Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to put five of the worst suspected Al Qaeda operatives on trial in New York City for the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Today, President Hamid Karzai will be inaugurated in front of an audience of foreign dignitaries. But appearing on Afghan television, he is a little less statesmanlike. The incessant bickering, it seems, has grown too much, and Mr Karzai snaps: instead of calmly swearing an oath to his country, he is trying to strangle the US ambassador, jowl quivering next to spit-flecked jowl. A UN official gazes placidly at the unfolding chaos but luckily there's someone here with a little more nerve. "Shut up," screams a cross-dressing interpreter. It's not exactly The Daily Show, but this is political satire, Afghan style.
Zang-e-Khatar ("Alarm Bell"), is a popular TV show in Afghanistan that has been thriving on the country's political tribulations. It receives primetime billing - 9pm every Wednesday - and almost everyone with a TV seems to have seen an episode.
Authority allows people to become creative and managing the all thing towards achieving the goals and influence is the quality that leaders rely upon. There are many leaders in the world that used their authority to create impact on the general peoples and in achieving their goals. Here on the Itv News we are presenting the list of these people and their news this year.Authority allows people to become creative and managing the all thing towards... more
While U.S. policy toward Cuba has opened up since President Barack Obama took office, a new report from Public Campaign, an organization dedicated to reforming campaign financing, raises the question of whether hard-line Cuban Americans will succeed in stifling further changes in U.S.-Cuba relations through their campaign contributions to members of Congress.
According to the report, the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee, along with a "network of hard-line Cuban American donors," have made over $10 million in campaign donations since the 2004 election cycle, with 337 federal candidates receiving funds through the PAC.
CDC estimates that between about 2,500 and 6,000 2009 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range is about 3,900 2009 H1N1-related deaths.
The Bilderberg group, with members like NYC mayor Bloomberg, is denounced for interference by Mario Borghezio, an Italian member of European Parliament. During this session of the parliament in Brussels, Borghezio questioned the nominations of Bilderberg, and Trilateral Commission attendees, for the posts of EU President and EU foreign minister.The Bilderberg group, with members like NYC mayor Bloomberg, is denounced for... more
Unfortunately, Andy Warhol’s not around to enjoy the fabulous joke of his pictures of money grabbing so much money. His 1962 silk-screen painting “200 One Dollar Bills” sold for $43.8 million at Sotheby’s this week, more than four times its estimated selling price. The seven-and-a-half-foot-wide canvas, one of Warhol’s first silk-screen paintings, looks like just what you’d think: 200 one-dollar bills. The current record for a Warhol painting is $71.7 million for “Green Car Crash,” which was sold at Christie’s in 2007. Yes, if you just take a wide look at today’s contemporary art world, that confection of bucks, puff and street smarts, you realize anew that Andy Warhol was the big daddy of it all.
But is this painting, a solid wall of greenbacks, really beautiful? Well, in the art world Warhol completely changed our idea of beauty so, yes, it is. He was also one of the first modern artists to say out loud that money itself is beautiful, is art, which has helped create the reality that, aesthetically speaking, it is as often as not, the price tag, not what it’s attached to, that generates value. So the new owner of “200 One Dollar Bills” got a funny old print on canvas all tarted up with some paint, which he or she succeeded in making super-famous and valuable by paying so much for it. Wow. That’s talent. And as for Warhol, did he already suspect in 1962 that in making his art he would be so good at printing money for many, many years? He was such a cultural clairvoyant, you just know he knew.
This piece includes photographs of Warhol's painting, as well as the short video, “Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills.”
To view Warhol's painting and the video, please visit my website:
Earth's orbit
Believe it or not, even space contains copious amounts of pollution. An estimated 4 million pounds of space debris — nuts, bolts, metal and carbon, even whole spacecraft — currently orbit the Earth, threatening satellites, communication and even the lives of our astronauts.Earth's orbit
Believe it or not, even space contains copious amounts of pollution. An... more
President Barack Obama won't accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him without changes, a senior administration official said, as concerns soar over the ability of the Afghan government to secure its own country one day. http://www.wcbs880.com/Obama-Goes-Back-to-Drawing-Board-on-Afghanistan/5658261President Barack Obama won't accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him... more
Snaking along, cutting through fields and streets, the 28-mile-long Berlin Wall stood as a border between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, a symbol of oppression since it was erected, was opened by East Germany, leading to days of emotional celebrations. The fall of the Berlin Wall set in motion several important events, including the eventual reunification of the two countries on Oct. 3, 1990; the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe; and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet bloc in December 1991.
This piece includes a number of vintage photographs, as well as a historical short film on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Please visit my website to view the vintage photographs and the historical short film:
Yes indeed, Susan’s Back! I must admit, no matter how many snarky comments people make about Susan Boyle, I have a very warm spot in my heart for her. On Tuesday night, Susan Boyle made her American television singing debut in Los Angeles on Dancing with the Stars, and she's sounding and looking better than ever. Susan sang “I Dreamed A Dream” while Dancing With the Stars professionals Tony Dovolani and Chelsie Hightower danced.
