Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Thursday, February 21, 2013
Tech giant Apple is expected to release its next iPhone or iPhones this year dubbed as iPhone 6 and/or iPhone 5S. ...
Kerri Strug Ledecky Nadia Comaneci Rebecca Soni Snoop Lion London 2012 Table Tennis badminton
Republican Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 31, 2103. (J. Scott Applew??Fifteen Republican senators, including potential 2016 White House contender Marco Rubio, urged President Barack Obama in a letter released on Thursday to withdraw Chuck Hagel's nomination as defense secretary. But the Republican former senator's chances of confirmation also got a big boost when another GOP lawmaker, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, said he would support it.
Shelby told the Decatur Daily that he would back Hagel, who now appears to have the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster?barring some last-minute surprise. "He's probably as good as we're going to get," Shelby said.
The White House last week denounced Senate Republicans? unprecedented filibuster of the Hagel nomination (no Cabinet-level post dealing with national security had ever before faced a successful one). In the letter, the lawmakers argued in effect that this was Hagel's own fault.
?It would be unprecedented for a Secretary of Defense to take office without a broad base of bipartisan support and confidence needed to serve effectively in this critical position,? the senators, led by John Cornyn of Texas, said in the message to Obama. "While we respect Senator Hagel?s honorable military service, in the interest of national security, we respectfully request that you withdraw his nomination."
In addition to Rubio and Cornyn, Republican Sens. James Inhofe, Lindsey Graham, Roger Wicker, David Vitter, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Pat Toomey, Dan Coats, Ron Johnson, James Risch, John Barrasso, Tom Coburn and Tim Scott signed the letter. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has flatly dismissed similar calls in the past, noting that Hagel has more than the 51 votes needed for confirmation.
In the letter the senators also denounced Hagel?s ?erratic record and myriad conversions on key national security issues? and openly doubted ?his basic competence to meet the substantial demand of the office.?
They charged that he ?proclaimed the legitimacy of the current regime in Tehran.? During his wobbly confirmation hearing performance, Hagel had said America?s allies consider that regime ?an elected, legitimate government, whether we agree or not.?
They also accused Hagel of showing ?a seeming ambivalence about whether containment or prevention is the best approach, which gives us great concern.?
In the hearing, Hagel mistakenly broke with Obama?s policy of preventing Iran from develop nuclear weapons and suggested he favored ?containment? instead. He tried to correct himself after being handed a note by an aide, but it was ultimately Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., who fixed the gaffe. Hagel also struggled to explain his past opposition to imposing unilateral economic sanctions on Iran.
?If Senator Hagel becomes Secretary of Defense, the military option will have near zero credibility,? the senators said in the letter. ?This sends a dangerous message to the regime in Tehran, as it seeks to obtain the means necessary to harm both the United States and Israel.? (There?s another possibility: Maybe Hagel means war with Iran is actually more likely.)
leap day michigan primary results olympia snowe davey jones dead monsanto boston weather dr seuss birthday
Be the next big Hollywood-hit is Glu Mobiles ?Stardom: Hollywood? and live the life of a famous movie star. The famous game developer, who provided games such as ?Eternity Warriors? and ?Blood & Glory? sends you now on a less bloody but still merciless quest to become a cinematic icon. Start your career by becoming the most popular face in Hollywood and establish yourself against other wannabe stars in the exciting celebrity world.
Compete with other celebrities and cope with annoying paparazzi or sneaky agents to succeed in becoming world famous. After designing your own actress or actor you send your fame-apprentice out to arise in movies and TV shows, while supporting your status by showing up at big parties and hip clubs. Find another famous star to become the hottest celebrity couple and get the best roles in the film industry.
See for yourself how hard it is to gain a foothold in Hollywood in ?Stardom: Hollywood?!
Source: Glu Mobile Newsletter
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/playandroidmagazin/~3/ou09yKrugWM/
fabrice muamba collapse prometheus trailer patrice oneal shamrock slainte the quiet man yellow cab
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - U.S. energy major Chevron
Local authorities in Vaslui county, where Chevron has a 1.6 million acre concession, have granted the company planning permits for three shale gas exploration wells.
"This document does not confer the right to carry out works," the environment ministry said in a statement to Reuters.
"We are talking about exploration, not exploitation, and we are in the first phase of assessing an environment permit", for one of the three wells, the ministry said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that Romania and neighboring Bulgaria and Hungary could have 538 billion cubic meters of shale gas between them, slightly more than Europe's annual consumption and enough to cover Romania's for almost 40 years.
Anti-shale gas activists protested last year in Romania, however, asking the government to annul Chevron's exploration rights on environmental concerns and keep a moratorium on exploration enforced by the ruling leftist government.
But after a clear victory in a December election, Prime Minister Victor Ponta has indicated Romania will allow companies to at least look for shale gas.
Chevron will also need permission for construction before it can start exploration work, according to the text of a law cited by the ministry.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking to extract shale gas involves injecting water and chemicals at high pressure into underground rock formations. Experts say that if it is done according to best practice it is environmentally safe, but the technology still evokes much public concern.
