Home » All post

The End Of Daze...Camping wrong yet again

	Chez Pazienza
	CEO, DXM Media/Managing Editor, Deus Ex Malcontent, LLC

The End of Daze

Posted 21-05-2011 05:49 PM EDT

So the Rapture turned out to be a bit of a bust.

There are no monster earthquakes, no oceans turning to steam, no fire shooting up out of the ground and, most sadly, no heathen dead rising from the grave to walk to earth in search of brains while Christians ascend skyward on beams of light. It would be easy at this point to do a traditional post-mortem point-and-laugh because that's always what this thing was deserving of -- but there's still something overwhelmingly sad about the fact that there are those out there who sold everything they owned, jettisoned their childrens' futures and wound their lives down to this singular point in time not only because they truly believed that earthly concerns wouldn't matter anymore after today but because nothaving absolute faith in that notion would damn them for all eternity. These people are now, for lack of a more diplomatic descriptor, thoroughly screwed.

But there's no sense in letting something like that eat you alive from the inside out; there have always been suckers out there and there always will be, gullible souls so desperate for a cure to a life that simply offers too much incomprehensible mystery that they're willing to swallow any form of snake oil peddled in their direction. You can't save everyone, nor should you try -- an ironic statement, certainly, given the topic.

Still, there's something really worth pointing out in the wake of the non-Rapture. While it was easy for most of us to handily dismiss the lunatic predictions of Pastor Harold Camping and his merry band of messianic misfits, what shouldn't be forgotten is just how unremarkable their basic belief-system is. Sure, even a lot of hardcore Evangelicals ridiculed Camping's assertion that Jesus was going to appear out of the sky today, but make no mistake: Whether they choose to say it loudly and publicly right now, as far as they're concerned the only thing Camping got wrong was the exact date. There are millions of people still going about their business today convinced that at any moment they can be beamed up to heaven while the rest of the Earth falls into a period of tribulation that ends in its ultimate destruction. And by the way, these people aren't considered crazy -- they're just called faithful, and deserving of having that faith respected and lent credence by the rest of us. It's fascinating that, really, the only thing that puts Pastor Harold Camping and his followers one step over the line into the world of the insane outlier is that they thought they had figured out the time of Jesus's return, not that they believed absolutely in the notion of a divine entity called Jesus -- or that he would magically appear to us -- in the first place.

If you need it put in more reductionist terms it can be summed up like this: Believing in Jesus Christ as the resurrected son of the creator of the universe who will eventually return to Earth equals not-crazy; believing that you know when Jesus Christ will make that triumphant return equals crazy. See how, well, crazy that is?

When you look at it in those terms it's kind of astonishing how one belief is considered legitimate in our society and worthy of respect -- and one is considered outlandish and worthy of ridicule.

No, the Rapture didn't happen today. But that doesn't mean a whole lot of people won't go on believing that it will happen eventually, that the Bible really does "guarantee it." And that belief is deserving of no less dismissal than the one for which we've all had such a good time mocking Pastor Harold Camping over the past couple of weeks.

Judgement Day May 21 2011...claims Family Radio

A banner displayed at the Eaton Centre in Toronto predicts that Judgement Day will occur on May 21, 2011. Courtesy Brian Cameron/Flickr.com

The Family Radio website says president Harold Camping came up with the Judgment Day prediction based on 'evidence found in the Bible.' The Independent

If the signs are to be believed, the end of the world as we know it starts on May 21.

Billboards are popping up around the globe, including in major Canadian cities, proclaiming May 21 as Judgment Day. "Cry mightily unto GOD for HIS mercy," says one of the mounted signs from Family Radio, a California-based sectarian Christian group that is sending one if its four travelling caravans of believers into Vancouver and Calgary within the next 10 days.

Family Radio's website is blunt in its prediction of Judgment Day and the rolling earthquake that will mark the beginning of the end. "The Bible guarantees it!" the site proclaims, under a passage from the book of Ezekiel, which says "blow the trumpet … warn the people."

Richard Ascough, a professor in the School of Religion at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., has been watching Family Radio's campaign, and fully expects life as we know it to continue on May 22.

He has seen other apocalyptic predictions come and go, but Family Radio's differs in a notable way: it isn't accompanied by a bold, up-front request for money. And that's worrisome, in his mind.

"I think they really believe it's going to happen," Ascough said in an interview Tuesday.

What if Judgment Day doesn't come?

When groups such as this ask for a lot of money up front, it's possible to think they're "charlatans," Ascough said.

"When they're not doing that so blatantly, it worries me more, because I think they really do believe it and they can convince people who may end up in fact doing things like … quitting their jobs, selling their house, not necessarily to give the money to this group, but simply to divest themselves in light of Judgment Day."

And then that predicted Judgment Day doesn't come.

"We've seen that happen in groups before, and then people are just wiped out, not just emotionally because it didn't happen, but financially," said Ascough. "Some people, it's led to them taking their own lives when they realize what they have done."

Family Radio identifies itself on its website as a "non-profit, non-commercial, Christian radio network" set up in 1958 with one FM station in the San Francisco Bay area. From that station bought by Harold Camping and two others "with the sole intent of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ," it has grown to a network of 66 stations through the U.S. It also broadcasts its programming internationally.

