tagged w/ News and Politcs
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American singer, dancer and actress Eartha Kitt has died at the age 81, her friend and publicist has said.
Kitt died of colon cancer on Thursday, Andrew Freedman said.
She was one of the few artists to be nominated in the Tony, Grammy and Emmy award categories and was a stalwart of the Manhattan cabaret scene.
She famously played Catwoman in the Batman television series in the 1960s and was known for her distinctive, feline drawl.
She also had a number of hit songs, including Old Fashioned Girl, C'est Si Bon and Santa Baby.
Kitt was blacklisted in the US in the late 1960s after speaking out against the Vietnam War at a White House function.American singer, dancer and actress Eartha Kitt has died at the age 81, her friend and... more
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Forty years ago, the biggest TV audience in history tuned in to watch humankind's first close encounter with another world, as the crew of Apollo 8 reached lunar orbit.Forty years ago, the biggest TV audience in history tuned in to watch humankind's... more
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Israel has reopened crossings into the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Israeli officials said Defence Minister Ehud Barak took the decision after talks with security chiefs and requests from the international community.
About 80 trucks with supplies such as medicine, food and other goods are expected to cross on Friday.
The move comes despite Israeli warnings to Palestinian militants in Gaza to stop their rocket attacks on Israel.
On Friday, two Palestinian sisters - aged five and 12 - were killed when a mortar, apparently fired by Palestinian gunmen targeting Israel, hit their home in northern Gaza.
Medical officials said the incident happened in the village of Beit Lahya. The Israeli military said its forces had not fired in that area of the Gaza Strip, AFP reports.
More than 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza in recent days, after the killing of three Hamas members by Israel. Friday's total of rockets and mortars was 13, Israel's military said.
A six-month ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas ended last week.Israel has reopened crossings into the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of... more
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Officials in Italy seized 88 lbs of caviar from men smuggling the delicacy in from Poland. The food was tested to be safe, and distributed to elderly homes and charity kitchens.Officials in Italy seized 88 lbs of caviar from men smuggling the delicacy in from... more
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Britain's economy is heading for its worst year since the notorious post-war winter-torn 1947 recession, experts warned on Tuesday, as official figures shed light on the scale of the downturn.Britain's economy is heading for its worst year since the notorious post-war... more
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A Colorado Springs family is part of one of the strangest cases in medical history.
Dr. Paul Grabb, a pediatric brain surgeon, said he discovered a small foot growing inside the brain of 3-day-old Sam Esquibel, reported KMGH-TV in Denver.
The appendage threatened the newborn's life.
When Grabb performed the life-saving surgery at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs, he was in for another surprise: he also found what appeared to be parts of an intestine in the folds of the infant's tiny brain, in addition to another developing foot, hand and thigh."I've never seen anything like it before," Grabb told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "It looked like the breach delivery of a baby coming out of the brain."A Colorado Springs family is part of one of the strangest cases in medical history.... more
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A man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed polar bear Knut on Monday, but officials were able to keep the animal away from the intruder by distracting him with a leg of beef, police said. The 37-year-old man jumped over a fence into a water-filled ditch at the edge of the bear's enclosure Monday morning, police said in a statement.
Zoo keepers, who had just let Knut into his outdoor enclosure, were able to lure the bear back into his cage by producing a leg of beef.
Police said the man, a German, was less cooperative, initially ignoring instructions to leave the enclosure. He was led away unharmed but, although he was soaked and cold, he refused to undergo a medical checkup.
Police said that, before being let go, the man told them that he felt lonely and the bear appeared lonely, too.
Knut, now age 2, was hand-raised after his mother rejected him at birth. He rose to stardom early last year as a cute white ball of fluff, but has since grown rapidly into a hulking 440-pound (200-kilogram) predator.A man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed polar bear Knut on Monday, but... more
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A British man convicted of having sex on a Dubai beach was re-arrested as he prepared to board a flight back to the UK, according to media reports. Vince Acors, 34, from London, was due to fly to Heathrow Monday following his deportation from the Gulf state. But he was detained at Dubai Airport and returned to jail as his flight confirmation was allegedly "not in order," the British Press Association said.
Acors and fellow Briton Michelle Palmer, 36, were initially given three-month jail terms for unmarried sex and public indecency, but these were suspended on appeal.
Acors had been due to return last Friday but a hold-up in the deportation process meant he was unable to board a UK-bound plane and spent the weekend in jail, PA said.
