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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Gillmor Gang Live 12.30.11 (TCTV)
The Gillmor Gang ? Mike Arrington, John Borthwick, Robert Scoble, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor ? are recording live at 9am PT.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ytir6hXk5Is/
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iPhone 4S Gets Chinese Certification, Mainland Sales To Start January 2012 [Apple's Wildly Popular New Phone Will Land On Chinese Shelves Starting Early Next Year Following Government Approval]
Well, that?s pretty much it, folks; the iPhone 4S, which launched just a couple short months ago, has just picked up the necessary network access permits to get in on the shelves at China Unicom. We first filled you in on Apple?s permit odyssey back in late November, and now, with only a few days left to the month, Apple can get in on one of the biggest phone sellers in China, which in its own right, is a pretty big smartphone market.
According to reports, China?s various regulatory bodies have all issued the necessary certifications to get China into the big show over the last several days, and now, the iPhone 4S?model number A1431 in China?is now ready to go.
China is a massive market for Apple product, sufficiently massive, in fact, that back in Apple?s June quarterly earnings, we discovered that Apple sold fully $3.8 billion in goods. And bringing the iPhone 4S?which already did land-office business in several Asian markets like Hong Kong and Shanghai?to China Unicom will no doubt bring massive sales Apple?s way. After all, not only is China Unicom the third largest cell phone carrier in China, it?s still basically the mainland?s largest carrier of iPhones.
There were, earlier, stirrings of a deal between Apple and China Mobile as well, but when China Mobile demanded a cut of Apple?s App Store sales to make the deal happen, that wasn?t really heard from again. However, considering that Apple?s now got a deal in hand with China Unicom, getting China Mobile to back off its original demands may not be too difficult. And getting both China Unicom and China Mobile in hand will likely put some serious punch in Apple?s sales in the Chinese market, which is, thanks to its substantial population numbers, a huge market.
So what do you guys think here? Will the iPhone 4S be a big part of the Chinese market? Or will Apple have to settle for relatively slim numbers in their sales in the Middle Kingdom? No matter what your stance on this one, we always like hearing from you, and the comments section is the best place we can think of to do exactly that.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
AviHein: RT @DecantingIsrael: Israel grows as winemaker - Chicago Sun-Times http://t.co/kMEZ8kvq
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
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Anything Boys Can Do...
Image: Illustration by Thomas Fuchs
When then Harvard University president Lawrence Summers suggested in 2005 that innate differences between men and women may account for the lack of women in top science and engineering positions (and subsequently resigned), he was referring to the greater male variability hypothesis. Women, it holds, are on average as mathematically competent as men, but there is a greater innate spread in math ability among men. In other words, a higher proportion of men stumble mathematically, but an equally high proportion excel because of something in the way male brains develop. This supposedly explained why boys tend to dominate math competitions and why men far outnumber women in elite university math departments. Since then, scientists have put the variability hypothesis to the test, and it comes up short.
In the most ambitious study so far, mathematics professor Jonathan Kane of the University of Wisconsin?Whitewater and oncology professor Janet Mertz of the University of Wisconsin?Madison analyzed data on math performance from 52 countries, including scores from elite competitions such as the International Mathematical Olympiad. In particular, they examined variance?roughly, how spread out scores are. Two patterns emerged, they report in a paper in the January issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society. The first is that males? and females? variance is essentially equal in some countries. The other is that the ratio of males? to females? variance differs greatly from one country to another. These ranged from 0.91 to 1.52 (where a ratio of 1 means the two sexes? variance is equal, and a number greater than 1 means males? scores were more spread out than women?s).
The finding that males? variance exceeds females? in some countries but is less than females? in others and that both range ?all over the place suggests it can?t be biologically innate, unless you want to say that human genetics is different in different countries,? Mertz argues. ?The vast majority of the differences between male and female performance must reflect social and cultural factors.?
Such as? One clue comes from the finding that a widely used measure of a nation?s gender equality, called the Global Gender Gap Index, correlates with the ratio of boys versus girls scoring in the top 5 percent on an international math competition called PISA. In some countries, such as the Czech Republic, the boys? and girls? distribution of math scores were nearly identical. Another clue that gender differences in math performance are not innate comes from the shrinking gender gap. In the U.S., the ratio of boys to girls scoring above 700 on the math SAT fell from 13:1 in the 1970s to 3:1 in the 1990s.
Psychology professor Stephen Ceci of Cornell University calls the new analysis ?a very important argument? in the debate over the sources of sex differences in math careers. But, he adds, the findings do not mean that biology plays no role. Just because diet affects human height, for instance, does not mean ?that nature is unimportant.? Now that the greater male variability hypothesis has fallen short, nature is not looking as important as scientists once thought.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=0e7bc6f19f1327e50ea6192b01dfc268
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
China satellite navigation system starts service
BEIJING?? A Chinese rival to the U.S. global positioning system network has started providing services in China and the surrounding area.
The director of China's satellite navigation system office, Ran Chengqi, told reporters Tuesday that the Beidou navigation system is offering services including positioning, navigation routes and time.