Some published estimates have put its net worth at $120 million or more.

"To have that kind of revenue base, if that's correct, suggests there must be quite a few listeners," said Ascough.

He said it is "hard to get a read" on the sectarian Christian group.

"Their theology is fundamentalist and yet still generally within the bounds of Christianity, until one gets to this date-setting business."

'Evidence found in the Bible'

On its website, Family Radio says May 21 as Judgment Day is "derived solely from evidence found in the Bible."

"Mr. Camping saw God had placed, in scripture, many important signs and proofs. These proofs alert believers that May 21st of 2011 is the date Christ will return for His people and begin a period of the final destruction of the world." All will be over on Oct. 21, "when God will completely destroy this earth and its surviving inhabitants," the website says.

The isn't the first time Camping has predicted the end of the world. He also targeted 1994 as a probable time, but on the website, Family Radio says, "important subsequent Biblical information was not yet known."

Ascough said he thinks Camping's way of reading scripture is "irresponsible."

"It's not the way these Biblical texts were meant to be read, even by their original writers."

And even if they were, scholars can find mistakes in the mathematics and historical assumptions put forward in the Judgment Day predictions, he said. "It's all very slippery."

Ascough hasn't seen such visible activities like billboards from Family Radio in Canada before. He credits technology with allowing the group to reach more broadly into Canada and worldwide.

"They're savvy enough to have figured out how to market themselves well."

Cultural fascination

Family Radio is hardly the first group to predict the end. Movies, literature and television have told tales of a coming apocalypse, in many forms.

"Once it gets mocked on The Simpsons, you know it's taken hold," said Ascough.

Ascough sees both a cultural fascination with end-of-the-world scenarios and a fascination with the Bible behind the appeal that religious groups such as Family Radio can hold for followers.

"Quite a few people are attracted to fundamentalist groups of all stripes because many people don't like to live with ambiguity."

While Ascough predicts the world will survive any suggestions of its demise on May 21, he fully expects such ideas will be revived from time to time.

"Almost every generation has this kind of group, so I don't think they're going to go away."

CN Tower A Walk On The Wild Side!

Back to New CN Tower attraction offers a walk on the outside

New CN Tower attraction offers a walk on the outside

May 09, 2011

Carola Vyhnak

${{GA_Article.Images.Alttext$}}$

Hockey-stick shaped supports on the roof of the CN Tower pod will form part of the support system for EdgeWalk!

DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

Life on the edge is about to get real scary. Like 116-storeys-up scary.

Imagine this: You’re standing on an open ledge on the outside of the CN Tower. Now lean back, arms outstretched, into nothing but air 356 metres above the city.

All that holds you is a cable attached to a body harness and overhead rail.

Introducing EdgeWalk, “the most extreme experience” in the tower’s 35-year history, according to public relations people.

Opening Aug. 1, the attraction will be “the world’s highest full circle hands-free walk,” tower officials announced on Monday.

It will offer thrill seekers a heart-stopping, 360-degree panorama as they walk a 1.5-metre-wide platform a distance of 150 metres around the top of the main pod.

Here’s how it will work:

Adventure lovers will walk hands-free in groups of six to eight while connected to an overhead safety rail via a trolley and harness system. The walk will last 20 to 30 minutes with the entire experience running 1.5 hours.

“Trained guides will encourage visitors to push their personal limits, allowing those who dare to lean back over Toronto, with nothing but air beneath them,” said a news release.

A guide will capture it all on video for daredevils to relive on dull days.

“During our 35th anniversary year we are excited to introduce visitors to the most exciting attraction in our history,” said Jack Robinson, chief operating officer of Canada Lands Company, which owns the tower.

Several staffers admitted last week it would be too wild a walk for them.

“It’s scary,” one restaurant worker shuddered. “You wouldn’t catch me up there.”

“It’ll be pretty windy out there,” another offered. “I hope they’re taking that into account.”

“It’s going to be a thriller,” added a co-worker. “But it’s not for everyone. It’s an adrenalin thing.”

Spokespeople assured would-be walkers that every aspect of the attraction “has been developed with the utmost safety and security in mind.”

One employee compared EdgeWalk to a similar attraction at Auckland Sky Tower in New Zealand.

Still under construction, the steel grated platform will be supported by 36 arms linked to separate rails for the tour guide and group of walkers. The support arms can be seen as a series of rods protruding from the roof of the 360 Restaurant.

The walk will cost $175, which includes a video and other souvenirs. Tickets go on sale June 1. The attraction will be offered until October this year and reopen in May 2012.

EdgeWalk facts

• Cost: $175 per person

• Height of new walking ledge: 356 metres or 116 storeys

• Height of CN Tower: 553 metres

• Width of ledge: 1.5 metres

• Distance around: 150 metres

• Number of hands used to hold on: 0

• Weight of steelwork: 16,330 kg

• Duration from design to completion: 10 months

• Number of thrill-seekers per group: 6 to 8

Obama Kills Osama Heres How...

Kenneth KiddFeature Writer

We may never know precisely how it all happened.

But after days of confusing and sometimes contradictory reports by U.S. officials and others, some clarity is finally emerging from what even the White House has dubbed “the fog of war” surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden.

