Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The New Hillary Clinton Debate Reaction Cam
The Hillary Clinton Debate Reaction Cam It was not an uplifting debate, which seemed fitting for an election in which so many likely voters find both candidates repellent. Trump became unhinged a third of the way through last night’s matchup at Hofstra University and rudely interrupted the moderator. Clinton came off as too pleased with herself and failed, once again, to deliver a digestible vision of how she would change the country. Still, anyone would have to say the night was Hillary Clinton’s, largely because Donald Trump could not help but show himself to be unfit for office.
Driven, as usual, by ego, he unwisely made the debate about himself. The New Hillary Clinton Debate Reaction Cam Trump’s claim that he had a better temperament than hers was absurd. Even more so was his lie that he had never supported the Iraq war. Worse was the nutty suggestion that the press call Fox News’s rabidly rightwing host, Sean Hannity, a Trump supporter, for confirmation. His embrace of stop and frisk – and abrupt refusal to accept Lester Holt’s word that the policy was ruled unconstitutional – was astonishing. His call for the restoration of “law and order” was a dated Nixon mantra, perhaps encouraged by Roger Ailes, who crafted the disgraced president’s comeback nearly 50 years ago.
He had no substantive rebuttals about his treatment of women or his clinging to the birther conspiracy that so insulted Barack Obama and the intelligence of American voters. As usual, Clinton showed command of policy, offered lots of sensible specifics but failed to provide an overarching theme for her candidacy. But if her intention was to let Trump asphyxiate himself, mission accomplished. I’ve covered presidential debates since Gerald Ford disastrously said there was no communist domination of eastern Europe.
I saw Ronald Reagan sink Jimmy Carter with a single utterance: “There you go again.” These moments decided elections. It will take more debates to decide this one. The debate began with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump color trolling each other – him in a Democratic blue tie, her in a Republican red pantsuit. She was as confident and cheerful as he was blustering and dour – no “morning in America” Reagan optimism from Trump. I wondered if Trump was making missteps when he described his father giving him “a very small loan” (which was really for a million dollars), or when he responded to Clinton accusing him of betting against the housing market by coldly saying: “That’s called business, by the way.” Did he stumble when Clinton accused him of stiffing an architect by responding, “Maybe he didn’t do a good job and I was unsatisfied with his work”? The Hillary Clinton Debate Reaction Cam
Saturday, July 19, 2014
MH17 : Full list of Passengers and Crew - Passenger Manifest
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| MH17 : Full list of Passengers and Crew - Passenger Manifest |
Malaysia Airlines released a full list of passengers and crew on Saturday that were killed when flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine.
The airline appealed to family and friends of the victims to contact the carrier so it can get a full picture of the next of kin. A spokesman said Malaysia Airlines is assessing security in Ukraine before making a decision about possibly flying next of kin to the country where 298 passengers and crew lost their lives.
The spokesman who declined to be named in line with company policy, said family members are being care for in Amsterdam while a team from the carrier, including security officials, is on the ground in Ukraine. He said the team was trying to travel "500 kilometers (310 miles) through difficult territory" to reach the area where wreckage of the Boeing 777 landed.
Forensic teams fanned out across the Netherlands on Saturday to collect material including DNA samples that will help positively identify the remains of victims. Malaysia Airlines said 193 of the 298 passengers and crew killed in Thursday's strike were Dutch.
"In the past 45 hours, the airline together with various foreign embassies have made every effort to establish contact with the next-of-kin but is still unable to identify many more family members," Malaysia Airlines said in a statement.
Police said in a tweet that 40 pairs of detectives from the National Forensic Investigations Team would be visiting victims' relatives over the coming days.
Their aims is to build a database of material including DNA and photographs of distinguishing features like scars and tattoos that can be used to identify bodies and body parts recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine.
Across the Netherlands, at sports clubs, schools and churches, friends met Saturday to console each another and attempt to come to terms with their loss.
The European Union police coordination body Europol said Saturday it would assist Interpol and other agencies in identifying victims in Ukraine.
"We will do our utmost to support the work that must be done following this horrific incident, where hundreds of families and friends to the innocent victims on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 are grieving and left with unanswered questions," Europol Director Rob Wainwright said in a statement.
Dutch newspapers carried pages of photos and stories Saturday about the dead. Travelers flying out of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport laid flowers and signed a condolence book before boarding their flights, including Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur.
"I am not really afraid. It's good that they kept the same flight number," Mirelle Geervliet said as she prepared to board the aircraft. "It doesn't change anything. If you change the number, people will start to be afraid."
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, on a visit to the Netherlands, was among those who signed the condolence book at the airport.
"This is a real tragedy -- a tragedy for families, for nations and for the HIV AIDS community," Annan said, referring to several AIDS researchers who were on the doomed flight. "We should all hope that a thorough international investigation will be conducted and we will know what happened and the culprits should be held to account."
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans was in Kiev on Saturday, pushing for a fully independent, international probe into the downing of the plane, a day after Prime Minister Mark Rutte steered clear of apportioning blame but vowed not to rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice if it is proven to be an attack.
Thursday's disaster marks the second tragedy in less that five months for Malaysia Airlines. A union official said the disaster has left some airline employees so shaken that they have been unable to function properly at work.
The carrier was still dealing with the mystery of Flight 370, which disappeared March 8 with 239 people onboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when news of Thursday's tragedy broke.
