Arianna Huffington has four — count 'em — four Blackberries. That may not be so surprising. After all as the president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group she runs one of the largest Web companies in the world. It includes such notable news and opinion web sites as The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Endgadget, Mapquest, and Patch to name a few. But what may surprise you is that when Huffington wakes up, she doesn't immediately check her e-mails. Rather, she does yoga and meditates. "I really feel it makes a big difference when I start the day in a centered place," she said on "Off the Cuff." RELATED: How Pepsi's CEO Mixes Work and the Yankees And then at night, before bedtime, Huffington keeps an even keel by turning off her mobile devices. "I find the darker the room the deeper my sleep and the better I'm going to be the next day," says Huffington. Her perfect vacation? Staying put and just "completely, completely relax" she said. Interestingly, if it weren't for Arnold Schwarzenegger, there may be no such thing as The Huffington Post. After terminating her 2003 bid against Schwarzenegger to become Governor of California, Arianna Huffington — sticking to her belief that failure is not the opposite of success, but a stepping stone to success --- said she'll be back. Two years later she co-founded the website that still bears her name. "If we accept failure as part of life rather than something we try to avoid all the time, it can make a big difference in the way we choose to live our lives," adds Huffington. But the modern-day mogul admits that, like everyone else, she sometimes struggles to be at her best. "We all know that great place inside us from which we are strong and centered and feel we can tackle anything, and we know that most of the time we are not that. So for me, the challenge and the joy really is how quickly we can get back on track," Huffington says. Huffington has no shortage of challenges these days. Since AOL bought The Huffington Post in 2011, its stock is up 75 percent. But the marriage has not been without bumps. Huffington has weatheredcriticisms of her editorial hiring at AOL, and the company did battle this past year with activist shareholder Starboard Value over CEO Tim Armstrong's investment in online content. During trying times, Huffington says she relies on wisdom passed down from her late mother, who encouraged her to have a sense of humor. "She used to say that angels fly because they take themselves lightly. |
Friday, December 21, 2012
Huffington: Failure Can Lead to Success
David Karp
David Karp built his first business at 11 years old. It wasn't a lemonade stand. Instead, he designed websites for his clients, years before he could drive or legally drink in a bar with them. Then in 2007, at 21, Karp founded Tumblr, the blogging platform and social networking website. Tumblr now hosts more than 85 million blogs, which in turn receive more than 18 billion page views per month. RELATED: From Ruptured Eardrum To Million Dollar Business Being a boy wonder in business has its challenges though, as he said during an "Off The Cuff" interview. "Just the idea that literally this 13-year-old kid was asking for a contract…sending out an invoice and jumping on the phone …it terrified me. There were moments where I would have my dad call and pretend to be me because I knew I sounded like a kid on the phone." Like many famous tech titans, Karp dropped out of school to build his business. But in his case, it was high school. He was home-schooled at 15, then skipped college altogether. His mother, a science teacher and his father, a Manhattan-based composer supported his decision. "I was faced with this really interesting opportunity to … just jump into the exact kind of stuff that I wanted to do and … sort of staying in school and trying to extract as much knowledge... it didn't really make as much sense," he said. RELATED: How Pepsi's CEO Mixes Work and the Yankees That said Karp doesn't rule out going to college in the future and said he would never advise anyone to drop out. While social networking is his business, Karp says he's careful about what he broadcasts to theblogosphere. As he said on "Off The Cuff", "There is definitely stuff that happens to me in my real life that I don't want to put out there." |
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Jerusalem 1913
via amazon.comIn Ottoman Jerusalem, families of different religions picnicked together at popular shrines and vouched for each other at the bank; Muslims and Jews were business partners and neighbors; and Arab children dressed in costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim. How then did this city of ethnic diversity become a crucible of sectarian conflict? Marcus (The View from Nebo), a Pulitzer-winning former Wall Street Journalcorrespondent, focuses on the year 1913 as a turning point, when leaders at the Zionist Congress argued for both cultural and demographic domination of Palestine, while at the same time Jews and Arabs were negotiating a possible peace. Marcus also highlights three men who helped shape the destiny of the future Israeli capital. Albert Antebi was a non-Zionist Syrian Jew who advocated for Jewish economic solvency and strong relationships with Muslims; ardent Zionist Arthur Ruppin directed the establishment of Jewish settlements; and Ruhi Khalidi, a prominent Muslim , although not an Arab nationalist, actively opposed Jewish immigration and land purchases. Marcus masterfully brings a Jerusalem of almost a century ago to pungent life, and her political dissection of the era is lucid and well-meaning although she never explains the gulf between moderate Muslims of 1913 and today's Islamist and radical movements. (Apr. 23) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From BooklistSearching for the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict, veteran Middle East correspondent Marcus highlights 1913 as a year when neighborly relations in Jerusalem took a serious turn for the worse. That was the year of the eleventh Zionist congress in Vienna, at which strategies for purchasing land in Palestine transformed into a massive international fund-raising effort and a muscular Jewish nationalism; it was the year Ottoman parliamentarian Ruhi Khalidi wrote Zionism or the Zionist Question, which anticipated nationalistic strife and urged Arabs to hold onto their land. That was also the year a dispute over stolen grapes descended into armed conflict in Rehovot, a Jewish settlement near Jaffa. Although touted as a challenge to the conventional historical narrative of the conflict, which tends to focus on the British Mandate of 1920-48, Marcus' book is ultimately more concerned with bringing to life Khalidi and other key personalities and reminding us that there was a time in this century when shared traditions and communal space trumped ideological partisanship in Jerusalem. Both tasks are done with the same perceptive analysis and graceful prose that won her a Pulitzer in 2005 for her reportage on cancer survivors. Brendan Driscoll Copyright © American Library Association. |
John's letter to a Newton shooting victim Jack Pinto : I will talk to you in my prayers
How do you say goodbye? USA Today reporter Yamiche Alcindor tweeted out this touching letter that was written to Newtown shooting victim Jack Pinto by his best friend, John. Six-year-old Jack was gunned down in the massacre last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The letter, surfaced by Hypervocal, reads:
The first-grader, who was a big fan of New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, was also remembered by the pro ball player. Cruz paid his respects to the Pinto family one day after Jack was buried in his favorite Victor Cruz jersey. Cruz tweeted after the visit, "Much love to the entire Pinto family. Great people with huge hearts. I'm sorry again for your loss. Looking at life through a different lens." After learning he was the first-grader's favorite player, the Giants team member dedicated Sunday's game to him, writing "Jack Pinto" and "my hero" on his cleats and gloves. |
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Insight: Once a symbol of new Afghanistan, can policewomen survive?
Reuters - 3 hrs ago   KABUL (Reuters) - Shortly after Friba joined the Afghan National Police, she gave herself the nickname "dragon" and vowed to bring law and order to her tormented homeland. Five years later, she is tired of rebuffing the sexual advances of male colleagues, worries the budget for the female force will shrink and fears the government will abandon them. Women in the police force were held up as a showcase for Afghan-Western efforts to promote rights in the new Afghanistan, born from the optimism that swept the country after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. Images of gun-wielding Afghan policewomen have been broadcast across the globe, even inspiring a television program popular with young Afghan women. But going from the burqa to the olive green uniform has not been easy. In Reuters interviews with 12 policewomen in districts across the Afghan capital, complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and bitter frustration were prevalent. President Hamid Karzai's goal is for 5,000 women to join the Afghan National Police (ANP) by the end of 2014, when most foreign troops will leave the country. But government neglect, poor recruitment and a lack of interest on the part of authorities and the male-dominated society mean there are only 1,850 female police officers on the beat, or about 1.25 percent of the entire force. And it looks to get worse. Friba, who asked that her second name not be used, says it all when she runs a manicured finger across her throat: "Once foreigners leave we won't even be able to go to the market. We'll be back in burqas. The Taliban are coming back and we all know it." Conditions for women in Afghanistan have improved significantly since the Taliban were ousted. Women have won back basic rights in voting, education and work since Taliban rule, when they were not allowed out of their homes without a male escort and could be publicly stoned to death for adultery. But problems persist in the deeply conservative Muslim society scarred by decades of conflict. The United Nations said this month that despite progress, there was a dramatic under reporting of cases of violence against women. Some female lawmakers and rights groups blame Karzai's government for a waning interest in women's rights as it seeks peace talks with the Taliban, accusations his administration deny. "We have largely failed in our campaign to create a female police force," said a senior Afghan security official who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. "Mullahs are against it, and the women are seen as not up to the job," he added, referring to Muslim preachers. Almost a third of the members of the female force work in Kabul, performing duties such as conducting security checks on women at the airport and checking biometric data. "CONSTANTLY HARASSED" Friba sat in a city police station room decorated with posters of policemen clutching weapons to talk to Reuters. "I am the dragon and I can defend myself, but most of the girls are constantly harassed," she said. "Just yesterday my colleague put his hands on one of the girl's breasts. She was embarrassed and giggled while he squeezed them. Then she turned to us and burst into tears." On the other side of Kabul, detective Lailoma, who also asked that her family name not be