সোমবার, ৫ আগস্ট, ২০১৩

Syria's war splits nation into 3 distinct regions

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012 file photo, Syrian rebel fighter Tawfiq Hassan, 23, a former butcher, poses for a picture, after returning from fighting against Syrian army forces in Aleppo, at a rebel headquarters in Marea on the outskirts of Aleppo city, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012 file photo, Syrian rebel fighter Tawfiq Hassan, 23, a former butcher, poses for a picture, after returning from fighting against Syrian army forces in Aleppo, at a rebel headquarters in Marea on the outskirts of Aleppo city, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 file photo, Syrians wait outside a bakery shop to buy beard in Maaret Misreen, near Idlib, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2012 file photo, a wounded woman still in shock leaves Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 file photo, night falls on a Syrian rebel-controlled area as destroyed buildings, including Dar Al-Shifa hospital, are seen on Sa'ar street after airstrikes targeted the area last week, killing dozens in Aleppo, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, July 14, 2013 file photo, Syrian soldiers cheer after battling with rebels during a tour for journalists organized by the Syrian Information Ministry in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, Syria. More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi, File)

(AP) ? More than two years into Syria's civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system.

In each area, religious, ideological and turf power struggles are under way and battle lines tend to ebb and flow, making it impossible to predict exactly what Syria could look like once the combatants lay down their arms. But the longer the bloody conflict drags on, analysts says, the more difficult it will be to piece together a coherent Syrian state from the wreckage.

"There is no doubt that as a distinct single entity, Syria has ceased to exist," said Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center. "Considering the sheer scale of its territorial losses in some areas of the country, Syria no longer functions as a single all-encompassing unitarily-governed state."

The geographic dividing lines that have emerged over the past two years and effectively cleft the nation in three remain fluid, but the general outlines can be traced on a map.

The regime holds a firm grip on a corridor running from the southern border with Jordan, through the capital Damascus and up to the Mediterranean coast, where a large portion of the population belongs to President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect. The rebels, who are primarily drawn from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, control a chunk of territory that spans parts of Idlib and Aleppo provinces in the north and stretches along the Euphrates river to the porous Iraqi border in the east. Tucked into the far northeastern corner, meanwhile, Syria's Kurdish minority enjoys semi-autonomy.

Those contours provide the big picture view. The view from the ground, however, is slightly muddied.

While Sunni rebels control large swathes of Syria's rural regions in the north, the government still controls provincial capitals there, with the exception of Raqqa city and parts of Aleppo city. The regime also still retains some military bases and checkpoints in the overwhelmingly rebel-held countryside, but those are besieged and isolated and supplies for troops are air-dropped by helicopters or planes.

Moreover, the opposition movement itself is far from monolithic, and there have been increasing outbursts of infighting between al-Qaida affiliated extremists and moderate rebel groups, as well as between Kurds and rebels of a radical Islamic bent. That violence holds the potential to escalate into a full-blown war among armed opposition factions.

The Assad regime has made headway in recent months in the strategic heartland of Homs, clawing back territory long-held by rebel fighters. Those gains have helped the government secure its grip on Damascus and the pathway to the coast. They also have reinforced opposition accusations that Assad's military is driving out local Sunni communities to try to carve out a breakaway Alawite enclave that could become a refuge for the community if the regime falls.

For now, Assad's overstretched and war-weary troops appear unable to regain the vast territories they have lost to rebels and jihadists who now control oil wells and other key resources such as dams and electricity plants in the north and east. Black al-Qaida flags that carry the Muslim declaration of the faith now fly over many areas there, as a way to mark their turf distinctly from the three-starred green, black and white flag flown by the various rebel brigades that make up the loose-knit, Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

In the north, fighter brigades have set up judicial councils known as Shariah courts that dispense their own version of justice based on Islamic law, including in some cases, executions of captured regime soldiers and supporters.

In the northeast, Kurdish flags now flutter proudly over buildings after the country's largest minority carved out a once unthinkable degree of independence. Kurds, who make up more than 10 percent of Syria's 22 million people, were long oppressed under Baathist rule. Now, they have created their own police forces, even their own license plates, and have been exuberantly going public with their language and culture. Schoolchildren are now taught Kurdish, something banned for years under the Assad family's rule.

"While there are shifts in momentum on the battlefield, Bashar Assad, in our view, will never rule all of Syria again," Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, told reporters in Washington last month.

The comments appeared to leave open the possibility that while Assad has lost control over large parts of the country, he may well be able to hang on and even expand his core territory in the future.

This view has been reinforced recently with steady regime gains in and around the capital Damascus, and in Homs province, a strategic linchpin linking Damascus with predominantly regime strongholds on the Mediterranean coast. Homs is a crossroads, and if the regime were to secure its hold on the city ? where a few rebel-held neighborhoods are holding out ? it would put it in a stronger position to strike out at the opposition-held axis running through the middle of the country.

Already, the government has been successful in clearing key routes leading to the Alawite community's heartlands of Tartus and Latakia, which have been largely spared the fighting in other parts of the country.

Recent visitors to Tartus speak of beaches dotted with swimmers and night clubs packed with revelers.

"It's like stepping into another world, completely sealed off from the rest of the country," said one Syrian in Beirut, who recently arrived from the Syrian coast and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Despite the geographic split into three regions, none of the sides can speak of confidently retaining the terrain they control.

Northern Latakia, for instance, has a notable presence of Islamic extremists, while in the capital, Damascenes live in constant fear of a repeat of the so-called "Damascus Volcano," when rebels briefly overran several neighborhoods in an assault in the summer of 2012. Mortars launched from rebel-held pockets around the capital constantly crash into the city, killing and wounding people.

In rebel held areas, regime warplanes swoop down at random, dropping bombs over targets that often kill civilians instead. The rebels have proved they are able to strike back despite significant advances by the military that have bolstered the confidence of the regime.

Rebels on Thursday sent a wave of rockets slamming into regime strongholds in Homs, triggering a succession of massive explosions in a weapons depot that killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens, according to opposition groups and residents.

The conflict has laid waste to the country's cities, shattered its economy and killed more than 100,000 people since March 2011. The bloodshed also has fanned sectarian hatreds, and many fear that the divisions now entrenched in a country where Alawites, Sunnis, Shiites, Druse and Christians coexisted for centuries will make it hard in the future for people to reconnect as citizens of a single nation.

Syria's partition into mini-states is an ominous scenario for a country that sits along the Middle East's most turbulent fault lines. Any attempt to create an official breakaway state could trigger a wave of sectarian killings and have dangerous repercussions in a region where many religious, ethnic and tribal communities have separatist aspirations.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi author and columnist, argued in a recent article that at least one of Syria's neighbors will benefit if the dividing lines harden.

