Obama and Romney fight for religious groups? votes

Separation of church and state may be a constitutional requirement in US government. But in Election 2012 politics, religion has become an increasingly important factor.

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney are focusing on particular religious groups ? Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Evangelical Christians. Mr. Romney?s religion ? Mormonism ? is being covered by the media like never before in US political history. (At least since the sect moved to Utah in the 19th century in order to practice its own beliefs ? including, at that time, polygamy.)

Off to the side, meanwhile, is an apparent spat between the two most prominent Mormon politicians ? Romney and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ? which seems to bear on their religion?s theology.

Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz

The cover story in the current issue of Time magazine is headlined "The Mormon Identity: What Mitt Romney's faith tells us about his vision and values." It?s written by Jon Meacham, who?s a member of the Leadership Council of the Harvard Divinity School and whose books include ?American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation.?

"[T]he question is whether Romney has the capacity to draw once more on the pragmatic tradition of his religious forebears,? Mr. Meacham writes. ?Will he stick with a strategy that seems not to be working against President Obama, or will he respond to changing events ? with bold policy proposals or a more overtly negative campaign or whatever might move the election in his favor??

?One thing is clear: as a devout Mormon leader, Romney knows his church history, and he knows that difficulty and doubt are inherent elements of life,? Meacham writes. ?The key thing is to remain faithful, to serve, to press ahead ? to the next territory that might welcome you, to the next voter who might decide to give you a chance. From the outside, Romney's life looks to have been easy and affluent. There is, however, another angle of vision, one that reveals a deep-seated Romney instinct to survive and thrive in even the worst of storms.?

In the New York Times a few days earlier, Simon Critchley, professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, had a long column titled ?Why I Love Mormonism.?

There, professor Critchley (who is not a Mormon) sought to explain to non-believers ? especially urban skeptics whose knowledge is limited to snarky superficialities ? that the Mormons he met as part of his academic work ?were some of the kindest, most self-effacing and honest people I have ever met.?

?They were also funny, warm, genuine, completely open-minded, smart and terribly well read,? he added.

But with many non-Mormons today, he finds ?a casual prejudice that is not like the visceral hatred that plagued the early decades of Mormonism ? lest it be forgotten, Joseph Smith was shot to death on June 27, 1844, by an angry mob who broke into a jail where he was detained ? but a symptom of a thoughtless incuriousness.?

Washington, DC being a company town, the Washington Post visited the Mormon ?ward? (congregation) where a President Romney likely would attend.

?More ethnically and economically diverse than the typical Mormon ward, its roughly 200 congregants are drawn largely from Northeast Washington and have included deported immigrants, a teen shot dead in gang violence, refugees from African wars, and youths who depend on the church for meals, tutoring for class and support to pay for Boy Scout camp,? the Post reported.

The writer seemed surprised to find that most ward members are Democrats. Still, one said, ?I?d welcome him with open arms.?

One who would not welcome Romney to Washington with open arms is fellow Mormon Sen. Reid. When Romney made his now-infamous comment which seemed to write off the 47 percent of Americans who ?are dependent upon government ? believe that they are victims ? believe the government has a responsibility to care for them,? Reid was quick to comment that Romney had ?sullied? their religion and that the GOP presidential challenger ?is not the face of Mormonism."

In the Washington Post?s ?Belief Watch? column, Lisa Miller puts Romney?s controversial ?47 percent? remark to wealthy donors in historical and theological perspective.

?Mormons regard thrift, industry and self-reliance as non-negotiable obligations,? she writes. But, she adds, ?The dark side of the Mormon devotion to self-reliance is a corresponding horror of failure and dependency on outsiders.?

?A good Mormon wants to care for others in need, but he doesn?t want to be cared for,? she writes. ?If in dire straits, he should seek help first from family and then from his church community ? not from government assistance.?

Not all Mormons agree with Romney?s apparent interpretation.

?That?s Republicanism,? Kathleen Flake, professor of religion at Vanderbilt Divinity School and a Mormon, told the Post. ?That?s not Mormonism.?

?What thunders from the Book of Mormon in LDS churches on Sunday, professor Flake added, is ?if you judge the poor, you have no place in the kingdom of God.??

Beyond Romney?s faith, both he and Obama are watching closely as other religious groups move toward one candidate or the other, seeking to influence that trend.

The Religion News Service reported this past week that ?President Barack Obama's support among Catholic voters has surged since June ? despite a summer that included the Catholic bishops' religious freedom campaign and the naming of Rep. Paul Ryan, a Catholic, as the GOP's vice-presidential candidate.?

?On June 17, Obama held a slight edge over Mitt Romney among Catholics (49 percent to 47 percent), according to the Pew Research Center,? the news service reported. ?Since then, Obama has surged ahead, and now leads 54 percent to 39 percent, according to a Pew poll conducted Sept. 16.?

Among Jewish voters in 2008, Obama won an overwhelming 78 percent, according to exit polls. This year, the GOP is trying hard to win a larger percentage of such voters.

Reports the New York Times: ?Focused on South Florida, Ohio, and Nevada, the Republican Jewish Coalition, backed mostly by the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a Zionist, has begun spending $6.5 million on an air-and-ground strategy to reach Jewish voters who may view Mr. Obama as unreliable on the question of Israel?s security.?

In recent weeks (and especially in light of the perceived threat from Iran?s nuclear progam), Romney himself has played up his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Evangelical Christians ? a substantial minority of whom had previously indicated they might not be able to vote for a Mormon ? apparently began gravitating toward Romney once it became clear he would be the Republican nominee.

?There are at least two explanations for why Romney?s Mormonism matters so little among this powerful voting bloc,? writes Jonathan Merritt on the blog site for Sojourners, the progressive religious and social action organization. ?First, evangelicals seem to care more about political ideology than orthodox theology as far as voting is concerned. Polls show that voters care most about the economy, not faith. It?s why the Tea Party ? most of them being self-described evangelicals ? have gravitated toward another Mormon, Glenn Beck.?

