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Friday, March 2, 2012
'American Idol' announces 13 finalists (AP)
[unable to retrieve full-text content]AP - "American Idol" is down to the top 13 singers.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
[uruknet.info] * News & Politics * Culture & Society * Economy ...
February 20, 2012
An Israeli official has described 63-day Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan as an ?Islamic Jihad terrorist? without producing any evidence to prove his claim.
Adnan, a 33-year-old baker, has been on hunger strike since shortly after he was detained in a late-night raid on December 17.
He is being held under what Israeli law calls administrative detention, meaning he can be held without trial or charges indefinitely.
The case has drawn widespread condemnation of the Israeli policy, with rights groups urging the Jewish state to release Adnan or charge him with an offense.
But Ofir Gendelman, the Israeli Prime Minister?s spokesman to the Arab media, provoked anger by calling Adnan an ?Islamic Jihad terrorist? on Twitter.
He also said that Israel should not release Adnan as he would ?kill our kids.?
Ofir Gendelman
@ofirgendelman#khaderadnan is an Islamic Jihad terrorist. This organization is outlawed in US,EU,UK. A terrorist on a hunger strike is still a terrorist.
Ofir Gendelman
@ofirgendelmanThose who call on Israel to release #khaderadnan, an Islamic Jihad terrorist, so he could kill our kids, wouldn?t want him near their kids
Gendelman?s comment provoked a barrage of criticism, with Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of the Palestine Center in Washington urging him to produce evidence of the claims.
Yousef Munayyer
@YousefMunayyer.@ofirgendelman if there?s evidence, charge him and try him, if not, release him. I know these democratic norms may seem foreign to you
Under Israel?s military law, prisoners can be held in administrative detention for up to six months without charge or trial. The detention can be renewed at the end of the period, effectively allowing Israel to hold Palestinians in jail indefinitely.
Israel claims that Adnan is a threat to public safety, but has yet to produce any evidence for the claim, while Adnan?s lawyers have been unable to view the evidence on which he is detained.
A local rights group, al-Haq, said 315 Palestinians were being held under the edict.
Amnesty International has condemned his continued detention, calling on Israel to either charge or release him.
Human Rights Watch has argued that withholding reasons for arrest constitute a violation of international law.
?Israels international legal obligations, however, require it to inform those arrested of the reasons for the arrest at the time, to promptly inform them of any charges against them and to bring them before a judge,? the rights-group said in a press release.
Adnans family, his lawyer, and doctors from an Israeli rights group have warned that his health has deteriorated seriously, with a high risk of organ failure, and that Israeli authorities had shackled him to his hospital bed.
An Israeli court on Saturday decided that Khader?s final appeal will not be held until Thursday morning, despite hearing that his health is entering a critical phase.
Adnan is now in serious danger of dying before the trial, according to a doctor?s report read out in the court.
The Israeli High Court of Justice was provided with a detailed medical report from the Physicians for Human Rights on Saturday.
The report declared that Adnan, who would be in the 68th day of his fast by Thursday, ?is in immediate danger of death,? and that ?a fast in excess of 70 days does not permit survival.?
However, the judge ruled that there was no cause to move the date forward and confirmed the trial date.
The prisoners? rights group Addameer condemned the decision to delay the appeal until Thursday.
?We regret that in light of this crucial medical report, the pressure exerted by the local and international community, including the statements of High Representative of the European Union Catherine Ashton, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights Richard Falk have been met with a delay in appointing the petitions hearing by Israels High Court of Justice,? a statement from the group said.
Khader?s pregnant wife Randa described his condition on Saturday, saying he was close to death.
?His life is in danger, but praise be to God he has a strong will and very high spirits. No one believes that he is still conscious and able to speak,? she said. ?He is fading away and his eyes are sunken.?
Last week thousands of Palestinians rallied in Gaza and the West Bank in support of Adnan, who the Israelis accuse of being a member of Islamic Jihad.
The appeal at the High Court is the final opportunity for Adnan to be released.
Infamous Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands died after 66 days of refusing food in opposition to British colonial rule.
(Al-Akhbar)
Source
Source
Source: http://ajudaparamim.info/1980/uruknet-info-news-politics-culture-society-economy/
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Saturday, February 18, 2012
Voyager set to make a splash in 2012 with new ... - Travel - EzineMark
Voyager.com is the ideal place for a school adventure. This kid?s adventure holiday site will give pupils the opportunity to get involved in a number of adventure sports from surfing and kayaking to snorkelling and white water rafting.