Ran did not specify who the target users are, but he said Beidou would be available to Chinese and foreign companies for research and development.
Beidou will be available to much of the Asian-Pacific region by the end of 2012 and worldwide by 2020.
China, and especially its military, have long been wary of relying on the United States' dominant GPS network, fearing that Washington might take the system offline in a conflict or an emergency.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45794140/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
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xatakamovil: Samsung GT-N8010 podr?a ser el futuro sustituto del Samsung Galaxy Note http://t.co/KJA9Xjk4
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Monday, December 26, 2011
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Rwandan rebel freed after intn'l charges dropped (AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? The International Criminal Court freed a Rwandan rebel Friday and returned him to France after dismissing murder and rape charges against him.
Callixte Mbarushimana, who spent 11 months in detention, was the first war crimes suspect to be arrested and freed without trial since the court began work in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.
The court said Mbarushimana, who had lived in Paris before his arrest, was "released on French territory, as he requested" through the cooperation of the Netherlands and France.
Mbarushimana was charged with five counts of murder, rape, torture and persecution allegedly committed by Rwandan rebels in neighboring Congo.
In a 2-1 decision, pretrial judges ruled last week that the evidence against him was insufficient to warrant a trial, and ordered him freed.
Prosecutors lost an appeal last Tuesday, but his release was delayed because he was still the subject of a U.N. travel ban. France asked for a delay to allow time to clear his transfer with the U.N. Sanctions Committee.
Prosecutors accused Mbarushimana of being a senior member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym FDLR, which is made up of former guerrillas accused of genocide in Rwanda's 1994 ethnic slaughter.
The group's killing spree in Congo in 2009 that left hundreds dead was aimed at forcing Rwanda to accept their return.
Prosecutors allege that Mbarushimana's role was coordinating "an international campaign of propaganda and extortion" aimed at furthering the FDLR cause.
Mbarushimana signed his name to FDLR press releases issued from Paris, but denied his group was involved in atrocities. He described the FDLR as a political and military organization intent on bringing reform to Rwanda.
It was yet another narrow escape for Mbarushimana, a former computer technician for the U.N. Development Program, who has evaded trial several times for the 1994 genocide and the ensuing struggle. Some half a million Tutsis were murdered by ethnic Hutus in 100 days in the summer of 1994.
Mbarushimana was arrested and held for two months in 2001while working for the U.N. in Kosovo before he was released because his indictment was faulty. Later he was indicted by the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, but again his case was dropped, apparently because the court was focusing on higher-level suspects. In 2008 he was arrested in Frankfurt when German authorities found his name on the U.N. sanctions list. He was released four months later.
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Mysterious 'space ball' crashes in Namibia
A strange metal ball dropped out of the sky and slammed into the remote grassland of northern Namibia recently, according to press reports.
The 14-inch-wide (35-centimeter) metallic sphere hit the ground about 480 miles (750 kilometers) north of Windhoek, the African country's capital. It left a crater 13 inches (33 cm) deep and 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) across, the Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported Thursday.
The metal "space ball" weighs 13 pounds (6 kilograms). It has a rough surface and appears to consist of two halves that were welded together, according to AFP.
The mystery sphere was discovered in mid-November, but local authorities held off on announcing the find until they could perform a few tests. They determined it poses no danger to the public.
"It is not an explosive device, but rather hollow, but we had to investigate all this first," police deputy inspector general Vilho Hifindaka told AFP.
However, Hifindaka and his colleagues still don't know what the object is or where exactly it came from. They've contacted NASA and the European Space Agency for help, AFP reported.
Locals apparently heard several small explosions a few days before the ball was found. Similar spheres have also been found in Australia and Central America over the last two decades, local authorities said.
Quite a bit of space junk has rained from the sky this year. In September, for example, NASA's defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) ? a 6.5-ton craft that monitored climate from 1991 until 2005 ? plunged into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
Just a month later, Germany's 2.7-ton Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) fell to Earth over the Indian Ocean.
Nobody on the ground was injured by either satellite crash.
An even bigger spacecraft will plummet to Earth soon. Russia's failed Phobos-Grunt Mars probe got stuck in Earth orbit shortly after its Nov. 8 launch, and it's been circling lower and lower ever since.
Most experts predict the 14.5-ton spacecraft will come crashing down by mid-January.
-
More space news from msnbc.com
- Holiday goodies from deep space
- Astronaut captures 'amazing' view of comet
- Rare galaxy from 'dawn of time' photographed
- Holiday calendar: Circle of power
Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
? 2011 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45770560/ns/technology_and_science-space/
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NCAA Basketball: Illinois vs. Missouri Preview & Free Pick
?The border battle between Illinois and Missouri will take place again tonight. Illinois had dominated this series for years, but the Tigers have won the last two meetings.
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NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Missouri -7
Over/Under: 139.5
Both teams come into this game ranked in the top 25. Illinois is 11-1 and ranked number 24. Missouri is unbeaten and in the eighth spot in this week?s polls. Expect a hard fought game here.