?Second, any discomfort about Mormonism is outweighed by an even larger disdain for President Obama,? Mr. Merritt writes. ?Many evangelicals bemoan the last four years of his administration?s policies and they fear what he?ll do if re-elected.?

As religion scholar John-Charles Duffy of Miami University in Ohio put it in the Religion & Politics online news journal, ?Evangelicals may not think Romney?s a Christian, but at least he?s not Obama.?

Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-romney-fight-religious-groups-votes-then-romney-131539713.html

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California Scales Back Pension Benefits

A new law signed by California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday (September 12) will scale back retirement benefits for public employees in an effort to rein in the?costs of the state?s woefully underfunded pension systems.

The law, which Brown touted as ?the biggest rollback to public pension benefits in the history of California,? is expected to save billions of taxpayer dollars, though its supporters acknowledge it falls far short of addressing the bulk of the problem.

"Yes, it's not everything. It's not perfection," Brown said, according to the Associated Press. "But in politics we don't deal in perfection."

The state estimates it has underfunded its two largest pension systems, the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, by about $165 billion.

The new law is projected to lower the tab by about $78 billion over the next 30 years. It caps benefits, increases the retirement age by two years or more and ensures that workers will contribute at least 50 percent of their benefits.

"It was a meager reform that falls far short of solving California's brutal pension math problem," Dan Pellissier, president of the group California Pension Reform, told the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, labor groups have likened the changes to an attack on public employees and on collective bargaining rights.

?This plan will make it harder to keep quality teachers in our classrooms and public safety officers on our streets,? said Dean Vogel, president of the California Teachers Association, following the law?s passage last month in the legislature.

California is just one of many states struggling to curb rising pension costs, a key problem fueling state budget crises. Legislatures nationwide are trying to address it.

On Wednesday, as Bloomberg reports, Ohio lawmakers passed a package of bills that would increase worker contributions to pension plans, increase the retirement age and adjust cost-of-living requirements.

In 2010, the state paid just two-thirds of the recommended contribution to its pension system, leaving it with a $58 billion funding gap, according to a review by the Pew Center on the States, Stateline?s parent organization. Meanwhile, it paid just 36 percent of the recommended contribution for employee health benefits.

In Illinois, where lawmakers have failed to address one of the nation?s worst pension problems, Governor Pat Quinn has launched a website aimed at generating grassroots support for change to the state?s pensions and Medicaid systems.?

?We need major reforms to fix Illinois? broken pension systems. Delaying, deferring, or denying this challenge is not an option,? the site says in bold. ?This isn?t about politics ? no matter where you stand, Illinois must address this problem.?

Source: http://www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/california-scales-back-pension-benefits-85899417091

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Chinese premier calls on citizens to back Communist Party

China: China's Premier Wen Jiabao called on Saturday for the Chinese to unite in support of the Communist Party and outgoing President Hu Jintao, ahead of a pivotal congress to usher in new leadership.

The announcement comes amid a damaging political scandal involving Bo Xilai, a senior party boss who is to stand trial for a litany of crimes including abuse of power and improper sexual relations.

"Let us rally more closely around the CPC central committee with comrade Hu Jintao as the general secretary," said Wen in a speech two days before the 63rd anniversary of the proclamation of the People's Republic of China.

Hu will handover power as head of the party to Vice President Xi Jinping during the congress on November 8, but will remain the country's president until next March.

The congress will allow the party to "open new perspectives on development," Wen told an audience of some 2,000 diplomats and officials gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.

Wen, who will also give up his position as head of government next spring -- most likely to Vice Premier Li Keqiang -- recapped his party's achievements in expanding economic growth but said more needed to be done.

"We have followed the overall guideline of making progress while ensuring stability, strengthened and improved macro regulations and given greater priority to stabilising growth," he said.

But he added: "While recognising achievements, we must always keep a cool head. Our country is still at the primary stage of socialism and productivity is not high."

He also touched upon foreign policy amid an ongoing territorial dispute with Japan over remote islands in the East China Sea, which has seen relations between the two countries plummet.

"We will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wen vowed.

(Follow timesofoman.com on Facebook and on Twitter for updates that you can share with your friends.)

Source: http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=13213

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Ancient Market Ablaze as Rebels Battle Assad?s Troops in Aleppo

One of Syria?s landmark historic sites is on fire as rebels battle loyalist troops in the heart of Old Aleppo.

Wall Street Journal:

Fires sparked by clashes between government troops and rebels raged through the medieval marketplace of Aleppo on Saturday, destroying hundreds of shops lining the vaulted passageways where foods, fabrics, perfumes and spices have been sold for centuries, activists said.

Some described the overnight blaze as the worst blow yet to a historic district that helped make the heart of Syria?s largest city and commercial hub a Unesco world heritage site.

The souk, a labyrinth of narrow alleys lined with shops, was once a major tourist attraction, but has been the scene of near-daily firefights and shelling in recent weeks after rebels who fought their way into the city two months ago pushed toward its center. Activists say regime troops and snipers have taken up positions in the citadel that dominates the city.

Amateur footage posted online by activists showed flames raging through the stone passageways, the wooden doors of shops crackling in the heat as rebels struggled to put out the blaze with a garden hose. Other videos showed a pall of smoke hanging over the city?s skyline.

The fire started late Friday amid heavy government shelling, and was still burning Saturday morning, activists said. One, who is based in the city, estimated that the majority of the neighborhood?s hundreds of shops were destroyed.

?It?s a disaster,? said Ahmad al-Halabi, speaking from the site by telephone. ?The fire is threatening to spread to remaining shops.? Syrian authorities had cut the city?s water supply, he added, making it more difficult to put out the flames. He said rebels and civilians were working together to control the blaze with a limited number of fire extinguishers.

?It is a very difficult and tragic situation there,? he said. ?There are narrow, hard to reach streets where the fire is still burning.?

Syria is disintegrating. Eyewitnesses call Aleppo a ?dead city?:

A paralysed UN, an enraged and merciless regime, regional proxy war players and an increasingly radicalised rebel force have reduced Syria?s cultural and business capital, location of a Unesco World Heritage Site and once a favourite haunt of tourists, to a scene of free-falling desolation. It is a city where a horrified civilian population are dying in droves, a place that knows neither hope or mercy.

