Democrat drops out, says goal was to oust Bachmann

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? Minnesota Democrat Jim Graves says his goal of getting Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann out of Congress is complete, so he's halting his campaign.

Graves was planning for a rematch after narrowly losing to Bachmann in 2012. But now that Bachmann has ruled out a re-election bid, Graves said Friday he's changed course.

The hotel chain owner told supporters that he was suspending his campaign with a sense of accomplishment.

Bachmann said this week that her fourth-term would be her last. She denied that her decision was influenced by worries about a tight race or ethics investigations surrounding her failed presidential run.

Her district is the most heavily Republican in Minnesota.

Political experts predicted Graves would find it harder to raise money or convert GOP-leaning voters without Bachmann on the ticket.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democrat-drops-says-goal-oust-bachmann-154227101.html

grand jury ozzie guillen fidel castro darvish george zimmerman website edmund fitzgerald uss enterprise white house easter egg roll 2012

Iraqi officials say 13 dead in wave of bomb blasts

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the commercial area of Karradah in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Iraqi officials say a series of morning bomb explosions in Iraq killed dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the commercial area of Karradah in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Iraqi officials say a series of morning bomb explosions in Iraq killed dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqis gather at the scene of a bomb attack in the commercial area of Karradah in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Iraqi officials say a series of morning bomb explosions in Iraq killed dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Iraqis gather at the scene of a bomb attack in the commercial area of Karradah in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Iraqi officials say a series of morning bomb explosions in Iraq killed dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the commercial area of Karradah in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Iraqi officials say a series of morning bomb explosions in Iraq killed dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A series of morning bomb explosions in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country, officials said.

Iraq is facing its most relentless wave of violence since the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal, deepening fears that the country is heading back toward the widespread sectarian fighting that pushed it to the brink of civil war in the years after the invasion.

More than 500 people have been killed in May. April was Iraq's deadliest month since June 2008, according to a United Nations tally that put last month's death toll at more than 700.

The extent of the bloodshed is increasingly reminiscent of the widespread sectarian fighting that peaked in 2006 and 2007 and threatened to tear the country apart.

Most of Thursday's blasts went off in Baghdad. Car bombs killed four in the northeastern Shiite neighborhood of Binouq, and three died in a bombing at a market selling spare car parts in central Baghdad, according to police.

Police officials also said that a roadside bomb exploded on a police patrol in the largely Shiite central commercial district of Karradah, killing three people there. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

In the northern city of Mosul, two police officers said a suicide bomber killed three when he blew himself up on a federal police checkpoint. Mosul is a former insurgent stronghold, located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but blame is likely to fall on al-Qaida's Iraq arm, which frequently carries out bombing attacks against civilians and security forces in an effort to undermine faith in the Shiite-led government.

Other militant groups have also grown more active in recent months, including the Army of the Men of the Naqshabandi Order, which has ties to members of Saddam Hussein's now-outlawed Baath party.

The attacks came hours after bomb blasts tore through two Baghdad neighborhoods Wednesday evening. At least 30 people were killed, including several members of a wedding party in the mixed Sunni-Shiite Jihad neighborhood.

The southwestern neighborhood was one of the earliest flashpoints in Baghdad's descent into sectarian bloodshed in the years following the 2003 U.S. led invasion. It housed mainly Sunni civil servants and security officials under Saddam Hussein's regime, though many Shiites now live there too.

Many of Jihad's Sunni residents earlier this year received threatening leaflets from a Shiite militant group, the Mukhtar Army, warning them to leave.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck contributed to this story .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-30-ML-Iraq/id-067017068e99426ba5ae79c8510870ef

jerel worthy alshon jeffery stephen hill draft tracker california earthquake california earthquake tyson chandler

Asteroid Miners Ponder Potential Clients for Space Rock Samples

Commercial asteroid miners may find an initial market among meteorite collectors but the long-haul customers for returning space rock samples to Earth are more likely to be scientists, deep-space entrepreneurs say.

The suggestion that public interest can drive advances in science and profits in space was a running theme at this year's Spacefest, an annual meeting for all types of space and astronomy enthusiasts. The event brought together private space companies, government space explorers, academia and the public. Organized for the fifth year by Novaspace Galleries, a space art and astronaut autograph dealer based in Tucson, Spacefest was held May 24 to 27 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Arizona.

"The process of getting involved in a financial enterprise, a commercial enterprise, can often further the technology, further the science, and that has happened so widely in meteorites," said Geoffrey Notkin, a meteorite hunter, host of the Science Channel TV series "Meteorite Men," and an advisor to Deep Space Industries, one of the two private companies now looking to mine asteroids for space-based resources and maybe provide sample return services. "It's a beautiful demonstration of how commercial companies and collectors and academia can work together, as happy as can be, because everyone benefits." [Mars Meteorites: Red Planet on Earth (Photos)]

"I hope and expect the same to occur with commercial space exploration," Notkin said during a panel devoted to asteroids.

Supply and demand

Notkin explained that the number of meteorites cataloged for science has increased exponentially over the past few decades from fewer than 10,000 in all of history to more than 50,000, in part because of the incentive for collectors to cooperate with the academic community.

"People find meteorites and they could just keep them or try to sell them discreetly, [but] that's not the right way to do it," Notkin said. "The right way is to contact someone in academia and say 'Look, I found a meteorite, can you classify it for me?' A piece [of the rock] is then donated to science permanently and the meteorite then has a name." [Most Famous Meteorites of All Time (Photos)]

"So academia benefits and the finder benefits because the meteorite that he or she found is now worth more money," Notkin said.

The value of asteroid samples may have more appeal to the scientific community than to collectors over the long term, the panelists said, in part due to the relative cost of returning the rocks to the ground.