We now know, for instance, that what was first described as a 40-minute firefight inside bin Laden’s Pakistan compound was no such thing. Only one of the five people killed by U.S. Navy SEALs was armed and fired a shot. And no, it probably wasn’t the terrorist leader himself, wielding an AK-47 from a third-floor window, as initially reported.

It’s also now generally agreed that the hitherto secret stealth helicopter used by the Americans — the one that crashed into the wall surrounding bin Laden’s compound — was a souped-up version of an MH-60 Black Hawk.

And Al Qaeda confirmed Friday that its former leader is, in fact, dead, which should put a stop to all the conspiracy theorists who claimed the U.S. had faked the whole operation or killed someone other than bin Laden.

Some questions, however, remain unanswered. Which commando shot an unarmed bin Laden, and what prompted him to do so? Was it a so-called kill mission from outset? And why were none of the survivors taken away? Continued at this source:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/987419--seeking-clarity-in-conflicting-stories-on-osama-bin-laden-s-death?bn=1

Missing B.C. woman found in U.S., but husband is still missing

(The Canadian Press) – 22 minutes ago

ELKO, Nev. — It is an astonishing tale of survival against all odds.

A British Columbia woman who vanished with her husband seven weeks ago on their way to Las Vegas was found alive Friday in a remote part of northeastern Nevada, police said.

Hunters found Rita Chretien, 56, with her van in Elko County, according to a joint statement from the RCMP and police in Baker City, Ore., where the couple were last seen. But there was no sign of her husband, Albert Chretien.

"We're stunned," the woman's son, Raymond Chretien, told the (Portland) Oregonian newspaper. "We haven't fully digested it. This is a miracle."

Rita Chretien survived 49 days in the wilderness by eating snow and small amounts of trail mix, her son said. She was airlifted to St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Centre in Twin Falls, Idaho, where a nursing supervisor said she was in fair condition Friday night.

RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told The Associated Press that family members said she had lost 20-30 pounds during her ordeal but was on her feet, walking around at the hospital in Twin Falls.

A couple on four-wheelers spotted the Chretiens' van in a ravine near the Humboldt National Forest, Elko County sheriff's detective Sgt. Kevin McKinney told the Elko Daily Free Press.

"She sounds like she's coherent and she's very hungry," McKinney said, adding that officers interviewed her at the hospital.

Raymond Chretien said the sheriff's office planned to begin a search for his father Saturday, adding that he and his wife would be flying out to join his mother at the hospital.

Rita Chretien told her son she and her husband left their Penticton home March 19, crossed into Washington and reached Baker City that afternoon, where they bought gas at a food mart and were captured on a video surveillance camera.

The couple own a commercial excavating business and were headed to Las Vegas for a trade show.

Raymond Chretien said his mother told him they were sightseeing on back roads when their 2000 Chevrolet Astro van got stuck in mud. Three days later, Albert Chretien, 59 set out on foot to look for help, and never returned.

"I don't believe they were prepared for winter weather," Raymond Chretien said. "They don't go camping."

He said his mother doubts whether she would have lived more than another two or three days had the hunters not found her.

Rita Chretien kept a journal to let her family know what had happened if she didn't survive. Her son said she immediately apologized for the anguish she caused him, his two brothers and other relatives.

"She felt extremely bad for us all," he said.

The couple were reported missing by relatives after they didn't return home March 30.

In late April, police agencies said an extensive search air and ground had failed to turn up any sign of the couple or their vehicle.

_ With files from The Associated Press.

Where in the world is Osama bin laden?

'Deathers' take over where birthers left off
By Shannon Travis, CNN Political Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With "birthers" mostly silent, "deathers" are now pushing a new conspiracy theory.

The release of President Obama's birth certificate last week apparently tamped down -- to a large degree -- skeptics who questioned whether he could legally serve as president because they said he wasn't a natural-born citizen. Now, a surprisingly diverse crop of people are questioning whether Osama bin Laden is actually dead.

Some media outlets and bloggers are calling them "deathers."

Their claims follow a wide range: Some believe that the world's most-wanted terrorist was not the man killed Sunday, others think bin Laden is dead but was killed many years ago, and still others believe that the September 11 mastermind is alive -- and secretly being interrogated.

One Fox Business News host is not going quite that far. Judge Andrew Napolitano at one point declared that "Osama bin Laden is dead," but he later seemed unconvinced. Napolitano also questioned the president's authority to kill him.

Napolitano began his Monday show by saying bin Laden was "killed on the illegal whim of the president." Moments later, he added, "Osama bin Laden is dead. And the president seems to think he has the right to kill whomever he wants so long as the person is perceived as a monster and the public supports it."

And yet the judge also questioned whether officials are "telling us the truth or pulling a fast one to save Obama's lousy presidency." Later in the broadcast, Napolitano asked a guest, "Do you believe he's dead, or do you want some more evidence: a photograph, a testimony of an eyewitness? Something other than the words of a president whose words we have doubted before?"

Others who are questioning bin Laden's death include a libertarian talk radio host, a well-known liberal anti-war activist and some everyday Pakistani students.

What their claims all have in common -- much like claims that the president was born outside the U.S., instead of in Hawaii -- is that they go against the agreed-upon facts.

Obama's decision not to release the photos of bin Laden's death seems to be stoking "deather" fires.