National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia President Ismail Nasaruddin said some employees "are sad and very depressed."
"We have not overcome the battle of missing MH370, and within such a short period, this incident has taken place involving another Malaysia aircraft," Nasaruddin said in a news conference Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MH17: "There is Power That Protects Us" - Barry Sim
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| MH17: "There is Power That Protects Us" - Barry Sim |
MH17: "There is Power That Protects Us" - Barry Sim I A senior Scotland with his wife and son survived the crash of flight MH17 after failing to get a ticket to board the aircraft, according to The Telegraph.
Barry Sim, an oil company employee, was supposed to take the ill-fated aircraft. He, however, had to change the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after no tickets for his wife and children.
They are very loyal pleaded with Malaysia Airlines and often fly with the national carrier then select the airline boarding Netherlands, KLM despite Barry's wife claimed that her husband does not like flying with KLM.
Asked his reaction to the crash, Sim said: "Feeling nervous stomach. Heart palpitations."
His wife, Izzy SIMM said "there is power to protect us and like saying 'do not go up the flight."
MH017 Other news
Weapon 'Moved To Russia After MH17 Shot'
Monday, June 23, 2014
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Man Who Makes the Greatest Monsters of Doctor Who
Man Who Makes the Greatest Monsters of Doctor Who
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Daleks
First Appearance: "The Daleks," Season 1, 1963
Why They're Important: Well, for one thing, they're the most long-lived of the Doctor Who monsters -- and also the most popular, appearing in every season of the revived show since 2005. They're also an integral part of the larger Who mythology, having been named as the enemies of the Time Lords during the Great Time War which eventually led to the eradication of the Doctor's race. Not bad for a pun of shrill-voiced pepper pots.
Autons
First Appearance: "Spearhead from Space," Season 7, 1970
Why They're Important: The Autons -- life-size plastic dummies animated by an alien presence called the Nestene Consciousness -- occupy a couple of particular places in Who history, being the first monsters to appear in a color episode of the series (Yes, the first six years of the show were in black and white), and also the first monsters to appear in the revived version of the show in 2005. As such, they were also the first monsters to encounter the Third and Ninth Doctors, respectively.
Slitheen
First Appearance: "Aliens of London," Revived series Season 1, 2005
Why They're Important: The Doctor Who Monster equivalent of Mean Girls' "Fetch," the Slitheen were monsters that creator and then-current Who showrunner Russell T. Davies just couldn't let go. They were far more comedic than threatening -- as if they didn't look ridiculous enough, they also had problems with intestinal gas -- and, after a couple of unsuccessful appearances as villains on Who, quickly became recast as comic relief or unscary threats on kid-centric spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. In other words, consider them to Doctor Who what the Ferengi were to Star Trek.
Ood
First Appearance: "The Impossible Planet," Revived series Season 2 (2006)
Why They're Important: The Ood are a truly strange case of science-fiction metaphor meeting Hollywood cliche. When we initially meet them, they're an enslaved race who, we're told, have to be kept in servitude for their own good. Of course, this doesn't turn out to be the case, and eventually freed, they evolve into a race of wise, knowing beings who offer guidance and spirituality to others. Whether or not swapping the stereotype of the black slave with the stereotype of the Magical Negro was intentional remains unclear.
Cybermen
First Appearance: "The Tenth Planet," Season 4 (1966)
Why They're Important: Arguably the second-best known of the Doctor Who monsters, the Cybermen represent a particular brand of body (and mental) horror -- what happens to humanity when it gets a little too obsessed with upgrading itself with the use of technology. Part Frankenstein myth, part commentary on group-think and the herd mentality, the Cybermen could be the most chilling of all of the Who monsters -- if only you could ignore their radiator heads.
Weeping Angels
First Appearance: "Blink," Revived series Season 3 (2007)
Why They're Important: Who has a history of making monsters out of everyday objects, as the Autons demonstrate. The Weeping Angels may be the zenith of that particular trend, however -- alien statues that can move only when you're not looking at them, and who are slowly coming to kill you (or, perhaps, transform you into one of them, or maybe throw you back in time to eat your misery. It gets less clear the more often they appear). Their first episode, "Blink," is one of Who's finest moments in the entire 50-year run.
Sontarans
First Appearance: "The Time Warrior," Season 11 (1973)
Why They're Important: Doctor Who is, in many ways, an essentially pacifist show, and one of the places where that may be most obvious is with the Sontarans -- a militaristic race of cloned soldiers who want only war and, more importantly, conquest of others. Despite that, the Sontarans are ridiculous, especially in the revived series' take on them, where their machismo is played for laughs and reinforced with a lack of critical thinking -- or even much intelligence at all, outside of strategic planning. Only Doctor Who would have such glee in satirizing militarized cultures.
Silurians
First Appearance: "Doctor Who and the Silurians," Season 7 (1970)
Why They're Important: The original "owners" of Earth, the Silurians -- also known as the Sea Devils for reasons too oblique to explain here -- are that most welcome of things: Villains who might, actually, have the moral superiority in their conflict with humanity. Since their reappearance in the show's revived incarnation, they've managed to both be partially responsible for the (temporary) death of one of the Doctor's companions and also offered up the fabulous Madame Vastra, Victorian detective and the show's quasi-inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
Ice Warriors
First Appearance: "The Ice Warriors," Season 5 (1967)
Why They're Important: There's something wonderfully classic about the Ice Warriors' core concept: They're Martians who are invading Earth because they've managed to destroy their own planet and would like a replacement. Although the Warriors have suffered in comparison to other Who monsters -- in many ways, they're like a combination of the Daleks and the Cybermen in terms of motivation -- they reappeared in the most recent season of the revised show, suggesting their particular cold war might be about to heat up again in future episodes.