used, said several policewomen under her command had been raped by their male colleagues. Dyed russet hair poking out from her black hijab, part of the female ANP uniform, Lailoma wrung her hands as she complained about male colleagues: "They want it to be like the time of the Taliban. They tell us every day we are bad women and should not be allowed to work here." Male colleagues also taunt the women, she added, often preventing them from entering the kitchen, meaning they miss out on lunch. On several occasions, male colleagues interrupted Reuters interviews in what the policewomen said were attempts to intimidate them into silence. One male officer entered the room without knocking three times to retrieve pencils; another spent 20 minutes dusting off his hat, only to put it back on a shelf. The women switched subjects when the men came in. Rana, a 31-year-old, heavy-set policewoman with curly hair, said policewomen were expected to perform sexual favors: "We're expected to do them to just stay in the force." The raping of policewomen by their male counterparts "definitely takes place", said Colonel Sayed Omar Saboor, deputy director for gender and human rights at the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police. "These men are largely illiterate and see the women as immoral." Insecurity, opposition to women working out of the home and sexism deter many women from signing up, said Saboor. But impoverished widows sometimes have no choice. A starting salary is about 10,500 afghanis a month ($210). DIFFICULT The Interior Ministry and foreign organizations responsible for training the women police - NATO, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - say recruitment poses the main challenge to the force. "It is just difficult. There is no real history of women in the police force, there is no precedent, even having an open space for women in employment is a challenge," UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan told Reuters. A recruitment campaign of television adverts and posters has not produced the desired effect in a country where there are huge social and religious divides between the rural and urban populations. Even fewer join the national army, where some 350 women serve amongst 190,000. "Much of the male leadership don't want to have anything to do with women in the ANP. Commanders want them out of their units," Saboor said, adding that having 2,500 female police officers could be realistic by end-2014. Of those who join, few have prospects for promotion. They often find themselves in police stations without proper facilities for women, such as toilets or changing rooms which are vital for the many who hide the fact that they work from their families. The sprawling Interior Ministry has only recently started work on installing toilets for women. "Ten years of this war have passed, and we're only now building them a toilet," Saboor said with a wry laugh. For First Lieutenant Naderah Keshmiri, whose humble yet stern approach helps her pursue cases of violence against women, life as a policewoman means being undervalued. "My male subordinates quickly became generals. But not me. Where's my promotion?" she asked in a UNDP-backed Family Response Unit, which she heads. The UNDP has set up 33 of the units countrywide, which help increase female visibility in the ANP, with plans to more than double them by 2015. A Western female police trainer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said policewomen are almost always passed over for promotion by their male commanders. U.S. lawmakers are hoping to amend a defense bill by year-end to protect the rights of Afghan women during the security transition. They want to reduce physical and cultural barriers to women joining the security forces. Ethnicity also plays a role: 55 percent of women in the ANP are ethnic Tajik, Afghanistan's second-largest ethnic group. Recruiting from the largest and most conservative ethnic group, the Pashtuns, is difficult. The Taliban draw most of their support from the Pashtuns, who dominate the south of the country. Pashtun women make up only 15 percent of the force. Hazaras, a largely Shi'ite minority who suffered enormous losses at the hands of the Taliban, are overrepresented amongst the women, making up 24 percent, according to figures from NATO's training mission in Afghanistan. But many of the policewomen are wondering whether their force can survive. Lowering her voice, Friba whispered: "As soon as the foreigners leave, they'll reduce our salaries. This will not happen to the men. Or perhaps they'll kick us out entirely." (Editing by Michael Georgy and Robert Birsel) |
Daniel Sanchez and Beatriz Cintora-Silva
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Jason Mraz and Shwedagon
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz mixed entertainment with education to become the first world-class entertainer in decades to perform in Myanmar, with a concert to raise awareness of human trafficking. Mraz's 2008 hit "I'm Yours" was the finale for Sunday night's concert before a crowd of about 50,000 people at the base of the famous hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the country's biggest city. Local artists, including a hip-hop singer, also played at the event organized by the anti-trafficking media group MTV EXIT — for "End Exploitation and Trafficking" —in cooperation with U.S. and Australian government aid agencies and the anti-slavery organization Walk Free. Myanmar is emerging from decades of isolation under a reformist elected government that took office last year after almost five decades of military rule. It has been one of the region's poorest countries, and its bad human rights record made it the target of political and economic sanctions by Western nations. But democratic reforms initiated by President Thein Sein have led to the lifting of most sanctions, and the country is hopeful of a political and economic revival. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader, was released from house arrest in late 2010 and won a seat in parliament last April. Mraz called his top-billed appearance at the concert a "tremendous honor." "I think the country is, at this time, downloading lots of new information from all around the world," he said. "I've always wanted my music to be here, (for) hope and celebration, peace, love and happiness. And so I'm delighted that my music can be a part of this big download that Myanmar is experiencing right now." Organizers said Mraz was the first international artist to perform at an open-air, mass public concert in Myanmar. Jazz artists Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Charlie Byrd visited the country under U.S. government sponsorship in the 1970s, when it was still called Burma, but played at much smaller venues. Many in the crowd queued for two hours before being admitted to the concert site. Yangon native Sann Oo, 31, wearing a white T-shirt with a sketch of Mraz, said he was pleased that Mraz had come and that there would be a broadcast of the event. "His visit can promote the image of Myanmar, because people outside have been seeing the country as an insecure place, and poor," he said. "Now they can see how we look like from the concert. It also opens the potential for more concerts by foreign artists." Mraz has a history of involvement with human rights and other social causes. But there was some criticism of his visit by campaigners for Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya community, which has been the target of ethnic-based violence this year that has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes into makeshift refugee camps. They feel Myanmar's government has been complicit in the discrimination, and that Mraz's visit provides it cover with the image of being a defender of human rights. Mraz said he was aware of the issue, but that if he didn't come to do the concert because someone else had asked him to protest another problem, then that would not help tackle the exploitation andhuman trafficking issue. "I understand that there is a lot of wrongdoing in this world," he said. "Today I'm here for this." Walk Free used the occasion of Sunday's concert to launch a campaign calling on the world's major corporations "to work together to end modern slavery by identifying, eradicating and preventing forced labor in their operations and supply chains." They are seeking to have the companies make a "zero tolerance for slavery pledge" by the end of March next year. "While many think of slavery as a relic of history, experts estimate that there are currently 20.9 million people living under threat of violence, abuse and harsh penalties," the Australia-based group said in a statement. "Within this massive number, the majority of people - more than 14.2 million - are in a forced labor situation, used to source raw materials, and create products in sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic work." |
Monday, December 17, 2012
Egypt's Referendum Result
CAIRO (AP) — Nevine Mustafa finally had enough after 10 hours of waiting to cast her "no" vote in Egypt's referendum on a highly disputed draft constitution. She and the other women in line were convinced the judge running the polling station was deliberately stalling to drive away voters opposed to the document. So the 39-year-old housewife and dozens of other women launched a protest, blocking the street and chanting against the judge in an upper class district of Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city. "The line was not moving since 8 a.m. I protest. It is now 7 p.m.," an agitated Mustafa said at the time. "He wants us to get bored and leave." After their protest, new officials were brought in to speed up the process. The scene was a reflection of the deep distrust of Egypt's rulingIslamists and their management of a referendum on a draftconstitution that they largely wrote. Questions raised Sunday over the referendum's legitimacy suggest the confrontation between Islamists and their secular, liberal and Christian opponents will not be resolved by the long-awaited vote. As Islamist President Mohammed Morsi rushed the referendum despite high pitched opposition, the dispute over the charter has turned into a fight over the Islamists' hold on power, and the ballot has become a yes or no vote on the president himself. Rights activists and opponents of the constitution said Sunday that the first round of voting a day earlier was marred by widespread violations, including suppression of voting by opponents of the charter, particularly women, Christians. A coalition of rights groups said the first round was invalid and should be held over again. That appeared highly unlikely. The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, said the constitution was on route to approval. But the margin from the first round of voting, which took place in 10 of Egypt's 27 provinces, was narrow — and turnout low, at only 32 percent. Preliminary results showed 55.8 percent backed the draft, according to the Brotherhood. Its count was based on a compilation of results announced at each individual polling station. In past elections, the Brotherhood's counts have proven largely accurate. The strongest "no" vote was in Cairo, with 68 percent, according to the official website of Egypt's state television. The "yes" vote narrowly carried Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, with nearly 56 percent. The head of the referendum commission said the official results will be announced after the second and last round, scheduled for next Saturday. It was an indication that reports of violations will not stop the process, at least at this stage. Islamists enjoy wide support in most of the 17 provinces in the second round. The claims of violations are likely to further stoke tensions ahead of the second round, as each camp works to mobilize a population that largely opted to stay on the sidelines of the rivalry. Over the past three weeks, hundreds of thousands from both camps have held rival protests in the streets that sparked violence leaving at least 9 people dead. Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan dismissed the rights groups' allegations as politically motivated to sway public opinion. "These organizations are funded by Western countries. Just like the Westerners hate the Islamists, so do these groups. They are seculars and they hate the Islamists and have foreign agendas," Ghozlan said. Despite worries over the vote's fairness, voters "should do down in big numbers to say no," a member of the main opposition National Salvation Front, Abdel-Ghaffar Shukr, told a press conference. The group called for new protests Tuesday. Many voters who backed the charter argue that men who fear God have written the text, and it must be given a chance. But the women's protest during Saturday's voting in Alexandria's Rushdi neighborhood reflected anger over what they view as the Brotherhood's domineering way of ruling. Scores of women blocked traffic, chanting, "Down with the rule of the Brotherhood leader." A young man with a light beard — which the women took as a sign he was a Brotherhood member — tried to break up the protest, telling the women they were obstructing traffic, said Mustafa, who herself wears a conservative headscarf. "So we shouted: Down with Morsi," she said. The women contended the judge running the station was trying to suppress voting in the district, known to be a stronghold of "no" voters. He repeatedly closed the station for long breaks to pray, talk on the phone, or eat, said Nada Abdel-Azim, a 23-year old who was among the protesters. "He even asked one voter what she voted," she said. When told "no," he shut down for another break, she said. "The country is split into two. We too are Muslims. Why are they labeling us infidels" for rejecting the charter, said Abdel-Azim, a teacher. Standing in the same line, Mervat Ahmed, a 42-year woman wearing a veil that left only her eyes visible — a sign of the most conservative Muslims — got angry when an acquaintance called her to urge her to vote "yes." "No, don't tell me this. I am still voting no," she shouted into the phone. Explaining herself, she said: "I am not convinced by this constitution. The president has great powers. I don't want to wait more years to try to strip him of this power. We will not be able to by that time." By the end of the day, only 2,873 of the 6,500 women registered in Rushdi district were able to vote. The "no" vote overwhelmingly carried the neighborhood, with only 552 "yes" votes. Amina Fouad, a 43-year-old self-employed businesswoman, said the district's turnout seemed higher to her. She and her daughter passed by the station four times waiting for the line to die down before finally deciding to wait to vote. She said she was voting "no" ''to clear my conscience, but she expected the "yes" to win. "It is a joke. I don't trust them," she said. Most of the country's judges, who normally supervise elections, boycotted the referendum. Opposition voters accused the judges who did participate of being biased, saying some influenced people to vote "yes." Other voters Saturday also reported suspected Brotherhood members inside polling stations urging people to vote in favor of the charter. Some judges, in turn, complained that they were overburdened because of the boycott, causing long waits. Ghozlan alleged the opposition had also committed voting violations, such campaigning in stations against the charter. He said his group will file its own complaints to the referendum commission. For Islamists, the constitution is the keystone for their ambitions to bring Islamic rule, a goal they say is justified by their large victory in last winter's parliamentary elections. The opposition had demanded Morsi cancel the referendum because the draft was passed by Islamists in the Constituent Assembly amid a boycott by secular, liberal and Christian members. For opponents, the draft threatens the notion of moderate Islam Egypt had adopted for decades. They fear it will torpedo many freedoms, from the rights of women and minorities to freedoms of expression and labor organizing. At a press conference Sunday, representatives of seven rights groups denounced the vote, saying it was carried out without sufficient guarantees of fairness. They said they had reports some polling centers closed earlier than scheduled and that in some cases Christians were denied entry to polls and women were prevented from voting. They said they had reports of individuals falsely identifying themselves as judges. Negad Borai, the head of one of the groups, said the election commission did not investigate thousands of complaints on alleged violations and irregularities. On his Twitter account, Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's best known reform leader, questioned whether a vote held "under insufficient judicial supervision, clearly tenuous security and the violence and violations we are witnessing" could lead to stability. The National Council for Human Rights, a state agency, also said that vote-buying took place outside polling centers and that some independent monitors were turned away from polling stations. While the charges are serious, they don't touch the wholesale vote fraud that defined Mubarak's 29-year rule. In Alexandria's middle-class el-Shatbi neighborhood, a group of women complained that their ballots were not stamped, raising concerns that the votes wouldn't be counted. Habiba el-Sayed, a 49-year-old housewife, screamed at the line as she walked out of the station, urging other women to ensure that their ballots were stamped. "For two hours, people voted without stamped ballots. Beware," she screamed. ___ Associated Press writer Hamza Hendawi contributed to this report. |