Bruce Weber?s Fighting Illini have struggled to find consistency on the offensive end this year. Illinois is shooting just 44.5% from the floor. The three-point line has been a real thorn in this team?s side. The Fighting Illini try quite a few three?s, but they are knocking down just 32.5%. D.J. Richardson is the team?s leading scorer this year at 14.4 points per game. Sophomore Meyers Leonard is the most improved player on the team, and his presence inside has helped this team a ton this season. He averages 13 points and eight boards per game, and he also has 29 blocks on the year. The Fighting Illini allow just 57 points per contest.??
Many people thought Missouri would be down this year after Mike Anderson left the school, but Frank Haith is doing a great job with this team. They are still pressing and making life miserable for the opponent, but they are also playing great half court defense this year. Missouri is first in the nation in field goal percentage at 52.6%. They are second in all of basketball in points per game at 87.9 points per contest. The Tigers have four players averaging at least 12.6 points per game this year. Marcus Denmon and Kim English are the team?s best shooters, but Michael Dixon is a great slasher.
Missouri is a better team than Illinois at this point because of all their options offensively. Look for the Tigers to win a third straight game in this rivalry.
Prediction: Missouri 74 Illinois 65
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Army transfers 8 US soldiers after suicide
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Danny Chen,19, who was killed Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen's company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army described at the time as "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, File) (AP Photo/U.S. Army, File)
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Danny Chen,19, who was killed Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen's company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army described at the time as "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, File) (AP Photo/U.S. Army, File)
FILE - In a Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 file photo, a portrait of Pvt. Danny Chen is displayed on a vehicle during his funeral procession in New York. Chen was killed on Oct. 3 in a noncombat-related death in Kandahar province in Afghanistan. The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of Chen. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen's company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army described at the time as "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. (AP Photo/Jin Lee, File)
Elizabeth OuYang, president of the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, center, speaks at a news conference while the parents of Pvt. Danny Chen, Yan Tao Chen, left, and Su Zhen Chen listen in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged over the October death of Chen who apparently shot himself in Afghanistan, the Army said Wednesday, and supporters said the 19-year-old had been taunted with racial insults. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Su Zhen Chen, mother of Pvt. Danny Chen, weeps during a news conference in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged over the October death of Chen who apparently shot himself in Afghanistan, the Army said Wednesday, and supporters said the 19-year-old had been taunted with racial insults. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Su Zhen Chen, mother of Pvt. Danny Chen, weeps while speaking during a news conference in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. Chen was found on Oct. 3 in a guard tower in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, with what the Army has described as "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." Eight American soldiers have been charged in Chen's death, the Army said Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Pentagon officials say they have transferred eight soldiers to another base amid allegations that they mistreated one of their comrades shortly before he committed suicide in a guardhouse in Afghanistan.
The soldiers face charges ranging from dereliction of duty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Army Pvt. Daniel Chen of New York City. Chen's relatives say he endured weeks of racial teasing and name calling while in training, then was subjected to hazing after he was deployed to Afghanistan.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said Wednesday the military was taking a zero-tolerance attitude toward soldiers who mistreat their comrades.
"That's what this uniform requires. And when we don't, there's a justice system in place to deal with it," Kirby said. "Hazing's not tolerated in the military. If it's found and it's proven, it's dealt with."
The eight soldiers are part of an infantry regiment based in Fort Wainright, Alaska. The soldiers are still in Afghanistan but have been relieved of their duties and confined to a different base, the military said. The next step is a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for a court martial. The proceedings are expected to be held in Afghanistan.
The two most serious charges, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and three years, respectively, under military law.
At a news conference in New York's Chinatown, Elizabeth OuYang, a community activist who is representing his parents, said Chen had complained about the teasing in Facebook and email messages, discussions with cousins and in his journal. The Army has released excerpts of the journal to his parents.
Fellow soldiers at a base in Georgia teased him about his Chinese name, crying out "Chen!" in an exaggerated Asian accent, OuYang said. They called him "Jackie Chen," a reference to the Hollywood action star Jackie Chan. People would ask him repeatedly if he was Chinese, even though he was a native New Yorker.
At one point Chen wrote in his diary that he was running out of jokes to respond with.
Then he was sent overseas, and the hazing began: Soldiers dragged him across a floor, pelted him with stones and forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while hanging upside down, OuYang said.
On Oct. 3, Chen was found dead in a guardhouse in Afghanistan with what the Army said was apparently a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"Whether suicide or homicide, those responsible for mistreating Danny are responsible for his death," OuYang said.
Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be located.
Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said bullying has been a recurring problem for the military.
"If there was brutality within the unit, that's a betrayal of the bond of brotherhood," he said. "That is, in theory, the underpinning of what holds a military command together."
In 2010, three Army sergeants were punished after Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm of Willard, Ohio, killed himself 10 days after arriving in Iraq with a platoon based in Fort Bliss, Texas. Wilhelm's family said he was being bullied and forced to run for miles with rocks in his pockets.
Two sergeants were imprisoned for six months and three months, respectively, on charges of cruelty and maltreatment. The third was convicted of obstructing justice and given a one-grade reduction in pay.
Activists said Chen's case has raised questions about the military's treatment of its tiny Asian-American minority.