"It is an ideal solution for Israel which will benefit from Syria's division into three weak rival states that will never again represent a strategic threat for Israel," he wrote in an article that appeared in the pan Arab Al Hayat newspaper Saturday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-08-04-ML-Syria-Breaking-Apart/id-fe6ad92f17774c4bac5254332ca8417d

Boston Bomber cnn news foxnews fox news boston globe Cnn.com Chechen

Golf: Azusa's Lizette Salas makes Solheim Cup team

Azusa's Lizette Salas became one of four rookies named to the U.S. Solheim Cup team, which was announced Sunday following the completion of the Ricoh Women's British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Salas, in her second year on the LPGA Tour, will join Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and Brittany Lang as first-time members of the U.S Solheim Cup team, which will play their European counterparts on Aug. 16-18 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo. The Americans will seek to keep their undefeated record on home soil intact in the biennial match-play competition.

Salas, who finished sixth at St. Andrews, qualified for the team based on her Rolex World Ranking, in which she is 19th. The former four-time All-American from USC could not be reached for comment, but she was thankful on her Twitter account (@LizetteSalas5).

"What a memorable week here at the Ricoh Womens Brit. Not only did I play 36 holes today but I am officially on the Solheim Cup team!", she wrote.

She also thanked those who have helped her become one of this country's brightest, young players.

"Wanna thank everyone who helped me get to this point in my career!" she wrote. "Parents, family, agents, sponsors, caddies, friends and fans! sooo pumped!"

Meg Mallon also made Gerina Piller and Michelle Wie

captain's picks for the U.S. squad, which will include eight Solheim Cup veterans. Eight players -- Stacy Lewis (who just won the Women's British Open on Sunday), Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Angela Staford, Brittany Lincicome, Thompson, Korda and Lang -- automatically qualified for the U.S. team. Morgan Pressel also made it based on her world ranking (41st).

Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_23796066/golf-azusas-lizette-salas-makes-solheim-cup-etam?source=rss

asteroid cruise ship Asteroid 2012 DA14 Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner

Bangor incident leads to animal cruelty charge

Source: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/bangor-incident-leads-to-animal-cruelty-charge/-/132502/21325278/-/2cmx0v/-/index.html

andy kaufman masters 2012 tom watson kawasaki disease resurrection masters tickets one direction

Oil & Gas - Argentina - Apache Argentina production slips in Q2

US oil firm Apache (NYSE: APA) saw total hydrocarbon production slip more than 15% in Argentina in Q2, according to the firm's quarterly earnings release.

Oil production was relatively flat at 9,365b/d in Q2 compared to 9,583b/d in 2Q12.

Natural gas production fell 17.7% to 185Mf3/d (5.24Mm3/d) compared to 224Mf3/d in the year-ago quarter while NGL production slipped27.0% to 2,239b/d from 3,067b/d.

The average crude barrel price in Argentina was US$77.74/b in the quarter compared to US$72.69/b a year ago. Natural gas prices averaged US$2.79/Mf3 in the period compared to US$2.76/Mf3 in 2Q12.

And NGL averaged US$20.94/b in Q2 compared to US$21.09/b a year earlier.

Apache's capex in Argentina slipped to US$52 in Q2 from US$73mn in the year-ago quarter.

Source: http://member.bnamericas.com/news/oilandgas/apache-argentina-production-slips-in-q2

Dick Trickle the office Granbury Texas CA Lottery madonna madonna Billboard Music Awards 2013

Stomach bug in 2 states linked to Mexican farm

In this image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a photomicrograph of a fresh stool sample, which had been prepared using a 10% formalin solution, and stained with modified acid-fast stain, reveals the presence of four Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts in the field of view. Iowa and Nebraska health officials said Tuesday, July 30, 2013, that a prepackaged salad mix is the source of a cyclospora outbreak that sickened more than 178 people in both states. Cyclospora is a rare parasite that causes a lengthy gastrointestinal illness. (AP Photo/Centerd for Disease Control and Prevention)

In this image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a photomicrograph of a fresh stool sample, which had been prepared using a 10% formalin solution, and stained with modified acid-fast stain, reveals the presence of four Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts in the field of view. Iowa and Nebraska health officials said Tuesday, July 30, 2013, that a prepackaged salad mix is the source of a cyclospora outbreak that sickened more than 178 people in both states. Cyclospora is a rare parasite that causes a lengthy gastrointestinal illness. (AP Photo/Centerd for Disease Control and Prevention)

Graphic identifies the states where cases of cyclospora infection have been reported to the CDC; 1c x 6 inches; 46.5 mm x 152 mm;

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An outbreak of stomach illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska has been linked to salad mix served at local Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and supplied by a Mexican farm.

The outbreak of cyclospora infections has sickened more than 400 people in 16 states. The Food and Drug Administration says it is still working to determine whether the salad mix is the source of illnesses in the other 14 states.

"It is not yet clear whether the cases reported from other states are all part of the same outbreak," the agency said in a statement. "The investigation of increased cases of cyclosporiasis in other states continues."

Both Olive Garden and Red Lobster are owned by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants. In a statement, Darden spokesman Mike Bernstein said the FDA's announcement is "new information."

"Nothing we have seen prior to this announcement gave us any reason to be concerned about the products we've received from this supplier," Bernstein said.

The FDA said it traced illnesses from the restaurants in Nebraska and Iowa to Taylor Farms de Mexico, the Mexican branch of Salinas, Calif.-based Taylor Farms. The company, which provides produce to the food service industry, said its facility located about 180 miles north of Mexico City in San Miguel de Allende is the only one of its 12 sites to be connected to the cases.

In an email, the chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, Bruce Taylor, said the Mexican plant produced 48 million servings of salads for thousands of restaurants in the Midwest and eastern U.S. in June, the month the outbreak started. He said the facility has an extensive water testing program.

"All our tests have been negative and we have no evidence of cyclospora in our product," Taylor said. "We are working closely with the FDA to continue this investigation."

Taylor said Taylor Farms de Mexico does not supply Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in Texas, the state with the second most illnesses in the outbreak. According to CDC, 113 of the illnesses reported so far were in Texas. Iowa has had 146 illnesses and Nebraska 81.

In an additional statement on the company's website, Taylor Farms says the Mexican facility is "state of the art and has an exceptional food safety record." The statement said the product is out of the food supply.

The FDA said it had audited the Mexican processing facility in 2011 and found "no notable issues," according to the agency. The agency said it would increase surveillance efforts for green leafy products imported from Mexico.

The most recent known illness in the two states linked to the infected salad was in Nebraska a month ago. The typical shelf life for a salad mix is up to 14 days.

There have been more recent illnesses in other states. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent illness was July 23 but centers did not specify a location.

The agency said its investigation has not implicated any packaged salad sold in grocery stores.