Ponta has softened his views on shale gas exploration since the December election, in which his alliance won a two-thirds majority in parliament.
"Exploration yes. After confirming gas exists or does not exists in approximately five years, we will make a final decision," Romanian news website HotNews quoted him as saying last month.
(Editing by Sam Cage and Jane Baird)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chevron-moves-closer-romania-shale-gas-exploration-115656419--finance.html
dystonia tourettes gonzaga rosie o donnell soda bread recipe vanderbilt evan mathis
CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a wide area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured more than 1,000 people.
People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.
The fireball, travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away.
Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered and mobile phone networks were disrupted. The Interior Ministry said the meteor explosion, a very rare spectacle, also unleashed a sonic boom.
"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it were day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.
"I felt like I was blinded by headlights."
The meteor, which weighed about 10 tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences.
No deaths were reported but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.
The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass.
EXTREMELY RARE
The region of Chelyabinsk has long been a hub for the Russian military and defense industry, and it is often the site where artillery shells are decommissioned.
A local Emergencies Ministry official said meteor storms were extremely rare and Friday's incident may have been connected with an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool that was due to pass Earth.
But an astronomer at Russia's Academy of Sciences, Sergei Barabanov, poured doubt on that report. He said there was no evidence to support the theory that the meteor had travelled with the asteroid or had broken off from it.
The European Space Agency, on its Twitter microblog, also said its experts had confirmed there was no link.
The regional governor in Chelyabinsk said the meteorite shower had caused more than $30 million in damage, and the Emergencies Ministry said some 300 buildings had been affected.
One piece of meteorite broke through the ice of nearby Cherbakul Lake, leaving a hole several meters wide.
Despite warnings not to approach any unidentified objects, some enterprising locals were hoping to cash in.
"Selling meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk!" one prospective seller, Vladimir, said on a popular Russian auction website. He attached a picture of a black piece of stone that on Friday afternoon was priced at 1,488 roubles ($49.46).
WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE
The early morning blast and ensuing shock wave blew out windows on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street, buckled some shop fronts and rattled apartment buildings in the city center.
"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shock wave that smashed windows."
Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens.
A wall was badly damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said no environmental threat resulted.
In 1908, a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia, breaking windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.
The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a "meteor shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.
Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said that roughly 1,000 to 10,000 tons of material rained down from space towards the earth every day, but most burned up in the atmosphere.
"While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts."
The meteor struck just as an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 meters (yards) in diameter, was due to pass closer to Earth - at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) - than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.
(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Thomas Grove; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-meteor-shower-reported-eastern-russia-052833588.html
American flag Happy 4th of July 4th Of July Desserts fireworks fireworks 4th of July Andy Griffith
A security problem with iOS 6.1 could potentially allow anyone to bypass the lock screen on a device running the OS and access the data on the phone.
The issue allows anyone who knows the trick to unlock a phone and access call logs, contacts, favourite contacts, make calls and even access photos on the device by trying to add a photo to a contact.
The issue was uncovered by YouTube user videosdebarraquito and involves quickly making and cancelling an emergency call and holding down the power button.
The iOS 6.1 operating system has suffered a number of bugs including excessive logging issues when connected to an Exchange server. It also had issues with 3G that lead UK network operator Vodafone to advise its customers not to update their handsets until the problem had been rectified.
A subsequent update to iOS 6.1.1 led Vodafone to tell customers to go ahead and update. It's also not the first time that an Apple update has left handsets vulnerable ??iOS 4.1 had a very similar issue that let anyone bypass the lock screen.
Apple had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/ios-6-1-bug-lets-anyone-bypass-iphone-lock-screen-7000011319/
narwhal st louis university mario manningham mario manningham williams syndrome hoya casa de mi padre
STAMFORD, Conn. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Feb. 13, 2013 - Today's business travelers are surprisingly social on the road, according to a recent survey by Four Points by Sheraton, the "best for business" brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Aside from sleeping, for instance, survey respondents indicated that enjoying the hotel bar or restaurant with colleagues or business partners was their number one activity during free time, outpacing time spent in the gym, spa, shopping or catching up with local acquaintances. In addition, business travelers are good networkers, with nearly two-thirds of those surveyed reporting that they have kept in contact with someone they met on the plane or at the hotel while traveling on the road. About that flight, though: business travelers draw the line with their own colleagues, as more than 60% indicate that they would prefer to fly alone rather than with a business associate.
These are among the results of a 2012 hotel business travel study commissioned by Four Points that polled a total of 6,000 business travelers globally - 1,000 each from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, Germany and Brazil. Four Points is growing rapidly across nearly 30 countries and carefully monitors the needs and habits of business travelers. The first phase of the survey, released in August, explored the use of mobile technology to stay in touch while traveling, while the second phase focused on leisure activities.
"Business travelers have a real need to connect on the road - both virtually and in person," said Brian McGuinness, Starwood's senior vice president, specialty select brands. "Our survey results reveal that road warriors are social, preferring to network or to relax in the company of colleagues rather than just enjoying solitary pursuits." McGuinness continued, "Four Points provides everything our guests need to be productive and comfortable on the road and that includes creating opportunities to connect socially through brand-wide programs like Best Brews TM, which invites guests to gather over a great local craft beer when the work day ends."