"If you look at the cost that is being expended per gram for [NASA's asteroid sample return mission] OSIRIS-REx, if you want to use that metric, it's a wildly large amount of money for a relatively small amount of mass," said Chris Lewicki, president of the space mining company Planetary Resources. "I don't know how that necessarily scales that well."

"I would imagine that there would be part interest, whether it is for science or some aspect of collector," he added. "I often joke that there is probably some company, a vodka company, that would like to make vodka exclusively from asteroid water. I don't know how much they could sell it for per liter, but there's probably some who would buy it."

Lewicki cited the moon rocks and dust that were returned to Earth in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Apollo astronauts as a lesson in supply and demand. Four of the 12 men who collected those lunar samples attended Spacefest to sign autographs and meet with their fans.

"In many ways, those samples are so precious because as time marched on, we knew that we were probably not going to get any more any time soon," Lewicki said. "From a commercial standpoint, from the asteroids, if you go up and get it commercially, you probably know that there will be more soon. Who knows what kind of strange demand that would create in terms of the material."

Lewicki's counterpart at Deep Space Industries agreed.

"One of the things that is kind of important to remember is the business plans and the creative marketing ideas and things like that that we're dealing with, people in our field have been playing with since Apollo, whether it's the moon or asteroids," said Rick Tumlinson, DSI's chairman. "For example, there was a plan for a commercial lunar mission and they looked at what would be the value of moon dust, and what will happen on the commercial side."

"Whether you're going to have the Rolex asteroid watch, the hands will have a little asteroid material in them, that is mainly an early revenue stream that is going to diminish because the less rare [the material] is, the less value it is going to have," he added.

"There's a slightly different curve in scientific use because there's going to be a lot of demand and it's probably going to be more steady because there are all kinds of research that can be done,' Tumlinson said.

Provenance and population

Lewicki said the metrics of supply and demand are why it makes more sense for his company to go to a number of different asteroids than retrieve a single large space rock.

"There is a lot more value in getting 500 different samples then there is a monstrous amount from one sample," he said. "And this is in the area of what we're looking at to make this stuff available; going out over the next decade and increasing the amount of asteroids we've been to by a factor of five."

"It would be of just tremendous scientific value for our understanding the diversity of these 50,000 [meteorites] we have gotten in laboratories to what they mean to the hundreds of thousands of objects that we have discovered so far in the solar system," Lewicki said.

Dan Durda, a space artist and planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, drew a comparison between what is important to collectors and what is important to scientists.

"Making an analogy with the collector market, the whole idea of provenance, part of bringing a sample back from an asteroid is the whole point of context," Durda stated. "Context means everything. If you know the parent body that it specifically came from it's of much more value then just a random sample delivered from a parent body that you don't know."

"I think from that perspective, just bringing a sample back from a known source, beyond even the collector market, just from a scientific market, would be valuable," he said.

Along those same lines, Notkin pointed out that the value of asteroid samples can differ based on whether they pass through Earth's atmosphere or not.

"A lot of the most scientifically interesting material cannot be collected as meteorites as all," he explained. "It is just too frail, just too fragile to survive the journey through the atmosphere."

"[But] one of the reasons that meteorites are interesting to collectors is because they've been altered by their journey through the atmosphere. They have often been melted into fantastic shapes. So if we get source material and bring it back to Earth, it has not gone through that process. It is different," Notkin said.

Continue reading at collectSPACE.com about the Spacefest V convention held May 24 to 27, 2013 in Tucson, Ariz.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2013 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asteroid-miners-ponder-potential-clients-space-rock-samples-150322084.html

Alabama Shakes PlayStation 4 michael jordan Safe Haven Rita Ora Meteor Russia jay z

Google to sell HTC One with unmodified Android

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google is adding the recently released HTC One to its lineup of smartphones running on an unmodified version of its latest Android software.

An HTC One model relying on the same version of Android as Google's Nexus brand will go on sale on June 26 for $599. That's the same day Google Inc. will start selling a Samsung Galaxy 4S that runs on a pure version of Android for $649.

Most consumers have been paying about $200 for the HTC One and Galaxy 4S since their April release. Wireless carriers subsidize the smartphones in return for a two-year contract commitment.

Google's phone sales aren't tied to any wireless carrier. The devices are aimed at people who don't like the revisions that HTC and Samsung made to the Android.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-sell-htc-one-unmodified-201557697.html

Colorado shooting Colorado shooting victims aurora Angie Everhart tom hardy British Open leaderboard Jessica Ghawi

Rona Newton-John Dies: Olivia's Sister Succumbs To Cancer ...

Rona Newton-John, sister to ?Grease? star Olivia, has lost her battle with brain cancer. She was 70 years old.

Olivia was at her sister?s side when she passed, after announcing just last month that Rona had an aggressive form of cancer. The actress posted about her loss on Facebook, saying that sadly, Rona died on their mother?s birthday.

?My beautiful sister Rona sadly passed on May 24th in Los Angeles,? she wrote. ?It was May 25th in Australia ? which was our mother Irene?s birthday. Rona died of a very aggressive brain tumor and mercifully suffered no pain. She was surrounded by the love of her four children ? Fiona, Brett,Tottie and Emerson and, her wonderful friends. I will miss her forever ? my beautiful, smart, talented, funny, brave sister Rona.

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate
donations to the ONJCWC where a brain tumor wellness program will be started in her name. Thank you all for your kind words of love and support.?

Olivia Newton-John suffered from breast cancer herself, but has been in good health in recent years. She recently postponed her Vegas residency to care for Rona.

?In light of this news, I have decided to postpone my forthcoming Las Vegas residency to spend time with her and our family,? Newton-John wrote in a statement. ?As a cancer ?thriver? myself, as many people are, I am very aware of the importance of love, support and family during this journey she is about to begin.?