__

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-08-03-US-Stomach-Bug-Outbreak/id-2150ee900c5e408a8b4a08ed24fff83c

pope joan strawberry festival strikeforce tate vs rousey ciaa the monkees strikeforce davy jones

রবিবার, ৪ আগস্ট, ২০১৩

Ahmad Shahzad slams loser punk fans on Twitter for criticising CPL performance

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.thecambodianews.net --- Sunday, August 04, 2013
Young Pakistani cricketer Ahmad Shahzad had reportedly called his fans as 'losers' and 'punks' on Twitter and told them to 'stop their coaching classes, everyone is a record holder here, after getting frustrated at their criticism. According to The Nation, the opener vented out his frustration on fans on the social networking site after they asked him to reply to their Tweets by threatening to ... ...

Source: http://www.thecambodianews.net/index.php/sid/216228327/scat/303b19022816233b

kennedy center honors boxing day iTunes Alfred Morris weight watchers fandango google play

Disabled woman who won court battle with mother moves in with friends

By Noreen O'Donnell

(Reuters) - A 29-year-old Virginia woman with Down syndrome who successfully fought her mother's attempt to be her guardian has moved in with friends, according to one of the people she now lives with.

In a case watched carefully by advocates for people with disabilities, Margaret Jean Hatch, who is known as Jenny, had been fighting for nearly a year to be able to choose where to live. She succeeded on Friday.

Newport News, Virginia, Circuit Judge David Pugh decided that although Hatch was not capable of independence and needed a legal guardian, he had to consider the disabled woman's wishes in picking that guardian. He chose her friends, Jim Talbert and Kelly Morris of Hampton, Virginia, for the next year, during which they are to help her gain more independence.

Hatch's mother and stepfather, Julia and Richard Ross, had filed for guardianship. They had wanted her to remain in a group home, which they believed offered the safest environment, the Washington Post reported, citing court records. They asked for the right to decide where she lived, what medical treatment she received and whom she could see.

"We were ecstatic," Talbert said on Saturday of the judge's decision. "We were happy. We were crying. It was an unbelievable victory for Jenny."

Hatch persuaded Talbert and Morris to gather her belongings at the group home immediately rather than wait, Talbert said. She spent Saturday swimming and bowling, he said.

"It's more than just where she wants to live," he said. "I think that Jenny's goal is not to have a guardian and have the right to choose how she directed her life. And obviously you can't do that if you're in a guardianship."

Hatch, who was represented by Jonathan Martinis, the legal director for Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities in Washington, D.C., had worked at a thrift store that Talbert and Morris own. She lived with them in the spring after she was in a bicycle accident.

She wants to return to work at the thrift store, possibly later next week, Talbert said.

"We're not her mother, we're not her father, but she's like one of our family.

If in the future, she wants to move into an apartment, they will try to help her achieve that goal, he said.

Advocates hailed the judge's ruling.

"This decision is a big step in the right direction," Susan Mizner, disability counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. "Like most people with developmental disabilities - and just like all of us - Jenny will learn, grow, and live best when she has the freedom and responsibility to make her own decisions."

Efforts to contact her mother or her lawyer for comment were not successful.

(Reporting By Noreen O'Donnell; Editing by Greg McCune and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/disabled-woman-won-court-battle-mother-moves-friends-235111331.html

kim zolciak kim zolciak Richard Matheson red panda Rizzoli And Isles amy schumer amy schumer

The exact War Against pay in bonus promotion code | Home Loan ...

Posted

The betting industry offers certainly grown perfectly into a mammoth industry, which entails millions of online players worldwide, vast amounts of dealings, and numerous casino internet sites. Underneath are a variety of them. Relatively Slots on line casino: As time passes, Relatively Slots Casino offers successfully proved once more to be one of the popular and reliable online internet casinos. Recognized Online Casinos operate the nearly all up-to-date coded sheild engineering to defend you see, the privateness in addition to secrecy including transactions between player and the gambling residences. Just after a person might create the first down payment within a playing web-site and is particularly ordinarily pleased with the web page, they turns into a very long time buyer. These kind of betting houses could possibly be used through any where via my pc thru internet. novices in making their progress super casino bonus code Internet casinos are really keen to acquire your online business and show off their software since via the internet field is unbelievably rivalling. The principal revenue for the site may be online on the website on line casino, Optimum taker, across the internet poker, sweepstakes in addition to and many others. entertaining in your convenience not really allowing your property. On the net casinos vary from the land based gambling companies in several treatments, and have certain positive aspects the internet internet casinos do no have got. The bonuses and awards offered at Uniform Casino are among the highest available. Online games are actually manifested inside visitor plug-ins Macromedia Exhibit, Macromedia Shockwave, or even just Coffee and want particular web browser aid. ). Enjoying has become on the list of highly common hobbies in the states, and possesses an incredible pursuing among people of each and every generation and in addition walks of life. Each and every necessity is exclusive each and every and every gambling organization. The bonuses and marketing offered incorporated by this modern casino have been designed in line with the tastes of new consumers.

A web course subject Deadbeat Super Online may not supply you with many of the clues through its title in regards to what this can be the training is approximately. Those people wanting to buy something usually visit the Amazon marketplace, so you can create affiliate sales by simply putting yourself while in front of prospective buyers at the place of the ordering decision. It?s not necessarily therefore simple to discover the profitable areas where it is possible to compete provided the large wide variety of options a person essentially own. You can watch him or her actually about the Amazon web-site looking for solutions to promote throughout videos included in the training. Then again on this, keep in mind it is just about all while using associated with that. The prize is built up much more than a moment devotion, not merely won about the initially roll in the dice or simply spin in the bring. Within the affiliate marketing plan you cannot find any way to receive a cheap china jerseys effective enterprise to turn into including simply sitting on it?s laurels. A number of people only accessibility sites to learn of their massively gratifying preliminary signup bonuses. videos together with offer codes for bet365 love it In such a situation not the affiliate nor the bet365 incentive codes earns truly if it pay. Therefore the more regular consumers an online marketing affiliate introduces the far more revenue they can anticipate to produce each 30 days, as an alternative to in matches and will begin. The far more that they convince to attach, the additional income the affiliate marketers can certainly make, it sounds simple because it is. Digging up moneymaking keywords is actually taught in addition to picking out the suitable product in the initial video. Self-hosted Blogger blogs are the preferred involving website just for this system and whether you have experience or simply don?t, you happen to be shown the way to attempt. That?s where your current earlier research offered handy on the subject of keyword phrases and how a person incorporate those inside your write-up. By Teastiv bamitila

Source: http://www.homeloanrepairandrescue.com/the-exact-war-against-pay-in-bonus-promotion-code/

game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley kenny chesney academy of country music awards brad paisley zac brown band aubrey

Bombings and a shooting kill 8 in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Authorities say bombings and a drive-by shooting have killed eight people across Iraq.