?We are taking in on average a hundred wounded here a day,? said Abul Barra, an exhausted anesthetist in a small emergency hospital north-east of the medina.

?And that?s just this hospital. On a bad day we get so many at once that we have to step on their bodies just to get into the emergency room.

?About 40 per cent of those that manage to reach us are either dead on arrival or die as we treat them.?

Behind him a 10-year-old girl, Leyla, lay crying on a stretcher having her face stitched up. Her home had just been hit by a shell.

Outside, just beyond the blood- spattered admission steps, three huge craters from a MiG?s air strike pitted the street on each side of the hospital, clothes from victims still hanging in a tree.

It was deliberate targeting, and distraught doctors begged me not to identify the hospital by name for fear that the next strike would finish them for good.

The number of civilian deaths in Aleppo is now impossible to verify, accelerating beyond the reach of any viable method of record. Some apartments collapsed by air strikes still stink of unrecovered bodies.

In a street near the citadel, rebels said five of their own men and 23 civilians lay dead and rotting in the rubble, out of reach because of snipers on the citadel walls.

Russia and Iran are resupplying President Assad with impunity ? no worries about being sanctioned or even called out for their enabling the murder of civilians.

What do you suppose the reaction would be if a US ally was cracking down on civilians like Assad and we were resupplying his forces? The question answers itself. And the lethal hypocrisy of the UN and much of the world is the reason Syria continues to burn.

Source: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/09/29/ancient-market-ablaze-as-rebels-battle-assads-troops-in-aleppo/

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Source: http://vikcheroky.livejournal.com/103499.html

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Sikh Genocide Case Against India's Congress Party Moves Another Step Forward in US Court

Sikh Genocide Case Against India's Congress Party Moves Another Step Forward in US Court

NEWS REPORTS

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US Federal Judge Robert Sweet has ruled that the Congress Party of India has been "properly served" with the summons in the November 1984 Sikh Genocide case.

Last week, on denying the motion of the Congress (I) to dismiss the Sikh Genocide case for lack of service, the court held that the plaintiffs' evidence establishes that service was effected properly in accordance with the Hague Convention.

Since the filing of the law suit by "Sikhs For Justice" against Congress (I) for conspiring, aiding, abetting and carrying out genocidal attacks on Sikhs during November 1984, the Congress party has been challenging the US Court's jurisdiction at every juncture - and has lost at every juncture so far.

Citing the steps taken by Sikhs for Justice (?SFJ?) to effect service on the Congress, Judge Sweet, in his 82 page ruling, held that "the Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they complied with the Hague Convention procedures and that any failure of compliance was solely on the Central Authority to participate in the process. In addition the INC (Congrees Party) was aware of the litigation and had actual notice of the suit."

?Under these circumstances the INC was served in accordance with the Hague Convention and service is valid," concluded Judge Sweet.

While ruling on the Congress (I)'s claim that US Court lacks personal jurisdiction to hear November 1984 Sikh Genocide, Judge Sweet held that the plaintiffs have? yet to establish personal jurisdiction of the US Court over Congress (I).?

However, Judge Sweet granted the Plaintiffs? request for "jurisdictional discovery" to determine the relationship between Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) and Indian National Congress (INC)".

However, while granting jurisdictional discovery, Judge Sweet stated: "Plaintiffs? allegations demonstrate a relationship between the INC and INOC to justify jurisdictional veil piercing," which is essential to determine the court's personal jurisdiction over the Congress Party.

According to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, since the filing of the Sikh Genocide case, the rights group has been approached by hundreds of survivors, witnesses and victims of November 1984, who are willing to become party to the pending case against Congress.

SFJ will file a motion before the US Court to include additional plaintiffs and issue a "class certification" in the pending Genocide case. The class will consist of resident and non-resident Sikh men, women and children who survived the attacks in November 1984 and the lawful heirs and claimants of those men, women and children that did not survive.

The class will also consist of Sikhs whose homes, businesses, gurdwaras and personal property was damaged, added the attorney.

SFJ has also announced that it will file a complaint with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, for allowing S.M. Krishna, a senior Congress (I) leader and India?s External Affairs Minister into the United States, knowing the Congress (I) leader?s involvement in leading attacks on Sikhs during the November 1984 pogroms.

"S.M. Krishna's entry and presence in the United States will be in violation of section 212(a)(3)(E)(ii) & (iii) of INA and section 604 of The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 which prohibit entry into United States of any individual who is member of an organization involved in human rights violations,? explained Gurpatwant Singh, who practices human rights law in the United States.

According to SFJ, the "US Court's ruling regarding proper service on Congress (I) has brought the victims a step closer to establishing that Congress conspired, aided, abetted and carried out the genocidal attacks on Sikhs during November 1984 in which more than thirty thousand Sikhs were killed".

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September 27, 2012

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Source: http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=3708&cat=26

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More restaurants opening up after tourists leave : News ...

Read?more: Local, Business, Economy, News, Tourism, Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Horry County, Planet Wings, Bandito's, Grand Strand Restaurants, Becky Billingsley, Restaurant Turnover, Food and Beverage Industry

Owners of Planet Wings putting the final touches on the new business. &nbsp/&nbspLisa Edge

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) - This month alone, about a dozen Grand Strand restaurants have closed their doors for good. Experts say high turnover is normal in the food and beverage industry, but a new trend is emerging.

Becky Billingsley runs a?website?that tracks the Myrtle Beach area restaurant industry. She says while new restaurants used to open just before the beginning of the summer season, she's seeing a "surprising" number of new restaurants open after the summer as well.?

In a strip mall across from Coastal Grand Mall, the owners of?Planet Wings?are putting the final touches on their business. They're slated to start serving customers October 1 and hope opening at the end of the season will work to their advantage.

"Opening now is a good time to get our feet wet, get in the door, get people to know about us, and by the time summer comes, we'll be a known name," says manager Alyssa Kingsbury.