Zygons
First Appearance: "Terror of the Zygons," Season 13 (1975)
Why They're Important: An invading race of alien shapeshifters, it could be argued that the Zygons aren't incredibly important, as yet. Certainly, they've only appeared in the series once, and despite their distinctive visual, have apparently become part of the long line of threats the Doctor had managed to vanquish and then forget about. But... they are appearing in this Saturday's anniversary episode, with a pre-release promotional video created to remind old fans (and educate new ones) about just how dangerous they can be. So maybe there's more than meets the eye to them after all... as would befit a shapeshifter, when it comes down to it.
The Time Lord, also known as “The Doctor,” has run into a lot of different aliens, monsters and miscellaneous beasties during his five-decade run on the BBC’s Doctor Who. With the show’s 50th anniversary upon us this weekend, WIRED talked to Neill Gorton — director of Millennium FX, which has created prosthetics and makeup for Doctor Who for the last nine years — about what it’s like to make the show’s most memorable monsters (above) appear on-screen.
Although Gorton works with other television series, movies and live events, he said Doctor Who in particular is more than just another job. “There’s no other project we’ve had such a close association with for so long,” he told WIRED. “It can’t help but become part of your life.”
It helps, too, that Gorton was a Who fan long before he started working on the show. “I grew up in Liverpool in the ’70s so I was a long way away from the London-centric film and TV world,” he recalled. “Nearby Blackpool, the Las Vegas of the North, had a permanent Doctor Who exhibition, and on our yearly family day trips to Blackpool I would insist on visiting. I think this was the first time I really started to understand that these things, these creatures and robots and monsters, had to be made by someone. On TV it was magical and far away but here I could see the joins and the seams and paint flaking off. Seeing that they where tangible made them something in my grasp.”
That early love for the show paid off when one of his childhood favorite characters reappeared on the series. “Davros [the cyborg creator of the show's signature monsters, the Daleks] haunted me as a child,” Gorton said. “I remember seeing him on TV and thinking, ‘Where did they find that creepy old man?’ For years, I thought they found a bald old bloke and painted him brown. I pestered Russell T. [Davies, former Doctor Who showrunner] constantly about when I would get to do Davros.”
When the character did reappear in 2008′s “The Stolen Earth,” Gorton said that his work with actor Julian Bleach was “really personal to me… I sculpted [the prosthetics], molded it, painted and applied the makeup on the shoot every day. It’s the only revival of a classic Doctor Who monster that I’ve not heard a single fan moan about. Everyone just loved it.”
After nine years of working on the show, Gorton said that his team and the show’s producers have “a pretty good understanding” of how to deal with the prosthetic effect demands for the show. “It’s like that scene in Apollo 13 when they dump a box of bits on the table and the Nasa guys have to figure out how to make a CO2 scrubber out of odd objects and trash that happens to be aboard,” he joked. “The team is so clever at at getting the maximum effect out of the minimum resources, we’d be able to rustle up an engine modification that’d get us a round trip to Mars on top of fixing up that life support… The reality is the scripted vision always outstrips the budget by a huge margin.”
Although the showrunner usually plots out the season’s stories before Gorton’s team becomes involved — meaning there’s little chance to impact storyline decisions — that’s not always the case. “Last [season], I mentioned to producer Marcus Wilson that I had a couple of cool nine-foot robot suits that could add value to an episode. And several months later Chris Chibnall delivers ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’ with two nine-foot robots taking featured roles!” he said. “Since then I’ve been turfing all kinds of oddities out of my store rooms and excitedly saying ‘How about this?’”
Despite approaching ten years with the show, Gorton believes that the best may be yet to come when it comes to his work on Who. Not only did his team re-create the classic Zygon monsters for this weekend’s 50th anniversary special — “I had campaigned for years to build Zygons, as I just loved their pug faces, barrel chests and complete weirdness” — but he said that this year’s Christmas episode contains something “something very special that I personally created in its entirety, but I can’t tell you what.”
Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary episode, “The Day of the Doctor,” airs on BBC America at 2:50pm Eastern and 11:50am Pacific on November 23, with 3D cinema screenings in select theaters the following Monday.
Protests against celebrity hunter Melissa Bachman mount
The petition, launched by Cape Town resident Elan Burman, includes a letter addressed to Director General Mkuseli Apleni and other South African officials.
"She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation this country prides itself on," Burman wrote. "Her latest Facebook post features her with a lion she has just executed and murdered in our country. As taxpayers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources."
According to Change.org, Burman's petition has 257,753 supporters. A Facebook group called "Stop Melissa Bachman" has more than 148,000 "likes."
"Stop the murder of wildlife for the sport," a message on the group's Facebook page reads. "Stop Melissa Bachman and people like her from pulling the trigger.
"An incredible day hunting in South Africa!" Bachman, a Minnesota native, wrote on Facebook and Twitter Nov. 1. "Stalked inside 60 yards on this beautiful male lion ... what a hunt!"