Police officials said gunmen in a car killed two off-duty policemen near the northern city of Mosul on Saturday.

In the central Iraqi city of Tikrit, police say a roadside bomb explosion killed a father and his son.

In western Baghdad, a bomb went off near a line of car spare-part stores, killing two people and wounding seven others, officials say. In the southeast of the capital, a blast missed a police patrol but killed two civilian passers-by.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for all attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Iraqi has witnessed an uptick in violence during the past few months.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bombings-shooting-kill-8-iraq-113727207.html

dallas fort worth dfw 1930 census nike new nfl uniforms nfl uniforms andrew bailey the village

Apple's craziest futuristic patents - Business Insider

Apple has long been known for thinking outside of the box.

Luckily it's often possible to get a hint of what Apple has in the works, just by looking at its many patent applications.

It's important to note that Apple files for many more patents than it will actually use, employing a protective strategy that quickly annoys those tired of legal patent battles in the tech industry.

It's a time-consuming job to monitor the slew of patents that Apple files for every week, but thankfully the team over at Patently Apple offer a categorized collection of the tech giant's patents ? complete with analysis.

?We've gone ahead and collected the craziest patents for you to peruse, just don't base your stock purchases on them.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-craziest-futuristic-patents-2013-8

Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent politico Tammy Baldwin house of representatives

It's Important to Read Your Writing Aloud - She Writes

"The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader." ?Robert Frost

In my life story writing classes, I encourage students to write the way they speak. I believe that writing the stories from your life should be more like telling stories at the kitchen table than chronological autobiography. It's this storytelling voice that really connects with your readers.

I also believe that writing "for the ear" is important. It helps establish your natural voice?your storytelling voice. The best way to ensure you're writing for the ear is to read your stories aloud.

Once you've finished a first draft and made the necessary technical corrections, it's time to read the story out loud. Listen for:

  • Stumbling blocks. These are places where you falter or stumble. I call them speed bumps. They interrupt the flow of your story. Maybe it's a poor word choice or a troubling transition. Make a note where you hit the speed bump and come back to fix it when you're done reading.??
  • Errors. It's easier for us to catch our own mistakes when reading aloud. Our eyes are apt to scan over mistakes, but our ears won't.
  • Your personal voice. You can easily hear when you lose your storytelling voice. Perhaps you've veered off into a long-winded technical explanation and lost your "voice." Make a note to bring it back to storytelling.
  • Rambling off-topic. Listening to your own story will help alert you when you've trailed off from the point of your story. Jot down the places you'll need to make cuts and edits.

Source: http://www.shewrites.com/xn/detail/3506464%3ABlogPost%3A860849

Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley chris cooley condoleezza rice bill cosby Perry Hall High School Hurricane Isaac 2012

Bradley Manning, Clinton Fatigue, and the NSA

U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning is escorted as he leaves a military court at the end of the first of a three-day motion hearing June 6, 2012 in Fort Meade, Maryland. Bradley Manning was found not guilty of aiding the enemy in his trial.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

?A Moderate Verdict: The Bradley Manning verdict and the failure of prosecutorial overreach,? by Fred Kaplan. On Tuesday, Bradley Manning was pronounced not guilty of ?aiding the enemy,? a capital crime that would have earned him life imprisonment. Manning will still spend time behind bars for other crimes, but the military court?s decision to absolve him of this charge sets an important precedent for reporters and leakers. Kaplan examines the prosecution?s approach, arguing that prosecutorial overreach might have shaped Manning?s verdict.

?The Danger of Clinton Fatigue: Hillary Clinton invites drama, even when she does nothing at all. Will voters tire of it before 2016 rolls around? Will she?? by John Dickerson. It?s hard to find an article on the Weiner scandal that doesn?t draw parallels between Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton. Dickerson argues that the media?s eagerness to draw Hillary into the equation only feeds the media hype surrounding the former secretary of state. As this rate, will the public grow tired of Clinton before she even decides to run for president?

?Laws Are Not Enough: Stop telling us what the NSA can?t do to us legally. Show us real barriers to abuse,? by William Saletan. When Eric Snowden leaked the details of the NSA?s surveillance program, the public was stunned by the government?s oversight capacity. Government officials have, however, emphasized the existence of legal limits to data access. Saletan calls on the NSA to release all existing barriers to abuse, as we have a right to know exactly what ?checks and balances? are in place to protect us. Elsewhere in Slate, Jamel Jaffer and Brett Max Kaufman penned this handy guide on how to decipher the vague language of U.S. intelligence officials.

?Rape Myths: I was raped at 55. Here is how I responded,? by Beverly Donofrio. Why don?t rape victims scream for help? In this harrowing account, Donofrio describes her reaction to her own rape and notes that while keeping quiet during a robbery is often seen as ?coolheaded intelligence,? this is rarely the case with rape and suggests that women have internalized the idea that ?if it happened to them they must have at some deep, subconscious level caused, invited, even wanted it to happen.?

?I Wish I Was a Little Bit Shorter: The research is clear: Being tall is hazardous to your health,? by Brian Palmer. The advantages of height are well-documented: tall people tend to have higher IQs and earn more money than their shorter colleagues. Studies linking height and success reveal a correlation between these two variables, but they are far from definitive. In fact, Palmer argues, it?s probably safe to say that even if tall people are generally more successful, it is not their height that makes them so. But the ?evidence linking height to life-threatening disorders should give us all pause,? as ?the fact that tall people die younger appears to be an immutable physical reality.?

?Post-Tragedy: I once knew a girl who lost her whole family before she finished high school. I decided to see what happened to her,? by Emily Yoffe. Sara Kushnick lost her brother to AIDS and her father, and mother to cancer, all before she turned 17. Yoffe first met Kushnick, who now goes by Sara Gorfinkel 20 years ago and decided to find her this year. She finds that Gorfinkel has overcome many challenges to have a career and family and who can say ?life is good.?

"Soap Springs Eternal: All My Children, One Life to Live, and the sweetly human act of caring about fictional characters,? by Willa Paskin. As the soap opera fixtures All My Children and One Life to Live attempt to rekindle their former glory as Web series, Paskin looks at the transition of soap opera through the history of television. She observes how the genre impacted the industry and how, although today?s soap audiences are a fraction of their former size, fans remain dedicated to these fictional characters because the genre ?isn?t storytelling at its best, but it is storytelling at its purest.?

?Welcome to the Dongle: Google?s Chromecast is fast, cheap, and ready to take over the world,? by Farhad Manjoo. Google?s newest product, Chromecast, doesn?t reinvent the wheel when it comes to streaming media to your TV But, according to Manjoo, it does this simple task so well, and it?s so cheap, that it?s an investment worth making.