While there won't be thousands of tourists in town each weekend, Kingsbury is confident they'll survive the winter months. "It is a franchise, and it's known to work. They wouldn't have let us open here knowing that it is a tourist town if they didn't feel confident we would be successful, and we also feel confident that we're going to provide the best quality food, service, drinks and make everybody happy and want to come back," she explains.

Along Ocean Boulevard, Bandito's has been serving customers since August.

"Business has been outstanding. We've done really well. The summer came to an end and we thought business would taper off a bit, and it's been holding steady ever since, so it's been doing really well," says General Manager Sean Christenson.

Christenson has many years of experience in the restaurant industry and is hopeful they'll continue to be successful. "We have the oceanfront, so we have a very different venue than what a lot of other restaurants have being on the oceanfront and having the opportunity to open here. And being this close to the boardwalk and having the boardwalk come in our direction, so definitely a great draw for us," he explains.

Source: http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=806525

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Tamer job gains expected for Canada in September

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada is likely to have added a modest 10,000 new jobs in September, backpedaling from gains in August that far surpassed market expectations and better reflecting the sluggish pace of the country's economic growth.

The gain of 10,000 jobs was the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 23 economists. The most bullish forecast was for 28,000 new jobs and the most bearish was for a loss of 15,000 jobs.

In August, Canada added 34,300 jobs - more than doubling expectations and recouping all the 30,400 positions lost in July - but analysts see slower and steadier jobs growth as more in line with economic fundamentals.

"If we look at the last six months, even the six-month average, which is about 27,000, that looks high for an economy that's growing at less than 2 percent," said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC, who expects 10,000 new jobs.

"So we're due for a somewhat slower pace."

The poll's median forecast for the unemployment rate in September was 7.3 percent, unchanged from August and July.

Jobs growth was muted in May and June after a whopping 140,500 new jobs were created in March and April, which was the biggest two-month spree of job creation in more than 30 years.

"We expect a see-saw performance from the labor market in September as another strong gain in jobs (like that in August) is not likely given the current economic environment," IHS Global Insight Canadian economists Arlene Kish and Jillian Kohut wrote in a research note.

They forecast a loss of 15,000 jobs, but added: "There is the potential for a gain given that consumer confidence levels increased in September, but we haven't always seen survey responses reflected in actual data outcomes."

Canada has regained all the jobs it lost during the last recession, which was milder in Canada than it was in the United States.

(Editing by Peter Galloway and Jeffrey Hodgson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tamer-job-gains-expected-canada-september-183508574--business.html

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The Painted Home: {Fall DIY's - Day 5 - Entertaining with Pumpkins}

I am NO green thumb. So, I try to avoid as many living plants as possible.
Sometimes my mother plants real, live plants/flowers in my window boxes.
I am not ammused. But, I'm too lazy to take them out. And, I'm especially not a mum person.
They really aren't all that attractive, but they say "Fall".
So I go with it.

Here's what I did to zing up the typical "mums in a window box" type of thing.

It's amazing what a simple pinecone will do.

(And how competitive your children will become when you tell them there is a pinecone collecting contest happening.)

I highly recommend it.

Another spot I used some cheap and easy decorating was my front door.

Now, I'm not actually going to show you my front door, 'cause I haven't painted it yet. snort.

So, you'll have to settle for a peak at the general area of the front door.

And, if you think I've gotten around to painting the actual house yet, your funnier than my friend Lisa.?

And she's funny.

So just imagine a beautiful shade of mocha brown stucco behind all this hdge podge.

Here's what I've got...

?super cute grape crates, from? who knows where. Probably somebody's trash. Or my brother-in-law Pat, who makes his own wine. Yes, yummy.

yes, I believe they were Merlot grapes.

I also threw some pinecones in these window boxes.

With a few candles mixed in.

super cute, right?

Pin It Now!

Source: http://www.paintedhomedesigns.com/2012/09/fall-diys-day-5-entertaining-with.html

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With 40 days left, the candidates focus on their coffers (cbsnews)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251898878?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Green Blog: Leopard Poaching on the Rise, Group Warns

When it comes to the poaching of endangered species, elephants, tigers and rhinos tend to be in the limelight. But a new report sets out to plug the information gap on a different species that is imperiled by a tide of demand related to rising affluence in Asia: leopards.

In India alone, an average of at least four leopards have been poached each week over the last 10 years, according to Traffic, an organization that monitors the trade in endangered wildlife around the globe and issued the report. That?s more than 2,000 in one decade.

The estimate is based on a review of seizures of spotted leopard skins and other body parts. While most of the items seized were skins, other body parts, particularly bones, are prescribed as substitutes for tiger parts in traditional Asian medicine, Traffic said.

?Even though reports of illegal trade in leopard body parts are disturbingly frequent, the level of threat to leopards in the country has previously been unrecognized and has fallen into our collective ?blind spot?,? said Rashid Raza, the lead author of the report, which was released on Friday in New Delhi.

There are no reliable estimates of how many leopards exist in India. The animals are notoriously wary of humans and are spread out over large areas, so tracking their numbers is difficult.

Yet the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which categorizes leopards as ?near threatened? on its so-called red list of species, says that leopard populations have become extinct in some parts of the world and dwindled to tiny numbers in others. Although they dwell widely in the forests of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China, they are ?becoming increasingly rare outside protected areas,? the organization says.

Divyabhanusinh Chavda, president of the World Wildlife Fund?s India chapter, said that concerted national action was needed. ?Without an effective strategy to assess and tackle the threats posed by illegal trade, the danger is that leopard numbers may decline rapidly, as happened previously to the tiger,? he said.

Government estimates put the number of tigers in India at little more than 1,700.