Image: Facebook

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/rona-newton-john-dies-olivias-sister-succumbs-to-cancer-2013-05

Melissa Nelson foot locker champs champs calvin johnson calvin johnson sound of music

Rupert Murdoch Criticizes Koran After Woolwich Attack

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Deng, Lachlan Murdoch

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch, left, his wife Wendi Deng and son Lachlan Murdoch leave the High Court in London after giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry, Thursday, April 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Deng

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng leave the High Court in London after giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry, Thursday, April 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Rupert Murdoch

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2012 file photo Rupert Murdoch arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. Murdoch?s News Corp., the global media conglomerate under fire for phone hacking and alleged bribery in Britain, posted a 47 percent increase in third-quarter net income thanks to strong performances at its U.S. pay-TV networks and movie studio (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

Rupert Murdoch

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Friday, July 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The 20th Annual Sir Elton John Oscar Party - Los Angeles

Wendi Murdoch arriving at the 84th Annual Academy Awards, held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, USA on February 26, 2012. ()

A campaigner wearing a giant mask depicting News Corporation's chairman Rupert Murdoch burns the Leveson report while another wearing a mask depicting British Prime Minister David Cameron, sits tied to a chair during a protest, calling on MPs to back reform legislation to stop any one media organisation developing a stranglehold over the British media, outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London where Lord Justice Brian Leveson is to release his report into the culture and practices of the British press and his recommendations for future regulation to prevent phone hacking, data theft, bribery and other abuses, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Red Magazine Red Hot Women Awards - London

Elisabeth Murdoch arrives for the annual Red's Hot Women Awards 2012 at One Marylbone, London.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, center, and his wife Wendi Deng, top, watch Andy Murray of Britain play Roger Federer of Switzerland during the men's singles final match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Sunday, July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Gilham, Pool)

James Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch

James Murdoch, left, son of Rupert Murdoch and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp., and Lachlan Murdoch, right, son of Rupert Murdoch and former executive with News Corp., arrive at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

James Murdoch

James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp., arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Wednesday, July 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Murdoch

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Wendi, arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Thursday, July 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Lachlan Murdoch

Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and former executive with News Corp., arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Thursday, July 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Wendi, arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Thursday, July 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Sergey Brin, Wendy Deng

Google co-founder Sergey Brin shows his "Google Glasss" to Wendi Deng, Rupert Murdoch's wife, at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Thursday, July 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Lachlan Murdoch

Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and former executive with News Corp., arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Friday, July 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg

From left, News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, speaks as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg looks on during a forum on The Economics and Politics of Immigration in Boston, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Rupert Murdoch,

News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, speaks during a forum on The Economics and Politics of Immigration in Boston at which Murdoch and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Rupert Murdoch,

News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, speaks during a forum on The Economics and Politics of Immigration in Boston at which Murdoch and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Rupert Murdoch,

News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, listens to introductions during a forum on The Economics and Politics of Immigration in Boston at which Murdoch and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg

From left, News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, looks on as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during a forum on The Economics and Politics of Immigration in Boston, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

James Murdoch Gives Evidence At The Leveson Inquiry

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: Protesters from the campaign group 'Avaaz' demonstrate outside the High Court with large James and Rupert Murdoch masks as former News International chairman James Murdoch gives evidence to The Leveson Inquiry on April 24, 2012 in London, England. This phase of the inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press in the United Kingdom is looking at the owners of various media groups. Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp, will give evidence tomorrow. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert

James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, arrives at London's High Court, on April 24, 2012, ahead of his appearance before the Leveson Inquiry. The Inquiry was set up after a phone hacking scandal led to the closure of the News of the World tabloid in 2011. Rupert Murdoch appears at the Inquiry on Wednesday and possibly Thursday. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch Returns To His Home Ahead Of His Appearance At the Leveson Inquiry

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 23: Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation arrives at his house, two days before he is due to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, on April 23, 2012 in London, England. This phase of the inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press in the United Kingdom is looking at the owners of various media groups. The inquiry, which may take a year or more to complete, comes in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that saw the closure of The News of The World newspaper in 2011. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch (C), Chairman and CEO of

Rupert Murdoch (C), Chairman and CEO of News Corp. and John Witherow (R), Editor of the Sunday Times of London, leave the funeral of slain Times of London correspondent Marie Colvin, at St. Dominic's Catholic Church on March 12, 2012 in Oyster Bay, New York. Colvin was killed in Syria along with French photographer Remi Ochlik as the two were covering the violence in the city of Homs on February 22. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch (L), Chairman and CEO of

Rupert Murdoch (L), Chairman and CEO of News Corp. and John Witherow (R), Editor of the Sunday Times of London, leave the funeral of slain Times of London correspondent Marie Colvin, at St. Dominic's Catholic Church on March 12, 2012 in Oyster Bay, New York. Colvin was killed in Syria along with French photographer Remi Ochlik as the two were covering the violence in the city of Homs on February 22. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

The First Editions Of The Sun On Sunday Hit The Newstands

BROXBOURNE, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 25: (EDITORS NOTE: THIS IMAGE IS FREE FOR USE UNTIL MARCH 3 2012) In this handout photograph provided by News International, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, reviews the first edition of The Sun On Sunday as it comes off the presses on February 25, 2012 in Broxbourne, England. Around 3 million copies of 'The Sun On Sunday', the first ever Sunday edition of News International's daily tabloid newspaper 'The Sun', are due to go on sale on Sunday February 26, 2012. (Photo by Arthur Edwards/News International via Getty Images)