?Prepare to Be Shocked! What happens when you actually click on one of those ?One Weird Trick? ads?,? by Alex Kaufman. Everyone?s encountered those unavoidable Internet proddings to reduce your belly fat and achieve perfect health via one miracle spice, and now they?re finally explained by Kaufman. Although the products these ads market may be of questionable efficacy, the lessons they reveal about why we click are fascinating.

?The Most Beautiful Melody in the World: You know it when you hear it,? by Jan Swafford. Although Swafford?s not going to definitively declare the world?s most beautiful melody, he will give insights into music and how we understand. If you?ve ever wondered what makes tunes hummable and what differentiates genres, Swafford has the answers.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/briefing/cocktail_chatter/2013/08/bradley_manning_clinton_fatigue_and_the_nsa_the_week_s_most_interesting.html

dear abby WRAL John Harbaugh jill biden jill biden martin luther king jr baltimore ravens

Sega of China

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: segaretro.org --- Friday, August 02, 2013
? Softography: ? Older revision Revision as of 16:48, 2 August 2013 (One intermediate revision by one user not shown) Line 47: Line 47: ? *''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 26: Dynamite Deka]]'' (2006) ? *''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 26: Dynamite Deka]]'' (2006) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2008) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2008) ? + ? + ====[[Xbox 360]]==== ? + *''[[Dreamcast Collection (game)|Dreamcast Collection]] (2011) ? ? ? ====[[Xbox Live Arcade]]==== ? ====[[Xbox Live Arcade]]==== Line 52: Line 55: ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_(2010)|Sonic Adventure]]'' (2010) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_(2010)|Sonic Adventure]]'' (2010) ? *''[[Space Channel 5: Part 2]]'' (2011) ? *''[[Space Channel 5: Part 2]]'' (2011) ? + *''[[Sega Bass Fishing]]'' (2011) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2012) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2012) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_2_(2012)|Sonic Adventure 2]]'' (2012) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_2_(2012)|Sonic Adventure 2]]'' (2012) Line 59: Line 63: ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_(2010)|Sonic Adventure]]'' (2010) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_(2010)|Sonic Adventure]]'' (2010) ? *''[[Space Channel 5: Part 2]]'' (2011) ? *''[[Space Channel 5: Part 2]]'' (2011) ? + *''[[Sega Bass Fishing]]'' (2011) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2012) ? *''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'' (2012) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_2_(2012)|Sonic Adventure 2]]'' (2012) ? *''[[sonic:Sonic_Adventure_2_(2012)|Sonic Adventure 2]]'' (2012) ? ? ? = ...

Source: http://segaretro.org/index.php?title=Sega_of_China&diff=143567&oldid=143557

college basketball joe posnanski michael kidd gilchrist national championship calipari national archives brock lesnar

Terror threat prompts weekend US embassy closings

Map shows U.S. embassies and consulates that will close; 3c x 3 inches; 146 mm x 76 mm;

Map shows U.S. embassies and consulates that will close; 3c x 3 inches; 146 mm x 76 mm;

(AP) ? The threat of a terrorist attack led to the weekend closure of 21 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world and a global travel warning to Americans, the first such alert since an announcement before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 strikes.

"There is a significant threat stream and we're reacting to it," Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News, according to interview excerpts released Friday. He said the threat was "more specific" than previous ones and the "intent is to attack Western, not just U.S. interests."

The warning comes less than a year since last year's deadly Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and with the Obama administration and Congress determined to prevent any similar breach of an American embassy or consulate.

The State Department's warning urged U.S. travelers to take extra precautions overseas. It cited potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists, and noted that previous attacks have centered on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats.

Travelers were advised to sign up for State Department alerts and register with U.S. consulates in the countries they visit.

The statement said that al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests. The alert expires on Aug. 31.

The State Department said the potential for terrorism was particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa, with a possible attack occurring on or coming from the Arabian Peninsula. The diplomatic facilities affected stretch from Mauritania in northwest Africa to Afghanistan.

U.S. officials pointed specifically to Yemen, the home of al-Qaida's most dangerous affiliate and the network blamed for several notable plots against the United States, from the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit to the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," a department statement said.

Yemen's president, Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi, met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday, where both leaders cited strong counterterrorism cooperation. This past week, Yemen's military reported a U.S. drone strike killed six alleged al-Qaida militants in the group's southern strongholds.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said the embassy threat was linked to al-Qaida and concerned the Middle East and Central Asia.

"In this instance, we can take a step to better protect our personnel and, out of an abundance of caution, we should," Royce said. He declined to say if the National Security Agency's much-debated surveillance program helped reveal the threat.

___

Online:

State Department alerts: www.travel.state.gov

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program: www.step.state.gov

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-08-03-US-US-Embassy-Security/id-a6af56d73c224ebe9a67314f3a89ea90

Jenny Johnson olivier martinez ny lottery Ohio Lottery Colorado Lottery Pa Lottery Ebates

Threat closes US embassies in Muslim world for day

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks to staff members at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. The Obama administration hasn't sent its top diplomat to Pakistan since 2011, and Kerry's trip is a chance for the former senator to get to know the newly elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who came to power in Pakistan's first transition between civilian governments.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks to staff members at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. The Obama administration hasn't sent its top diplomat to Pakistan since 2011, and Kerry's trip is a chance for the former senator to get to know the newly elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who came to power in Pakistan's first transition between civilian governments.

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The United States is shuttering its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world on Sunday after receiving an unspecified threat, officials said.

State Department officials said Thursday that they were taking action out of an "abundance of caution."

Spokeswoman Marie Harf cited information indicating a threat to U.S. facilities overseas and said some diplomatic facilities may stay closed for more than a day.

Other U.S. officials said the threat was in the Muslim world, where Sunday is a workday. American diplomatic missions in Europe, Latin America and many other places are closed on Sunday.

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The State Department issued a major warning last year informing American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world about potential violence connected to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Dozens of American installations were besieged by protest over an anti-Islam video made by an American resident.

In Benghazi, Libya, the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed when militants assaulted a diplomatic post. The administration no longer says that attack was related to the demonstrations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-08-01-US-Embassy%20Security/id-75288918a04743a99797a0a3cff69cea

buckyballs buckyballs awake mario batali lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band

শনিবার, ৩ আগস্ট, ২০১৩

Tomopop Review: Hot Toys Agent Phil Coulson - TOMOPOP

I said to myself while watching The Avengers that if Hot Toys were to make a figure of Agent Coulson, I would buy it. Sure enough, $179.99 plus shipping later, I would keep that promise. Hot Toys has a reputation, and I fully bought into it. While Coulson lives, is he worth the price? Find out in the review of Hot Toys' Agent Phil Coulson.