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/leopard-poaching-on-the-rise/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Aspen Santa Fe Ballet to Visit S.B. The Santa Barbara Independent

Innovative Company Points to the Future of American?Dance

---

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Founded in 1996 in the upscale mountain town of Aspen, Colorado, and expanded to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2000, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB) is a company for a new era. A typical American ballet company features scores of principal, soloist, and corps de ballet dancers based in a single metropolitan area: a model that?s proving unsustainable in today?s arts climate. By contrast, ASFB boasts just 11 professional dancers and enjoys the revenue from two home cities. The company also runs ballet schools, offers free folkloric dance classes, and acts as a presenter, bringing a range of dance groups to perform in each community. And unlike some contemporary ballet companies that focus on adding established pieces to their repertory, ASFB goes for new work ? in just 16 years, it?s commissioned no less than 25 original?ballets.

Next Tuesday, the forward-thinking company visits Santa Barbara for the first time, bringing with it an unusual mixed bill including works by contemporary ballet great Ji?? Kyli?n and newcomer Norbert De La Cruz?III.

It?s in keeping with their quest for the new and the innovative that ASFB?s directors are always on the lookout for new talent. Each year, they travel to New York on a scouting mission. Top among their stop-offs is the Juilliard School, the training ground for some of the country?s most promising young dancers. On a recent Juilliard visit, ASFB artistic director Tom Mossbrucker and executive director Jean-Philippe Malaty were struck not just by the dancing, but by the choreography of a particularly gifted?student.

In an industry where performers often work for directors and choreographers of their parents? generation, the choice to commission work from an artist fresh out of college is an anomaly. Now 23, De La Cruz is the youngest choreographer ASFB has ever worked with. Taking his work on tour is something of a risk for the company but one Mossbrucker says is in keeping with their commitment to fostering emerging talent. Either way, he explained over the phone from the company?s Colorado base, De La Cruz was too good to pass?up.

?When you see lots and lots of choreography, you?re not often surprised by the structure or composition,? he said, ?but we were really surprised by the craft of his work, the way he put things together. It seemed to be instinctive for?him.?

The work ASFB commissioned, ?Square None,? is a work for six dancers set to an eclectic mix of musical sources ranging from George Frideric Handel to Aphex Twin. It also features costumes designed by Austin Scarlett of Project Runway?fame.

?Square None? will open the program, which also includes Czech-born choreographer Jir? Kyli?n?s 1983 classic ?Stamping Ground,? a work that takes its inspiration from the aboriginal tribes of Australia. Finnish artist Jorma Elo?s 2011 work ?Over Glow,? created for ASFB, completes the bill. Mossbrucker acknowledges that many of contemporary ballet?s defining artists hail from Europe rather than the United States. ?The Kyli?n and the [William] Forsythe years in Europe spawned a lot of creativity,? he explained. ?Here in the States, you don?t have a lot of time to create; you have one day on the stage, and then it?s over. In Europe in the ?80s and ?90s, they really invested time and money in the creative?process.?

It may be impossible to replicate that golden age of contemporary ballet, but ASFB is doing what it can to give choreographers the time and space to generate new?work.

?It?s a very safe, soothing place to create,? Mossbrucker said of Aspen, where the dancers are based and where new work is incubated. ?The artists who come here appreciate not having to worry about the hectic hustle and bustle of the big city. We try to make it a haven for?them.?

Once ASFB has established a successful relationship with an artist, Mossbrucker likes to invite them back ? Elo, for example, has created four new works for ASFB. ?They get to know the dancers, and they come back a second time with a different mindset,? Mossbrucker noted. ?We?ve really been successful with this?approach.?

With two home bases, a commitment to community outreach and presenting, and a track record of fostering close ties with emerging artists, ASFB may well be a model for where American contemporary ballet is going. As for De La Cruz?s trajectory, it looks like blue skies?ahead.

4?1?1

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will perform at the Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) on Tuesday, October 2, at 8 p.m. Call (805) 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu for tickets and info. The company will also teach a free community dance class at Gustafson School of Dance on Monday, October 1, at 5:30 p.m. Call (805) 966-6950 for?info.

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Source: http://www.independent.com/news/2012/sep/27/aspen-santa-fe-ballet-visit-sb/

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O's blast Jays to keep pace in playoff chase

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:31 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) - After losing two straight games to Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles broke out the big bats.

The Orioles tied a team record by with seven home runs to rout the Blue Jays 12-2 and stay within 1 1/2 games of the AL East lead.

Chris Davis and Manny Machado each connected twice and the Orioles remained close to the division-leading New York Yankees, who won 8-2 in Minnesota.

Nate McLouth hit a leadoff shot in the first inning and Jim Thome and Mark Reynolds also homered. Baltimore has hit seven home runs three times, most recently on Aug. 26, 1985.

"Home runs are very unique, and when you do what we did tonight, it's something to be proud of. It's something that doesn't happen a whole lot in the game," Thome said.

Thome's home run was the 612th of his career and the first he's hit at home for the Orioles.

"Up and down the lineup, everyone swung the bat well. It's been fun," Thome said.

Davis finished with a career-high five RBIs to help the Orioles split a four-game series with the last-place Blue Jays.

"This was a tough series. It was one of those ones that you don't want to see at the end of the season coming in off a long road trip," Davis said.

"I think if you'd have told us a few months ago that we'd be a game-and-a-half out with six games left, I think you'd be pretty happy with that."

Beginning Friday, the Orioles have three games with Boston at home and three at Tampa Bay.

"We just got through playing Boston and we played them well. Obviously, the three in Tampa are going to be tough, but we're at a point where we still have a chance, so that's all you can ask for," Davis said.

The Orioles trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth before hitting three home runs.

Thome led off with his third homer since joining the Orioles. With two outs, Machado hit his fifth of the year for a 3-2 Baltimore lead. All of Machado's home runs have come at home, and his drive was the Orioles' 200th homer of the year.

Davis' three-run drive gave the Orioles a five-run inning and finished Carlos Villanueva (7-7).

Villanueva equaled a career high by giving up four home runs.

"Those mistakes I made, they hit them with authority. They put the power stroke on them and made me pay for them," Villanueva said.

Machado and Thome are the first AL teammates to hit home runs in the same inning with an age difference of more than 20 years, according to home run historian David Vincent.