Great Hotels. Great Rates: With over 160 Four Points by Sheraton hotels in nearly 30 countries, travelers can find the timeless style and comfort they're looking for with genuine service and everything that matters most, all around the world. From Santiago to Shanghai and Milan to Milwaukee, Four Points hotels can be found in big urban centers, by the airport, near the beach, and in the suburbs. A recent $1 billion invested in renovations, conversions, and new-build hotels has made the brand stronger than ever.
Four Points by Sheraton, like all brands within Starwood's portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest? program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, visit www.spg.com. Stay connected to Four Points on Facebook at facebook.com/fourpoints.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,134 properties in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis?, The Luxury Collection?, W?, Westin?, Le M?ridien?, Sheraton?, Four Points? by Sheraton, Aloft?, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
-M&G-
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130213005884/en/
Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Middleton & Gendron Inc.
Shara Seigel
212-284-9938
sseigel@mg-pr.com
?
###
Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20130213_lonely_road_warrior_not_so_much_four_points_by_she.html
Kate Middleton Nude Photos glee glee boxing news Coptic Christian saturday night live julio cesar chavez jr
Basically, Microsoft claims that the Mountain View-based search company is opening every single email that lands in your inbox and scans the content in order to show relevant ads while reading messages.
?Google goes through every Gmail that's sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads. And there's no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy. Watch the video to see how you get Scroogled,? Microsoft said when it relaunched the Scroogled campaign earlier this month.
Surprisingly, Google is yet to issue a statement on the matter, so Microsoft can continue encouraging users to make the move to Outlook.com with no opposition coming from Mountain View.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Launches-New-Anti-Google-Video-329582.shtml
Jabari Parker 2012 australia Brothers Grimm Tate Stevens Miss Universe 2012 x factor
Chuck Hagel testifies on Jan. 31. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Striking a blow at President Barack Obama, Senate Republicans on Thursday delayed former Sen. Chuck Hagel?s confirmation as defense secretary in a mostly party-line procedural vote. Obama led a Democratic chorus denouncing the move as an unheard-of partisan play on national security.
In an online chat organized by Google, Obama scolded Republicans for their ?unprecedented? move and said ?there?s nothing in the Constitution? that says a Cabinet nominee requires 60 Senate votes to be confirmed.
?My expectation and hope is that Chuck Hagel, who richly deserves to get a vote on the floor of the Senate, will be confirmed as our defense secretary,? Obama said. ?It?s just unfortunate that this kind of politics intrudes at a time when I am still presiding over a war in Afghanistan.?
Senators voted 58-40 to end debate on the former senator and decorated Vietnam War veteran?s nomination, falling short of the 60 needed to proceed to a final up-or-down vote. But even Republicans who oppose Hagel's nomination predicted he would win confirmation after a 10-day recess, insisting that lawmakers just needed more time to assess Obama's choice to succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon.
"This is not any attempt to kill this nomination," John Cornyn of Texas, the chamber's No. 2 Republican, said after the vote.
Cornyn, a fierce Hagel critic, said the vote was "premature" and the result of the White House rejecting "reasonable requests" for information, notably about the nominee's finances and past speeches. (The White House had moved a few hours earlier to defuse complaints tied to information about the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.)
Just four Republicans?Susan Collins of Maine, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Johanns from Hagel?s home state of Nebraska?joined the chamber?s Democrats and their two independent allies in supporting Hagel. Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch voted present.
"I regret that Republican senators, except for the valiant four, chose to filibuster the nomination," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scolded. Reid set up a fresh vote for Feb. 26.
Several GOP lawmakers who are all but certain to oppose Hagel?s confirmation, notably John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have said they will support ending debate after the recess that begins Friday.
?Sen. Hagel is going to be confirmed, if not tomorrow then when the Senate returns from recess,? an Obama administration official said in an email to reporters. "The drama has left the building," a Republican leadership aide told Yahoo News.
?We need a secretary of defense on the job,? Reid said after the vote, listing national security challenges from the war in Afghanistan to Iran?s nuclear program. ?I hope nothing goes wrong, because we?ll rue the day.? The Nevada lawmaker said he would telephone Hagel to tell him ?I?m sorry this has happened? and promise ?we?re not going to give up on you.?
Cornyn countered that ?we do have a secretary of defense,? Panetta, who has indicated he will stay on until his successor is confirmed.
Reid accused Republicans of filibustering a key national security nominee for the ?first time in the history of our country.?
While it was the first successful filibuster of a Cabinet-level national security nominee, Democrats in 2005 filibustered the nomination of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. Then-President George W. Bush installed him with a recess appointment. When Democrats opposed Bolton?s nomination again in late 2006, the controversial diplomat announced he would step down rather than face another fight.
Republicans including McCain and Graham had pushed to delay the vote over concerns about Hagel's record on relations with Israel and policy towards Iran. Others piled up requests for details of Hagel?s consulting work and speaking fees as well as ongoing questions unrelated to Hagel about the administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.