Big game hunting in Africa has long been criticized by animal rights activists, but proponents say the money hunters spend during their trips boosts the local economy, and supports conservation projects.
According to Grind TV, Bachman killed the lion during a guided hunt facilitated by the Maroi Conservancy. And according to Maroi, the hunt was perfectly legal.
“We do ethical hunting and all meat from animals hunted is distributed to the local community," a post on Maroi's Facebook page reads. "Funds generated from hunting goes towards fixing the border fence that was washed away in the 2013 floods, combating poaching, which is excessive in this area due to close proximity to Zimbabwe, and running a sustainable conservancy."
"We are not apologizing for facilitating the [Bachman] hunt," the conservancy added. "If you are not a game farmer and struggling with dying starving animals, poaching, and no fences in place to protect your animals and crop, please refrain from making negative derogatory comments."
My first Nyala in South Africa...what a beautiful place and incredible weather!! I'm loving it here... pic.twitter.com/Mg8RLlT8ur
— Melissa Bachman (@MelissaBachman) October 31, 2013
Bachman did not immediately return requests seeking comment.
This isn't the first time Bachman has been the target of Internet scorn. In 2012, the National Geographic channel dropped Bachman from "Ultimate Survivor Alaska" after more than 13,000 people signed an online petition demanding her removal.
The latest wave of protests has caught the attention of several celebrities, including Ricky Gervais, who posted a photo of a living lion to Twitter on Monday.
"Would you shoot this beautiful creature for no reason other than it gave you a sick thrill?" Gervais wrote.
Would you shoot this beautiful creature for no reason other than it gave you a sick thrill? pic.twitter.com/72CFiSPEzc
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) November 18, 2013
On 50th anniversary of JFK death - tears, memories, suspicion
By Jon Herskovitz and Marice Richter
"Our collective hearts were broken," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to a frigid Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was slain while riding in a motorcade.
Remembered fondly for his youthful vigor and glamorous wife, Kennedy remains one of Americans' favorite presidents for his handling of the Cuban missile crisis, his call to public service with programs such as the Peace Corps, and a promise - later fulfilled - to land an American on the moon before the end of the 1960s.
"A new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas," Rawlings said.
The assassination cut short "Camelot," as the 1,000 days of the Kennedy presidency became known. He was 46 when he died.
"If that hadn't happened, history might have changed. He was a different kind of president," said Douglas Ducharme, a Canadian attending the event.
There were a few scuffles along the perimeter fence around Dealey Plaza between police and protesters, including conspiracy theorists who wanted to take part in the official event and others who sought attention for their concerns about what they consider police brutality in Dallas.
In previous years, conspiracy theorists gathered in Dealey Plaza to express their doubts of the official Warren Commission conclusion that gunman Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, shooting Kennedy to death from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository as the president rode in an open limousine.
Two days after the assassination, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot Oswald to death on live television while he was in police custody. Ruby died in prison in early 1967.
WREATH AT THE GRAVE
At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where Kennedy is buried, family members laid a wreath at his grave, where Kennedy's wife, Jackie, and two of their children also are buried.
At dawn, Attorney General Eric Holder made a gravesite visit to honor Kennedy, bowing his head and placing a Justice Department commemorative coin at the stone. Holder then walked a short path to the grave of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as attorney general under his brother and was assassinated in 1968 while running for president. Holder bowed his head and left another coin.
President Barack Obama, who visited John F. Kennedy's grave on Wednesday, observed a moment of silence for the slain president.
He told Barbara Walters of ABC News that he did not dwell on his own safety because he was well protected by the U.S. Secret Service.
At the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, a steady stream of people came to view artifacts, including a video of Kennedy's state funeral and a display of the saddle, sword and boots of Black Jack, the riderless horse that led the procession.
Hundreds of people also lined up to write their thoughts and sign their names in four large guest books set up at the museum.
"Some people view Kennedy's assassination as the moment the nation lost its innocence," said Alex Loughran Lamothe, a 23-year-old volunteer for City Year - an organization modeled on Kennedy's Peace Corps program - who was helping at the exhibit.
Across the country in Santa Rosa, California, former Dallas-area resident Ruth Paine, an acquaintance of Oswald and friend of his Russian-born wife in the months before the assassination, said she spent the anniversary in seclusion.
Paine, now 81, who told the Warren Commission she helped Oswald get a job at the book depository, has appeared in recent documentaries recounting how investigators determined that Oswald had, unknown to her, kept the rifle identified as the murder weapon stashed in her garage.
Reached by telephone on Friday, she told Reuters, "I've spent the day in retreat," and declined to comment further.
New York tabloids on Friday included inserts of their reprinted 1963 editions reporting on the Kennedy assassination.
The New York Post, which at the time was an afternoon newspaper, ran an extra edition on November 22, 1963, that cost 10 cents and was headlined "JFK SHOT TO DEATH" with a stock portrait photograph of Kennedy.
STIGMA
Dallas was seen as a pariah city for years after the assassination. That stigma started to fade decades ago, and now, the Sixth Floor Museum in the former Texas School Book Depository - where police found Oswald's rifle - is one of the city's biggest tourist attractions.
"Dallas came under a great deal of international criticism after the assassination. It was called the 'City of Hate,'" said Stephen Fagin, associate curator of the museum.
Amid the Cold War paranoia and simmering racial tension of the 1960s, a small but influential group of arch-conservatives protested Kennedy's visit to Texas, saying he was soft on communism and should stay away.