This piece includes a number of color photographs and a HQ music video of Susan Boyle's performance on Dancing With the Stars.
Please visit my website to view the photographs and wonderful music video:
Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Four former executives described the plan under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said.
Iraqis had long complained about ground operations by the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe Corp. Then the shooting by Blackwater guards in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17 civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led U.S. prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater contractors involved.
The State Department has since turned to DynCorp and another private security firm, Triple Canopy, to handle diplomatic protective services in the country. But Xe continues to provide security for diplomats in other nations, most notably in Afghanistan.
The former executives told the Times that the payments were approved by the company's then-president, Gary Jackson. They did not know if he came up with the idea.
The conventional wisdom in Washington and in most of the rest of the world is that the roaring Chinese economy is going to pull the global economy out of recession and back into growth. It’s China’s turn, the theory goes, as American consumers — who propelled the last global boom with their borrowing and spending ways — have begun to tighten their belts and increase savings rates.
The Chinese, with their unbridled capitalistic expansion propelled by a system they still refer to as “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” are still thriving, though, with annual gross domestic product growth of 8.9 percent in the third quarter and a domestic consumer market just starting to flex its enormous muscles.
That’s prompted some cheerleading from U.S. officials, who want to see those Chinese consumers begin to pick up the slack in the global economy — a theme President Barack Obama and his delegation are certain to bring up during next week’s visit to China.
“Purchases of U.S. consumers cannot be as dominant a driver of growth as they have been in the past,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said during a trip to Beijing this spring. “In China, ... growth that is sustainable will require a very substantial shift from external to domestic demand, from an investment and export-intensive growth to growth led by consumption.”
That’s one vision of the future.
But there’s a growing group of market professionals who see a different picture altogether. These self-styled China bears take the less popular view: that the much-vaunted Chinese economic miracle is nothing but a paper dragon. In fact, they argue that the Chinese have dangerously overheated their economy, building malls, luxury stores and infrastructure for which there is almost no demand, and that the entire system is teetering toward collapse.
A Chinese collapse, of course, would have profound effects on the United States, limiting China’s ability to buy U.S. debt and provoking unknown political changes inside the Chinese regime.
Activists made a hole in Israel's West Bank wall for the second time in less than a week today in a demonstration to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Their faces masked, the activists tethered a two-metre wide section of the cement barrier to a truck which then pulled it over. The crowd of around 50, which had gathered at a section of the barrier near an Israeli checkpoint at Qalandiya, cheered as the six-metre high section fell.
Israeli troops fired tear gas at the crowd, some of whom threw stones over the wall. Several demonstrators passed through the hole they had made, hoisting a Palestinian flag and setting ablaze tyres on the other side.
The panels of the walls in Israel's separation barrier are cast in the same inverted T-shape as the wall constructed through Berlin by communist East Germany.Activists made a hole in Israel's West Bank wall for the second time in less than a... more
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il - known for shunning air travel - has six luxurious trains equipped with reception halls, conference rooms and high-tech communication facilities, a South Korean newspaper reported Monday. http://www.wcbs880.com/KIm-Jong-Il-Rides-Tricked-Out-Train/5630690North Korean leader Kim Jong Il - known for shunning air travel - has six luxurious... more
LaserMotive is the first team to take home the first level challenge for driving a vehicle using power beaming to a height of 1 km at more than 2 m/s! Their prize $900,000!
American’s are deeply saddened by the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood, an attack by Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan on Thursday that killed 13 people and wounded 30 others on the Texas base. Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military facility in the world and a major center for soldiers being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It also also houses the Army’s Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which helps soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress when they return. In both cases, upon deployment and return home, soldiers attempt to deal with serious emotional issues and many seek tattooing as a way to express them or even see the process as therapy.
“Tattooed Under Fire” is a documentary that follows the young men and women at Fort Hood who seek solace at the tattoo studio, confessing fears, expressing anger, sharing secrets and relaying personal stories about the war. Watching clips from the film now, seeing young, buzz-headed men and women describe their motivations for getting inked with caskets and corpses, one can’t help but to begin getting a feel for the intense experiences that become material for their body art.
The film was created long before Thursday’s mass shooting; isn’t a retroactive explanation for the shootings on Thursday. But the film may nevertheless offer some insight into the tragedy in its depiction of the stress and anguish of military duty, of the horrors of war even in the relative comforts of home. As one soldier explains, “The more times I go over, the more of Iraq’s going to come back with me.”
This piece includes a number of color photographs from the film, as well as two videos from the documentary, “Tattooed Under Fire.”
To view the photographs and watch the two very powerful videos from the documentary, please visit my website:
Britain has become the online "designer drugs" capital of Europe with more than a third of all internet retailers that sell "legal highs" based in the UK, according to a report from the European Union's drug agency.
One of the most important events in 20th-century history may have been taking place around her, but that did not stop Angela Merkel from honouring a weekly appointment in the steam room.
Well thanks to Kjeld Jensen the scientist and his team for using a wii mote and a custom lawn mower to play and work at the same time! FAQ for the Casmobot