Thome is 42 and Machado is 20 - Thome's major league career began 10 months before Machado was born.

"That's crazy," Machado said. "It's a pretty good stat. I remember when I used to watch (Thome) play when I was a little kid. Now to hit a home run in the same inning he did, just feels great."

Davis hit his second home run in the seventh. On Aug. 24, he hit three home runs against the Blue Jays, also in a game started by Villanueva. He has 28 home runs.

Reynolds hit his 23rd homer in the sixth and Machado added a two-run shot in the eighth.

Miguel Gonzalez (8-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. He allowed Edwin Encarnacion's 42nd home run with two outs in the top of the first.

With one out in the fifth, J.P. Arencibia, who went 7 for 9 in the four-game series, doubled and scored on Anthony Gose's single.

NOTES: Orioles LHP Randy Wolf was put on the 60-day disabled list with a torn ligament in his left elbow. Baltimore purchased the contract of INF-OF Bill Hall from Triple-A Norfolk. Hall will provide outfield help while Lew Ford is out with a groin injury. ... Deion Sanders, in town for Thursday's NFL Network game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, took batting practice with the Orioles before the game. Sanders, who played nine years in the majors, was an outfielder for Baltimore manager Buck Showalter in the minors while in the Yankees' organization. ... The Orioles are off Thursday and begin a three-game series with Boston on Friday. Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman (8-2, 3.08 ERA) faces Red Sox RHP Aaron Cook (4-10, 5.13). ... On Thursday, Toronto hosts New York to begin a four-game series. Blue Jays RHP Brandon Morrow (8-7, 3.28) faces Yankees RHP Ivan Nova (12-7, 4.94).

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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??HBT Extra: Tiffany Simons and Craig Calcaterra speculate if the Tigers slugger can become the first Triple Crown winner since 1967.

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Mailbag: Save Cy Young votes for Kimbrel

MLB mailbag: Braves closer Craig Kimbrel has had the kind of utterly dominant season that should earn him some attention in the NL Cy Young race. But winning the award figures to be a difficult proposition for him.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49188577/ns/sports-baseball/

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Romney decries military cuts; Obama talking jobs

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at American Legion Post 176 in Springfield, Va., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at American Legion Post 176 in Springfield, Va., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama gestures during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at American Legion Post 176 in Springfield, Va., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks at Farm Bureau Live during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach, Va. on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Stephen M. Katz) MAGS OUT

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Farm Bureau Live, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) ? President Barack Obama pledged to create many more jobs and "make the middle class secure again" in a campaign-closing appeal on Thursday ? more than five weeks before Election Day ? to voters already casting ballots in large numbers.

Republican Mitt Romney, focusing on threats beyond American shores, accused the commander in chief of backing dangerous cuts in defense spending.

"The idea of cutting our military is unthinkable and devastating. And when I become president we will not," declared the challenger, struggling to reverse a slide in opinion polls.

Romney and Obama campaigned a few hundred miles apart in Virginia, 40 days before their long race ends. They'll be in much closer quarters next Wednesday in Denver ? for the first of three presidential debates on the campaign calendar and perhaps the challenger's best remaining chance to change the trajectory of the campaign.

In a race where the economy is the dominant issue, there was a fresh sign of national weakness as the Commerce Department lowered its earlier estimate of tepid growth last spring. Romney and his allies seized on the news as evidence that Obama's policies aren't working.

There was good news for the president in the form of a survey by The Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation suggesting he has gained ground among older voters after a month-long ad war over Republican plans for Medicare.

The pace also was quickening in the struggle for control of the U.S. Senate.

Prominent Republican conservatives pledged financial and political support for Rep. Todd Akin in Missouri. That complicated Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's bid for re-election. But it also left Romney, running mate Paul Ryan and the rest of the GOP hierarchy in an awkward position after they tried unsuccessfully to push Akin off the ballot in the wake of his controversial comments about rape.

Farther west, in Arizona, Republican Rep. Jeff Flake unleashed an ad calling Democratic rival Richard Carmona "Barack Obama's rubberstamp." It was not meant as a compliment in a state seemingly headed Romney's way, a response for sure to Democratic claims that the Senate contest was unexpectedly close.

In the presidential race, early voting has already begun in Virginia as well as South Dakota, Idaho and Vermont. It began during the day in Wyoming as well as in Iowa, like Virginia one of the most highly contested states. Early voters had formed a line a half block long in Des Moines before the elections office opened at 8 a.m.

Campaigning in Virginia Beach, Obama said, "It's time for a new economic patriotism, an economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class." It was a line straight from the two-minute television commercial his campaign released overnight.

He said that if re-elected he would back policies to create a million new manufacturing jobs, help businesses double exports and give tax breaks to companies that "invest in America, not ship jobs overseas." He pledged to cut oil imports in half while doubling the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks, make sure there are 100,000 new teachers trained in math and science, cut the growth of college tuition in half and expand student aid "so more Americans can afford it."

He also touted a "balanced plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion," but he included $1 trillion in reductions that already have taken place, and he took credit for saving half of the funds budgeted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that no longer are needed.

Obama also said he would "ask the wealthy to pay a little more," a reference to the tax increase he favors on incomes over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. It is perhaps his most fundamental disagreement on policy with Romney, who wants to extend expiring tax cuts at all levels, including the highest.

Obama's campaign put out a second, scathing commercial during the day based on Romney's recorded comments from last May that 47 percent of Americans don't pay income taxes and feel they are victims entitled to government benefits. Romney added that as a candidate his job is not to worry about them.

In the ad, Romney's by-now well-known comments are heard as images scroll by of a white woman with two children in a rural setting, a black woman wearing workplace safety goggles, two older white men wearing Veterans of Foreign Wars hats; a Latino, and finally a white woman with safety goggles ? each of them meant to portray millions whom Romney described dismissively in the appearance before donors four months ago.

Romney countered with two new ads of his own, including one that appeared designed to minimize political fallout from the videotape.

"President Obama and I both care about poor and middle-class families," he says in a direct appeal to voters. "The difference is my policies will make things better for them. We shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. We should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job."

