Michele Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll
Saturday, August 13, 2011
American Man Kidnapped in Pakistan
American Man Kidnapped in Pakistan
Gunmen abducted an American after breaking into his house in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday in an unusually brazen raid that illustrated the threat to foreigners in this militancy-wracked, U.S.-allied country.
The U.S. Embassy identified the victim as Warren Weinstein. A man by that name serves as the Pakistan country director for J.E. Austin Associates, a development contractor that works with the aid arm of the American government, according to a profile on the LinkedIn networking website.
The profile says Weinstein is based in Lahore and has been in Pakistan for seven years. Calls to the company headquarters in Virginia were not immediately answered, but its website describes Weinstein as a development expert with 25 years experience and a Ph.D. in international law and economics.
The company website says Weinstein headed a program that has been trying to help strengthen the competitiveness of various Pakistani industries.
"He's a short, funny man with a quick wit," said Raza Rumi, a Pakistani journalist who last saw Weinstein about a year ago and said the American could speak a fair amount of Urdu. "He's a very laid-back guy, not too worried about security issues, not really paranoid at all."
According to Pakistani police, two of the abductors showed up at Weinstein's house and persuaded the guards there to open the gate by saying they wanted to give them food -- an act of sharing common during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started in August.
As the guards opened the gate, five other men suddenly appeared. The assailants, who were armed, punched and kicked the security guards, overpowering them before storming the house. Several more abductors were believed to have entered through the back of the residence.
The gunmen snatched the American from his bedroom, hustling him out of the house and into a nearby vehicle. They did not take any other items from the house, police official Attiqur Rehman said.
Police declined to speculate on the motive, and no group immediately claimed responsibility. Security forces are checking vehicles at posts on the outskirts of the city in hopes of finding Weinstein, said Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, a deputy inspector-general of police.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Pakistan, with most of the victims being Pakistani. Criminal gangs are suspected in most of the abductions, but Islamist militant organizations, too, are believed to use the tactic to fund themselves through ransoms.
Militant groups also have targeted foreigners in Pakistan in other types of attacks, such as shootings or bombings. But it is rare for assailants to stage such a raid on a foreign victim's home.
The Pakistani Taliban claim to be holding a Swiss man and woman kidnapped earlier this summer as they were traveling through a remote southwestern region. The militant group, which is based in the northwest tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, has demanded that the U.S. free a Pakistani woman convicted of trying to kill Americans in exchange for the Swiss pair's freedom.
Americans in Pakistan are considered especially at risk from militant attack because the insurgents oppose Islamabad's alliance with Washington and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. U.S. diplomats, aid workers and others are urged to take strong security precautions.
Ties between Washington and Islamabad plummeted after an American CIA contractor in January shot dead two Pakistanis he said were trying to rob him.
The American was held in a jail in Lahore for two months despite Washington's insistence he was immune from prosecution because he had diplomatic status. He was eventually freed after the victims' families were given compensation.
Lahore is the capital of the eastern Punjab province, a region bordering India that is home to several of Pakistan's top militant networks, some of which are suspected of ties to Pakistani intelligence. Major attacks in Lahore include a 2009 ambush of Sri Lanka's cricket team that killed six police and a driver.
The unilateral American raid that killed Al Qaeda chief Usama bin Laden on May 2 in the northwest Pakistani town of Abbottabad further soured ties between the two countries and led to increased scrutiny on Americans living in Pakistan.
Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for its citizens saying that American diplomats are facing increased harassment and they, along with aid workers and journalists, have been falsely identified as spies in the local media.
Still, American lawmakers and officials have made a slew of trips in recent weeks to try to maintain the relationship with Islamabad.
On Saturday, Sen. John McCain arrived in Islamabad and met with top officials including Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. In a statement afterward, Gilani said he told the Republican lawmaker that Pakistan desires an enduring partnership with the United States.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
'Apes' smashes box office competition
'Apes' smashes box office competition
The apes have conquered the multiplex.
Fueled by great word of mouth, 20th Century Fox's Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened to $54 million at the domestic box office—$20 million more than the best forecast.
Rise of the Apes is particularly drawing notice for its photo-realistic apes, which were created by Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital using advanced performance capture technology. Andy Serkis plays the ape Caesar, and is the movie’s lead character.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt, Rise of the Apes successfully relaunches the cult sci-fi franchise, and is a big win for the filmmakers and Fox’s marketing operation. Heading into the weekend, tracking suggested that the movie—also starring James Franco, Frida Pinto and John Lithgow--would open to $30 million to $35 million, tops.