The First Editions Of The Sun On Sunday Hit The Newstands

BROXBOURNE, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 25: Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, arrives to oversee the first editions of the 'The Sun On Sunday' newspaper coming off the priniting press on February 25, 2012 in Broxbourne, England. Around 3 million copies of 'The Sun On Sunday', the first ever Sunday edition of News International's daily tabloid newspaper 'The Sun', are due to go on sale on Sunday February 26, 2012. News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, who has flown into the UK to oversee the launch, said he would be 'very happy' if sales of his new paper exceed two million copies and enjoyed similar success to the 'News Of The World', its defunct predecessor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch Sighting In London

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch smiles as he leaves his flat on February 21, 2012 in London, England. Mr Murdoch has announced that a new paper 'The Sun on Sunday' will publish it's first edition this weekend. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

69th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 15: Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendi Murdoch arrive at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch Delivers Keynote At The National Summit On Education Reform

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 14: News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform on October 14, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Rupert Murdoch was the keynote speaker at the two-day National Summit on Education Reform. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch Delivers Keynote At The National Summit On Education Reform

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 14: News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch (L) shakes hands with Joel Klein (R) during a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform on October 14, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Rupert Murdoch was the keynote speaker at the two-day National Summit on Education Reform. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch Delivers Keynote At The National Summit On Education Reform

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 14: News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch pauses as he delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform on October 14, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Rupert Murdoch was the keynote speaker at the two-day National Summit on Education Reform. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Occupy Wall Street Protestors March Down New York's Fifth Avenue

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 11: Protesters with the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement yell up to the residence of NewsCorp CEO Rupert Murdoch on October 11, 2011 in New York City. Hundreds of activists marched along 5th avenue and Park Avenue stopping in front of the buildings where prominent heads of major business and financial institutions live. Many of the 'Occupy Wall Street' demonstrations have been living in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District near Wall Street. The activists have been gradually converging on the financial district over the past three weeks to rally against the influence of corporate money in politics among a host of other issues. The protests have begun to attract the attention of major unions and religious groups as the movement continues to grow in influence. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The generval view shows newspapers in Me

The generval view shows newspapers in Melbourne on July 21, 2011 with coverage dominated by Rupert Murdoch's appearance before a British parliamentary committee and moves in Australia to introduce a legal right to privacy after the phone-hacking scandal in Britain, paving the way for people to sue media organisations for serious breaches. Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said he was acting now after the News of the World furore heightened concerns. AFP PHOTO / William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

News Corporation Chief Rupert Murdoch re

News Corporation Chief Rupert Murdoch reads a copy of one his newspapers, The London Times, as he leaves his London home on July 20 2011. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday warned Rupert Murdoch's Australian arm it faced some 'hard questions' as calls intensified for a media inquiry following the British hacking scandal. Gillard declined to comment on Murdoch's grilling by British MPs over the outcry that saw him close tabloid News of the World and dump his bid for satellite broadcaster BSkyB, but said the Australian public was concerned. AFP PHOTO/CARL COURT (Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

Leveson Inquiry

Lachlan Murdoch leaving his father Rupert's home in Mayfair, central London as his brother James, gives evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.

Rupert Murdoch with Queen Elizabeth II in 1985

File photo dated 28/02/1985 of Queen Elizabeth II with proprietor Rupert Murdoch (left) at The Times newspaper building at Grays Inn Road, London, to mark the paper's bicentenary.

Rupert Murdoch with Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales with Rupert Murdoch, proprietor of The Times, as she arrived at Hampton Court Palace to attend a gala evening to celebrate the newspaper's bicentenary.

Media - News of the World Take-over Meeting - Connaught Rooms, Bloomsbury

Handshakes by Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the Australian group News Ltd[Right] and Sir William Carr, chairman of the news of the world organisation, after what was for them the succesful outcome of the vital NOTW shareholdersw meeting at the connaught rooms, bloomsbury, london. By a show of hands, shareholders voted 299 in favour and 20 against a resolution regarding the creation of further ordinary shares and their allotment to News ltd. This meant the virtual end of the take-over bid by Milliionaire labour MP Robert Maxwell.

New technology print works

Newspaper proprietor Rupert Murdoch holds copies of the Sun at his new high technology print works in Wapping, East London.

Thatcher papers on show

BLACK AND WHITE ONLY. File photo dated 22/01/1981 of Rupert Murdoch at a press conference in London, discussing the future of The Times newspaper.

New Sunday Sun tabloid

File picture, dated 17/11/1969, Rupert Murdoch looks at one of the first copies of The Sun newspaper, at the News of the World building , in London.

Media - The Times Newspaper Bicentenary - London

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh with proprietor Rupert Murdoch, left, at The Times newspaper building at Grays Inn Road, London, to mark the paper's bicentenary.

Margaret Thatcher, Rupert Murdoch

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 1991, file photo, Margaret Thatcher accepts the United Cerebral Palsy of New York's 37th Annual Humanitarian Award in New York from Rupert Murdoch. (AP Photo/Mike Albans, File)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/rupert-murdoch-twitter-koran-woolwich_n_3346997.html

Sephora Cyber Monday 2012 Walmart.com detroit lions Thanksgiving Day cooking a turkey toysrus

Grimes Would Give McConnell Strong Challenge (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/308834220?client_source=feed&format=rss

gluten free diet barry zito mac virus santorum drops out bby zimmerman website miami marlins

Fan Slaps Beyonce on Butt, Gets Served

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/fan-slaps-beyonce-on-butt-gets-served/

joseph kony 2012 arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad kony kony 2012 jim irsay

Most Japanese hate the Rainy Season

By Ken Y-N ( May 28, 2013 at 00:34) ? Filed under Lifestyle, Polls

Advertisement

Do House ? slogan: Human Networking Industry ? recently released a report on the fifth of Japan?s Four Seasons, the Rainy Season, and found, not suprisingly, that it does not have many fans.