"We love our country and we want to serve our country, but it's not worth it if we can't be protected from people who are supposed to be on our side," OuYang said.
In 2008 people of Asian descent made up only 1.8 percent of new military recruits, even though they represent 4.15 percent of the total population of American 18-to-24-year-olds, a Pentagon report said. The percentages of whites, blacks and Hispanics reflected the wider population more closely.
On Wednesday Chen's relatives said they were encouraged by the Pentagon's action against the eight soldiers.
"We realize that Danny will never return, but it gives us some hope," Yen Tao Chen, his father, said through a translator.
Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, 25, of Maryland (no hometown was given); Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, 35, of Port Arthur, Texas; Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, 26, of Aberdeen, S.D.; Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, 29, of Youngstown, Ohio; Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, 26, of Brooklyn, Iowa; Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, 25, of Hendersonville, Tenn; Spc. Ryan J. Offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa.; and Sgt. Travis F. Carden, 24, of Fowler, Ind.
VanBockel, Holcomb, Hurst, Curtis and Offutt were charged with the most serious offenses, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and assault and battery.
Offutt's mother, Carol Tate of Sharon, Pa., told The (Sharon) Herald that she has known about the charges for a while and has talked to her son.
"I think there's a lot of things that really haven't been brought up," she said, but declined further comment.
Schwartz, the only officer among the accused, was charged with dereliction of duty.
The two most serious charges, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and three years, respectively, under military law.
___
Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor at the Pentagon; Meghan Barr, Deepti Hajela and Verena Dobnik in New York; Patrick Quinn in Kabul, Afghanistan; Linda Ball in Dallas; and researchers Monika Mathur, Jennifer Farrar, Barbara Sambriski, Rhonda Shafner and Judith Ausuebel contributed to this story.
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Madden NFL 07 Cheats [ Playstation 2 ]. Super Bowl xxl.
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Friday, December 23, 2011
iPad stuck on Apple logo
My iPad 1 is stuck on the Apple logo and will not load into iOs
Shall I go to the Apple store to get it sorted out?
What do I need? Shall I bring my Applecare box?
Thanks
__________________
Macs: 2012 17" Ivy Bridge Macbook Pro anti-glare
iOs: iPhone 3GS (16GB) 4.3.5 | iPad 1 (Wi-Fi) 16GB - 4.3 | iPod touch (white, 64GB)
Other: Apple Wireless Keyboard / Apple Wireless Mouse
Source: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1295931&goto=newpost
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Troubled Pakistanis turn to exorcism for help
KARACHI, Pakistan?? A girl in a long black shirt screams incoherently, banging her head against a wall at a Sufi shrine in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Sania Haneef's family says she is possessed by a demon.
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Doctors could not help, so they brought the college student, kicking and screaming, to be exorcised by the spirit of a saint.
The West often associates Pakistan with Taliban militants who force women to cover from head to toe, blow up girls' schools and carry out suicide bombings. But Islam in the South Asian nation of 180 million is diverse.
Many flock to shrines like the one where Haneef's relatives seek solace in the Sufi strand of Islam abhorred by militants and considered more liberal in its philosophy than other branches followed by Shiites and Sunnis.
"Sania has been possessed since she was six years old," her brother, Mohammed, said, describing how an evil spirit, known as a jinn, would speak through her in a man's voice.
"The shrine has captured the spirit. Sania will be cured soon. None of us is leaving until that happens."
Pakistanis are beset by problems ? violence, crippling power cuts, poverty and dilapidated hospitals are but a few.
The government, seen as inept and corrupt, offers little relief.
Slideshow: Pakistan: A nation in turmoil (on this page)Many people think their suffering is inflicted by evil spirits intent on destroying marriage prospects, businesses and health, and that only Sufi saints can help.
But that's a risky belief in Pakistan. Militants, including the al-Qaida-linked Taliban, have over the years bombed Sufi shrines which they consider heretical.
During an annual celebration this year at one in the central Pakistani town of Dera Ghazi Khan, the Taliban dispatched suicide bombers who killed 41 people.
A double suicide bombing in 2010 at Pakistan's most important Sufi shrine, in the city of Lahore, killed about 42 people.
But fears of possession, and life's many challenges, keep driving people back to the shrines.
Sufism is a mystical form of Islam which adheres closely to the traditions of Islam but also reflects secularism and universalism in spiritual matters.
It is especially strong in Sindh province, where Pakistan's biggest city and commercial hub of Karachi is located.
'Jinns have sex with us'
"The whole concept of jinns [spirits], which previously would have been a belief in some other kind of spirit, has been converted into Islamic parlance," said Ali Khan, an anthropologist at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Self-proclaimed exorcists thrive on these beliefs. They claim special powers from God which enable them to help people cope with everything, from domestic disturbances to infertility and impotence. Some even say they can help people find love.
Story: Pakistan: 30,000 Islamists rally against USIn a dimly lit shack just outside a shrine, Syed Aliuddin, wearing a white robe and silk cap set with a green stone resembling an emerald, listens to people lament.
One man, an electrician, complains his wife is disobedient. In a carefully rehearsed ritual, the exorcist with a white beard writes prayers on strips of paper and douses them in water.