There are a number of exciting and innovative school adventure packages to choose from and feature a wealth of water sports. These are all taught by their experienced staff that has a number of years training and coaching as well as instructing in these particular disciplines.
They have a number of kids adventure holiday locations across Europe from Argeles sur Mer, Ardeche and Andalucia to Murcia and the French Alps.
The French Alps excursions are considered to be some of the most popular tours that this company offers.
This is because there is a lot of beautiful scenery to take advantage of due to its location.The Alps is a mountain range of beauty and not only do you have the chance to explore the sheer beauty of the landscape but pupils will also have the opportunity to take part in other mountain adventure travel tours.
Some of their most popular scenic destinations include the picturesque Haute Savoie area. This is meant to be of the toughest and yet exhilarating adventure experience that this company offers. You will need to book early though as this is an extremely popular location and reservations are usually taken months in advance.
The other alpine tours that voyager.com provide takes you to the outstanding town of Megeve.
This can be reached very easily thanks to the AutoRoute from Calais where you will have the chance to enjoy the undulating scenery of this stunning mountain village. It is also famed for providing a wealth of exciting sports and adventure excursions.There are a range of activities to suit all ages and experts are on hand to guide you all the way. Some of the most extreme sports you will be able to do if you venture to this location include high ropes, canoeing, windsurfing and mountain biking.
If you are that bit more daring then you can take on the challenge of having a guided mountain walk to bask in the glorious countryside and mountains which is well worth doing.
The Haute Savoie area of France also provides a wonderful backdrop for curriculum based activities and excursions.
This includes a range of topics and subjects that are tailored more for those who are studying Geography, History and Modern Languages. Furthermore there are additional advantages that feature good transport links due to its proximity to the motorway.
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Sea lion test to probe declines
17 February 2012
Last updated at 07:03 ET
Professor Andrew Trites from the University of British Columbia talks about the study of sea lions
Canadian researchers have trained sea lions to take part in an experiment designed to find out why the species is dying out.
The team strapped cameras and tracking equipment onto endangered Steller sea lions to see how they dived for food.
Early results from the project indicate that overfishing might not be the main factor in their decline as had previously been thought.
Male Steller sea lions measure 3m (10ft) and weigh more than 950kg.
This makes them the biggest of all sea lions.
These marine mammals once thrived on the shores of the North Pacific ocean. Now their numbers have dwindled to around 100,000. But no one knows why they are dying out.
To investigate why, Prof Andrew Trites, a marine mammal specialist from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, has recruited some of them to help him with his experiments.
Sea lions are well known for their ability to learn tricks. But with the help of trainers from Vancouver Aquarium, Prof Trites has trained four females to follow voice commands and hand gestures that enable them to take part in scientific experiments.
"The Steller sea lions are rare in the wild and even rarer in captivity," explained Professor Trites. "In order to get into their heads you need access to them 24-hours-a-day and that's what we have here."
It's the first time that sea lions have been used in this way. They have been trained for the project since they were pups 15 years ago. According to one of the trainers, Troy Neil, it has been a long, hard process.
"It's not been easy. It's taken a lot of time and patience. At times it feels I've been spending more time with them than my family," he joked.
His equally dedicated colleague, Nigel Walker, agrees: "Sometimes I forget it's not normal to hang out with 500lb seals."
Then, to prove the point, one of the sea lions raises herself on her hindquarters, approaches Mr Walker and plants a firm kiss on his lips.
These seals seem happy in their scientific work.
Once the seals are fitted with their sensors, they are taken out to open water on their own personal speed boat, the Steller Shuttle.
They speed into the breathtaking fjords of British Columbia, where the icy waters are more than a mile deep. It is the perfect place to study how these animals hunts for food.
The Steller Shuttle reaches its destination - a small research platform. One of the sea lions, Hazy, eagerly dives into the still waters and, as instructed, makes her way into an enclosure which serves as a kind of underwater laboratory.
On the platform, researchers push pieces of fish down a pipe that goes right to the bottom of the water. Then Hazy is told to dive deep into the water.
Her sensors measure precisely the amount of energy she uses as she speeds down to catch the fish.
She is equipped with a camera so that the researchers witness the transformation from a playful seal to a speeding torpedo.
The research team has discovered that it is much harder for her to feed close to the surface - a possible clue to why her kind is dying out.