Demographics

Over the 22nd and 23rd of April 2013 1,199 members of the Moratame.net&erg; aged between 25 and 69 completed a private web-based questionnaire. No further demographic breakdown was presented.

Rainy season often causes mirth amongst foreigners as the Japanese are proud of their Four Seasons, yet rainy season is a very distinct period from June to mid-July (this year it started a bit early, and here in Osaka it might be officially declared tomorrow). However, the Japanese for rainy season, ??, tsuyu does not include the word season ? literally it is Plum Rain, apparently because it coincides with the plum ripening time. I do note, though, that Q1 here translates as ?Do you like the Plum Rain Season??

Research results

Q1: Do you like the rainy season? (Sample size=1,199)

Like it	3.8%
Dislike it	83.6%
Can?t say either way	12.6%

Q2: What bothers you the most during rainy season? (Sample size=1,199)

Feeling uncomfortable in the humid weather	33.8%
Difficult to dry washing	15.4%
Difficult to do outdoor activities	9.3%
Have to carry rain gear with me	9.1%
Need lots of maintainance to control condensation, mold, etc	7.2%
Can?t hang washing outside	7.1%
Have to take care of food poisoning, etc when preparing food	4.7%
Get tired, listless	3.3%
Make-up runs, hair set fades easily	3.3%
Symptoms of ill-health occur	1.7%
Difficult to sleep, suffer from insomnia, etc	1.1%
Other	2.4%
Nothing in particular	1.8%

Q3: How do you cheer yourself up during the rainy season? (Sample size=1,199, multiple answer)

Relax at a hot springs	35.5%
Drink coffee, tea, herb tea, etc	32.2%
Drink alcohol	18.4%
Do exercise	8.8%
Go out to eat	8.3%
Stretch, do yoga, etc	7.9%
Go to a spa, super-spa, massage parlour	7.4%
Make some chilled food	3.3%
Other	2.3%
Don?t have any way to cheer myself up	30.7%

Read more on: do house,rainy season

Permalink

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatJapanThinks/~3/d4UAmJVUCGk/

downton abbey season 3 2013 Calendar chris christie sofia vergara American Horror Story Patti Page anonymous

Good Reads: From a Disney makeover, to unethical work conditions, to refusing US aid

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes a "Barbie-fied" Disney princess, the most selfish generation, the lack of consumer awareness, expelling USAID, and long-form journalism.

By Cricket Fuller,?Staff writer / May 28, 2013

Disney?s Merida of ?Brave? will get to keep her tomboyish looks and manners.

Disney/Pixar/AP

Enlarge

Disney makeover

Armed with wit, self-confidence, and a bow and arrow, Merida is a damsel who rescues herself from her own distress. Parents and educators have lauded the fiery red-haired heroine of the Disney/Pixar animated film ?Brave? as an atypical Disney princess.?

Skip to next paragraph

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'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

?We wanted our daughters to grow up and be like Merida: brave, strong, resourceful, imperfect but loving,? Karen Dill notes in a blog at PsychologyToday.com.?

But Disney?s ?makeover? of Merida into a sexualized Barbie-esque figure for merchandising purposes has turned fans? praise to outrage. The organization A Mighty Girl launched a Keep Merida Brave campaign and viral Change.org petition in protest. Ms. Dill cites studies that show that sexualizing women in the media leads to low self-esteem in girls, and men ?exposed to sexualized, objectified images of women ... become more tolerant of real-life sexual harassment.? It seems fans? message may have gotten through. Media outlets reported that Disney quietly pulled the redesigned image of Merida from its website.

Me-centered generation

Joel Stein takes a critical look at the Millennial Generation ? those born between 1980 and 2000 ? in Time magazine. ?The Me Me Me Generation? headline implies that Millennial self-centeredness trumps even that of baby boomers. They were raised with greater resources than any preceding generation, are more tech savvy, and were nurtured by helicopter parents who, along with educators, told them they were special. And for better or worse ? they are.?

While Mr. Stein initially dwells on the studies that show Millennials have a sense of entitlement and are lazy, narcissistic, and dependent on their parents, he ultimately acknowledges a more nuanced, redeeming picture. Millennials may not tend toward traditional civic engagement, but they do care about justice. They are more tolerant than any other generation. And while they don?t gravitate toward organized religion, most believe in God and value spirituality. They aren?t rule breakers, but they are changing workplace culture ? for the better. And in spite of the insecurity of their era, Millennials are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future.

Shopping as a moral dilemma

In the wake of the Bangladesh garment-factory collapse in April, Jerry Davis explores in YaleGlobal online the accountability of global supply chains. Technology enabled the now-common outsourcing model that keeps parent companies at a distance from production. But technology may also hold the solution to ending unethical working conditions and production methods.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/53wn_jqQdGw/Good-Reads-From-a-Disney-makeover-to-unethical-work-conditions-to-refusing-US-aid

Andy Griffith joe johnson scientology Wimbledon 2012 TV Schedule fourth of july IFE Fireworks 2012 4th Of July

Global Health: Polio Reappears in the Horn of Africa

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The type of paralysis caused by polio has been found in a child in Somalia and one in Kenya, the World Health Organization said.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/health/polio-reappears-in-the-horn-of-africa.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Paul Bearer Valerie Harper brandi glanville White Smoke Kwame Kilpatrick New pope 2013 good morning america

Indy 500 under way with crash in opening laps

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti swapped the lead in the early laps of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, both of them trying to win at a place that has caused them plenty of heartache.

Kanaan charged to the front from the outside of the fourth row in his bid to finally win at the Brickyard. The Brazilian had led 225 laps coming into the race, more than any other non-winner besides Michael Andretti and Rex Mays, yet has never taken the checkered flag.