Customers then drink it, believing his promise that it only takes 10 minutes to take effect.
Aliuddin says he can fight 18,000 types of evil spirits made from fire. Like others in his trade, he is keeping pace with the information age, running his own website and offering consultations by email and mobile phone.
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"Some possess bodies out of jealousy, others out of love, some have other motives," said Aliuddin, who charges between 50 rupees (55 cents) and 250 rupees a session, which last up to 30 minutes.
"Jinns swim inside us when they possess us, feed on us, have sex with each other and with us."
The more serious the issue, the more radical the cure.
Jamila Bibi turned to the Abdullah Shah Ashabi shrine in the ancient, dusty town of Thatta in Sindh province.
US halts $700 million in aid to PakistanHer son, Muhammed, began having violent fits four months ago. The 18-year-old is chained by his ankle to a wall. He sits silently, staring at others who are chained or are praying.
"We want him to be close to the spirit of the saint. We have had to chain him so he doesn't hit other people," she said.
In a country where a heavy stigma is attached to mental illness, and the state spends little on health, many see spiritual healing as the only option.
"This is more about a lack of education and awareness, rather than access to medical facilities. It's a desperate attempt to seek hope," said psychologist Rizwan Taj.
Nearby, Rahim Yar, who suffers from memory loss and extreme physical weakness, starts screaming.
He has been at the shrine, which has marble floors and surrounds a domed tomb of a Sufi saint, for four years.
"The jinn inside me says he needs to take me to India, to a temple where people are sacrificed," Rahim said.
"He says he will not leave me and I must be sacrificed."
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45733891/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Terror detainee turned over to Iraqis
WASHINGTON?? The last American prisoner in Iraq, a Hezbollah commander linked to the kidnapping deaths of four U.S. soldiers, was turned over to the Iraqi government Friday, the White House said.
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U.S. officials have long feared that such a transfer would lead to Ali Mussa Daqduq's release from prison. But his case became enmeshed in both international diplomacy and the Washington political debate over how best to prosecute suspected terrorists.
Under President George W. Bush, prosecutors had planned to someday charge Daqduq in a U.S. criminal court. But those plans were scrapped after Obama took office and lawmakers began restricting the president's ability to bring terrorist suspects into the United States for trial.
Many Republicans had wanted Daqduq prosecuted before a military tribunal at the Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba. The Obama administration had hoped a compromise would be to prosecute Daqduq in a first-of-its-kind military commission on U.S. soil.
But the Iraqi government would not let the United States take Daqduq out of the country for trial, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
"We have sought and received assurances that he will be tried for his crimes," Vietor said Friday.
It was not immediately clear what charges he could face. The U.S. has said he was part of a brazen raid in which four American soldiers were abducted and killed in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala in 2007.
'A new chapter': US officially ends Iraq war
Iraq has had a shoddy record on detainee security. Last year, just a week after the U.S. turned more than 1,000 detainees at its Camp Cropper prison over to Iraqi control, four al-Qaida-linked detainees escaped. An investigation showed that the detainees had inside help.
That had lawmakers worried that Daqduq would return to Hezbollah soon after his transfer. Shortly before the White House announcement, Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republican, was gathering signatures on a letter to Obama.
"Daqduq's Iranian paymasters would like nothing more than to see him transferred to Iraqi custody, where they could effectively pressure for his escape or release," Kirk wrote. "We truly hope you will not let that happen."
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Republican vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, fumed over the release of Daqduq.
"Rather than ensure justice for five American soldiers killed by Hezbollah terrorist Ali Musa Daqduq, the administration turned him over to Iraq, once again completely abdicating its responsibility to hold on to deadly terrorists. Given Iraq's history of releasing detainees, I expect it is only a matter of time before this terrorist will be back on the battlefield."
Vietor said a trial at Guantanamo Bay was never an option, either for the Iraqis or for the administration.
"The policy of this administration, because we believe it's in our national security interest, is to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, not add to the population," he said.
Two Iraqi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said Daqduq was in the custody of Iraqi judiciary authorities in Baghdad. Daqduq will stand before an Iraq investigative judge, one official said. Investigative judges decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial and recommend specific charges, somewhat like a grand jury does in the U.S. system.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45699836/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Imprisoned activist's daughter detained in Bahrain (AP)
MANAMA, Bahrain ? A daughter of a prominent Bahraini activist was detained during an anti-government demonstration in the Gulf kingdom, which has been roiled by months of protests and crackdowns.
Zainab al-Khawaja, a 28-year-old blogger and activist, was arrested late Thursday during a rally outside the capital, Manama, said Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. The government confirmed her arrest in a statement Friday.
She is a daughter of Bahrain's most prominent political activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was imprisoned for life along with seven other opposition leaders in June. A special security tribunal, set up under emergency rule, convicted them of anti-state crimes.
A video purportedly of her arrest shows a female officer handcuffing al-Khawaja as she sits in the middle of a traffic circle. Another female officer appears to punch her in the face before both officers drag her by her handcuffs to a police vehicle. It was impossible to verify the veracity of the video, which was posted online, but the scene matched a description given by the government.