Alex Jones is a Texas-based talk radio host who also runs various websites and whose YouTube channel claims more than 24 million views. He is sometimes called a right-wing conspiracy theorist.

After the president's announcement of bin Laden's death, Jones told his listeners in one broadcast, "My friends, this is a complete and total hoax."

"Where is the body?" Jones asked in another show. "My White House sources nine years ago, on record, confirmed that he had been killed and was frozen on ice."

Cindy Sheehan, who is certainly not an ideological ally of Jones', appears to agree with him on bin Laden's death.

Sheehan became famous for protesting President George W. Bush's Iraq policy -- even camping out at the White House and the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch -- after her son was killed in the war.

Shortly after the president's bin Laden announcement, Sheehan planted seeds of doubt on her Facebook page and blog.

"It's not that I don't believe Obama about Osama because he's Obama, I don't believe him because he is just one in along line of butt-naked emperors," Sheehan wrote.

"The only proof of Osama being dead again that we were offered was Obama telling us that there was a DNA match between the man killed by the Navy SEALs and OBL. Even if it is possible to get DNA done so quickly, and the regime did have bin Laden DNA lying around a lab somewhere -- where is the empirical proof?" Sheehan continued.

Meanwhile, a Facebook page -- named "Osama Bin Laden Not Dead" -- has been created as a sort of message board for theories.

"This whole story is a distraction from Obama's birth certificate bollox," Kevin Lane posted. "That was all over the news until in the space of 24 hours he had found OBL, killed (but not captured) him, done DNA tests and got the results (dont that take 3 days) and dumped his body at sea. Surely if OBL was/is such a bad man they would want the world to see him dead whether the pics are gruesome or not."

"Bin Laden was taken alive and is being interrogated some where before being executed," David Colin Leach posted.

Shortly after the announcement of bin Laden's death, university students in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed, expressed skepticism.

"That's propaganda," one student told CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. "Osama has been killed 10 years ago in Afghanistan. And it's just a propaganda to finish the war in Afghanistan." Others refused to believe that bin Laden was even in Abbottabad. And others echoed calls for the Obama administration to show pictures.

"If it is true, then why are they not showing his body?" one student asked.

One expert on conspiracy theories said that such wide, diverse claims have one common element: They often come from the political "fright wing."

"Your conspiracy theories tend to proliferate on the extreme edges of the political spectrum," said John Avlon, a CNN contributor and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."

"Unfortunately, you're going to have people who -- especially in today's politics and especially with the amplification that the Internet provides -- will embrace conspiracy theories on almost anything."

And Avlon said such people often share a common trait.

"They come up with these ornate explanations, alternate explanations, for how events occur, like JFK's assassination, in order to keep their own psychology in place. 'Nineteen guys could not have brought down the twin towers. It had to be a government conspiracy,' they say to themselves. Otherwise, the world becomes really scary and unpredictable and unstable for them."

"While it's entirely predictable that certain Osama bin Laden conspiracy theories would proliferate in the Middle East, because of some people who have a creative interest in those rumors ... the fact that such (bin Laden) conspiracy theories are anywhere in the American political spectrum is a little surprising and a lot pathetic," Avlon added.

Trump gets beaten in ratings by Obama

'Celebrity Apprentice': And the fired celebrity is...
by Dalton Ross
Categories: Donald Trump, Reality TV, Television, The Celebrity Apprentice
Comments 854 Add comment

Image credit: Ali Goldstein/NBC
Firings! Hirings! Dudes in red cowboy boots! Meat Loaf spending half the task in the bathroom! It was two-hours of madness on tonight’s Celebrity Apprentice, headed by NeNe’s verbal beat down of Star Jones. But who was sent packing in the end? My full recap will be up at 2am but if you cant wait to sound off on what went down, then read on for more. [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you've already watched Sunday's episode of The Celebrity Apprentice.]
In an episode that saw the teams tasked with putting on a hair show, Star Jones had her own personal challenge to contend with — withstanding a constant barrage of insults, accusations, and epithets from NeNe Leakes, who had tired of Star’s bossy, manipulative ways. Their epic feud guaranteed that neither would be fired so Donald Trump could keep that drama ramped up for at least another week. So when the women lost, it was Hope Dworaczyk who paid the price and took the elevator ride of shame down to a waiting town car.
But who knows, maybe she’ll be back next week! After all, Trump also let the previously fired La Toya Jackson back to the competition for no reason whatsoever. (Trump logic — gotta love it!) What did you think of the episode? Did NeNe go too far, or not far enough? Is La Toya being let back into the competition Celebrity Apprentice‘s most ludicrous twist yet? And how crazy were those on-stage hair stylists? Weigh in now and then check back later for my full recap. And for more Celebrity Apprentice news and views, follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.