Gun Control
President Barack Obama assured the grieving, shell-shocked Newtown community on Sunday that "you are not alone" and vowed sternly to wield "whatever power this office holds" in a quest to prevent future mass shootings. "We can't tolerate this anymore," Obama said from behind a podium on the stage of a Newton High School auditorium, as adults wept, or hugged, or sat quietly, many hugging small children. "These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change." "In the coming weeks, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents, and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have?"he said. The speech, broadcast nationwide, offered the bold suggestion that Obama might engage lawmakers on the subject of gun control -- a topic that has not been among his top priorities during his presidency. "We can't accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage?" Obama said. That the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year, after year, after year is somehow the price of our freedom?" There were sobs from the crowd as the president read the first names of the 20 children slaughtered at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday and paid tribute to the six adults who died defending them. Twenty-six candles in twenty-six shining glass vases shone from the base of the podium. Obama anticipated — and dismissed — some of the time-honored arguments against stricter restrictions on guns. "We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true," he said. "No single law no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society." "But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this," he said. Across the country, people grieved for the 20 children — six and seven years old — and six adultskilled in one of the worst mass shootings in America's history. In Newtown and elsewhere, mourners gently piled notes, stuffed animals and American flags, balloons and flowers, in makeshift memorials where candles fluttered. New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz played wearing a shoe that read "R.I.P. Jack Pinto" in black marker, an homage to a child slain in the massacre. Flags from coast to coast flew at half-staff. As the president's motorcade climbed the hill up the school, he could glimpse a few homes with Christmas lights -- but most were dark. "Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation," the president said. "I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts." "I can only hope it helps for you to know you are not alone in your grief that our world too has been torn apart. That all across this land of ours, we have wept with you. We've pulled our children tight," Obama said. "And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide. Whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it." In the auditorium where the president spoke, the audience included a large number of elementary school-age children, some carrying cuddly toys like teddy bears, according to pool reporter Stephen Collinson of Agence France-Presse. Before the service, Obama met privately for more than an hour with families of the victims and emergency workers who responded to the crisis. As those workers entered the auditorium, the crowd erupted in a standing ovation. Some traded long hugs with members of the audience. "We needed this. We needed to be together," said Rev. Matt Crebbin, the senior minister at Newtown Congregational Church. "These darkest days of our community shall not be the final word heard from us." Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, describing his meeting with Obama, said that the president had called Friday "the most difficult day of his presidency." By 4 p.m., the line cars trying to reach the interfaith vigil stretched more than 2 miles from Newtown High School back through Sandy Hook -- and its growing makeshift memorial -- to Saint Rose church, the site of several vigils for (and hoax threats related to) Friday's massacre. In Sandy Hook center, a lawn displayed lights with the phrase "FAITH. HOPE. LOVE." Across the street, a sign wrapped around a street lamp read, "Heaven must have been short on 27 angels." The president spoke about the shooting on Friday, his voice choked with emotion, one finger wiping away tears as they welled up. He vowed to "take meaningful action, regardless of the politics" to try to prevent future such tragedies. But hours before, White House press secretary Jay Carney had decreed that "today's not the day" to discuss possible gun control measures. The Obama administration has reportedly considered new gun restrictions in the past, only to shelve them. The White House has shied from seeking tough new action from Congress — where new restrictions on gun purchases would likely run into stiff Republican opposition. Obama's speech was the fourth in his presidency to memorialize a mass shooting. After the January 2011 rampage in Tucson, AZ, where then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was critically injured, the president spoke at a memorial for the six people killed, including Christina Taylor Green, 9. Dylan Stableford contributed from Newtown |
Penghasilan Gubernur se-Indonesia