In recent days, the city removed a large "X" embedded into the pavement by an unknown person or people that marked the spot on Elm Street where Kennedy was shot in the head.
The "X" had been seen as tasteless by many, while the official observance - a small plaque on the plaza's noted "grassy knoll" - had been criticized as inadequate.
CONSPIRACY THEORY
The conspiracy theorists also came to Dallas for the 50th anniversary but were left out of the official event, with one group gathering at a nearby sandwich shop.
Thousands of books, news articles, TV shows, movies and documentaries have been produced about that fateful day in Dallas, and surveys show a majority of Americans still believe in the conspiracy theories, distrusting official evidence that points to Oswald as the sole killer.
Despite serious questions about the official inquest, and theories purporting that organized crime, Cuba or a cabal of U.S. security agents was involved, conspiracy theorists have yet to produce conclusive proof that Oswald acted in consort with anyone.
Hugh Aynesworth, a reporter in Dealey Plaza 50 years ago who witnessed the assassination and also saw Oswald killed by Ruby, has spent a lifetime investigating the killings and debunking suspected plots.
"We can't accept very comfortably that two nobodies, two nothings - Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby - were able to change the course of world history," he told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, David Ingram in Arlington, Brian Snyder and Richard Valdmanis in Boston, Pavithra Sarah George in Dallas; Editing by Daniel Trotta, Gary Hill and Peter Cooney)
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
New York CVS Overrun with Duck Invasion
New York CVS Overrun with Duck Invasion
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New York CVS Overrun with Duck Invasion
The YouTube video, 'There was an incident last night at CVS,' doesn't quite capture the hilarious and puzzling nature of what is contained within, but it's at least a start. According to uploader Aplue, around 50 ducks entered the pharmacy in Saratoga Springs, NY, last week. There is a park down the street where the ducks live most of the time, but somehow they managed to sneak past the front door and hold an impromptu shopping spree. In addition to the ones inside, there were dozens more outside the store as well. After using a swiffer to try to shoo them out, one enterprising employee was able to lure them out with a bag of popcorn. And really, who doesn't love popcorn?Tuesday, October 29, 2013
US health chief to defend 'Obamacare' despite criticism
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| US health chief to defend 'Obamacare' despite criticism |
US health chief to defend 'Obamacare' despite criticism
The top US health official will issue a trenchant defence of "Obamacare" on Wednesday, defying critics who have savaged the White House over how the reforms were leaving some Americans uninsured.
Under-fire Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be the most senior Obama administration official to date to appear before Congress to discuss the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov.
And while she will acknowledge the various mis-steps in the website and the frustration it has caused Americans, Sebelius will drive home a message opposed by critics: President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement nicknamed Obamacare is working.
"The fact is that the Affordable Care Act delivered on its product: quality, affordable health insurance," she will tell a House panel according to her testimony released Tuesday.
She also will stress that "tremendous interest" in the website is proof that Americans "want to buy this product.
"We know the initial consumer experience at HealthCare.gov has not been adequate. We will address these initial and any ongoing problems, and build a website that fully delivers on this promise of the Affordable Care Act."
But amid those assurances, Sebelius also will deflect blame for the site to contractors, saying "unfortunately, a subset of those contracts for HealthCare.gov have not met expectations."
As Sebelius's testimony was released, a top lieutenant Marilyn Tavenner was apologizing for the website's depressing debut, while insisting the online program is fixable.
Tavenner took heat at a hearing on problems with the October 1 rollout of the website through which millions of Americans are expected to sign up for health insurance.
"I want to apologize to you that the website has not worked as well as it should," Tavenner, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Department of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing.
"The bottom line is, this healthcare website is fixable," and CMS staff and contractors "are working around the clock" to improve the service.
But she dodged pointed questions about just how many people have enrolled in the system.
Tavenner said some 700,000 people nationwide have applied for coverage, but as for actual enrollment, she repeatedly said: "We'll have that information available in mid-November."
Consumers have had trouble signing on, getting accurate cost estimates, and completing enrollment.
But House Speaker John Boehner, the nation's top Republican, said the issue was less the online portal than with the very structure of the law.
"There is no way to fix this monstrosity," he said, as he and other Republican leaders pointed to reports that the White House knew that millions of Americans could be kicked off their existing plans as insurance companies adjust to meeting the requirements of Obamacare.
"This is government-run health care because virtually every policy that is sold has to be approved by the government," Boehner said.
"That's why you've got 1.5 million Americans who (have) already gotten these notices that they're going to lose their health coverage because it doesn't meet the minimum standard."
Senior Democrat Steny Hoyer fueled the fire Tuesday, acknowledging that the Obama team could have been more "precise" in their messaging on whether Americans could keep their insurance.
"I think the message was accurate, but... clearly it should have been caveated with, 'assuming you have a policy that does in fact do what the bill is designed to do,'" Hoyer told reporters.
The White House pushed back, saying insurance companies are compelled to upgrade their plans to provide services like free mammograms or hospital visits under the new law.
"You might discover, as a significant portion of this five percent will discover, that you're actually going to pay less come January for better coverage than what you're paying now for far worse coverage," Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said.
Obamacare requires most Americans to have health insurance from 2014 or face a fine, but the White House said it will give an extra six weeks, until March 31, to obtain insurance before facing the penalty.