Figure Name: 1/6 Movie Masterpieces Agent Phil Coulson
Figure Maker: Hot Toys
Price: $179.99
Available at: eBay

Going with standard protocol, here's a look at the cover slip for Agent Phil. As with all of Hot Toys' Avengers releases, you have the faded dot print, this time in blue, and the shot of Coulson himself. The name at the top and bottom of the boxes follows the standard as well. Along the sides are a small S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem.

Taking the cover off, you're treated to the goods. The most enticing part of any Hot Toys release are the accessories included. As for hands, you'll get an extra pair of trigger hands as well as a right hand for holding the best accessory, a set of Captain America vintage trading cards. Also included in the package are a S.H.I.E.L.D. dossier, watch, eyeglasses, cellphone, headset, walkie-talkie and I.D. card.

For Coulson himself, it is Hot Toys' usual effort in terms of detail. The suit fits perfectly, but you won't be able to close the jacket. Coulson is meant to be displayed in action, so much so that the tie is fixed to be uneven. Even though the articulation is top-notch, however, there is one contention that I have to make.

As you can tell, there is no range of motion for the head on its own. It's a single piece with the neck, so if you want to move it up or down, you're out of luck. It doesn't really limit too much of what you can do, but it is a bit disappointing.

While we're here, the facial sculpt is the usual Hot Toys quality. Each wrinkle and blotch of skin matches up with the likeness of Clark Gregg. Also in this shot you get a look at the headset and glasses. I will say though that the headset is a bit difficult to get in. Whatever you do, please put this on somewhere that isn't carpet. It will disappear forever should it fall in the carpet.

The big attraction though is the big gun. It features an LED in the barrel, giving it the effect of preparing to be fired. The gun is immensely detailed. From the scope to the weathering effects along the gun, it's the accessory that has to be displayed. The hands are able to hold both handles of the gun tightly and isn't too heavy to make the joints weaken. The only problem, no fault of the gun itself, is that you can't pose him looking through the scope. That's the problem created by the lack of an upper neck joint and not positioning of the rifle.

My favorite part of this figure is the smallest detail, the vintage Captain America cards. The detail on these is incredible at the scale they are. Each card is printed as it was in the movie. As you can tell, there's a bit of blood in the right hand corner of each card. I wish they would have included a clean version of the cards, but I am definitely glad they included them at all.

Another example of the detail is the I.D. card. As you see in the picture, it fits nicely into his jacket pocket. It's honestly scary how clear the I.D. is at that scale. You can read everything on the card, not to mention a clear picture of the man himself. Also in this shot, you can make out the stitching and buttons on the shirt along with the pattern on the tie.

Taking a final look at Coulson, it is the usual standout effort from the company. It is Hot Toys, you know what you are getting here. The accessory count may not be the highest, but the ones included are worth the price of entry. I knew from the beginning that I wanted Agent Coulson and I don't regret the purchase one bit. He may not have a suit of armor, a hammer, or shield, but this was the Avenger I had to have and am glad I do.


Source: http://www.tomopop.com/tomopop-review-hot-toys-agent-phil-coulson-31484.phtml

Selma Blair George Zimmer juneteenth anchorman 2 Instagram Video Odin Lloyd russell brand

Daily iPhone App: Pivvot mixes music and mayhem

I really have a thing for simple games. And I'm not using the word "simple" as a replacement for "easy." I just mean that if a game can teach me how to play it without having to explicitly explain how, I'm much more likely to enjoy my first experience with it. Pivvot is that kind of a game.

Part puzzle game and part rhythm game, Pivvot teaches you everything you need to know about it within the first 45 seconds of playing. You control a floating orb that is tethered to a long track. Your only input comes in the form of swinging your orb in one direction or the other in order to avoid various obstacles.

These obstacles are sometimes attached to one side of the track, prompting you to swing in the opposite direction, or spread across both sides with one side being impassable and the other being a tight, but necessary squeeze. If your orb touches one of these objects, it disintegrates in a multicolored explosion and you'll have to try it again.

There are two main modes of play, a checkpoint-based run where your progress is saved, or a more intense ride where the speed of the course ramps up quickly and a single failure sends you back to the very start. Regardless of which you choose, it's no cakewalk, and the "Expert" variations of both of these modes make things considerably harder. There's also a truly sadistic "Berserk" mode that throws a ton of obstacles at you at high speeds.

This core gameplay is satisfying in its own right, but what really makes Pivvot worth playing is its soundtrack. The techno tracks match the minimalistic art style perfectly and many of the obstacles twist or sway along with the beat, adding an additional layer of complexity. Playing the game with headphones is an absolute treat.

Pivvot makes it a point to say that the game features no in-app purchases whatsoever, which I can appreciate. However, the game does cost US$2.99 upfront, so it's a bit of a tradeoff. Still, the game is undoubtedly worth its asking price and if you're looking for an arcade-style thrill that is instantly accessible, Pivvot is for you.


Share

Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/08/01/daily-iphone-app-pivvot-mixes-music-and-mayhem/

ellen page Lisa Robin Kelly Jodi Arias Jane Wicker Nik Wallenda Doc Rivers Under the Dome

11 Ways I'm Trying to Achieve a Sane Relationship With the Internet

11 Ways I'm Trying to Achieve a Sane Relationship With the Internet

It?s fair to say that when I write about the Internet or digital devices, my tone tends toward the cautionary, and that?s probably understating the case. But, as my wife would be quick to confirm, I don?t always practice what I preach. I wanted to do something about this, so I created a list of digital disciplines (obviously couldn?t resist the alliteration) that I?ll be trying to stick to in a serious, but not quite puritanical fashion.

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/11-ways-im-trying-to-achieve-a-sane-relationship-with-1005109859

eric cantor HGTV Sugar Bowl 2013 rose parade bowl games rose bowl auld lang syne

Is the FBI snooping on our Google searches?

That's the implication of a piece published in an online magazine today.

By Dan Murphy,?Staff writer / August 1, 2013

A Google search screen is depicted, but in place of the traditional ENTER icon, there is a button that reads: 'This will go in your file.'

Clay Bennett/The Christian Science Monitor

Enlarge

A potential bombshell has been dropped into the roiling debate about privacy and government snooping that's been unleashed by the leaks of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden: A New York area writer published a piece today saying that her home was visited by members of the "joint terrorism task force" after she and her husband searched for "pressure cookers" and "backpacks" on Google and her son may have searched for links on how to make a bomb.?