He finished second in 2004 and has twice finished third.

Marco Andretti started on the outside of the front row and spent the first 29 laps playing leapfrog with Kanaan as the standard-bearer for his family bids to end the ''Andretti Curse.'' The family hasn't captured the fabled Memorial Day weekend race since his grandfather, Mario, won in 1969. Michael Andretti has been to Victory Lane twice as a team owner with the late Dan Wheldon in 2005 and Dario Franchitti in 2007, but never won the race as a driver.

Marco Andretti was second in 2006 in the second-closest finish in the race's history.

Franchitti, the defending race winner, and Helio Castroneves began the day in pursuit of their fourth Indy 500 victory. Only A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser have won the race four times.

The race began with a chill in the air - the temperature was 62 degrees at the start, not much warmer than the coldest race in history (58, 1992). Thousands of fans who piled into the historic track were bundled up against a stiff breeze that swirled down the front straightaway and many arrived late, some blaming new security measures put in place after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Several drivers said the colder weather could produce more speed - and more crashes. And it didn't take long for the first caution flag to come out.

J.R Hildebrand lost control in Turn 1 and slid into the outside wall. His car continued down the short chute before coming to a rest, and he climbed out of it without any injuries. It was Hildebrand who crashed on the final lap while leading two years ago.

''Just got a little loose in the middle of the corner, and I sort of got caught and spun around,'' Hildebrand said. ''We felt like we had a car that could run at the front.''

Most of the field had made its first pit stop when the second caution came out for Sebastian Saavedra, the 22-year-old Colombian driver for Dragon Racing.

The race resumed with pole sitter Ed Carpenter back at the front, though he also had a scare under caution. Carpenter was swerving back and forth to keep his tires warm when his car dived to the left, crossed through the grass in the corner and safely back onto the track.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indy-500-under-way-crash-163803362--irl.html

b.i.g 1000 words ron white ron white buckyballs buckyballs awake

Americans gather to honor fallen service members

Lorraine D. Hall, of Ewing, N.J., visits the graves of her father, a World War I veteran, and mother, on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2013, at the Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Lorraine D. Hall, of Ewing, N.J., visits the graves of her father, a World War I veteran, and mother, on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2013, at the Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

President Barack Obama, center, participates in the wreathlaying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns with Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, left, Commander of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama participates in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Bob Lewis looks over a field of crosses with names while participating in the College Point Memorial Day Parade in New York, Sunday, May 26, 2013. Lewis made the crosses, 137, for all the service members from College Point that were killed from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A couple photograph themselves amongst a sea of flags on Boston Common in Boston, Sunday, May 26, 2013. The flags were placed by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund in memory of every fallen Massachusetts service member from the Civil War to the present. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Americans gathered at memorials, museums and monuments and the president laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor fallen service members on Memorial Day, as combat in Afghanistan approaches 12 years and the ranks of World War II veterans dwindle.

"Let us not forget as we gather here today that our nation is still at war," President Barack Obama said after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

"When they give their lives, they are still being laid to rest in cemeteries in quiet corners across our country, including here in Arlington," he said. He told the stories of three soldiers who had died. Each had been devoted to their mission and were praised by others for saving lives.

Earlier in the morning, he and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a breakfast at the White House with "Gold Star" families of service members who have been killed.

Another wreath-laying ceremony was planned at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City. The park is a tribute to President Roosevelt's famous speech calling for all people to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined military leaders and others at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Manhattan. He said celebrate the day and the good weather but also important to "remember the sacrifice that was made so that we could be here."

At the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, about 20 bicyclists clustered around World War II veteran and museum volunteer Tom Blakey, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division who jumped at Normandy on D-Day ? June 6, 1944 ? and in May 1945 helped liberate the work camp at Wobbelin in northwest Germany.

"Most of us wondered why we were there, killing people and being killed," he said. "We didn't do anything to deserve it. When we got to that camp and saw what was there, the lights came on."

The cycling group makes regular weekend training runs, and on Monday started a Memorial Day ride about seven miles away at the national cemetery in Chalmette, where the Battle of New Orleans ? the last in the War of 1812 ? was fought.

"I'm glad I took this ride to hear a personal story," Scott Gumina, 41, said. "Hearing one man's account of his personal experience was pretty impressive to me."

Across much of New England, several days of heavy rain gave way to sunny skies for parades in towns large and small.

In Portland, Maine, kids and even pets displayed the Stars and Stripes as veterans, youth groups law enforcement officials and civic organizations paraded to Monument Square to the tunes of a marching band, sirens from a police car and the rumble of motorcycles.

"It's a very important day, not only for the Veteran of Foreign Wars but every veteran organization, every branch of the service, and every patriot in general ? every American. This day is hugely significant and should never be forgotten," said David Olson, 66, of Portland, the VFW's state senior vice commander.

He said he was pleased to see a large turnout of youngsters, both in the parade and along the parade route. "As they get older, they'll realize exactly why we do this," he said.

For some veterans, it was a somber event.

Richard Traiser, a Marine injured when his tank came under attack in Vietnam, helped deliver a three-volley salute with the Marine Corps League.

Memorial Day gives those who served an opportunity to get together and remember friends who didn't make it.

"I think about them a lot, especially the people I lost in my platoon," Traiser said. "A couple of kids were 19 years old. I don't dwell on it in a morbid way, but it's on your mind."

In Connecticut, a Waterford man who was killed in the Vietnam War was honored with a hometown park area named for him. Arnold E. Holm Jr., nicknamed "Dusty," was killed when his helicopter was shot down on June 11, 1972. A group of at least 100 dedicated the park this weekend.

In suburban Boston, veterans gathered in a park to mark Memorial Day this year rather than hold a parade because of failing health and dwindling numbers. The city of Beverly called off its parade because so few veterans would be able to march. The parade has been a fixture in the town since the Civil War.