Another early result from these experiments, according to Professor Trites, is that these mammals are suffering because they may be eating the wrong kind of food.
"It's called the junk food hypothesis," he told BBC News. "These animals need oily fish such as herring, sand eels and salmon to thrive. But instead they are eating pollock and the animals are full before they get enough calories."
For the first time, researchers are looking at the world through the eyes of Stellar sea lions to see if they can reverse the decline of these magnificent creatures.
Follow Pallab on Twitter
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-17051429
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Jeremy Lin | Genuine Artikle
The particular trend that?s Jeremy Lin have virtually not any let up. Each recreation each and every seemingly better plus more remarkable than the previous the actual story regarding Jeremy Maya Lin grows. Its very in contrast to anything sporting activities provides seen prior to. Possibly only throughout Olympic games possess sports sportsmen also ended up thus able to go up in order to be able for you to help stardom relatively overnight. But, once the Olympics end, thus will their own superlegend. But just what exactly of Jeremy Lin? Exactly just precisely what exactly seems certain is always that JLin and also linsanity is here to stay in some form a minimum of. There will now permanently be considered a big contingent associated with enthusiasts who stick to and revere him or her. And also hes attained that much a minimum of. In a category where every one of the biggest stars are usually McDs All Americans, Lins tale is actually relatable and impressive. Lin Country to improve to cultivate.
Source: http://genuineartikle.com/sports-and-recreation/jeremy-lin/
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Canadian PM Shills Alberta Oil Sands in China
Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in the midst of an official visit to China.
His mission?
To convince Beijing's mandarins to buy Canada's Alberta oil sands hydrocarbon production, now that Republican Congressional overreach has effectively sidelined the Keystone XL pipeline, designed to transit the oil to U.S. Gulf of Mexico refineries, for the foreseeable future.
Harper faces an uphill struggle, as China is questioning the delays in implementing the Northern Gateway pipeline, to transit Alberta's oil to Canada's western coast for transshipment to China.
Complicating the picture, Harper has a weak hand of cards, and both he and the Chinese know it.
Since 1967 oil sands have been under development in Alberta, and investments there now exceed $97 billion.
Where to go?
Not unreasonably, Ottawa looked southwards, as according to the U.S. Energy Administration Canada is now the leading exporter of oil to the United States, providing 2.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) of the 9.03 mbpd the U.S. imports every day.
With the Keystone XL pipeline offline for the foreseeable future, Canada hopes that China will pick up the slack, but the slow pace of development of the $5.5 billion, 730-mile Northern Gateway pipeline has raised concerns in Beijing.
Enbridge chief executive officer Pat Daniel, accompanying Harper on his visit to Beijing said, "They're frustrated, as we are, in the length of time it takes. They're very anxious to diversify their supply, they're very dependent on the Middle East for crude. (Canada) seems like the perfect match that should last a long time, but if you don't move it along, people do lose interest. We don't have forever. The fundamentals in the business can change and you must take advantage of opportunities if and when they present themselves."
But Harper and Daniel are in a weak negotiating position, and they know it.
Consider geography for a moment.
Canada went full-bore on developing Alberta's oil sands on the "Field of Dreams" principle of "build it, and they will come," but in reality, from the outset there were only two realistic export options, south to the U.S. and westwards to potential second-string Asian market partners.
Northwards?
Eskimos and polar bears have yet to evince any interest.
Eastwards across Canada? A pipeline multiples more expensive to Canada's Atlantic provinces to where? Europe?
Not likely.
So, with the U.S. export route blocked, at least temporarily by Republican Congressional opposition, that leaves? Asia.
Harper accordingly pursued his dog and pony show during his meetings with both Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, who is expected to succeed Wen this fall, by calling for more cooperation. Besides Daniel, Harper's entourage includes five Canadian cabinet Ministers and three dozen industry leaders.
But Harper's portfolio is heavy with annoying local concerns. Over the past few weeks, federal ministers have carried out a high-profile dispute with environmental groups over the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, with the government labelling protestors "radicals" and Harper has said he is working quickly to generate new legislation to ensure a more rapid review processes that can't be "hijacked" by such groups.
But the news from Beijing is optimistic, as yesterday Li told an audience at a Canada-China business forum, "We need to carry out cooperation in energy trade and facilitate more large scale co-operation projects for oil and gas and mineral resources. We also need to expand our co-operation in nuclear energy and energy conservation clean energy and renewable energy."