His lawyer Andrew Crossley said: "The return of Vince Acors has been delayed yet again and he will not be returning to the UK. The situation is close to becoming farcical and Vince is severely disappointed.
"After having booked and confirmed his return flight on three separate occasions through the course of the day Vince was re-arrested at Dubai Airport, as his flight confirmation was allegedly not in order. He has been returned to jail, his precise return is now unknown."A British man convicted of having sex on a Dubai beach was re-arrested as he prepared... more
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A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to California's lieutenant governor pleaded guilty to a child porn charge in a San Diego federal court Monday.
Wade Rowland Sanders admitted to having 600 images of minors on his computer, including a video depicting "several prepubescent females engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male and performing oral sex on one another," according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt.
FBI agents raided Sanders' home last May after they suspected his home Internet service account was used to download several pictures and a video showing underage girls having sex with adult men, according to an investigator's sworn statement.
"Sanders admitted that he had downloaded child pornography using the program Limewire but that he deleted the files once he noticed that they had been downloaded," FBI Special Agent John Caruthers said.A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to... more
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Oscar-nominated director Robert Mulligan, best known for his classic 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, has died aged 83.
He passed away on Saturday at his home in Connecticut after a battle with heart disease, his wife Sandy said.
Mulligan was also credited with discovering Reese Witherspoon.Oscar-nominated director Robert Mulligan, best known for his classic 1962 film To Kill... more
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The species once described as the world's oldest spider is a more primitive version of the web-spinning modern spider, scientists have found.
The parts of the Attercopus spider's described as spinnerets - the appendages that allow web-spinning - were not spinnerets after all.
That means that the oldest "true" spider may have arrived 80m years later than previously thought.
The results appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Paul Selden of the University of Kansas and his colleagues first described Attercopus fossil remains in 1989.
Most of what the group initially found among fossil remains belonged to a group of extinct arachnids called trigonotarbids, but one bit seemed to have the modified hairs called spigots from which spider silk emerges, as well as the external, flexible appendages known as spinnerets that facilitate web-spinning.
However, also present in the mix of material from the rock was a tail-like structure, which the researchers could not identify.The species once described as the world's oldest spider is a more primitive... more
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sorry that i have to give bad news so close to the holidays folks....
US sales of new homes slowed to their lowest level in 17 years in November, while new home prices dropped by the biggest amount in eight months.
New home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 407,000 - down 2.9% from October, according to the US Commerce Department.
The figures are further evidence of the slump in the US housing market.
The market is unlikely to recover until prices fall far enough to reduce the large number of homes for sale.
November's new home sales figure was worse than economists had expected and was the slowest sales pace since January 1991.sorry that i have to give bad news so close to the holidays folks....
US sales of... more
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i wish the title was true....
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Spiraling violence in Somalia, forced civilian displacements in eastern Congo, and neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe were among the Top 10 humanitarian crises of 2008, according to an annual list released Sunday by Doctors Without Borders.
Other crises on the group's list included: malnutrition, which claims 5 million young lives across the globe each year; HIV-tuberculosis co-infections, killing some 1.7 million people annually; fighting in Pakistan's tribal areas; the politicization of aid distribution in Iraq; violence and harsh climatic conditions in southeastern Ethiopia's Somali region; and the continuing Darfur crisis and civil war in Sudan.
"With the release of this list, we hope to focus much needed attention on the millions of people who are trapped in conflict and war, affected by medical crises, whose immediate and essential health needs are neglected, and whose plight often goes unnoticed," Dr. Christophe Fournier, the group's International Council President, said in a statement.
What about having a dumb redneck woman almost being elected to the Vice Presidency...Spiraling violence in Somalia, forced civilian displacements in eastern Congo, and... more
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A picture of a seemingly credit-crunched Chinese shepherd has become an instant internet hit in China, all because he's using a poster of a wolf to herd up his flock.
Speaking to local paper Huashang Daily, Du Hebing, of Xi'an, said:
"After visiting Qinling Wild Animal Park, on the way home I saw a group of sheep walking along the road with a man holding a picture following behind them...The man was using the wolf picture to scare the sheep and drive them ahead - it was a really funny scene."
"Maybe he was just trying to save some money by not buying a sheepdog - but he is obviously a talented shepherd."
Or maybe he has a really scary picture...A picture of a seemingly credit-crunched Chinese shepherd has become an instant... more
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On a First Date
What's she like in bed?