In Atlanta, a dedication of the History Center's redone Veterans Park was scheduled for early evening. Soil from major battlefields will be scattered by veterans around the park's flagpole.

The holiday weekend also marked the traditional start of the U.S. vacation season. AAA, one of the nation's largest leisure travel agencies, expected 31.2 million Americans to hit the road over the weekend, virtually the same number as last year. Gas prices were about the same as last year, up 1 cent to a national average of $3.65 a gallon Friday.

__

Associated Press writers David Sharp in Portland, Maine; Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans; and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-27-Memorial%20Day/id-320aa858224549a383c585c2087e84fa

trump presidential debate debate marco scutaro Russell Means Taylor Swift Red Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2

Why Efforts to Bring Extinct Species Back from the Dead Miss the Point

See Inside

A project to revive long-gone species is a sideshow to the real extinction crisis

By The Editors

Image: Yvetta Fedorova

• 

  Why do testicles hang the way they do? Is there an adaptive function to the female orgasm? What does it feel like to want to kill yourself? Does ?free will?...

  Read More??

?We will get woolly mammoths back.? So vowed environmentalist Stewart Brand at the TED conference in Long Beach, Calif., in February in laying out his vision for reviving extinct species. The mammoth isn't the only vanished creature Brand and other proponents of ?de-extinction? want to resurrect. The passenger pigeon, Caribbean monk seal and great auk are among the other candidates?all species that blinked out at least in part because of Homo sapiens. ?Humans have made a huge hole in nature in the last 10,000 years,? Brand asserted. ?We have the ability now?and maybe the moral obligation?to repair some of the damage.?

Just a few years ago such de-extinction was the purview of science fiction. Now it is so near at hand that in March, Brand's Long Now Foundation, along with TED and the National Geographic Society, convened an entire conference on the topic. Indeed, thanks to recent advances in cloning and the sequencing of ancient DNA, among other feats of biotechnology, researchers may soon be able to re-create any number of species once thought to be gone for good.

That does not mean that they should, however. The idea of bringing back extinct species holds obvious gee-whiz appeal and a respite from a steady stream of grim news. Yet with limited intellectual bandwidth and financial resources to go around, de-extinction threatens to divert attention from the modern biodiversity crisis. According to a 2012 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, some 20,000 species are currently in grave danger of going extinct. Species today are vanishing in such great numbers?many from hunting and habitat destruction?that the trend has been called a sixth mass extinction, an event on par with such die-offs as the one that befell the dinosaurs (and much else) 65 million years ago. A program to restore extinct species poses a risk of selling the public on a false promise that technology alone can solve our ongoing environmental woes?an implicit assurance that if a species goes away, we can snap our fingers and bring it back.

Ironically, the de-extinction conference immediately followed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Bangkok, which underscored just how devastating the trade has been. Reports released to coincide with the meeting revealed that between 2002 and 2011, the African forest elephant population declined by 62 percent from poaching; that fishing kills at least 100 million sharks a year?many of them members of imperiled species; and that between 2000 and 2012, an average of 110 tigers a year were killed (as few as 3,200 of the cats remain in the wild). Poachers slaughter 30,000 African elephants every year for their ivory?the highest kill rate since the 1980s. At this rate, the species could disappear in two decades. So could Africa's rhinos, prized for their horns.

Already conservationists face difficult choices about which species and ecosystems to try to save, since they cannot hope to rescue them all. Many countries where poaching and trade in threatened species are rampant either do not want to give up the revenue or lack the wherewithal to enforce their own regulations. Against that backdrop, a costly and flamboyant project to resuscitate extinct flora and fauna in the name of conservation looks irresponsible: Should we resurrect the mammoth only to let elephants go under? Of course not.

That is not to say that the de-extinction enterprise lacks merit altogether. Aspects of it could conceivably help save endangered species. For example, extinct versions of genes could be reintroduced into species and subspecies that have lost a dangerous amount of genetic diversity, such as the black-footed ferret and the northern white rhino. Such investigations, however, should be conducted under the mantle of preserving modern biodiversity rather than conjuring extinct species from the grave.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=bdc4e2f60be89851d3b87923e4cc5461

Kentucky Derby 2013 Barcelona celtics harry connick jr cher Marc Maron amanda knox

Female suicide bomber injures 18 in Russian region

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) ? A female suicide bomber blew herself up in the southern Russian region of Dagestan on Saturday, injuring at least 18, including two children and five police officers, authorities said. The attacker was later identified as a widow of two Islamic radicals killed by security forces.

It was the first suicide bombing in Dagestan since the Boston Marathon attacks last month. The Tsarnaev brothers suspected of carrying out those blasts are ethnic Chechens who lived in this turbulent Caucasus province before moving to the U.S. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder brother who was killed in a shootout with police days after the April 15 bombings, spent six months in Dagestan in 2012.

Dagestan remains an epicenter of violence in the confrontation between Islamic radicals and federal forces. Islamic extremists strive to create an independent Muslim state, or "emirate," in the Caucasus and parts of southern Russia with a sizable Muslim population.

In Saturday's attack, the bomber detonated an explosives-laden belt in the central square in the provincial capital, Makhachkala, Dagestan's police spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said.

The woman was identified as Madina Alieva, 25, who married an Islamist who was killed in 2009 and then wedded another Islamic radical who was gunned down last year, police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said.

Since 2000, at least two dozen women, most of them from the Caucasus, have carried out suicide bombings in Russian cities and aboard trains and planes. All were linked to an Islamic insurgency that spread throughout Dagestan and the predominantly Muslim Caucasus region after two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya.