But the movie received an A- CinemaScore, in addition to garnering rave reviews, and is appealing to all age groups. More women than expected turned out, making up 44 percent of the audience, according to exit polls. The origins pic was down only 2% from Friday to Saturday.
Rise of the Apes also is a big win for Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark’s Chernin Entertainment, since it’s the company’s first title.
The movie, made for $93 million, was co-financed by Fox, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious.
The weekend's other new offering, Universal's R-rated Ryan Reynolds-Jason Bateman body switching comedy The Change-Up, didn’t fare as well, grossing a soft $13.5 million and coming in No. 4.
Directed by David Dobkins, Change-Up entered a saturated market for raunchy comedies, and scored the lowest opening of the summer for its genre. The movie only received a B CinemaScore, and played older, with 50% of the audience over the age of 30.
Universal and Relativity Media co-financed Change-Up, which cost $52 million to produce.
Sony’s surprise hit The Smurfs stayed strong in its second weekend, declining less than 42% to an estimated $21 million for a domestic cume of $76.2 million. The 3D kids pic placed No. 2.
Universal and DreamWorks’ Cowboys & Aliens continued to struggle in its second outing, trailing Smurfs and grossing $15.8 million for a domestic total of $67.4 million. The movie fell 57%, a big drop considering the film is playing best to an older audience. Adult-skewing films generally build momentum, and see minimal drops if they are working.
Read More : Yahoo
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Why the stock market plunged 4.3%
Why the stock market plunged 4.3%
Stocks posted a severe drop today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 4.3% and the Nasdaq crumbling over 5%.
By the end of the day there were few places left to hide. Gold, silver, crude and yields on Treasuries all fell sharply as traders looked for safety and were met by nothing but falling prices. Over the last 10 trading days stocks have lost more than 10%, the traditional definition of a market correction.
Today's selling started in Europe and picked up steam as American investors, already twitchy in the wake of the debt ceiling debacle, suddenly preferred cash over all other assets. The selling began overseas, but we have more than our share of problems in the U.S. as well.
There's a growing realization among even the most optimistic investors that the United States is entering a new recession -- a dreaded "double-dip." Adding to the pain is the sense that the government and Federal Reserve are out of both ideas and ways to stimulate the economy. Corporate America is sitting on record amounts of cash but is refusing to make new investments with so little end demand for its products. Consumers and corporations are hoarding cash, and the economy appears to be seizing. The debt ceiling debate was a fiasco, snuffing any remaining confidence traders had for help from Washington, D.C.
The bottom line is traders are becoming convinced that we're facing a prolonged and severe recession, and there's nothing any government on Earth can do to stop it. In that context, selling stocks or "reducing exposure" as they say on Wall Street, is quite rational.
So what should people at home do? Avoid panic, for starters. The swiftness of this correction is unusual, but a 10% drop is not. Just last summer stocks fell 17% on concerns not unlike those we face today. If you're an investor who can't sleep tonight, you're probably too exposed to stocks. Sell until you can sleep. Nobody ever made good financial decisions scared or tired.
Today was the first sign of fear stocks have seen in a year. To paraphrase Churchill, that may not be the beginning of the end of the selling, but it's the end of the beginning. It's extremely unlikely we're going to see good economic news anytime soon. A terrible jobs number tomorrow is now assumed, and a good one will be considered either incorrect or flat-out fraudulent.
Take hope for a quick economic recovery out of the equation and ask yourself this: If you woke up tomorrow and stocks were set to open down another 1,000 points on the Dow, would you buy or sell? Whatever your answer is, you'd be well served to consider doing it a little bit at a time now.
Trying to "call the bottom" by going all in at once is a fool's game. Be patient, be calm and tune out the panic. In a market this volatile, prudence is the only rational strategy available.
Source: Yahoo
Friday, July 29, 2011
Pippa Middleton Schoolgirl Pic Surfaces (PHOTO)
Pippa Middleton Schoolgirl Pic Surfaces (PHOTO)
Fresh-faced and long-limbed,a young Pippa Middleton smiles proudly for the camera in the green kit of her school netball team.
The 13-year-old, already a star on the sports field, according to her former teachers at St Andrew's School in Berkshire – is shown sitting alongside her team-mates as they giggle and pose for the photograph.
Another previously unseen shot reveals the Duchess of Cambridge's sister in her smart school uniform, relaxing with friends in her housemaster's flat.
Pippa, now 27, is two years younger than Kate, who had already left the school when these photo-graphs were taken.