Obama steals thunder from trump

New results will appear below as they become available. Pause
‎
seamarie‎ #Celebrity Apprentice - aww - was sure he'd announce who got fired before signing off.
Twitter - 1 minute ago
‎
DanWhitley‎ RT @jimmyfallon: Got Bin Laden AND interrupted Celebrity Apprentice? Win for Obama all around.
Twitter - 2 minutes ago
‎
SandyKess‎ RT @Kenny_Gizzle: I bet Celebrity Apprentice got interrupted for this breaking news, oh yea Obama still #winning lol
Twitter - 2 minutes ago
‎
queenmob‎ RT @jimmyfallon: Got Bin Laden AND interrupted Celebrity Apprentice? Win for Obama all around.
Twitter - 2 minutes ago
‎
TLDallas‎ RT @RichardHunter: Did @BarackObama just preempt the climactic ending of Celebrity Apprentice? I believe he did : )
Twitter - 2 minutes ago
‎
jose602‎ RT @JennHoffman: Love that Obama interrupted the Celebrity Apprentice to announce that we got Bin Laden. Trump is losing his mind. #obamwin
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
silentcomedian‎ I'm curious. Who got kicked off Celebrity Apprentice?
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
MidTownMoguL‎ RT @KhishaA: Trump vs. Obama. Celebrity Apprentice shut off by Obama. #Winning
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
bluecheddar1‎ "Obama Interrupts Celebrity Apprentice to Announce Osama Bin Laden is Dead"-headline at FireDogLake
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
EZBreezyT‎ RT @BionicBombshell: So Obama had the body for a week and just happened to make an announcement during Celebrity Apprentice...Obama is the King of giving ... - More »
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
KarlyRossiter‎ RT @raykwong: RT @ClaraJeffery DUDE: friend points out that Osama news timed to interrupt Celebrity Apprentice.
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
‎
unitedmethod‎ RT @brandiofbham: I don't for 1 sec think that interrupting Celebrity Apprentice was coincidence tho. What fun is being prez if u can't stick it 2 the ... - More »
Twitter - 3 minutes ago
Stay up to date on these results:

Obama kills Osama

Osama bin Laden is dead and his body has been recovered by U.S. authorities, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

U.S. President Barack Obama was to make the dramatic announcement shortly in a hastily called, late-night appearance at the White House.

As they waited for his statement, multiple news organizations reported sources in the White House had confirmed bin Laden's death almost a decade after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

MORE RELATED TO THIS STORY
Gadhafi blames Osama bin Laden for savage clashes across Libya
U.S. missile strike kills two senior al-Qaeda leaders
Canadian judge hopes to shed light on terrorism blacklist

MEDIA
Video of President Obama's speech

PHOTOS
Osama bin Laden in photos

PHOTOS
Globe cartoonists vs. bin Laden
It was unclear where how Mr. bin Laden was killed and how the U.S. captured his body. Officials have long believed bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, was hiding a mountainous region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Mr. bin Laden was killed at a mansion outside the Pakistani capital Islamabad, CNN reported. A senior U.S. counterterrorism official told Associated Press Mr. bin Laden was killed in a ground operation in Pakistan, not by a Predator drone. A senior Pakistani intelligence official confirmed that he was killed in Pakistan

The Saudi-born al-Qaeda leader became both the face of global terrorism and a symbol of the futile efforts to seek it out and fight it.

While his death is a victory for the anti-terror crusade by the U.S. and its allies, it's unlikely his demise will end the now-fractured network of terror cells that reaches across the world.

Counter-terror experts have noted al-Qaeda has grown into a more fragmented movement, its violent ideas having been franchised over to local allies who can operate without a central, larger-than-life figurehead leader.

“Al-Qaeda is an organization that evolved into an ideology, with Osama bin Laden's message receiving widespread attention in the Muslim world,” said Peter Bergen, one of the rare Western journalists who has met Mr. bin Laden in person.

“Clearly, the ideology will survive Osama bin Laden's death.”

Al-Qaeda has farmed out attacks to regional players in East Africa, Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East, local radical partners it inspired and funded over the years, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror.

“It will be a messy blow to the main al-Qaeda structure but the threat of terrorism will continue.”

At the same time, there are other examples of terrorist groups losing momentum after the capture of their charismatic leader.

After Turkey seized Abdullah Ocalan of the Kurdistan Workers Party, an initial wave of retaliatory attacks eventually petered and his supporters ended their armed campaign. In Peru, the arrest of Abimael Guzman Reymoso of the Shining Path decimated the violent Maoist movement.

Mr. bin Laden reached out to various associated groups, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines, Jemaah Islamiah, elsewhere in southeast Asia, the Salafi Group in Algeria and other insurgents in Indonesia and Yemen. These groups provided not only a striking capacity but also training facilities, filling in for the loss of al-Qaeda's camps in Afghanistan.

“These groups play an equally important role. We are seeing terrorist capability in the regional, local Islamic radical groups,” Mr. Gunaratna said.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda has been severely crippled, losing its sanctuary in Afghanistan. Top operational planners have been captured -- such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah -- or killed, such as Muhammad Atef. More than 3,000 alleged members or supporters have been arrested, more than of 600 of whom are now languishing in indefinite detention at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The U.S. and its allies have seized massive caches of weapons, handbooks and, more importantly, computers, videotapes and other electronics such as satellite and cellular phones that can be examined to retrace their former owners' activities and whereabouts.

Financial regulators have frozen tens of millions of dollars in assets from individuals and groups alleged to be raising funds for terrorism.