The rally, which began on Thursday near the opposition stronghold of Diraz and other Shiite villages west of the capital, was marked with clashes as Bahraini security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters attempting to protest alongside a highway leading to Manama.
On Friday, clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters occurred on the same highway after police fired tear gas at a funeral procession for a protester who opposition supporters say died during Thursday's rally. Witnesses said the protester was run over by a police car.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry denied police were responsible for the man's death. In a statement late Thursday, the ministry said a pedestrian it identified as 22-year-old Ali Ahmed Radhi was fatally injured in a traffic accident that involved a civilian vehicle. Its driver is in custody, the statement said.
The clashes took place during a visit by the U.S. State Department's top human rights envoy, who expressed concern about Bahrain's use of tear gas and other tactics against the Shiite protesters. Bahrain's majority Shiites have been campaigning for greater rights from the Sunni monarchy since February.
In a statement on al-Khawaja's arrest, Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority said she was taken into custody for her "role in a larger illegal gathering in a busy roundabout on one of the main roads outside Manama."
The statement said female police officers were sent to the roundabout to clear it of protesters and make the arrest.
"In the process of getting her into the police vehicle, al-Khawaja resisted arrest by laying down and female officers had to physically remove her from the site," the statement said, adding that police have referred the blogger's case to the public prosecutor.
Along with her father, al-Khawaja's three other male relatives have been convicted in court and imprisoned during Bahrain's uprising. They are her uncle, her brother-in-law and her husband, the father of her 2-year-old daughter. The 28-year-old activist and blogger has campaigned for their release and went on a hunger strike for 10 days earlier this year to protest their detention.
More than 35 people have died in clashes and protest-related violence since February. Bahrain's protests, which grew out of the Arab Spring uprisings around the Middle East, are the largest and most sustained to have hit the Arab monarchies and sheikdoms that line the Persian Gulf.
On Thursday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, head of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, called on both the government and protesters to refrain from violence. As host to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, Bahrain is strategically important to the United States.
Posner told reporters in the capital, Manama, that Washington remains concerned about the government's "excessive use of force, including tear gas, in response to ongoing street protests."
___
Associated Press writer Barbara Surk contributed to this report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Andrew Brandt: The Secret Word on Hurd
A criminal complaint was filed yesterday against Sam Hurd, the now-former wide receiver of the Chicago Bears. It is a shocking account of a pattern of activity from a player well respected and seen as nothing like the one depicted in the complaint. An official at the Bears told me "He seemed like a great guy, quoting the Bible and always friendly." Most con men are.
The complaint includes an affidavit attached to it, required to show probable cause to arrest, wherein the federal agent swears under oath that this story is true.
Days before signing with Bears
On July 27th, T.L. (a Hurd co-conspirator) attempted to purchase 4 kgs of cocaine on behalf of Hurd from a Homeland Security confidential informant.
They set up a meeting in Dallas and federal agents intervened, stopping T.L. for a routine traffic stop where they discovered marijuana and $88,000. T.L. said both the money and car belonged to Hurd. A vehicle registration check showed that the car did belong to Hurd. T.L. said that he routinely performed maintenance on Hurd's cars. The authorities seized the money and released T.L.
On July 28th Hurd contacted and met with federal agents, stating that he was a Dallas Cowboy and that the $88,000 was his. He claimed he withdrew the money from a certain bank account and packed the money in his car prior to leaving it with T.L. for "maintenance and detailing." The agents reviewed the bank statement, which didn't corroborate Hurd's story as the transactions and amounts differed.
On July 29th, Hurd signed a three-year contract with the Bears that provided a $1.35 million signing bonus and a 2011 salary of $685,000.
More summer heat
On August 14th, T.L. again tried to broker a deal for Hurd with the informant, this for purchasing 5 kgs of cocaine.
On August 15th, federal agents learned of Hurd's association with four California men arrested on July 25th possessing money, drugs, and weapons. Hurd's cell phone number appeared in texts describing drug dealing and money laundering.
Season starts, drug activity continues
On September 9th, T.L. again tried to broker a deal for Hurd with the informant for 5 kgs of cocaine.
On December 6th, T.L. met the informant at a Firestone store in Texas where he contacted Hurd and passed the phone to the informant. Hurd expressed his desire to purchase 5 kgs of cocaine and said T.L. would give him Hurd's phone number in case the informant was ever in the Chicago area.
Sting set up
On December 14th, Hurd met the informant and an undercover agent at Morton's Steakhouse in Chicago. Hurd was interested in purchasing 5-10 kgs of cocaine and 1000 lbs of marijuana per week. They negotiated a price of $25,000 per kg of cocaine and $450 per lb of marijuana. Hurd acknowledged that he currently distributed about 4 kgs of cocaine per week in the Chicago area and that while his partner did smaller deals, Hurd focused on "higher-end" ones.
Hurd also inquired as to Mexican cell phones - believing them to be safe from law enforcement hearing conversations - while also disclosing that he had money seized in Dallas months earlier.