The bombers are often called "black widows" in Russia because many are the widows, or other relatives, of militants killed by security forces. Islamic militants are believed to convince "black widows" that a suicide bombing will reunite them with their dead relatives beyond the grave.

Police said two of the people injured in the attack were in critical condition. There were no details about the injured children.

This week, a double explosion in Makhachkala killed four civilians and left 44 injured, while three security officers and three suspected militants have been killed in other incidents. One of the devices was in a parked car and the other was placed in a trash bin.

Although Chechen separatists were battered almost a decade ago, Islamists continue to move through the region's mountains and forests with comparative ease despite security sweeps by federal forces and police under the control of local leaders loyal to the Kremlin.

Human rights groups say that abductions, torture and extrajudicial killings of young men suspected of militant links by Russian security forces have helped swell the rebels' ranks. Caucasus experts say that Islamists routinely extort money from government officials and businessmen and attack or kill those who refuse to pay.

___

Mansur Mirovalev contributed to this report from Moscow

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/female-suicide-bomber-injures-18-russian-region-144218771.html

leann rimes pearl harbor Jacintha Saldanha Butch Jones thursday night football japan earthquake Star Trek Into Darkness

Let Your Walls Light Up the Room With LED Wallpaper

Who needs lamps when you can make your walls literally light up on their own? They can if you cover them with a coating of LED wallpaper. Wallpaper might be a little past its prime, but with a little infusion of tech and some neat geometric designs, maybe it's time to reconsider.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FlT3Kkmcl6U/let-your-walls-light-up-the-room-with-led-wallpaper-509884351

felicia day nfl 2012 draft miami dolphins buffalo bills st louis rams ryan tannehill pittsburgh steelers

Suspected rebels kill 24, wound 37 in east India

In this Saturday, May 25, 2013 photo, unidentified relatives of an injured of a rebel attack cry outside a government hospital in Raipur, India. About 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in the country's east, killing at least 28 people and wounding 24 others, police said. (AP Photo)

In this Saturday, May 25, 2013 photo, unidentified relatives of an injured of a rebel attack cry outside a government hospital in Raipur, India. About 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in the country's east, killing at least 28 people and wounding 24 others, police said. (AP Photo)

In this Saturday, May 25, 2013 photo, an unidentified injured of a rebel attack gets treated in a government hospital in Raipur, India. About 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in the country's east, killing at least 28 people and wounding 24 others, police said. (AP Photo)

In this Saturday, May 25, 2013 photo, unidentified relatives of an injured of a rebel attack cry outside a government hospital in Raipur, India. About 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in the country's east, killing at least 28 people and wounding 24 others, police said. (AP Photo)

FILE ? In this April 15, 2007 file photo, Mahendra Karma, center, lawmaker and founder of Salwa Judum, the government-supported militia to combat Communist rebels known as Naxalites, is surrounded by bodyguards at his residence in Jagdalpur, in the central Indian state of Chattisgarh. Karma was killed when Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of cars of Congress party leaders and supporters in eastern India, injuring several people on Saturday, May 25, 2013. The rebels have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? Officials reacted with outrage Sunday to an audacious attack by about 200 suspected Maoist rebels who set off a roadside bomb and opened fire on a convoy carrying Indian ruling Congress party leaders and members in an eastern state, killing at least 24 people and wounding 37 others.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accompanied by party President Sonia Gandhi, visited the injured in a hospital in the Chhattisgarh state capital and said the government would take firm action against the perpetrators.

"We are devastated," said Gandhi, who denounced what she called a "dastardly attack" on the country's democratic values.

Rajnath Singh, president of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said the country should unite in its fight against the Maoist insurgency.

The convoy was attacked Saturday in a densely forested area about 345 kilometers (215 miles) south of Raipur, Chhattisgarh's capital, as the Congress members were returning from a party rally.

Four state party leaders and eight police officers were among those killed. Other victims were party supporters.

Police initially reported that 28 people were killed, but they later changed the death toll to 24. It was not clear why it had been revised.

Police officer R.K. Vij said 11 of the 37 injured were in serious condition.

Police identified one of those dead as Mahendra Karma, a Congress party leader in Chhattisgarh who founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat the Maoist rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused of atrocities against tribals ? indigenous people at the bottom of India's rigid social ladder.

The dead also included state Congress party chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son. The injured included former federal minister Vidya Charan Shukla, 83, police said.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the attackers blocked the road by felling trees, forcing the convoy to halt. Vij said the suspected rebels triggered a land mine that blew up one of the cars. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their supporters before fleeing.

Congress is the main opposition party in the state. It has stepped up political activities, trying to win the support of tribals, ahead of state elections scheduled to be held by December.

K.P.S. Gill, a former police chief of Punjab state who has written widely on reform, said the attack was "a very horrifying incident."

However, Gill said the state government was incapable of devising a strategy to tackle the Maoist threat. "They don't have the political will and bureaucratic and police set-up to prevent such attacks," he said.

He said the state government had ignored the need for special forces to tackle the threat. "Most of the special forces in the state are being used for non-operational duties like guarding state politicians," he said.

Prime Minister Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry.

The rebels, known as Naxalites, have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They take their name from the West Bengal village of Naxalbari where the movement began in 1967.

The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption.

The government has offered to begin peace talks with the rebels, but without success. The Maoists demand that it first withdraw thousands of paramilitary soldiers deployed to fight the rebels.

Maoist rebels carried out two major attacks in Chhattisgarh in 2010. They ambushed a paramilitary patrol in April that year, killing 76 troops in their worst attack ever. A month later, they triggered a land mine under a bus carrying civilians and police, killing 31.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-26-India-Rebel%20Attack/id-7f123742d1f54bb8bce9329fb7eee14a

san francisco earthquake terminator salvation terminator salvation jarhead montrose marshawn lynch earthquake bay area