If I don't get together with her tonight, will this end early enough for me to meet up with friends?
But … will I get any action tonight?
Is that a pushup bra or are her breasts that incredible?
Does she think I'm funny?
Do I tell her she has a piece of lettuce stuck in her teeth or do I hope it works itself loose before she looks in a mirror and completely freaks out?
Does she always wear this much makeup?
Are lulls in the conversation first-date awkwardness or a sign that she has nothing to say?
Would doing this again be worth the time and money?
Before Getting Serious
Am I really willing to give up on other potentials for her?
Would I be proud to introduce her to my folks?
That girl I always see at the gym seems into me, so seriously, am I really willing to give up on other potentials?
Will my friends like her?
Will she let me see my friends?
Would I have fun if I took a long vacation with her?
Will I think her "charming quirks" are actually "annoying pathology" in six months?
At some point down the road, can I see myself perhaps beginning to maybe think about the chance that I wouldn't rule out the possibility of marrying her?
Before Getting Married
I love the way things are, so will marriage change anything?
Is she gonna go bonkers while planning the wedding?
Will she eventually look as MILF-hot (or troll-like) as her mom does?
Can I handle her insane family for the rest of my life … and can she handle mine?
Will she be a good mother?
She may work now, but do I make enough money to support her and a family if I need to?
Will I ever be able to spend time by myself again?
Do I know I can count on her in a crisis?
Can I be happy never having sex with another woman for the rest of … my … life?
What do you think?On a First Date
What's she like in bed?
If I don't get together with her... more
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BEAUMONT, Texas - Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found a toddler inside, playing with the toys. Police said store surveillance video showed the unidentified boy trying to open one of the front doors to a Family Dollar store about 3 a.m. Monday, only to find it locked. But the second door was unlocked and the child went inside.
That triggered the silent alarm.
Detective Randy Stevens said the child apparently unlocked a door at his nearby home, got out, then crossed a multilane street to reach the store.BEAUMONT, Texas - Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found... more
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ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Riot police hurled tear gas outside the Athens police headquarters Monday as protesters took to the streets for the 10th straight day, witnesses said.
The students threw fire bombs at police lined up to guard their headquarters and officers responded by briefly firing small amounts of tear gas, the Voice of America reported.
Smaller groups of youths, meanwhile, threw eggs at police guarding Athens' main courthouse while other students said they would stage a march on Parliament later in the day.
Witnesses told VOA that the intensity of Monday's protests has tailed off sharply, and came after a day of relative calm on Sunday.
The riots were sparked by the Dec. 6 police shooting death of a teenage boy, quickly became violent and spread to other Greek cities. Protest leaders told VOA Sunday they are decrying a widening gulf between rich and poor in Greece and are protesting high-level corruption.ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Riot police hurled tear gas outside the Athens police... more
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Bangkok, Thailand - After months of political instability, Thailand turned Monday to an untested, British-educated opposition leader to head a coalition government. Abhisit Vejjajiva – the third prime minister in four months – faces a stiff challenge in quelling political unrest, reviving a stricken economy, and keeping together a fractious coalition.
By a margin of 235 to 198 votes, the Thai Parliament chose Mr. Abhisit, leader of the Democrat Party, over a rival candidate aligned with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. A new cabinet is expected to be formed by next week. The last government collapsed on Dec. 2 after the constitutional court ordered three parties in the ruling coalition be disbanded for vote buying.Bangkok, Thailand - After months of political instability, Thailand turned Monday to... more
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LONDON – The tiny tangled threads of the world's oldest spider web have been found encased in a prehistoric piece of amber, a British scientist said Monday. Oxford University paleobiologist Martin Brasier said the 140-million-year-old webbing provides evidence that arachnids had been ensnaring their prey in silky nets since the dinosaur age. He also said the strands were linked to each other in the roughly circular pattern familiar to gardeners the world over.
While not as dramatic as a fully preserved net of spider silk, the minuscule strands show that spiders had been spinning circle-shaped webs well into prehistory, according to Simon Braddy, a University of Bristol paleobiologist uninvolved with the find.
Spider experts believe that webs were developed even earlier, but the delicate gossamer threads rarely leave any trace. Amber, or fossilized tree resin, can occasionally conserve bits of web — an earlier find in Lebanon was dated to 130 million years ago, according to Brasier.LONDON – The tiny tangled threads of the world's oldest spider web have... more
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