Hagel himself did nothing to help advance his nomination with a wobbly performance at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Grilled by his former colleagues, the nominee frequently stumbled over predictable questions over past controversial statements?like his complaint that the "Jewish lobby" intimidated American lawmakers, a comment for which he has apologized?or controversial positions on how best to pressure Iran.
The bitterly divided committee voted on Tuesday to send Hagel's nomination to the full Senate for consideration. The vote was 14-11, with all Republicans voting no.
Holly Bailey contributed reporting.
Blue Moon August 2012 Eddie Murphy Dead Democratic National Convention 2012 robin roberts myocardial infarction What Is Labor Day jersey shore
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, a general view of a destroyed pottery shop inside the Old City of Aleppo, Syria, a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site that was gutted in October and which is now controlled by the Free Syrian Army. Syria?s top antiquities official is calling for U.N. intervention and cooperation from neighboring countries to halt the illicit trafficking of its artifacts as the 23-month civil war rages on.(AP Photo/Monica Prieto, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, a general view of a destroyed pottery shop inside the Old City of Aleppo, Syria, a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site that was gutted in October and which is now controlled by the Free Syrian Army. Syria?s top antiquities official is calling for U.N. intervention and cooperation from neighboring countries to halt the illicit trafficking of its artifacts as the 23-month civil war rages on.(AP Photo/Monica Prieto, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, a general view of a destroyed building inside the Old City of Aleppo, Syria, a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site that was gutted in October and which is now controlled by the Free Syrian Army. Syria?s top antiquities official is calling for U.N. intervention and cooperation from neighboring countries to halt the illicit trafficking of its artifacts as the 23-month civil war rages on.(AP Photo/Monica Prieto, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2007 file photo, Asma Assad, the wife of Syrian President Bashar Assad, attends an exhibition at the National Museum in Damascus. The 20-day exhibition titled "a sea of jewels," was organized by the Italian Institute of Culture in Damascus, the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria and the National Archeological Museum of Naples. Syria?s top antiquities official is calling for U.N. intervention and cooperation from neighboring countries to halt the illicit trafficking of its artifacts as the 23-month civil war rages on. (AP Photo Bassem Tellawi, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 file photo, Syrian rebels gather in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria, a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site that was gutted in October and which is now controlled by the Free Syrian Army. Syria?s top antiquities official is calling for U.N. intervention and cooperation from neighboring countries to halt the illicit trafficking of its artifacts as the 23-month civil war rages on.(AP Photo/Monica Prieto, File)
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? A Syrian government official warned Wednesday of rampant trafficking in antiquities from his country and appealed for U.N. help in halting the illicit trade that has flourished during the nearly 23-month-long civil war.
Syria's turmoil has increasingly threatened the country's rich archaeological heritage but the issue of smuggling artifacts has taken a back seat to more dramatic images as some of the most significant sites got caught in the crossfire between regime forces and rebels.
President Bashar Assad's troops have shelled rebel-held neighborhoods, smashing historic mosques, churches and souks, or markets. Looters have stolen artifacts from archaeological excavations and, to a lesser extent, museums.
Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the government's antiquities department, warned of the smuggling at a UNESCO-sponsored workshop in Amman, Jordan, which brought together regional antiquities directors, customs and police officials, as well as international protection agencies.
He expressed hope that the Security Council would issue a resolution that would ban trading in stolen antiquities from Syria, and underscored that his nation's cultural heritage must be preserved without taking political sides in the conflict.
"We want a united front to stop the destruction," Abdulkarim told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the gathering. "These acts are not only attacks on Syria's heritage, they are attacks on the world's heritage."
Among the artifacts stolen from Syria is an 8th century B.C. Aramaic bronze statue with gold overlay taken from the Hama museum and now listed by Interpol. Byzantine mosaics from the Roman city of Apamea near Aleppo were bulldozed and removed.
Meanwhile, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture Francesco Bandarin said in Paris on Friday that he has "information that some (Syrian cultural) items are beginning to appear on the market . it has already been a few months." He did not elaborate.
Experts consider Syria home to some of the most important cultural sites in human history, with six of them designated World Heritage sites by UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural and educational agency.
The Jordan workshop focused on a plan to help safeguard the Syrian antiquities, according to Anna Paolini, UNESCO's representative to Jordan. She said the plan included better training of antiquities and border personnel and coordination with the local community.
Paolini pointed to an archaeologist working via Skype and online with Syrian staff to assess damages, pack and label material for removal to secure spaces as a model that could be repeated to "mitigate damages and loss." She did not wish to name the archaeologist, because of security concerns.
Abdulkarim acknowledged that fighting between the regime and rebels has damaged some of the country's most iconic treasures.
World Heritage site Crak des Chavaliers near the Lebanese border, one of the most important military castles in history dated between 11th and 13th century, has been exposed to shelling and gunfire. Shelling also has reportedly caused extensive damage to historic houses in the ancient city of Bosra in the south, once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia.