The second ad pointed to comments Obama made four years ago when he said he would support proposals to raise the cost of business for facilities than run on coal. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them," the then-presidential candidate is seen saying.

The narrator adds: "Obama wages war on coal while we lose jobs to China, which is using more coal every day. Now your job is in danger."

Romney campaigned at an American Legion hall in Springfield, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., accusing Obama of supporting cuts in the defense budget that would be detrimental to the nation's military readiness.

"The world is not a safe place. It remains dangerous," he said, referring to North Korea, Syria, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. "The idea of cutting our military commitment by a trillion dollars over this decade is unthinkable and devastating."

Appealing for support from his audience, he said, "You realize we have fewer ships in the Navy than any time since 1917. ... Our Air Force is older and smaller than any time since 1947, when it was formed. This is unacceptable. And the idea of shrinking our active duty personnel by 100,000 or 200,000 ? I want to add 100,000 to active duty personnel."

To have a strong military, he said, it's imperative to have a strong economy, yet he added that growth in China and Russia is stronger than in the United States. He predicted that under Obama, there would be no improvement.

"So two -- two very different paths. One is the path the president's proposed, which is the status quo. His is the path of -- well, he calls it 'forward.' I call it 'forewarned.' All right? All right?

The $1 trillion Romney mentioned in defense cuts had the support of Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress, although he says GOP lawmakers made a mistake in voting for the reductions and several now want to prevent them from taking effect.

____

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly in Springfield, Va., Beth Fouhy in New York and Ben Feller and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report. Espo reported from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-27-Presidential%20Campaign/id-c96868e82e1e4478b6a525b6e008b556

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Lavish CEO pay doesn't work as intended: study

By Martha C. White, NBC News contributor

The arms race in CEO pay doesn?t help performance or retention, according to a new study.

Outsized CEO pay has been a bone of contention for shareholders and a flashpoint for public discontent, but was always justified with the conventional wisdom that if a company doesn?t pay its top brass top dollar, they?ll go somewhere where they can earn more.

Charles Elson and Craig Ferrere, director and fellow, respectively, at the?John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, took aim at this long-held theory in a new paper, as reported by the New York Times last weekend.

"The problem is the standard practice of benchmarking pay to that of peers," the two wrote.

To determine how much to pay a CEO, corporate compensation committees look at how much the chiefs of similar companies earn, which has the result of lumping together all CEO talent into one pool.?Elson and Ferrere argued that expertise in management isn?t the same, and isn't as good, as having a deep base of knowledge in one particular industry.?

Many of the skills that make a chief executive successful don?t translate to another company. ?The theoretical underpinning of [peer grouping] became the notion of transferability,? Elson said. ?That was false. The superstar theory of the CEO failed, and if transferability failed, the peer system has to fail.?

?There?s been a sense for some time that the external view of pay-setting has been a problem in ratcheting up pay,"?said Paul Hodgson, chief research analyst at corporate governance research company GMI Ratings.?

Elson and Ferrere said benchmarking against what other CEOs make is flawed in several ways that inflate pay packages.

One problem is that the definition of what constitutes a ?similar? company can be manipulated to skew pay higher by including larger companies or ones in different industries.?Institutional shareholders are ?very, very suspicious? of that practice, Hodgson said.

Even without manipulation, Elson said companies should decide how much to pay a CEO based on performance, not how much his or her counterparts earn. ?If you don?t have that internal benchmark you?ve made a mistake to begin with,? he said.

Two other elements of peer benchmarking nudge up pay, the researchers wrote. Compensation committees are reluctant to give CEOs any less than the median pay for the peer group. Compensation packages generally range from the 50th to the 90th percentile, which inevitably inflates pay over time. Another?unintended consequence of offering above-average pay is that successful CEOs wind up subsidizing their less-talented counterparts, since performance isn?t factored into the equation.?

The researchers drew a link between higher CEO compensation and the trend of chief executives being recruited from outside a company, but said companies perform better over the long term when someone familiar with the industry is at the helm.

?The necessary skills to successfully run a company cannot be acquired besides through actual experience at the company,? they wrote. ?The years spent acquiring 'general' experience rather than a firm-?specific expertise were unproductive.?

Companies would do better to look within their own ranks than to cast a wider net, they said, since even a CEO who displays talent running one company usually can?t export those skills to a new corporation. They pointed to earlier research showing that, although CEOs brought in from outside often earned more, the companies they led subsequently performed on par with or worse than those that promoted from inside.

?Each organization has its own culture and if you?re in the culture... you?re often more effective than someone who isn?t,? Elson said.

"It?s always more expensive," Hodgson said. "Very concrete examples show that hiring from the outside often doesn?t work.?

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Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/27/14125675-lavish-ceo-pay-doesnt-work-as-intended-study?lite

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India court rules online gaming is illegal

Business | 26th September, 2012 | New Delhi, India | Delhi Court ? Judgement

Although gaming is tightly regulated in India and various laws are in place to block websites, offshore companies continue to benefit from Indian players. A New Delhi court confirmed on Monday that online games and sports betting involving money are deemed illegal in India.

The judgement came after a start-up company of former students of the Indian Institute of Technology petitioned to launch a social gaming website which included gambling. However before launching the website, wanted to ensure that betting on ?games of skill? would not be in violation of any national law.

In its petition, the company said that it was proposing a social-orientated game that included the games Chess, Billiards, Rummy, Poker, Bridge and Snooker. It sought the court?s opinion as the website planned to charge a limited 5 percent commission on winning hands.

New Delhi District Court Judge Ina Malhotra ruled that online betting and games of skill involving money are deemed illegal in India and do not offer protection under the constitution. In addition, banks could refuse to provide normal services to websites offering any form of wagering or betting.

?While betting or playing for money among players on a game of golf, chess, bridge or billiards may be permitted, they cannot be considered legal if operated by a gambling house,? stated Malhotra, ?The online gaming, even pertaining to the games of skill, offered by website involving money cannot be held to be legal and therefore banks can refuse to provide normal banking services to such websites.?