via detik.com Peringkat ini disusun oleh Forum Indonesia untuk Transparansi Anggaran (Fitra) dalam jumpa pers tentang 'Catatan Akhir Tahun Anggaran 2012' di kantornya, Jalan Mampang Prapatan 4, Jalan K Nomor 37, Jakarta Selatan, Minggu (16/12/2012). Koordinator Riset Fitra Maulana, memaparkan data ini yang bersumber dari Kementerian Keuangan. DKI Jakarta sebenarnya merajai penghasilan kepala daerah terbesar, namun dikeluarkan dari data karena istimewa. "Karena tata pemerintahan di DKI itu berbeda. APBD DKI Jakarta menggabungkan provinsi dan kotamadya. Jadi pengelolaan anggaran di wilayah tingkat I dan tingkat II jadi satu. Sementara provinsi lain, provinsi punya APBD sendiri, kabupaten/kota punya APBD sendiri. Kalau DKI kan nggak ada APBD Jakarta Selatan, Jakarta Pusat, makanya tidak bisa dibandingkan dengan lainnya," kata Maulana. Namun Maulana memberikan angka penghasilan Gubernur DKI sebulan Rp 1,2 miliar, per tahun Rp 15,1 miliar. Penghasilan Wagub DKI, tidak berbeda jauh Rp 1,24 miliar per bulan, dan Rp 14,8 miliar per tahun. Nah berikut 15 pasang kepala daerah yang penghasilannya terbesar: Provinsi 1. Jawa Timur, penghasilan gubernur per bulan Rp 642.360.003, per tahun Rp 7.708.320.036. penghasilan wagub per bulan Rp 627.240.003, per tahun Rp 7.526.880.036. 2. Jawa Barat, penghasilan gubernur per bulan Rp 603.422.043, per tahun Rp 7.241.064.521. penghasilan wagub per bulan Rp 584.942.043, per tahun Rp 7.019.304.521. 3. Jawa Tengah, penghasilan gubernur per bulan Rp 438.097.208, per tahun Rp 5.257.166.498. penghasilan wagub per bulan Rp 422.977.208, per tahun Rp 5.075.726.498. 4. Kalimantan Timur, penghasilan gubernur per bulan Rp 344.087.750, per tahun Rp 4.129.053.000. penghasilan wagub per bulan Rp 328.967.750, per tahun Rp 3.947.613.000. 5. Sumatera Utara, penghasilan gubernur per bulan Rp 327.251.701, per tahun Rp 3.927.020.411. penghasilan wagub per bulan Rp 312.131.701, per tahun Rp 3.745.580.411. Kotamadya 1. Surabaya, penghasilan wali kota per bulan Rp 194.122.808, per tahun Rp 2.329.473.690. penghasilan wawali per bulan Rp 187.402.808, per tahun Rp 2.248.833.690. 2. Medan, penghasilan wali kota per bulan Rp 129.674.323, per tahun Rp 1.556.091.880. penghasilan wawali per bulan Rp 123.794.323, per tahun Rp 1.485.531.880. 3. Bandung, penghasilan wali kota per bulan Rp 88.376.201, per tahun Rp 1.060.514.413. penghasilan wawali per bulan Rp 82.496.201, per tahun Rp 989.954.413. 4. Semarang, penghasilan wali kota Rp 82.433.272, per tahun Rp 989.199.269. penghasilan wawali per bulan Rp 76.553.272, per tahun Rp 918.639.269. 5. Bekasi, penghasilan wali kota per bulan Rp 76.028.893, per tahun Rp 912.346.712. penghasilan wawali per bulan Rp 70.148.893, per tahun Rp 841.786.712. Kabupaten 1. Bandung, penghasilan bupati per bulan Rp 129.596.905, per tahun, Rp 1.555.162.858. penghasilan wabup per bulan Rp 122.876.905, per tahun Rp 1.474.522.858 2. Bogor, penghasilan bupati per bulan Rp 90.730.071, per tahun Rp 1.088.760.849. penghasilan wabup per bulan Rp 84.850.071, per tahun Rp 1.018.200.849. 3. Sidoarjo, penghasilan bupati per bulan Rp 78.519.751, per tahun Rp 942.237.018. penghasilan wabup per bulan Rp 72.639.751, per tahun Rp 871.677.018. 4. Tangerang, penghasilan bupati per bulan Rp 72.639.468, per tahun Rp 871.673.616. penghasilan wabup per bulan Rp 66.759.468, per tahun Rp 801.113.616 5. Bekasi, penghasilan bupati per bulan Rp 71.928.453, per tahun Rp 863.141.431. penghasilan wabup per bulan Rp 66.048.453, per tahun Rp 792.581.431. http://news.detik.com/read/2012/12/1...ia-ini?9911012 |
Shinzo Abe
via Yahoo News Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Partystormed back to power in parliamentary elections Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China. The victory means that the hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will almost certainly get a second chance to lead the nation after a one-year stint in 2006-2007. He would be Japan's seventh prime minister in six-and-a-half years. Public broadcaster NHK's exit polls projected that the LDP, which ruled Japan for most of the post-World War II era until it was dumped in 2009, won between 275 and 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament. Official results were not expected until Monday morning. Before the election, it had 118 seats. The results were a sharp rebuke for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan, reflecting widespread unhappiness for its failure to keep campaign promises and get the stagnant economy going. A serious-looking Abe characterized the win as more of a protest vote against the DPJ than an endorsement of his party. "I think the results do not mean we have regained the public's trust 100 percent. Rather, they reflect 'no-votes' to the DPJ's politics that stalled everything the past three years," he told NHK. "Now we are facing the test of how we can live up to the public's expectations, and we have to answer that question." The LDP will stick with its long-time partner New Komeito, backed by a large Buddhist organization, to form a coalition government, party officials said. Together, they will probably control about 320 seats, NHK projected — a two-thirds majority that would make it easier for the government to pass legislation. With Japan stuck in a two-decade slump and receding behind China as the region's most important economic player, voters appeared ready to turn back to the LDP. The new government will need to quickly deliver results ahead of upper house elections in the summer. To revive Japan's struggling economy, Abe will likely push for increased public works spending and lobby for stronger moves by the central bank to break Japan out of its deflationary trap. The ruling Democrats, which won in a landslide three years ago amid high hopes for change, captured less than 100 seats, exit polls indicated, down sharply from its pre-election strength of 230. "This election result does not mean a popular mandate for