But al-Qaeda's brand of terror hasn't been put out of business. It has been accused of having a hand in everything from deadly 2002 bombings in Bali that left hundreds dead to the recent uprisings in Libya and Yemen to last week's bombing in Marrakesh, which killed 15 people in the usually peaceful country's deadliest attack since 2003.

Trump pushes back as lampoon target for Obama

Donald Trump pushed back Sunday at President Barack Obama for making him the "focus of the evening" in his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech, and laced into Saturday Night Live comedian Seth Meyers as a "stutterer" whose delivery was lacking.

Trump's comments came in a quick phone-in to "Fox and Friends," a day after he sat almost stone-faced while the president and Meyers ripped him repeatedly, to belly laughs from the crowd. People at tables around him gaped at him watching for a reaction, and some of his tablemates wrote on Twitter that it was uncomfortable.

"Well, I really understood what I was getting into — I didn't know that I'd be virtually the sole focus," Trump said. "I guess when you're leading in the polls that sort of thing tends to happen. But I was certainly in a certain way having a good time listening. I don't think the American people are having a good time with $5 gas. ... I was thinking to myself as they were doing this, you know, the American people are really suffering and we're all" having fun at a gala.

"I thought Seth Meyers — his delivery frankly was not good," Trump added. He's a stutterer."

Prior to the dinner, after he strolled the red carpet with his wife Melania, Trump said that he actually didn't think he would get poked by the president.

"I wouldn't think [Obama] would address me" during his speech," Trump told ABC News.

On Sunday morning, after the skewering, Trump said, "You raise to a certain level in the polls and boy does the world come after you. ... That was a largely liberal room."

"I had no idea it would be to that extent, where you know, it was just joke after joke after joke," he said. "It was almost like, is there anyone else they could talk about?"

Trump was also asked if he had learned a lesson from the widespread coverage of his F-bomb-laden speech in Las Vegas last week.

"Well, it was a speech in Las Vegas, in front of a rough group of folks, and a great group of folks, and I got standing ovation... It was really well received," he said. "The fact is it's a word of emphasis with that group. Probably I won't do it anymore, to be honest with you."

But he also said people ought to realize that salty language is often used in tough negotiations.

"That is very mild compared to what happens in a real room," he said.

Obama Roasts Trump

Bottom of the 33 inning the longest baseball game in history

Some people complain about the pace of baseball, calling a nine-inning game an eternity. These people obviously had never heard of the 33-inning game in 1981 between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings. This week, Bill interviews author Dan Barry about his book, Bottom of the 33rd.

Click on the listen link above to hear the interview.

Bill’s Thoughts on Bottom of the 33rd

At 8:00 PM on April 18th, 1981, two triple A teams, the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, settled in to play a game of baseball. It was a cold, windy night, and it would get colder.

Eight hours and thirty two innings later, each team had scored two runs, and neither team appeared capable of scoring any more.

The game was mercifully suspended. The weary players and a handful of fans made their way home for Easter.

Two months later, the longest game in the history of organized baseball was completed. The 33rd inning took eighteen minutes.

Of this game and the players and others involved, Dan Barry has made Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game.

Barry isn’t kidding about the “redemption.” In the prologue, he writes:

Why did you keep playing? Why did you stay?

Because we are bound by duty. Because we aspire to greater
things. Because we are loyal. Because in, our own secular way
we are celebrating communion, and resurrection, and possibility.

That tone notwithstanding, Bottom of the 33rd also provides some pretty funny stories: Wade Boggs napping on the field with his head on third base, for example, and the “mischievous wind” that blows a sure homerun that would have ended the game in the 27th inning back into the glove of the disappointed Rochester centerfielder.

Some of the stories of what happened years later to the players involved in that game in Pawtucket are heartening: both guys who played third base that night, the aforementioned Boggs and Cal Ripken, Jr., made it to the Hall of Fame. On the other hand, Dave Koza, who finally won the game with a base hit, never made the jump to the Majors and struggled in his life after baseball.

Dan Barry’s account bravely aspires to be more than the story of an exceptionally long ballgame, and it succeeds. And of course the great thing about Bottom of the 33rd is that you can relive the adventure of that weird game in some warm, well-lighted place.

The Royal Wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton

The Royal Wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton

April 29, 2011 at 06:00am EDT - The Royal Channel
The Royal Wedding
Official site about the wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. Includes background and news and videos about the service, procession, ...
www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/ - Cached
Videos for Royal Wedding
- Report videosThank you for the feedback. Report another video.Please report the offensive video. Cancel
The T-Mobile Royal Wedding
2 min - 15 Apr 2011
Uploaded by lifesforsharing
youtube.com
Royal Wedding Schedule of Events
23 hours ago
abcnews.go.com
Royal Wedding of Prince William Kate Middleton 2011
The Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton all the latest news,gossip,trivia and buy online official china,merchandise,souvenirs,memorabilia ...
www.theroyalweddingwilliamkate.com/ - Cached

News for Royal Wedding

Just a normal (royal) family wedding
17 minutes ago

A royal wedding, seen from the inside as the only Canadian journalist with an invitation, is a lot like any other wedding, except that that the groom is ...