Aleppo, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, has witnessed some of the conflict's most brutal destruction. Its 12th century Ummayad mosque and 13th century citadel gatehouse have been caught in the crosshairs of the conflict.
These monuments can all be repaired, Abdulkarim said, unlike those seven ancient markets incinerated in Aleppo's storied centuries-old covered souk during fierce fighting last October. The fire burnt 500 shops, tearing through wooden doors and scorching stalls and vaulted passageways.
Because of the fighting, most Syrian museums have removed their priceless treasures, storing them in "safe places," Abdulkarim said, without elaborating.
Still unearthed treasures, however, are under constant threat because of the ongoing violence, he said.
The antiquities chief was careful neither to blame government troops nor rebels for looting, which ranged from what he called small-scale "tomb robbing" to the bulldozing of Byzantine mosaics in the Roman city of Apamea near Aleppo. He instead blamed "mafias" of sophisticated smugglers familiar with the location of the country's numerous treasures.
Abdulkarim praised Jordanian police for their recovery over the weekend of Syrian artifacts and called on other neighboring countries to tighten controls. He said the stolen items included clay pottery, figurines and other undated artifacts.
He also asked UNESCO to appeal to Turkey and Iraq to enact stricter measures to prevent the smuggling of artifacts across their borders. Turkey has strained ties with the Assad regime, while Iraq's porous frontier with Syria is difficult to monitor.
Abdulkarim warned against his country becoming like another Iraq, where the Baghdad Museum and many archaeological sites were plundered following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.
"We don't want the world to go through the Iraq experience again," Abdulkarim said.
Associated PressLizzie Velasquez NFL Network att libya engadget twin towers gizmodo
APPLE has released an update to iOS, fixing performance problems that led Vodafone to warn iPhone 4S owners against upgrading.
'; document.write(s); return; } window.google_adnum = window.google_adnum || null; google_ad_client = "ca-pub-9024837700129787"; google_ad_output = "js"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_ad_channel = '9868211012,6682650729'; google_max_num_ads = '2'; google_skip = window.google_adnum; /* insert this snippet for each ad call */Vodafone warned iPhone 4S owners about possible 3G performance problems caused by iOS 6.1, the mobile operating system update that Apple released last month.
?
A similar warning was issued by 3 in Austria, according to a customer who quoted the warning on Facebook.
?
Overnight, Apple has released a 6.1.1 update for iOS. The company says: "This update fixes an issue that could impact cellular performance and reliability for iPhone 4S."
?
Released on January 28th, iOS 6.1 included several minor new features for PassBook and for music playback, improvements to Wi-Fi and security fixes, among other tweaks.
?
It is not clear how many people were affected by the 3G problem. Reports suggested it was an intermittent problem that had proved difficult to diagnose.
In its statement on Friday, Vodafone said: "While Apple?s investigations continue, we would recommend that anyone who has not yet installed iOS 6.1 on their iPhone 4S should delay doing so until Apple has confirmed that the problem has been fixed."
?
Vodafone has not yet issued an update to its warning but it seems likely that it will now advise its customers to upgrade.
Shane Richmond Telegraph.co.uk
'; } s += 'Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini Kevin Krim Autumn Pasquale ann coulter minecraft Ben Wilson
Getty ImagesWith the Rams scoring a major victory in the recently-concluded arbitration aimed at determining what it will take to make the Edward Jones Dome a first-tier stadium, the Rams have the clear upper hand.
And the powers-that-be in St. Louis know it.
But the best they can do is point out the fact that, if the team ultimately moves, it can?t happen for two more seasons.
?To be honest, everybody ought to take a deep breath,? St. Louis County policy wonk Mike Jones told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.? ?The reality is nothing really happens before the 2015 season.?
That?s fine, but if the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission decides not to give the Rams the upgrades to which the arbitrators decided the Rams are contractually entitled, then the Rams can leave after the 2014 season.? Or in any year thereafter.
The CVC has 60 days to decide whether to do what the arbitrators have ordered.? But it sounds like the CVC won?t do what the arbitrators have decided the CVC must do to prevent the Rams from becoming free agents.
?The options are all theirs.? Not ours,? CVC president Kathleen ?Kitty? Ratcliffe said. ?There is no specific plan at this point.?
In other words, the CVC won?t be providing the upgrades.? Instead, they?ll commence shifting blame for the eventual relocation.
?[The arbitrators] did us a favor with that ruling,? Jones explained.? ?Now the community can have a broader conversation about the Rams.? And the CVC is not the tip of the spear for that conversation.?
Actually, the CVC is the tip of the spear.? Because the CVC negotiated the lease that, after the 2014 season, the Rams can disregard.
And a real ?favor? from the arbitration panel would have been issuing a ruling that the CVC?s $120 million plan for upgrading the stadium was the right one.? Because then the Rams wouldn?t have been able to leave.
Now, they are.