the LDP, but that voters decided the DPJ had to go," said Masahiro Matsumura, a politics professor at St. Andrews University in Osaka. "Apparently voters felt they didn't have any alternative to the LDP, since the other parties failed to organize competent, experienced candidates." Still, some voters said they supported the LDP's vows to build a stronger, more assertive country to answer increasing pressure from China and threats of North Korean rocket launches. Abe has repeatedly said he will protect Japan's "territory and beautiful seas" amid a territorial dispute with China over some uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. "I feel like the LDP will protect Japan and restore some national pride," Momoko Mihara, 31, said after voting for the Liberal Democrats in the western Tokyo suburb of Fuchu. "I hope Mr. Abe will stand tall." The LDP may also have benefited from voter confusion over the dizzying array of more than 12 parties, including several news ones, and their sometimes vague policy goals. One of the new parties, the right-leaning, populist Japan Restoration Party, won between 40 to 61 seats, NHK projected. The party is led by the bombastic nationalist ex-Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, both of whom are polarizing figures with forceful leadership styles. Ishihara was the one who stirred up the latest dispute with China over the islands when he proposed that the Tokyo government buy them from their private Japanese owners and develop them. Nuclear energy ended up not being a major election issue even though polls show about 80 percent of Japanese want to phase out nuclear power after meltdowns last year at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami. In the end, economic concerns won out, said Kazuhisa Kawakami at Meiji Gakuin University. "We need to prioritize the economy, especially since we are an island nation," he said. "We're not like Germany. We can't just get energy from other countries in a pinch." The staunchly anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party — which was formed just three weeks ago —captured between six and 15 seats, NHK estimated. The LDP is the most pro-nuclear party, and has said Japan should decide over the next 10 years what sort of energy mix is best. Abe, 58, is considered one of the more conservative figures in the increasingly conservative LDP. During his previous tenure as prime minister, he pursued a nationalistic agenda pressing for more patriotic education and upgrading the defense agency to ministry status. It remains to be seen how he will behave this time around, though he is talking tough toward China, and the LDP platform calls developing fisheries and setting up a permanent outpost in the disputed islands, called Senkakus by Japan and Daioyu by China — a move that would infuriate Beijing. During his time as leader, Abe also insisted there was no proof Japan's military had coerced Chinese, Korean and other women into prostitution in military brothels during Japan's wartime aggression in Asia. He later apologized but lately has suggested that a landmark 1993 apology for sex slavery needs revising. He has said he regrets not visiting Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Japan's war dead, including Class-A war criminals, during his term as prime minister. China and South Korea oppose such visits, saying they reflect Japan's reluctance to fully atone for its wartime atrocities. The LDP wants to revise Japan's pacifist constitution to strengthen its Self-Defense Forces and, breaching a postwar taboo, designate them as a "military." It also proposes increasing Japan's defense budget and allowing Japanese troops to engage in "collective self-defense" operations with allies that are not directly related to Japan's own defense. It's not clear, however, how strongly the LDP will push such proposals, which have been kicked around by conservatives for decades but usually make no headway in parliament because they are supported only by a fairly small group of right-wing advocates. "The economy has been in dire straits these past three years, and it must be the top priority," Abe said in a televised interview. "We must strengthen our alliance with the U.S. and also improve relations with China, with a strong determination that is no change in the fact the Senkaku islands are our territory." |
Making Us Safer, One iPad at a Time - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/making-us-safer-one-ipad-at-a-time.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121216&_r=0
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A good policy of anti-smoking in Mercure Hotel, Banjarmasin
Btw, I just don't understand this guy attitude. He should accept the punishment and should not complain. Does he know that smoking is dangerous both for himself or other? Studies have proven about the bad effect of smoking. So, to Mercure, well done and hope you will be always commited to implementing the anti-smoking policy.
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Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Connecticut school shooting
Police were dispatched to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conneticut, after they received reports of shots being fired by a gunman in the main office of the school at 9.41am local time. At least 100 rounds are believed to have been fired by the attacker. The head teacher and another teacher are believed to be among the dead. Terrified parents rushed to the school desperately trying to reach their children as hundreds of officers swarmed over the building.
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what a tragedy @BBCNews At least 12 people killed in a #Connecticut school shooting
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