Online gaming companies are unhappy with the decision, especially a host of operators that currently offer skill-based games for cash. The industry has already indicated it will pursue further legal resource to overturn the ruling.

The court also reconfirmed that ?sports betting is an offence in India?. In May 2011, India passed the Federal Information Technology Act to prevent its citizens from registering at online sports betting sites by making ISPs responsible for unblocked offshore operations. This however, does not prevent customers from logging onto overseas website without protection of national law.

It is estimated that the illegal gambling industry in India could worth up to $60 billion, according to the Independent, and companies have long seen the nation as a potential online gambling goldmine.

The government of Sikkim, one of the country?s only two states with legal casinos, issued three online gaming licenses in 2010 with the hope of starting the ball rolling in the industry. But the central government still has the licenses and has so far expressed no interest on the matter.

Online Gaming in India:

Source: http://www.innovategaming.com/india-court-rules-online-gaming-illegal?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=india-court-rules-online-gaming-illegal

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Blasphemy or democracy? - World News - MSNBC

By Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News

News Analysis

Updated at 3:49 a.m. ET: CAIRO ??An ultra-conservative Islamist cleric in Egypt faces charges of blasphemy after he?allegedly tore up and burned copies of the New Testament at a protest in front of the American Embassy in Cairo.

Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud Abdallah, also known as Sheikh Abu Islam, is part owner of a private ultra-conservative Islamic TV station known as Al Uma and was participating in demonstrations against a U.S.-made movie denigrating the Prophet Muhammad that swept the Muslim world in the last month.

Egypt?s General Prosecutor accused Abu Islam and his son, the channel's executive director, of insulting religion ??in this case Christianity.?

Libya leader to NBC: Film not behind US Consulate attack

The case is a rare example of the country?s often-criticized blasphemy laws being used against someone who allegedly insulted a religion that is not Islam. That trial is scheduled to begin September 30.

Another case that has received less attention illustrates the quandary Egyptians find themselves in amid the explosion of protests and expression following the revolution that deposed President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

On Wednesday, a 24-year-old self-described atheist appeared in court to face charges that he was in contempt of religion by posting links to websites that promoted atheism.

Egypt issues arrest warrants for Terry Jones, Coptic Christians

Saber Eyead Zaki also allegedly posted the link to the controversial video that has triggered global protests known as the "Innocence of Muslims" on his Facebook page.

Egyptian human rights organizations have say that Zaki has been tortured and was being held at an undisclosed location. ?His house was searched without a proper warrant when no one was home, they contend.

A video posted online shows the moment he was taken into custody?? a mob hurls insults at him and try to attack him as he is being whisked away by police.

Journalist Ethar El-Katatney joins from Cairo, Egypt to describe the demonstrations in Egypt and how reaction an anti-Muslim film is being used to channel frustrations.

As these simultaneous trials show, even sharing an idea is now enough to land you in jail in Egypt. This may seem a contradiction ??given that many Egyptians cite?the explosion of free speech, alongside the right to protest, as a major gain of the revolution.?

So the key question many Egyptians face is: Does more media and the right to protest mean freer speech?

The trials also are the latest examples that the government is taking a zero-tolerance approach to those who would question or criticize religion, let alone mock it and insult it.

Security forces faced violent protests in Egypt and Yemen spurred by angry mobs accusing the U.S. of insulting the prophet Mohammad. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

Traditionally, this has been a one-way street, with most of those being tried cited for insulting Islam, including famed Egyptian icon and actor Adel Imam. Most insults to Christianity in Egypt have gone unpunished from references in media to derogatory and inflammatory comments made publicly.?

The two cases, along with others since the revolution, have really challenged Egyptians definition of free speech and whether the legal system in Egypt is capable of defending the right of people to express themselves freely especially when it comes to the issue of religion.?

Journalist Mona Eltahawy joins from Cairo, Egypt to describe the protests that surged throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, and the Pacific Rim this week, and what the true source that caused the outbursts of violence.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to come is whether such limitations will be enshrined in the forthcoming constitution.

Many are already ringing the alarm bells that the new constitution may enshrine restrictions on free speech rather protecting it. If so, many Egyptians will undoubtedly feel that perhaps the one gain the revolution produced in the short run was merely an illusion.?

Egypt's new president Mohammed Morsi addressed the United Nations General Assembly and urged an end to the civil war in Syria.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14112854-blasphemy-or-democracy-egypt-cleric-tears-up-burns-new-testament-at-us-embassy

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Transformer Infinity and Prime Jelly Bean updates for the US and Canada expected 'in 72 hours'

Yesterday we heard that ASUS was rolling out the Jelly Bean update for the Transformer Prime in Sweden, and today we have confirmation from ASUS' Gary Key that users in the U.S. and Canada will be seeing Android 4.1 for their Prime and the Transformer Infinity in the next 72 hours.

The version number will be 10.4.4.14.1, which is Android 4.1. We have no further details other than what ASUS has already mentioned, namely that the update no longer officially supports Adobe Flash, and that on the Prime Wifi direct has been removed. 

Key has been a reliable liaison between ASUS and the Android community, and as an ASUS employee he doesn't have to rely on second-hand information. Get your tablets ready, because it certainly looks to be coming soon.

Source: XDA-Developers; Thanks everyone who sent this in!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/m74jAnr68yU/story01.htm

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Nano skin care can cause severe damage to the body | NC BEA ...

Some skin care products can cause more damage to the body than do anything beneficial. I’d say that no nano skin care products are much better for the skin in the long term. There are many consequences that can come out of using nano skin care products and today they are all substituted with organic skin care products. Many people find the organic products to be more effective than nano skin care products. Organic products are all 100% natural and have positive long term effects on the skin. People who have suffered from skin problems now live normal lives because of using the organic skin care creams and shampoos.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 5:55 am and is filed under Health and Fitness. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.ncbea.net/health-and-fitness/nano-skin-care-can-cause-severe-damage-to-the-body/

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Best advantage in 18 years for 'GMA'

{ttle}

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