Australia's newly elected conservative government is upholding a ban on China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
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| Australia's newly elected conservative government is upholding a ban on China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd |
Australia's newly elected conservative government is upholding a ban on China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's newly elected conservative government is upholding a ban on China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from bidding for work on the country's $38 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), the attorney-general said on Tuesday.The former Labor government cited cyber-security concerns when it banned Huawei, the world's largest supplier of telecom network equipment by revenue, from bidding for contracts on the infrastructure rollout last year.
Some senior officials in the new Liberal-led Coalition government, including Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, had supported a review of the ban, raising expectations it would be scrapped.
But Attorney-General George Brandis said the government had decided not to change the policy, citing new briefings from Australia's national security agencies.
"Since the election the new government has had further briefings from the national security agencies. No decision has been made by the new government to change the existing policy," Brandis said in an email to Reuters.
"The decision of the previous government not to permit Huawei to tender for the NBN was made on advice from the national security agencies. That decision was supported by the then opposition after we received our own briefings from those agencies," he said.
The government would not comment on advice from the national security agencies, he added.
China, a major trading partner in the midst of negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Australia, expressed concern.
"We...consistently oppose using national security concerns as a pretext to interfere with the two countries' normal economic cooperation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
"We hope all sides can make joint efforts to engage in normal cooperation and create good conditions for each others' companies on the basis of market principles and on the foundation of mutual respect and equality."
The move could please Australia's traditional ally, the United States, where lawmakers have warned against awarding Huawei major contracts over spying fears.
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee last year described Huawei as a national security threat and urged American firms to stop doing business with the Shenzhen-based company. Huawei has denied the U.S. allegations that its equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.
The British government said in July that checks on Huawei's role in British telecommunications infrastructure had been "insufficiently robust" in the past, and announced a review of security at a cyber centre the company runs in southern England.
Huawei spokesman Jeremy Mitchell said the company believed the Australian government was still reviewing its policy.
"Huawei's understanding is that no decision has been made regarding the NBN and that the review is ongoing," Mitchell said in an emailed response after Brandis released his statement.
Huawei has become a significant market force in Australia. It supplies equipment to Singapore Telecom's local unit Optus as well as Vodafone, and has conducted trials with Australia's biggest telecom company, Telstra Corp Ltd. It also employed former senior Liberal Party officials as part of its lobbying effort to overturn Australia's ban.
The company, founded in 1987 by former People's Liberation Army officer Ren Zhengfei, last year proposed building a cyber security evaluation centre in Australia.
Police investigating Ang Mo Kio Town Council website hacking
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| Police investigating Ang Mo Kio Town Council website hacking |
Police investigating Ang Mo Kio Town Council website hacking
Police are investigating the compromising of Ang Mo Kio Town Council's website, www.amktc.org.sg, according to Ang Mo Kio member of parliament (MP) Ang Hin Kee.
Speaking to Yahoo Singapore on Monday evening, Ang clarified that no personal information was compromised as all information on the website was public. He nonetheless called it "malicious", but said the intrusion caused "minimal" inconvenience as the town council acted quickly to shut the site and investigate the hacking.
"Nonetheless, we will ramp up security to the website," said Ang. "We also regret that the attacker has chosen to attack an amenity that residents can access."
After the hacker's outings on Sun Ho's as well as the People's Action Party (PAP) Community Foundation websites, the now-infamous "The Messiah" left a message in a two-panel carousel on the town council's home page on Monday afternoon targeting both it and Ang.
The first panel read, "I have been to various sites and seen how they take the initiative to secure their systems. You have a brain and you have money. You had a choice. Don't blame external factors (Anonymous) for this hack. - The Messiah ;)".
It linked to an article on sociopolitical site TR Emeritus reporting Ang's comments on the Woodlands bus interchange incident where a man was recorded on video spitting and verbally attacking other commuters over cutting a queue.
Ang said those comments, which were quoted in a MyPaper article previously, were taken out of context in that piece, adding that he has not spoken further on the issue since.
Clicking to the second panel revealed a second message, purportedly of Ang "tender(ing) (his) resignation as your minister of parliament".
"I am incapable and have failed you," wrote the hacker, who added another link to a YouTube video about the Anonymous group of "hacktivists".
By about 5pm, administrators had locked the Town Council's website, requiring authentication to access it.
News for X Men Days Of Future Past Showing - Singapore
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X Men Days Of Future Past Showing |
News for X Men Days Of Future Past Showing
X Men Days Of Future Past Showing Release date: May 23, 2014 (USA), (Singapore) "I don't want your suffering! I don't want your future!" Ever since we saw footage from Comic-Con, we've been waiting to see the first trailer for Bryan Singer's return to the X-Men franchise in the form of X-Men: Days of Future Past. With the cast of the original X-Men franchise and the new series X-Men: First Class coming together for this film, it looks like it will undoubtedly be the biggest X-Men film to date. This is pretty much exactly what we saw at Comic-Con, including the use of that The Thin Red Line track, but with some new shots we didn't see in San Diego. Next summer needs to be here now. Watch it below! via http://www.firstshowing.net/
ComicBook.com grabbed a few shots of the four new revealed we were able to get a clear look at in the new trailer, and will offer them here with commentary for the uninitiated.
