an individual mandate for Americans to buy health insurance.

All that opens the way for Romney to employ a strategy he used as other, more conservative alternatives to him have risen and fallen over the past six months. As in those cases, Romney's campaign expects the media to shine a light on Gingrich's long record. The campaign also has spent much of the year compiling research to criticize rivals who rise to challenge him ? and never stopped plotting for Gingrich despite the former speaker's summer problems.

Romney allies say his campaign started picking up early on Gingrich's surge by noting he was frequently the second choice among Republicans who preferred a different conservative candidate to the former Massachusetts governor.

Either by coincidence or by design, other candidates also have started helping Romney.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a libertarian-leaning candidate with a big bank account, rolled out a blistering online video this week ? that may eventually end up on TV ? accusing Gingrich of "serial hypocrisy." The spot showed Gingrich alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic boogeyman to Republicans.

But time is not on Romney's side as it was when other rivals ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and businessman Herman Cain among them ? enjoyed bursts of momentum only to fall after missteps.

Until now, Romney's biggest challenge this year had come from Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He entered the race in August, months after signaling he probably would run. That gave Romney's campaign plenty of time to prepare. When Perry immediately rose to the top of polls, Romney castigated him as a career politician, much as he's doing with Gingrich now. If that didn't work, Romney still had four months before the Iowa caucuses to try to take Perry down. It helped that Perry was unknown to much of the primary electorate, so Romney could help define him in voters' minds.

Perry ended up fading without Romney having to seriously engage for much more than week.

But only four weeks remain before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, and Gingrich, who has risen steadily in polls nationally and in early voting states, already is known nationally. That will make it much more difficult for Romney to define him.

Still, Romney is counting on his superior campaign organization, which is designed to keep him in the race for the long haul by winning significant numbers of key convention delegates even if he loses in a particular state.

As Romney faces more scrutiny in the coming weeks, one of his main challenges will be to keep his well-known defensiveness in check.

For the better part of a year, his campaign has executed a steady strategy vastly different from his reactive, aggressive and unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid. So far, Romney has been able to watch his rivals cut each other down on the debate stage and elsewhere, while he has barely been forced to defend himself. He kept his cool as one conservative rival after another rose to potentially challenge his long-held position as the GOP field's most plausible nominee.

But there are signs that Romney's temper may be rising along with the pressure of waging two political fights.

In a Fox News interview this week, anchor Bret Baier pressed Romney on being on both sides of issues, including climate change, immigration, abortion and gay rights. And Romney appeared irritated, telling Baier: "Your list is just not accurate. So, one, we're going to have to be better informed about my views on issues."

The coming weeks will tell whether Romney can withstand the scrutiny ? and wage two fights at once.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-01-US-Romney-Two-Fronts/id-bf283ea0fcca4cd9b3d57018395cb618

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"Top Gear" host apologizes for anti-strike remarks (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? "Top Gear" television show presenter Jeremy Clarkson on Thursday apologized for saying Britain's striking public sector workers should be "shot in front of their families."

Clarkson, whose mocking personality helped make the "Top Gear" car show a popular broadcast around the world, caused a furor with his comments on Wednesday as nurses, teachers and civil servants staged a 24-hour strike against government plans to make them pay more and work longer for their pensions.

"I'd have them all shot," the 51-year-old said on BBC television's "One Show".

"I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families," he added. "I mean how dare they go on strike when they have got these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?"

After a media furor, Clarkson apologized, while a BBC spokesman noted the "One Show" had apologized at the end of the show to viewers who may have been offended.

"I didn't for a moment intend these remarks to be taken seriously -- as I believe is clear if they're seen in context. If the BBC and I have caused any offence, I'm quite happy to apologize for it alongside them," Clarkson said on Thursday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron who is a friend of Clarkson's, had called the comments a "silly thing to say."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," he added.

Unison, the public service trade union, welcomed Clarkson's apology and dropped plans for litigation and calls for his resignation.

"We would like to invite him to spend a day on a hospital ward, with one of our healthcare assistants. They do vital work caring for patients - cleaning up sick, bathing patients, and wiping bottoms," Unison added in a statement.

Unions estimated more than 2 million public sector workers in the UK went on strike over changes to their pensions on Wednesday, though polls showed not all Britons supported them.

Clarkson is known for his outspokenness. He aroused public anger over comments about former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's partial blindness and for suggesting the Welsh language should be abolished.

In February, he was at the center of a diplomatic row after making offensive remarks about Mexico, suggesting the country didn't have an Olympic team, "because anyone who can run jump or swim is already across the (U.S.) border."

(Editing by Steve Addison and Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/people_nm/us_britain_strikes_clarkson

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Judge Applies SOPA-Esque Solution To Hundreds Of Counterfeit Goods Sites

chanel_rogerThe much-maligned SOPA bill is facing a lot of heat as much of the tech industry sets its weight against it. But while the legislation is being discussed, its extreme solutions to criminal online sites are already being adopted. A judge in Nevada has ordered that 228 websites be seized, their domain names transferred, and their listings removed from search engines. There are several serious problems with this ruling, and law blogger Venkat Balasubramani sums them up well. Essentially it is unclear how and why this Nevada judge purports to exert powers over hundreds of separate defendants and order relief from parties only tangentially related to the case, such as search engines. The jurisdiction, evidence, and punitive actions all seem to be have had their scope exaggerated.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bqX75QkcUXU/

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