When the silver lining is ?Well, we have them for two more years,? it?s like saying the glass is five percent full.
chuck elisabeth hasselbeck fran drescher scarlett o hara pat sajak vanna white michael robinson
The holiday cottages Lancashire gives you the possibility to have the needed intimacy, to enjoy wider indoor spaces, your own kitchen and they are placed in beautiful areas and peaceful ones that can offer you the possibility to admire beautiful landscapes and the peace you can find only in areas that are far away from the crowded cities. You can find many offers regarding the holiday cottages Lancashire all over the internet. You can ask your travelling agent, or you can search for private agencies that can offer you many details along with pictures and videos of these cottages.
If you like spending time outdoors in the wild nature, you want to plan a fishing trip or a hunting trip, these holiday cottages Lancashire can be the next accommodation option you can find. These cottages are fully furnished and you have all the needed devices and facilities installed inside such as TV sets, internet network connection, kitchen devices and many other things that may increase the comfort you need while you may stay in these houses.
A self catering cottage Lancashire, as it was already mentioned, offers you much more freedom, than a luxurious hotel. You can make a barbeque without bothering anyone, you can stay outdoors however much you want, you can prepare your own meals and you have many other opportunities to relax. When you see images with such self catering cottage Lancashire you will be pleasantly impressed with the way they are built and their comfy aspect inside and outside as well. Allot of vegetation surrounds these places, which can only be a good thing.
A self catering cottage Lancashire should be booked well in advance as the cottages get booked up quite early. This is why if your holiday is about to come, you should not lose anymore of your time and find the best travelling agency who can offer you the best guidance in choosing which cottage to rent. In addition, you may be interested in the costs requested when you want to rent such comfortable cottage. The prices may differ from cottage to cottage and according with the number of days you are thinking to rent it for, the season and many other factors. You can find all these details on these holiday cottages and in case you need more info, you can feel free to contact them by phone or by email.
In conclusion, if you want to find a great countryside accommodation option in Lancashire, you should check the holiday cottages Lancashire offers. A self catering cottage Lancashire can provide for you the comfort and the intimacy nothing else can.
Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Holiday-Cottages-Lancashire--A-Great-Solution/4429908
woody guthrie benson henderson 2012 dunk contest edgar vs henderson berkshire hathaway ufc 144 james jones
SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) ? Lindsey Vonn will miss the rest of the ski season after tearing knee ligaments and breaking a bone in her leg in a high-speed crash Tuesday at the world championships. The U.S. team expects her to return for the next World Cup season and the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Vonn lost balance on her right leg while landing a jump in the super-G. She flipped in the air, landed on her back and smashed through a gate before coming to a halt.
The four-time overall World Cup winner and 2010 Olympic downhill champion received medical treatment on the slope for 12 minutes before being taken by helicopter to a hospital in Schladming.
The 28-year-old star tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee. U.S. team medical director Kyle Wilkens said in a statement. The broken bone in her lower leg was described as a "lateral tibial plateau fracture."
Christian Kaulfersch, the assistant medical director at the worlds, said Vonn left the Schladming hospital Tuesday afternoon and will have surgery at another hospital.
"She first wanted to go back to the team hotel to mentally deal with all what has happened," Kaulfersch said.
Team physician William Sterett was with Vonn but declined to offer any more information when contacted by The Associated Press.
This is the sixth straight major championship in which Vonn has been hit with injuries. The crash in the opening event of the championships came almost exactly a year before the Olympics.
"She will be out for the remainder of this season but is expected to return to racing for the 2013-14 ... World Cup season and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi," the team said.
Vonn returned to the circuit last month after an almost monthlong break from racing to fully recover from an intestinal illness that put her in a hospital for two days in November.
The start of Tuesday's race was delayed by 3? hours because of fog hanging over the course and the skiers began in waning light at 2:30 p.m. Even before Vonn's crash, a course worker fell and also had to be airlifted. He was reported to have broken his nose.
All the delays made for flat light when Vonn raced.
"Lindsey did a great job on top and Lindsey has won a lot of races in flat light so the flat light was definitely not a problem," U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml told the AP.
"We are upset obviously with what happened, but if you don't know the facts and why they decided to start and what the weather forecast was it's hard to say without any reasoning," Riml said. "And they probably had a reason, otherwise they wouldn't have started."
It was difficult to pinpoint when Vonn lost control as she came off a left turn into the jump.
"She jumped a little bit in the wrong direction and started to correct that a little bit in the air and put a lot of pressure on the outside ski exactly in the landing and she couldn't hold the pressure and then (she crashed)," International Ski Federation women's race director Atle Skaardal said.
Skaardal defended the decision to race.
"I can confirm that the visibility was great, there were no problems, and the course was also in good shape," he said. "I don't see that any outside factors played a role in this accident. ... The other factors were like they were supposed to be for ski racing."
Two years ago, Vonn pulled out midway through the last worlds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, because of a mild concussion. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Vonn skied despite a severely bruised shin to win the downhill and take bronze in the super-G.
At the 2009 worlds in Val d'Isere, France, she sliced her thumb open on a champagne bottle after sweeping gold in the downhill and super-G, forcing her out of the giant slalom. At the 2007 worlds in Are, Sweden, Vonn injured her knee in training and missed her final two events.
And at the 2006 Turin Olympics, she had a horrific crash in downhill training and went directly from her hospital room to the mountain to compete in four of her five events.