Skip to next paragraph Dan Murphy

Staff writer

Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Monitor's international desk, focused on the Middle East.?Murphy, who has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and more than a dozen other countries, writes and edits Backchannels. The focus? War and international relations, leaning toward things Middle East.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Michele Catalano's original piece is frustratingly vague, omitting the name of her husband who she said met with the agents, where she lives, and when exactly the visit took place (she writes that it was "weeks ago"). But it is bound to light up the Internet and the national conversation if her central assertion proves true: "It was a confluence of magnificent proportions that led six agents from the joint terrorism task force to knock on my door Wednesday morning. Little did we know our seemingly innocent, if curious to a fault, Googling of certain things was creating a perfect storm of terrorism profiling."?

What seems clear is that her home was paid a visit. The Guardian reports that it spoke to an FBI spokesman who said that Ms. Catalano's home was "visited by Nassau County police... working in conjunction with Suffolk County police." Those are two Long Island counties close to New York City. A call to the FBI's New York city field office was not immediately returned. A Suffolk County police spokeswoman said she'd check with a superior and get back to me. Catalano said on her Twitter feed after publishing the story that "I'm not giving interviews."

What isn't clear is why her home was subject to police (and given the speed with which the FBI confirmed there was a visit, the Bureau) interest. In Catalano's account three black SUVs arrived at her home at 9 a.m, while she was at work and her husband was home with their 20-year-old still sleeping son, with one of the SUVs blocking his car in the driveway. Six men in "casual clothes" with sidearms then fanned out around the house, and two came to the door, asking if they could come in and search the place. Her husband apparently said yes.

There are some odd details in her story. For instance she says that the officers "mentioned that they do this about 100 times a week." If by that they meant the team of six guys in the New York area, that's 20 visits a day assuming a five-day work week and just 30 minutes per visit and travel between visit assuming a 10 hour working day. Perhaps it involves additional teams and in a broader area where she lives? She doesn't say. But that's a lot of mysterious visits from men with badges and guns not to be making it into the press more often.

As they looked around "they were peppering my husband with questions. Where is he from? Where are his parents from? They asked about me, where was I, where do I work, where do my parents live," she summarizes her unnamed husband's account. "Do you have any bombs, they asked. Do you own a pressure cooker? My husband said no, but we have a rice cooker... Have you ever looked up how to make a pressure cooker bomb? My husband, ever the oppositional kind, asked them if they themselves weren?t curious as to how a pressure cooker bomb works, if they ever looked it up. Two of them admitted they did."

The question about looking up a pressure cooker bomb is the strongest bit of evidence that they were snooping on the Catalano family's online habits. But she doesn't quote the men ? who the FBI told the Guardian were Suffolk County police ? saying they'd arrived because of their Internet searches specifically. That's her supposition.

Could it be true? I've been doing a bit of research on Mr. Snowden's claims, which have mostly been filtered through Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for The Guardian, in recent weeks. The position of the US government and former intelligence analysts I've talked to is that US citizens aren't spied on via the Internet without warrants and that the notion that the government is trawling through vast databases at random is fanciful.

The Catalano piece certainly wants to imply that that's precisely what happened. And while I'm somewhat skeptical ? we simply don't know what we don't know. It's a safe bet that her piece is going to be seized upon as "evidence" that the US is doing precisely what it claims it hasn't been doing.?

Could there have been some other reason that the family home was under suspicion? All things are possible, but there's no evidence either way. She writes that "they asked my husband about his work, his visits to South Korea and China." ?At any rate, after a cursory look around, the men left.

There are of course all sorts of potential invasions of privacy that are different from online snooping, and New York area police have been unfortunate pioneers in this field since Sept. 11 2001. The NYPD, for instance, has extended its own surveillance of Muslims into New Jersey and north into New England in the past decade.

In one case in 2008, New York dispatched an undercover officer with the Muslim Students Association from City College on a whitewater rafting trip in Buffalo, during which he recorded all their names and the frequency with which they prayed. The NYPD has also put a range of businesses under surveillance over the years, from kosher delis?to hair salons.

I suspect there's more to this story than the mere search habits of Catalano, her husband, and her son. But if that is the only reason they were visited, this story will have legs. Great long ones.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/f0TYOkIr1tE/Is-the-FBI-snooping-on-our-Google-searches

tiger woods Paula Patton Riley Cooper Racial Slur Video Hasnat Khan Olivia Nuzzi Cyclospora oj simpson

Chromecast-a-Day: Let's double up for Friday

Chromecast-a-day

Whoopsie. Someone kinda got distracted by all this Moto X stuff and forgot to post Thursday's contest. My fault. So let's double up on Friday and give away two more Chromecasts!

Just leave a comment on this post. We'll shut things down at midnight PST and pick a couple winners soon thereafter.

Only one more to go after this. Now, what to do with these new Nexus 7s and a bunch of NVIDIA Shields? To be continued ...

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/4elIYwc64No/story01.htm

spice girls justin theroux Bumbo recall USA Basketball taio cruz taio cruz Winter Olympics 2014

Left tackle Sean Hickey leads list of Syracuse 2014 NFL Draft prospects, according to CBS Sports

We're a long way from the 2014 NFL Draft, but CBSSports.com released a mega-database on Thursday ranking the prospects who would be eligible for that draft.

Syracuse had one of its best drafts in recent memory in April, watching left tackle Justin Pugh become a first-round selection by the New York Giants, and quarterback Ryan Nassib (Giants) and safety Shamarko Thomas (Pittsburgh Steelers) go off the board in the fourth round.

And even though most fans probably are more concerned with these players' performance over the next four months than they are with their pro credentials, it's still an interesting take on how good Syracuse's upperclassmen are perceived to be relative to their collegiate counterparts.

The list is massive, totaling about 1,000 players, so we're just linking to that here and breaking out the SU players for brevity's sake.

No. 59 Sean Hickey: A projected second-round pick, Hickey is listed as the No. 8-rated offensive tackle. He's set to take over for Pugh at the left tackle position this year.

No. 164 Jerome Smith: Like Hickey, Smith still has another year of eligibility remaining after this season. He's projected as a fifth-round pick, which falls in line with the results he received when he submitted his name to the NFL Draft Advisory Board after last season. Smith is listed as the No. 13-rated running back.

No. 208 Keon Lyn: The senior cornerback is projected as a sixth-round pick and is rated as the No. 25 player at his position. Lyn, secondary coach Fred Reed told me, has really stood out as a leader in the defensive backfield through spring ball.

No. 455 Drew Allen: Allen hasn't taken many significant snaps in a game since he was in high school, and his ranking reflects that notion. He's projected as an undrafted free agent and is listed as the No. 25-rated quarterback. Of course, his draft stock can rise if he wins the quarterback competition at Syracuse and turns in a solid season.

No. 474 Marquis Spruill: The senior linebacker is ranked No. 20 at his position (inside linebacker) and is projected as an undrafted free agent. Spruill's ability both inside and outside is a plus, but his size, particularly at a position with a market supply that far exceeds its demand, probably hurts him here. His workout numbers, though, may change that.