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| Bishop |
In the comics, Bishop comes from a future where the world has been torn apart by a war that pitted humanity and mutantkind against an overwhelming force of Sentinels. He (and later his sister, Shard) is sent back in time by an ancient mutant called The Witness (that future’s version of Gambit) to prevent an unknown team member from kicking off the whole process by betraying the X-Men. His backstory got increasingly more complicated over time, especially because there were so many false starts where it seemed as though the traitor had been revealed and eventually that aspect of Bishop’s character–originally his driving motivation–became less significant. He’s got the ability to absorb and redirect energy, making him a very useful agent against the energy-firing Sentinels. It looks from what little we’ve seen in the trailer as though Bishop’s future may be folded into the story of Days of Future Past, a story in which he wasn’t featured because he wouldn’t be created for another ten years.
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| Blink |
An unstable mutant with the ability to teleport, she’s basically got the powers covered that Nightcrawler–who didn’t show this time out, even though Alan Cumming may have been willing–provided in the past. She’s also a fan-favorite character; in her original incarnation, she was introduced in “The Phalanx Covenant” and died almost immediately, but after one of her co-creators made her a big part of they fan-favorite alternate-universe story “The Age of Apocalypse,” Blink became popular enough that a version of her was later added to the dimension-hopping mutant super-team in Exiles. Again, while she’s got a time-travel/alternate reality background that serves the plot well, Blink didn’t appear in the original Days of Future.
Past comic book story since she hadn’t been created yet. Created two years after the original Days of Future Past storyline, Roberto Da Costa became a member of the New Mutants and later X-Force. With solar-based powers, including flight and the ability to fire solar blasts, Sunspot is mostly notable for the cool visual effect that they gave him for most of his career, where he looked completely black except his eyes and mouth, perhaps because he was absorbing all the light energy in his immediate area. He was an important player in the storyline “Days of Future Now,” in which he was the leader of a team of mutants called Gene Nation.
20th Century Fox releases the first trailer for "X-Men: Days of Future Past" out next year.
News for X Men Days Of Future Past Showing
Saturday, March 3, 2012
'The Lorax' Review - Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax Universal 3D
'The Lorax' Review
Universal 3D-Kinofilm Adaption von Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax ist eigentlich das zweite Mal des geliebten Dichters Geschichte auf die Leinwand gebracht wurde - das erste Mal, dass ein animierter Kurzfilm, der im Fernsehen im Jahr 1972 uraufgeführt. In diesem 40-Jahres-Spanne zwischen Lorax Anpassungen hat die Frage der Erhaltung der Umwelt zu wüten weiter, und so die Geschichte ist (leider) heute so aktuell wie es vor Jahrzehnten war.
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| 'The Lorax' Review - Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax Universal 3D |
Aber ist ein 3D-Film voll von musikalischen Nummern, Slapstick-Komödie und ein "hip" modernen Kante wirklich das beste System für die Lieferung einer Botschaft an Kinder über Verantwortung für die Umwelt? Oder ist die Darstellung der Nachricht im Widerspruch zu der Botschaft selbst?
In diesem erweiterten auf Dr. Seuss 'Geschichte nehmen wir uns treffen Ted (Stimme von Zac Efron), ein Bewohner von "Thneed-Ville", eine verkapselte Stadt komplette Kunstgriff, wo auch die "Bäume" sind mechanische und frische Luft ist ein Ware durch Diminutiv-Tycoon, Mr. O'Hare (Stimme von Rob Riggle) verkauft. Ted liebt ein Mädchen namens Audrey (Stimme von Taylor Swift) und Audrey wünscht sich nichts sehnlicher, als einen echten, lebenden Truffula Baum zu sehen, und Ted will nichts mehr, als der Mann, der es bringt, um ihr zu sein. Auf den Rat seiner Oma Norma (Stimme von Betty White), Ted tut das Undenkbare: Er wagt sich der mechanischen Blase, die Thneed-Ville ist in der Einöde zu suchen "Die Einmal-ler", eine mysteriöse Gestalt, die Oma Norma behauptet ist der einzige Mann, was mit den Bäumen kennt.
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| 'The Lorax' Review - Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax Universal 3D |
Ted spürt die Once-ler (Stimme von Ed Helms) - ein grungy Shut-in mit ein paar Schrauben locker - und schafft es, ihn zu bekommen, um die Geschichte seines jüngeren Jahren als Möchtegern-Unternehmer, der in das Tal kam erzählen zu Truffula Baum Büschel (die pelzige Spitze des Baumes) für eine Allzweck-Erfindung als "Thneed" (das sieht umwerfend wie eine kleinere Version der Snuggie) ernten. Als der junge Once-ler seinen ersten Baum stürzt, bringt er hervor The Lorax (Stimme von Danny DeVito), ein Schutzgeist des Waldes, die die Einmal-ler, dass seine Entweihung des Baumes wird schwerwiegende Folgen haben, warnt.
Auf den ersten der Once-ler achtet die Warnung, aber wenn die Thneed wie durch ein Wunder wird ein Hit, geben die High-Nachfrage und genügend Gewinne der einst LER allen Grund braucht er zu ernten die Bäume Truffula nonstop. Als Ted hört sich die Geschichte von eventuellen Untergang des einst lers, er merkt schnell, dass seine Suche auf einen Baum zu finden, kann mehr als nur die Bedeutung der Landung ihm das Mädchen seiner Träume zu haben.