Having regained her form in recent weeks, Vonn trailed eventual race winner Tina Maze of Slovenia by just 0.12 seconds at an intermediate interval shortly before Tuesday's crash.
The conditions varied from racer to racer.
Former overall winner Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany started immediately after Vonn and skied off course.
"It's not a very difficult course but in some parts you couldn't see anything," said Fabienne Suter of Switzerland, who finished fifth.
However, Vonn teammate Julia Mancuso thrived in the difficult conditions and won the bronze medal.
"It's the same for everybody," U.S. speed coach Chip White said. "Everyone had to wait for a long time and that's always difficult. And the holds were every 15 minutes so it really doesn't give you a chance to go and do something else. You're always kind of on edge at the ready. It's a difficult situation but everybody had the same difficult situation."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lindsey-vonn-tears-knee-ligaments-season-194233939--spt.html
dallas tornado video 1940 census instagram for android dallas news dallas fort worth dfw 1930 census
This week's good reads includes a young woman's perspective on India's 'purdah' culture, the morality of babies, on whether a life's purpose brings happiness, and an unusual petition to the White House for building a Death Star.
Female staff members of a luxury hotel exhibit their skills after a 10-day self-defense course initiated by the hotel management and Delhi Police women?s wing in New Delhi, India, Jan. 17, 2013. A brutal rape of a 23-year-old student last month has sparked a national debate about the treatment of women and the inability of Indian law enforcement to protect them.
Altaf Qadri/AP
Enlarge?My first sense as a young girl of sexual menace came from my Indian grandfather. Let me be clear: He never even remotely sexually threatened or molested me. But he made sure I knew that the world in which I, a girl, was growing up was innately perilous to women.?
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
So starts an illuminating first-person recollection of an American learning the rules of purdah ? or concealment of women from men ? on visits to relatives back in India. Her grandfather upbraided her for uppity talk and anything but simple dress, to teach her that the more invisible she was, the more safe she would be.
Mira Kamdar, writing on the Asia Society website, connects these lessons to the recent gang rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi: ?It is clear ... that a purdah mentality still dogs Indian society. A woman who can be seen is seen as a woman available for violation.? But, at the same time, ?[r]apid modernization and urbanization in India have made women, especially young women, visible as never before.?
Parents, it turns out that your bundles of joy could also be described as budding altruists. Writing for the Smithsonian magazine, Abigail Tucker writes on a heartwarming new area of research that?s finding babies showing preferences for ?good guys? over ?bad guys? and a proclivity to help and care for others.
?These findings may seem counterintuitive to anyone who has seen toddlers pull hair in a playground tunnel or pistol-whip one another with a plastic triceratops,? notes Ms. Tucker.
But a series of cleverly designed experiments at Yale and Harvard universities are seeing an orientation toward the good long before parents would seem to have had much chance to shape behavior.
The eureka moment for one researcher came while passing a ball back and forth with a toddler. The ball got away from the scientist, and rather than get it, he faked an inability to reach it. Seeing his struggle, the toddler got up to retrieve it for him. Other experiments involved puppet shows in which one color puppet is shown helping or hindering another. Eye-tracking tests found infants as young as 3 months old preferring the helper.?
Whether we are born with it, or taught it, altruism looks to be key to our well-being as adults.
Emily Esfahani Smith, writing for The Atlantic, highlights a new psychological study that suggests ?a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different.? Researchers interviewing 400 Americans found meaning in life to be tied up with being a ?giver,? while happiness was more linked with being a ?taker.? Meaning is also found in contemplating the future and the past, while happiness is fixated on the present ? and is consequently more fleeting.
From the nation?s foundational documents to the self-help aisles of bookstores, Americans are famously in pursuit of happiness. But that?s something of a mug?s game: ?Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression. On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of happiness is ironically leaving people less happy, according to recent research,? Ms. Smith writes.
The magazine goes on to cite data that roughly 40 percent of Americans have not found a ?satisfying life purpose.?
A group of Internet pranksters raised the 25,000-plus signatures needed to get a response from the White House on their petition to have the US build a Death Star. The White House, to no one?s surprise, replied that the country would not be building the moon-shaped space station from the ?Star Wars? films that could blast planets into space dust. But the wording of the response, glorious it was.
?Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars? ? $850,000,000,000,000,000, according to one study ? ?on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?? wrote Paul Shawcross, chief of the Science and Space Budget at the White House Office of Management and Budget, and arguably the best communicator to emerge from the intersection of space science, accounting, and the federal government.
This smooth-talking Jedi then went on to highlight the gee-whiz stuff the government and the private sector are doing in space.
?[W]e?ve got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we?re building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe.?
In other news, the White House has just upped the signature threshold for a response to 100,000.
felicia day nfl 2012 draft st louis rams miami dolphins buffalo bills pittsburgh steelers seattle seahawks
Jon Stewart got into some questions of linguistics on last night's Daily Show, since the Republican Party has decided that "messaging" is its problem. Who's there to help the Republicans with their perpetual messaging machine? Frank Luntz. Or, as Stewart likes to call him, "The GOP Whisperer." ?Or "Republican Batman." Watch here:?