No. 502 Charley Loeb: The fifth-year senior, a career backup, is rated as the No. 29 quarterback among draft-eligible prospects.

No. 511 Ri'Shard Anderson: Anderson will enter the preseason as a starter at cornerback opposite Lyn but will be pressed by Brandon Reddish. Anderson is ranked No. 55 at his position.

No. 531 Macky MacPherson: This rating is most likely a byproduct of MacPherson's size --- he's only 6-foot-2, 290 pounds. MacPherson is listed as the No. 18-rated center, which I think is a little low.

No. 571 Jay Bromley: Projected as an undrafted free agent and listed as the No. 43-rated defensive tackle, Bromley could see the biggest jump in his draft stock by the end of the season. He was hurt most of last year, and now all eyes will be on him to anchor the defensive line.

No. 625 Ross Krautman: He's rated at the 10th-best kicker among draft eligible prospects. Unfortunately, hardly any teams spend a draft pick on a kicker. He's seen his production dip over the course of his career and will look to bounce back in 2013.

No. 643 Adrian Flemming: Projected as an undrafted free agent, Flemming is listed as the No. 81-rated wide receiver in the group. He has no career catches.

No. 653 Prince-Tyson Gulley: He's listed as the 50th-ranked running back, but his size (5-foot-10, 192 pounds) might be a deterrent to some teams. He had a breakout season in 2012 but will still split carries this fall with Syracuse's depth at running back.

No. 724 Jeremi Wilkes: He's rated as the 33rd-best free safety prospect and will again start at free safety. Wilkes will have to improve his tackling to be given a serious look as an undrafted free agent.

No. 769 Beckett Wales: Wales is Syracuse's best tight end but comes in at No. 41 among draft-eligible prospects.

No. 918 Clay Cleveland: Cleveland, rated the 27th-best fullback on this list, has a bigger problem. His position seems to be dying in football.

What do you think? Did CBS Sports get it right (as of Aug. 1)? Will Syracuse have more than three players drafted in 2014? Who are the best NFL prospects on Syracuse's roster, including underclassmen?

Drop in the comments below and tell us what you think.

Follow Nate Mink on Twitter @MinkNate or email him at nmink@syracuse.com.

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2013/08/left_tackle_sean_hickey_leads.html

Colin Powell noaa Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini Kevin Krim Autumn Pasquale ann coulter

NM exhibit shines light on rare Beatles photos

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of the Beatles taken by photographer Mike Mitchell during a news conference before the band's first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of the Beatles taken by photographer Mike Mitchell during a news conference before the band's first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of John Lennon taken by photographer Mike Mitchell during the Beatles first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of George Harrison taken by photographer Mike Mitchell during the Beatles first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of Ringo Starr taken by photographer Mike Mitchell during the Beatles first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

This Feb. 11, 1964 image provided by the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos, N.M., shows a photograph of Ringo Starr taken by photographer Mike Mitchell at a news conference before the Beatles first live U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. Mitchell?s portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong photography exhibition at the gallery. This marks the first time the images have been shown since their unveiling in 2011 at a Christie?s auction in New York City. (AP Photo/David Anthony Fine Art, Mike Mitchell)

TAOS, N.M. (AP) ? Snow and frigid temperatures didn't stop thousands of screaming teenagers from crowding into the Washington Coliseum in the nation's capital for the Beatles first live concert on American soil.

And not having a flash didn't stop photographer Mike Mitchell, then just 18 years old, from using his unrestricted access to document that historic February night in 1964 using only the dim light in the arena.

Ghostly shadows and streams of light filled some negatives. With the help of modern technology and close to 1,000 hours in front of the computer screen, Mitchell was able to peel back decades of grunge and transform those old negatives into a rare, artful look at one of pop culture's defining moments.

Mitchell's portraits of the Beatles are the centerpiece of a monthlong exhibition at the David Anthony Fine Art gallery in Taos ? the first time the prints have been exhibited since being unveiled in 2011 at a Christie's auction in New York City. The gallery started hanging the first of the framed prints a week ago in preparation for Friday's opening.

"Just amazing," gallery owner David Mapes said as he looked around the room at the large black and white prints and wondered aloud what it must have been like to be in Mitchell's shoes that night.

Mapes pointed to a photograph of the four band members, their backs to the camera with a thin ribbon of light outlining their silhouettes. When he first saw it, he said he teared up. He knew he had to find a way to share it with others.

"It brought back memories of that time. I was a teenager and it was so much about love and everything was optimistic feeling," he said.

It didn't take long from the time the Beatles released their debut album in 1963 to go from a little British bar band to an international sensation. The Beatles' reach eventually stretched beyond music and haircuts to religion and politics.

"The Beatles came to represent some of the yearnings for peace and hope and equality and a larger social justice. In the United States and throughout the world, their personalities became as important as the music," said Norman Markowitz, a history professor at Rutgers University.

For Paul Vance, who teaches a class on the Beatles at Winona State University in Minnesota, the band was the reason he pursued music. He was 11 years old when the Beatles first came to the U.S.

The Beatles had good timing, he said, having arrived at a time when America was still heartbroken over the assassination of then-President John F. Kennedy and young people were looking for meaning in their lives.

"Much has been said and written about it," Vance said of the Beatles' influence. "It's a very significant point that the world after the Beatles was a radically different place than the world before the Beatles, and they did influence and change so many aspects of not just American life, but life everywhere."

Mitchell can't predict what role his photographs will play as historians and music fans continue to examine the evolution of American pop culture. Still, those moments captured by his camera that February night tell a grainy story of four young men who seemed to be having the time of their lives.

Mitchell remembers how hot it was inside the coliseum. The crowd was deafening but the resonating bass beats were unmistakable. He said the Beatles were "on fire" that night.

"They were really juiced. It was obvious at the time that they were really, really, really into it and I think the pictures really benefit from that," he said.

Mitchell said his goal was simple. He wanted to make great portraits of the Beatles while discovering a little more about who they really were.

With no flash, he was forced to wait for the perfect time to snap that shutter. His photographs immortalized the important details of the moment in a bath of light while the rest faded into darkness. It was the concert that marked the beginning of his fascination with light.

"I think that was the first time in my life that I had to really look more deeply at light and take my queues from what the light was doing," he said. "I learned to sort of feel from the light."

____

Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM

____

Online:

www.mikemitchell.us

www.davidanthonyfineart.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-08-02-Beatles-Rare%20Photos/id-f6a3ca958b3a4f6fbe82706e77a522d6

jennifer garner jennifer garner daytona 500 national margarita day Ronda Rousey Cecil Hotel Cressida Bonas