The undercover agent provided Hurd with 1 kg of cocaine. Hurd left the restaurant, placed the bag in his vehicle, and was subsequently arrested by authorities.
The charge
Hurd is officially charged with "knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together, and with other persons known and unknown, to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams ... of cocaine, a controlled substance." He faces the possibility of up to 40 years in prison
A federal judge in Chicago ruled that Hurd must stand trial in Texas because the criminal charges were filed there.
Hurd is represented by Los Angeles attorney David Kenner, whose past clients include Snoop Dogg.
Bigger issues
More worrisome for the NFL - other than the disturbing facts of the story itself - is that the authorities claim to have a list (possibly in the double digits) of NFL clients that Hurd served.
Unfortunately for the Bears and perhaps the Cowboys and the NFL, this story is only the beginning.
As with many criminals, people who thought they knew Hurd are shocked. Stay tuned.
?
Follow Andrew Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/adbrandt
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-brandt/the-secret-word-on-hurd_b_1155181.html
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Overstock.com unloads goods at Utah auction (AP)
SALT LAKE CITY ? Overstock.com, the online retailer known for selling distressed merchandise, was feeling a little distressed itself. With household merchandise stacking up in a warehouse, it opened the doors Thursday for an auction of goods assembled hodgepodge that had to be bought together on pallets.
Overstock was overstocked.
"We call it revenue recovery," said Carroll Morale, a vice president of supply chain, who said Overstock had already written off the mostly returned goods as a loss and was happy to get anything back.
More than 600 people registered for the warehouse auction, and many said they were bidding blindly because pallets were shrink-wrapped in black plastic and they didn't study the manifests.
"I just came to blow some money ? my wife is going to kill me," said Joseph Kikel, a 34-year-old car salesman who bought a pallet of furniture for about 25 cents on the dollar.
The man from Layton, Utah, spent $350 for a leather chair, a dresser, an entertainment center and padded bench. He wasn't certain what he bought until he unloaded boxes in his pickup.
It was Overstock's first auction and to mix things up, workers stacked pallets with whatever moved down a conveyor belt ? "you could get dinnerware with luggage," Morale said.
Salt Lake City auctioneer Rob Olson said 307 pallets of goods were sold for around $150,000.
"It was crazy," he said. The auction's final pallet contained $14,000 worth of women's dresses, he said. It sold for $1,800.
Normally Overstock arranges sales of unsold goods privately to other liquidators. The company called the auction a community service, and said it was able to empty part of its sprawling warehouse for expected holiday merchandise returns.
"A lot of it is furniture and decor, but one of my lots had a laptop," said Karl Fackrell, a 65-year-old real-estate developer in South Jordan, Utah.
Fackrell said he paid about $2,500 ? or about 20 cents on the dollar ? for six pallets of goods. "I'll sell the stuff I don't want," he said.
The auction was the latest innovation from a company whose innovations sometimes backfire.
Overstock "shot itself in the foot" earlier this year with a rebranding campaign as "O.co" that only confused consumers, said Daniel Kurnos, a stock analyst with The Benchmark Co.
Overstock was penalized earlier this year for setting up fake websites that linked to its own website, Google has said. During the two-month penalty time, Google pushed Overstock further down in search results. Overstock has said its revenue dropped 5 percent as a result.
And in California, the company's efforts to avoid charging sales tax forced it to cut ties with merchandisers who generated 5 percent of Overstock's revenue, he said.
Overstock reported a loss of $16 million for the first nine months of 2011, compared with a loss of $1 million in 2010. The company has generated profits in only two of its dozen years in business as it tries to compete in a crowded field of Internet liquidators.
"They're expecting growth for the holiday quarter, but they have to dig themselves out of a hole," Kurnos said.
Overstock says things are looking up ? Cyber Monday sales after Thanksgiving weekend were the largest ever for the company. The company once aspired to take on Internet goliaths, but competitors Amazon and eBay generate sales 30 or more times greater.
On Thursday, some Utah consumers were just happy to grab a quick deal and unwrap it at home.
Others who described themselves as more serious bidders were holding onto their wallets until the end of the one-day auction, when they hoped to pick up stuff for pennies on the dollar.
Douglas Larson, a home renovator looking for furniture, was unimpressed by Overstock's emphasis on the full retail value of goods.
Nobody pays full retail, he sniffed.
"So you cut that in half right away, then cut it in half again," he said.
That was his bidding strategy, but he complained he couldn't inspect any of the shrink-wrapped boxes of goods.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Bargainers reach deal to head off gov't shutdown
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the campus in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, where he announced action to provide minimum wage and overtime protections for in-home care workers. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congressional negotiators reached agreement Thursday on a compromise spending bill to avert a weekend federal shutdown. They also worked toward a deal renewing the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another year but prepared a shorter version as a fallback.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters he was still optimistic that bipartisan talks on yearlong extensions of the Social Security payroll tax cut and unemployment coverage would succeed. But as a "Plan B," he said, they were working on a two-month extension as well, which would also prevent cuts in Medicare reimbursements for doctors during that period.