Globe and Mail - 22865 related articles

TV tonight: Royal Wedding vs. Rambo
Montreal Gazette - 22 related articles

newRoyal wedding celebrated by Canadians
CBC.ca - 33 related articles - Shared by 10+

5902 Realtime results for Royal Wedding

Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine ...
Burton said creating the royal wedding dress had been the "experience of a ..... The royal wedding has been subject to threats of violence and disruption. ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../Wedding_of_Prince_William,_Duke_of_Cambridge,_and_Kate_Middleton
Royal Wedding Website | William & Kate | Watch Royal Wedding ...
28 Apr 2011 ... Watch The Royal Wedding Online – Your source for Royal Wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleton Royal Wedding engagement news, ...
shows.ctv.ca/RoyalWedding.aspx - Cached
Get more results from the past 24 hours
Royal Wedding Website | William & Kate | Watch Royal Wedding ...
Watch The Royal Wedding Online – Your source for Royal Wedding, Prince ...
theroyals.ctv.ca/ - Cached
Show more results from ctv.ca
Get more results from the past 24 hours
Royal Wedding - Telegraph
The latest news on the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton that takes place today, April 29th, 2011.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/ - Similar - Add to iGoogle
Get more results from the past 24 hours
Royal Wedding: Kate Middleton and Prince William : People.com
29 Apr 2011 ... It's official! The betrothed couple will marry on April 29 in the biggest royal wedding since Charles and Di.
www.people.com/people/package/0,,20395222,00.html - Similar
Get more results from the past 24 hours
The Royal Wedding - The Globe and Mail
Covering the engagement and wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/the-royal-wedding/
Royal Wedding - News, photos, topics, and quotes of Kate Middleton ...
The latest news, photos and special coverage on the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, from thestar.com and thousands of sources worldwide.
themes.thestar.com/page/royal-wedding - Cached

ng - Cached

The kennedy Lincoln coincidence essay...

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

Both were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary, Kennedy, warned him not to go to the theatre.
Kennedy's secretary, Lincoln, warned him not to go to Dallas.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners.

Both successors were named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names are comprised of fifteen letters

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

The Real Housewives of Wall Street

Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs?
by Matt Taibbi
America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial. The official budget is public record and hotly debated: Money comes in as taxes and goes out as jet fighters, DEA agents, wheat subsidies and Medicare, plus pensions and bennies for that great untamed socialist menace called a unionized public-sector workforce that Republicans are always complaining about. According to popular legend, we’re broke and in so much debt that 40 years from now our granddaughters will still be hooking on weekends to pay the medical bills of this year’s retirees from the IRS, the SEC and the Department of Energy.

Christy is the wife of John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley. Susan is the widow of Peter Karches, a close friend of the Macks who served as president of Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking division. Neither woman appears to have any serious history in business, apart from a few philanthropic experiences. Yet the Federal Reserve handed them both low-interest loans of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars through a complicated bailout program that virtually guaranteed them millions in risk-free income.

The Real Housewives of Wall Street

The technical name of the program that Mack and Karches took advantage of is TALF, short for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. But the federal aid they received actually falls under a broader category of bailout initiatives, designed and perfected by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, called “giving already stinking rich people gobs of money for no fucking reason at all.” If you want to learn how the shadow budget works, follow along. This is what welfare for the rich looks like.

Five Pakistani men freed of rape charges

By BNO News
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday acquitted five men accused of participating in a 2002 gang rape in southern Muzafargarh district, Geo Television reported.
The Court upheld the verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC) of exonerating the five men and sentencing another one, Abdul Khaliq, to life in prison. The Supreme Court suspended the initial 2005 verdict of LHC.

However, the three-member bench of the apex court maintained the LHC verdict in the case of the gang rape against Mukhtaran Mai, a 30-year-old resident of Meerwala village.
On June 22, 2002, Mai was gang raped in her village under orders of an influential local Mastoi tribe council. The victim said on Thursday that she will consult with her attorney the possibility of filing an appeal.
Initially, fourteen individuals were arrested and accused for their involvement in the gang rape. Eight of them were acquitted and the remaining six were sentenced to death penalty.
Afterwards, the Lahore High Court acquitted five of them and changed the death penalty to a sentence of life in prison. Mai filed petitions in the apex court against Khaliq and the other five people.
(Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)
Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 12:35 pm | BNO NEWS |
Latest Headlines
U.S. Senator Ensign announces resignation amid investigation
Small plane crash in north Brazil kills 7
Measles outbreak in Europe, WHO says
Three men sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of Iraqi opposition leader
Russia urges UN to send international mission to Israel and Palestine
Indonesia FM: first time negotiating with Somali pirates
BP commits up to $1 billion to restoration projects along Gulf Coast
Gulf council presents transition plan to Yemen’s leader
United Nations urges to revive Middle East peace talks
28 dead, many missing as Bangladesh ferry sinks

Spain crushes soccer cup during parade

Toronto janitor shocked to find out about $16.6 million Lotto Max win

TORONTO - A Toronto janitor is cleaning up after learning his Lotto Max ticket bagged him a $16.6-million payout.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says John Addo checked his ticket Saturday at a local store and found he had one of the three winning tickets in Friday's $50-million draw.

The Ghana native, who came to Canada 20 years ago, has been working seven days a week for an industrial cleaning company to make ends meet.

Addo said his friends teased him about his weekly ticket purchase, but he always believed he would win one day.