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| 'The Lorax' Review - Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax Universal 3D |
Die Lorax ist eine seltsame Mischung aus (manchmal widersprüchlichen) Ideen und Elemente, aber es letztlich arbeitet als solide Animationsfilm, der eine positive Botschaft bietet für die Saft-Box Menge mit nach Hause nehmen zu. Der Film beginnt sah aus wie jedes andere Big-Budget-Animationsfilm bis zu einem großen Studio gekocht, mit verrückten Comic-Figuren, wild auf dem Bildschirm, um die Aktion Kinder-leicht lenkte die Aufmerksamkeit, High-Produktion musikalischen Nummern und eine abgeschwächte, demografisch halten -freundlichen Version von oft seltsamen Phantasie Dr. Seuss '. Es ist um die Mitte des Films, dass die Gänge zu schalten, und wir bekommen in den mehr Erwachsene (und potentiell politisch-spaltend) Grübeleien über Randian Prinzipien der Big-Business gegen Umweltethik gewogen - mit einem Lied mit dem Titel "Wie schlimm kann ich sein? "bietet eine kinderfreundliche schmackhaft heruntergekommenen dieser widersprüchlichen Ansichten, die im gesellschaftspolitischen Diskurs wurden seit Jahrzehnten diskutiert.
Für diejenigen über den Film schiebt einen politischen Agenda Sorgen: Dr. Seuss die Geschichte bestimmt, um ein Umweltbewusstsein zu sein, es ist also ein unvermeidlicher Teil des Films DNA. Der Film bleibt in seiner Ansicht des Once-ler und seine Fehler geerdet, er hat nicht als Monster dargestellt, nur ein fehlgeleiteter Kerl denkt nur an die kurzfristigen. Das letzte Drittel des Films weise investiert mehr Mühe in die Predigt Verantwortung für die Umwelt auf einer persönlichen Ebene, als es ist verdammt großes Geschäft oder Schieben ein größeres Umwelt-politischen Agenda. Wenn Sie mit Ihren Kindern in Ordnung zu wollen, Bäume zu pflanzen und / oder helfen, behalten ihre Nachbarschaft sauber sind, dann Lorax Das ist keine Bedrohung für Ihre Werte oder Politik.
Wie erwähnt, kann die Lorax ein Film mit einer Botschaft zu sein, aber es ist nicht unbedingt schlecht ein, und der Film macht einen guten Job zu vermitteln es in einem mal berührend, mal zum Nachdenken anregen, Wege. Die Tatsache, dass es in Studio-sanctione Albernheit verwöhnt, wenn nicht in der ergreifend und wies darauf war ein Minus für mich, aber vielleicht drum und dran sind, was nötig ist, um die Kinder lange genug, um den Unterricht zu interessieren halten.
Die Lorax spielt jetzt in 2D-und 3D-Kinos. Es wird PG für kurze milde Sprache bewertet.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Singapore Public Holidays 2012
Singapore Public Holidays 2012
Public holidays for 2012 in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia.
Singapore Public Holidays 2012|Hong Kong Public Holidays 2012|China Public Holidays 2012|Malaysia Public Holiday 2012
Singapore Public Holidays 2012.... Below we have listed public holidays for 2012 in Singapore, Hong Kong, China Malaysia.This would definitely help in pre-planning your production as well as visiting our offices in the various countries.Singapore Public Holidays 2012:
1 January – New Year Day (following Monday will be a public holiday)
23,24 January – Lunar Chinese New Year
6 April – Good Friday
1 May – Labour Day
5 May – Vesak Day
9 August – National Day
19 August – Hari Raya Puasa (following Monday will be a public holiday)
26 October – Hari Raya Haji
13 November – Deepavali
25 December – Christmas
Hong Kong Public Holidays 2012:
2 January – New Year Day (Carries over the next day)
23,24,25 January – Lunar Chinese New Year
4 April – Qing Ming Festival
6 April – Good Friday
7 April – Day following Good Friday
9 April – Easter Monday
28 April – Buddha’s Birthday
1 May – Labour Day
23 June – Tuen En Festival
2 July – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
1 October – The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
2 October – The day following National Day
23 October – Chung Yeung Festival
25 December – Christmas Day (following weekday will be a public holiday)
China Public Holidays 2012:
1 January – New Year (Carries over to following Monday)
23,24,25 – Lunar Chinese New Year
8 March – International Women’s Day
12 March – Arbor Day
5 April – Qing Ming Festival
1 May – Labour Day
4 May – Youth Day
1 June – Children’s Day
30 September – Mid Autumn’s Day
1 October – National Day
Malaysia Public Holiday 2012:
1 Jan – New Year’s Day
23 Jan – Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day
24 Jan – Second day of Chinese Lunar New Year
1 Feb -Federal Territory Day
5 Feb -The Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
7 Feb – Thaipusam
6 Apr – Good Friday
8 Apr – Easter Sunday
1 May – Labour Day
5 May – Wesak Day
2 Jun – The Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s Birthday
19 Aug – Hari Raya Puasa Day 1
20 Aug – Hari Raya Puasa Day 2
31 Aug – National Day
16 Sep – Malaysia Day
26 Oct – Hari Raya Haji
13 Nov – Deepavali
15 Nov – Muharram/New Year
25 Dec – Christmas Day
31 Dec – New Year’s Eve
Singapore Public Holidays 2012|Hong Kong Public Holidays 2012|China Public Holidays 2012|Malaysia Public Holiday 2012
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