RELATED: Jon Stewart Understands Anthony Weiner Less Every Day
?
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jon-stewart-finds-gops-messaging-miracle-144726317.html
brock lesnar kentucky jayhawks wwe wrestlemania oakland shooting mega millions winning numbers autism speaks
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Anonymous hackers attacked Twitter this week and may have gained access to passwords and other information for as many as 250,000 user accounts, the microblog revealed late on Friday.
Twitter said in a blog post that the passwords were encrypted and that it had already reset them as a "precautionary measure," and that it was in the process of notifying affected users.
The blog post noted recent revelations of large-scale cyber attacks against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but unlike the two news organizations, Twitter did not provide any detail on the origin or methodology of the attacks.
"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Twitter said. "The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked."
Privately held Twitter, which has 200 million active monthly users, said it was working with government and federal law enforcement officials to track down the attackers.
The company did not specifically link the attacks to China in the blog post, in contrast to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which both said the hackers originated in China.
Twitter, the social network known for its 140-character messages, could not speculate on the origin of the attacks as its investigation was ongoing, said spokesman Jim Prosser.
"There is no evidence right now that would indicate that passwords were compromised," said Prosser.
The attack is not the first time that hackers have breached Twitter's systems and gained access to Twitter user information. Twitter signed a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in 2010, subjecting the company to 10 years of independent privacy reviews, for failing to safeguard users' personal information.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Gary Hill and Lisa Shumaker)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hackers-target-twitter-access-250-000-user-accounts-002758376--sector.html
empire state building prince harry Hurricane hunger games Joey Kovar Expendables 2 Pussy Riot
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's manufacturing sector again expanded modestly in January, raising hopes the economy can avoid a new recession, although activity grew less than a month before and was below expectations.
Factory output, however, grew at the fastest pace since September 2011, the survey published on Friday showed. Lower factory output was a key reason for a contraction in the last quarter of 2012 which left Britain's economy within sight of its third recession in four years.
The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) inched down to 50.8 from a downwardly revised 51.2 in December. That was just short of forecasts for a reading of 51.0 but for a second month running was above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
"Broadly the findings argue against the UK going into a triple-dip recession, and ... offer hope that a more sustainable recovery might be in train," said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec.
Others were more cautious, noting that new orders hardly grew, tempering optimism about the first quarter of 2013.
Rob Dobson, the Markit economist who compiled the survey, said the wider impact of manufacturing's January expansion would be limited as the sector accounts for only about 10 percent of the economy.
"The survey will do little to assuage fears of a triple-dip recession unless accompanied by an improvement in the services sector," he said. Markit's January services sector PMI will be published on Tuesday.
OUTPUT JUMPS
In a clear sign of faster output growth, the PMI component measuring the change in factory output from the previous month climbed to 54.2 from 53.4 in December, despite a reported hit from poor weather.
"Sterling's weakness, plus indications of firmer demand in key export markets such as the euro zone, notably Germany, and emerging markets such as China should also help lift sales in coming months," Dobson said.
For now, companies said weak demand from continental Europe was behind the 13th consecutive drop in new export orders.
In further good news for the economy, government data showed that the number of companies which went into liquidation in England and Wales in the last three months of 2012 fell to its lowest level since the second quarter of 2008.
Markit said production of consumer goods grew robustly last month and output of intermediate products such as car engines also rose. But manufacturing of investment goods such as factory equipment declined.
Employment in factories ticked up, in contrast to the job losses that afflicted the sector for much of 2012.
Solid input price inflation continued to eat into manufacturers' profit margins, however, as the prices they charged rose by a smaller margin. Firms reported higher costs of chemicals, energy, food products, metals, packaging and plastics.
(Additional reporting by Li-mei Hoang and David Milliken; Editing by Catherine Evans)
texas news kim mulkey sarah palin today show dallas tornado video 1940 census instagram for android dallas news
DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC said January car sales of 117,731 were the best since 2008 and projected industry sales during the month grew at an annual rate of 15.5 million.
All Chrysler brands except Jeep reported year-on-year sales gains, with the Dodge brand up 37 percent from a year ago.
Jeep sales were down 4 percent, as Chrysler - controlled by Fiat
Total Chrysler sales rose 16 percent from 101,149 a year ago.
Sales of the Fiat 500 jumped 31 percent to 2,503, while the Dodge Dart hit 7,154, the highest level since the car's introduction last June.
Chrysler is the first automaker to release January sales. Its projected annual rate includes sales of heavy trucks.
U.S. auto sales are expected to continue the strong pace set at the end of last year, with industry sales rising as much as 15 percent due to an improving housing market and pent-up demand for cars and trucks.
The industry is expected to report today an annual sales rate in January of 15.3 million vehicles, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The figure does not include heavy trucks, which account for around 300,000 sales a year.
(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by David Holmes)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chrysler-posts-highest-january-sales-since-2008-131117325--finance.html
my fair lady conversion disorder the chronicle spinal stenosis the forgotten man mike jones just friends