And the tea leaves note that China has already invested about $10 billion in Canada's energy sector and, adding to the Harper team's optimism is the fact that it hopes that Chinese investors are expected to seek only minority ownership stakes in Canadian oil and natural gas opportunities, as such a policy is seen as both more acceptable to Canadians and less likely to trigger wider review processes.
Canada holds further appeal for Chinese investors both for its relative proximity and as a stable democracy where supply can be guaranteed more easily than in conflict-ridden states currently supplying Chinese energy needs like Iraq, Iran and Sudan, both north and south.
Still, Harper and Daniels have their work cut out for them explaining those pesky Canadian environmentalists, with Daniels informing his hosts, "I tell them it's the Canadian way. They say they would build it faster in China. But Canada is not China" before adding that both state-owned companies China National Petroleum Corp. (CPNC) and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) are "very interested" in the Northern Gateway pipeline and have expressed "strong interest" in meetings on the project.
You want money? Canaccord Financial Chief Executive Paul Reynolds said that it is setting up a $1 billion fund with the Import Export Bank of China to invest in energy companies or projects in Canada.
And things on Harper's visit are already going swimmingly, as Chinese state news agency Xinhua is reporting that "more than 20 commercial agreements were signed between enterprises of the two countries and that twenty Chinese and Canadian companies on 9 February signed cooperative deals worth about $3 billion on the sidelines of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's China visit."
But Harper has undoubtedly received his marching orders in Beijing, to modify current federal legislation that governs new projects ? the National Energy Board Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Ottawa's two-year window allocated for hearings on the Northern Gateway project will have Harper explaining Canadian policies to his host.
And who in Canada will pay for the Northern Gateway? Alberta's government is seeking a path for the oil sands through British Columbia by increasing the economic benefits for B.C. to support the project ? including the option of Alberta paying to modernize and expand Canadian West Coast ports.
But British Columbia might not be bought off so easily ? last month, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark bluntly told Alberta Premier Alison Redford's that public opinion is against the pipeline in British Columbia, as Alberta gets the benefits while British Columbia carries the risks of environmental disaster.
And Harper's mao tai toasts may yet carry a favor of home, as British Columbia's Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of five First Nations that represent several thousand Aboriginals people in north-central British Columbia, have written to Chinese President Hu Jintao and to the Chinese media asking Hu to query Harper on Canada's human rights record.
The Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of five First Nations that represents several thousand people in north-central British Columbia, has sent open letters to Chinese President Hu Jintao and to the Chinese media.
The high media ground, in the land of cuddly, photogenic pandas?
"An oil spill on the coast would destroy sources of seafood and fish, like crabs, for thousands of people," it says. "It could destroy the extremely rare spirit bear ? a bear with white fur that is as beautiful as the Chinese panda bear."
What is Mandarin for "bringing home the high carbon content bacon while dealing with those pesky environmentalists?"
Will the "extremely rare spirit bear" win out over an orphaned $97 energy billion investment with nowhere to go?
Place your bets.
(John C.K. Daly of OilPrice.com. The original article appears here.)
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
Source: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=115155&rss=true
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
First lady, Pentagon want state licensing requirements eased for military spouses
WASHINGTON ? Pentagon leaders and First Lady Michelle Obama will urge states on Wednesday to ease job licensing requirements for military spouses whose frequent moves hurt their employment prospects.
The push comes as the Defense Department releases a new report showing that more than one-third of all working military spouses regularly deal with the inconsistent state licensing rules and associated employment problems. Teaching, child care and nursing are the three most common occupations among military spouses, and all three typically require state certifications.
?Military families are asked to move again and again, and that transition is a huge headache and a barrier to employment for those spouses,? said Brad Cooper, executive director of the Joining Forces campaign.
Obama and top defense officials are urging states to accept a list of ?best practices? to help military spouses, including providing temporary licenses for new state residents and creating a fast-track licensing process for individuals already certified in another state.
Marcus Beauregard, head of the Pentagon?s office of military community and family policy, said shortening those timelines is especially urgent because military families often live fewer than three years in a single location.
?That gives [spouses] little time to advance in their careers if they have to wait for certification,? he said.
Currently, 11 states have passed laws supporting military spouse license portability: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Defense officials have lobbied state officials for similar protections for years, but Cooper said he is confident the cause can gain traction now because of the country?s new focus on helping troops and their families.
shanel@stripes.osd.mil
Twitter: @LeoShane
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