The sisters were sent to the all-girls school as day pupils when they were eight. They stayed at St Andrew's until they were 13, ¬boarding for their final two years.
The girls were both known for their bright personalities and sporting talent but they did differ, according to Mr Allford.
'Pippa was tough, not like Catherine. She never seemed anything other than bright and ¬bubbly. If she fell down, she picked herself up and just got on with it.
'She knew exactly who she was and was a delight. There were never arguments with the other girls, never a piece of lost kit or grumbling.'
Pippa participated in a range of sports at the school, including hockey, netball, rounders, tennis and swimming, and was also an excellent long-distance runner.
The netball team, for which Pippa played goal defence, won a series of prizes while she was captain.
One coach at the school, who did not want to be named, remembered how gifted she was at rounders.
The coach said: 'Most girls tried really hard just to hit the ball. But with Pippa, wherever I asked her to hit it, she'd do it first time.
When she was batting, she could always be expected to score a “rounder”.
'We would win most of our matches against other schools, mainly because of having her on the team.
But she wasn't a bad loser and would always rally the girls' spirits afterwards.'
In the evenings, after a long day of lessons and sports followed by homework, the pupils were allowed to relax. Pippa and her friends would often visit Mr Allford's flat, where he lived with his wife Denise – also a teacher at the school – and their toddler daughter Angharad.
There they would sip hot-chocolate, eat biscuits and play with Angharad.
'Pippa was very sociable so it was always nice to have her there,' said Mr Allford. 'They were all great with Angharad and Pippa was always polite – no trouble at all.
'All of the Middletons were lovely and it's great to look back at these photographs. I'm very proud of them.'
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Bieber dad show off matching tattoos
Bieber dad show off matching tattoos
Anyone suspecting that Justin Bieber is a musical cyborg assigned human parents to deceive the masses -- and dominate the world! -- is really just overthinking it.
The fan site Justin Bieber Shrine has posted photo proof that The Biebs is a real boy with a real bond with his real father, Jeremy Bieber. The site's image gallery shows the pop idol and his pops getting matching Jesus
tattoos in mid-May, right before Bieber's PDA-packed Hawaiian vacation with ladyfriend Selena Gomez.The fan site Justin Bieber Shrine has posted photo proof that The Biebs is a real boy with a real bond with his real father, Jeremy Bieber. The site's image gallery shows the pop idol and his pops getting matching Jesus
The 17-year-old debuted his new ink on the island paradise; the ribcage tat, written in Hebrew, means "Yeshua," or Jesus. (He is a holy man, that Bieber.)
Source: Yahoo
Here comes the world's skinniest house
Here comes the world's skinniest house
There are skinny houses. And then there is Jakub Szczęsny's Keret House, which could make Calista Flockhart look like a fatty. At its most generous, the proposed place, in Warsaw, Poland, will clock in at 4 feet wide. At its narrowest, it'll be just 28 inches wide -- thinner than the average doorway. And we complain about our sardine can in New York...
The house (officially an "art installation," because it doesn't meet Polish building code) is slated to fill a crack between a pair of buildings in Warsaw's Wola district. When construction's finished in December, it'll be the thinnest house in Warsaw and possibly the whole world. We did a quick Google search and couldn't find anything leaner.
Szczęsny designed the house to be a work space and home for Israeli writer Etgar Keret. It'll also be a "studio for invited guests -- young creators and intellectualists from all over the world." If, that is, they're willing to drop half their body weight to fit inside.
Szczęsny designed the house to be a work space and home for Israeli writer Etgar Keret. It'll also be a "studio for invited guests -- young creators and intellectualists from all over the world." If, that is, they're willing to drop half their body weight to fit inside.
Kidding, kidding. In all seriousness, though, the house is a pretty remarkable feat of architecture. If everything goes according to plan, Szczęsny will manage to squeeze in designated rooms for sleeping, eating, and working. The place will have off-grid plumbing inspired by boat sewage technology and electricity lifted from a neighbor. To save space, the entry stairs will fold up at the press of a button and become part of the first floor.
Aesthetically, the Keret House isn't gonna win any beauty contests. It's been compared to everything from a pregnancy test to a sanitary napkin. (Our vote is for "pregnancy test.") Our biggest concern, though, is that it's hardly got any windows. How's it going to "produce creative work conditions," as ArchDaily reports, and "become a significant platform for world intellectual exchange," if it feels like a sensory deprivation chamber? Won't Keret go insane? But maybe that's the point. It's not like he'd be the first artist to benefit from going crazy.
Source: Yahoo