"We're still working on the long-term" bill, Reid told reporters as he exited the Capitol after a day of talks over both the payroll tax and spending measures. As for the two-month version, he said, "We'll only do that if what we're working on doesn't work out."
Reid's remarks put a slight damper on a day on which for the first time, Democratic and Republican leaders expressed optimism at prospects for swift compromise on their payroll tax standoff and a spending battle that had threatened to shutter federal agencies beginning at midnight Friday.
A deal on a $1 trillion spending bill was reached after Republicans agreed to drop language that would have blocked President Barack Obama's liberalized rules on people who visit and send money to relatives in Cuba. But a GOP provision will stay in the bill thwarting an Obama administration rule on energy efficiency standards that critics argued would make it hard for people to purchase inexpensive incandescent light bulbs.
The House is expected to approve the spending measure Friday, and the Senate could follow suit, possibly the same day.
Donald Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said talks aimed at agreeing to a yearlong extension of the payroll tax measure will continue.
"We're 12 hours into this debate, they just started talking," he said when asked about the two-month version of the bill. "I wouldn't hit the panic button."
A senior White House official said the administration supported the two-month plan.
Bargainers were considering the two-month extension of this year's payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits bill because so far, they haven't agreed how a yearlong extension would be paid for, said a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks.
The two-month bill would cost $40 billion, according to the aide. It would be paid for from a list of around $120 billion in savings that bargainers are considering, including sales of the broadcast spectrum and raising fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge to back mortgages, the aide said.
The two-month extension would let lawmakers revisit the measure after returning to Washington after the holiday season. That could be risky because that work would come well into the 2012 presidential and congressional election year.
Without congressional action, the payroll taxes would rise and extra benefits for the long-term unemployed would expire on Jan. 1. Doctors' Medicare payments would be automatically reduced that day by 27 percent, a reduction that could prompt some to stop seeing Medicare patients.
?"Right now, Congress needs to make sure that 160 million working Americans don't see their taxes go up on Jan. 1," said Obama, referring to the tax cut extension at the core of the jobs program he outlined in a nationally televised speech three months ago.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the most powerful Republican in an era of divided government, agreed. "We can extend payroll tax relief for American workers, help create new jobs and keep the government running. And frankly, we can do it in a bipartisan way," he said. ?????
?In the Capitol, the previous day's bristling rhetoric and partisan jabs all but vanished.
Still another year-end bill, setting new rules for the handling of terror suspects in U.S. custody, won final congressional approval and headed to Obama's desk for his signature.
?Republicans agreed to consider changes to a $1 trillion spending bill compromise that they and at least one Democrat said had been wrapped up days ago.
On the payroll tax cut bill, Democrats abandoned their demand for a surtax on million-dollar incomes that they wanted to include in the measure.
?At a news conference, Boehner minimized the concession, noting that Democrats lacked the votes to impose the surtax a year ago when they commanded 60 votes in the Senate. Even so, he said, "there was some movement yesterday from the White House and Democrat leaders" toward a compromise.
?Boehner also left open the possibility of a compromise on another key sticking point ? a House-passed provision that all but requires construction of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.
?Construction "will put 20,000 people to work immediately And there are about 115,000 other jobs directly related to it," he said. Yet he skipped an opportunity to say construction of the project was non-negotiable as talks on the payroll tax cut bill proceeded.
Obama has threatened to veto the House-passed bill, in part citing the requirement for the pipeline. The project has been studied for more than three years, but the president recently announced he would put off a decision until after the 2012 elections.
At Obama's insistence, Congress cut the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax to 4.2 percent this year in an effort to stimulate the economy with more consumer spending. The president has proposed deepening the cut to 3.1 percent next year, but Republicans have only shown a willingness to renew it at this year's level.
Obama also wants to leave in place a system that provides aid for up to 99 weeks for the long-term unemployed. The House-passed measure reduces the total by 20 weeks, a step that the administration says would cut off 3.3 million individuals and that Democrats are hoping to soften if not reverse.
Reid indicated that a number of expiring tax breaks were on the table, as well, a list that included a provision that benefits commuters who use mass transit.
The House-passed payroll tax cut measure relied on a pay freeze and increased pension contributions for federal workers, as well as higher Medicare premiums for seniors with incomes over $80,000, beginning in 2017. The bill would also raise a fee that is charged to banks whose mortgages are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and cancel more than $40 billion from the year-old health care bill, Obama's signature domestic achievement.
The year-end, $1 trillion spending measure would lock in cuts that Republicans extracted from Democrats in negotiations conducted months ago against the deadline of a previous government shutdown threat. It funds 10 Cabinet departments, including the Pentagon and dozens of smaller agencies, awarding a slight increase to the military and veterans' programs while trimming most other domestic programs.
?The separate defense bill covered military personnel, weapons systems, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and more at a cost of $662 billion, $27 billion below Obama's request. The Senate approved it by a resounding 86-13.
?The main controversy revolved around a provision to require military custody for foreign terrorist suspects linked to al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or attacking the United States. Under a change made to gain Obama's backing, the legislation would permit the FBI to arrest and interrogate foreign terror suspects, as is now the case.
___
Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.
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