He plans to buy a home and visit his family in Ghana with his winnings, and also wants to invest some of the money.

Addo, who moved from Montreal to Toronto three years ago, said he couldn't stop crying when he found out that he had won.

Pia scores record deal after shocking idol elimination

EXCLUSIVE: American Idol's Pia Toscano Scores a Record Deal!

Credit: Kaminski/Splash News

Saturday – April 09, 2011 – 10:55am

Comments (73) »

Well that was fast!

Less than 24 hours after her shocking early American Idol exit, season 10 finalist Pia Toscano has scored a record deal, UsMagazine.com has exclusively confirmed.

PHOTOS: Idol's most shocking elliminations ever

The 22-year-old New Yorker -- booted from the Fox series Thursday -- will record her debut album under the Interscope Records imprint, which is chaired by Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine.

"Pia is being signed to a deal with Interscope Records who are rushing her into the studio to record an album ASAP," a source familiar with the contract talks tells Us. "Starting [Thursday] night after the show, Interscope told her they wanted her and first thing [Friday] morning Interscope brass started calling every top songwriter and producer in town to get an album together and rush release it."

VIDEO: Watch Pia's soaring rendition of "I'll Stand By You"

As for the contract, the insider says, "Papers are being finalized. It's basically a done deal. She's signing. They rushed everything but she's so excited."

Though Idol fans are still coming to terms with her dismissal, Toscano -- who will hit the road this summer for the Idols LIVE! concert tour -- is taking her bad news in stride.

PHOTOS: Idol stars' fashions critiqued

"You don't know for sure why things happen, but you know, it did!" she told reporters during a Friday conference call. "It was my time to go on the show and I'm excited to see what my future holds."

Ignatieff misses 77% of the votes...off the job 77 % of the time

NDP FACT CHECK

Reality check: The Ignatieff stand-up and be counted tour?

JANUARY 12, 2011
“He is standing up and willing to be counted” Martha Hall Findlay, Globe and Mail, January 10, 2011

Standing up to be counted? Sounds like a great theme for a tour of Liberal ridings! Let’s check the record:

Michael Ignatieff was absent for a shocking 77% of House of Commons votes in 2010. That’s 107 votes missed.

That compares to 44% for Stephen Harper, 12% for Gilles Duceppe and 7% for Jack Layton.

And on confidence votes? Michael Ignatieff missed 76% of those.

If Michael Ignatieff misses work 77% of the time, is he really interested in being Prime Minister?

Harper wins English debate

Analysis: who won the debate?

Canadian federal election leaders' debate

GLOBAL NEWSAPRIL 12, 2011 9:19 PM

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, right, gestures to Prime Minister Stephen Harper as the debate during the English language federal election debate in Ottawa Ont., on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.
Photograph by: Adrian Wyld, CP Images
Dr. Royce Koop is a Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University. Royce is an expert in the structures and operations of political parties in Canada. His areas of expertise include how members of Parliament construct, maintain and benefit from the local party organizations in their constituencies.

Sandford Borins is Professor of Strategic Management in the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. He has been a visiting professor at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley, and Scholar-in-Residence in the Ontario Cabinet Office. Professor Borins is the author of eight books, numerous articles on public management and a blog on information technology, politics, and government.

How well did the four leaders present their points?

Dr. Royce Koop: Harper is very effective at getting his message across. He is very clear, disciplined, and it's tough to knock him off his game. Ignatieff is not communicating as well as I thought he would. He's clearly new to this debate format.

Were there any knockout blows?

Dr. Royce Koop: There have not been any knockout blows thus far and I don't expect there to be any. There have been a few opportunities for Ignatieff to land some real blows on Harper, but he hasn't taken the opportunity. He is new to this debate forum and I do not think that he recognizes these opportunities when they present themselves.

Who were the clear aggressors and/or defenders throughout the debate?

Dr. Royce Koop: As can be expected, the three opposition leaders are the aggressors and Harper is the defender. However, Duceppe has distinguished himself as an aggressor. His opening comment was a strong, sharp attack of Harper. However, Harper is effectively defending himself in this debate. His strength is being disciplined, and he's keeping his cool very well.

Who preformed best?

Dr. Royce Koop: Harper behaved like the PM-in-waiting. These debate formats actually favour the incumbent PM. Everyone is attacking them, and so they are able to rise above it all and act prime-ministerial. This is how Chretien survived the debates in 1997 and 2000, by riding above all the attacks, and Harper is doing so very effectively tonight.

What was your impression of the Harper-Ignatieff face-off? Who won that tete-a-tete?

Dr. Royce Koop: I think that Harper won that exchange, but it was a close call. Ignatieff has to be able to knock Harper off his game, and he hasn't been able to do so effectively. He came close at the conclusion of the first exchange between them, but Harper came out on top.

Did anything unusual or surprising jump out at you during the debate?

Dr. Royce Koop: I was surprised that Duceppe was as aggressive as he was. It was clear that he was injecting issues into the debate that he intends to pick up in tomorrow's French debate. But it's clear that he perceives the Tories as a threat in this election, and his conduct in this debate proves that.

© Copyright (c) CW Media Inc.

Contact :

Histats

New CN Tower attraction offers a walk on the outside

Bitcon Trading

Postingan Populer

Blog Archive