Category Archives: Culture

Bin Laden Executed, Says Daughter; US in row with Pakistan over Bin Laden's Wife

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The Al-Arabiya television station today reported, that Osama bin Laden’s 12 year old daughter claimed that he was captured and then shot by US forces. Senior Pakistani intelligence officials told the television station this is what the girl has told them.

The claims have been given more credence because of a number of embarrassing corrections by the US administration.

The White House now admits that bin Laden did not use his wife as a human shield as was previously suggested. They have also now said that bin Laden was unarmed when he died.

Commentators have speculated that the US may have wanted Bin Laden dead as opposed to alive. It is thought that during any trial embarrassing links may have emerged regarding bin Laden’s links with the US in the 1980s (when the CIA supported Afghan resistance fighters against the then Russian occupation) Believers in this theory are likely to jump upon this latest claim as proof.

The US has also admitted that bin Laden’s wife is not dead. She is currently in a military hospital being treated for a shot to the leg.

US forces had intended to take Ahmed al-Sadah , the youngest of bin Laden’s five wives, with them. However because one of their helicopters crashed during the operation they did not have space for her.

The US believes she could provide vital information about links to bin Laden. Information which could be used to break up terrorist cells and prevent any reprisal attacks. However in a surprising twist Pakistan has now indicated it will refuse to hand her over to the US, potentially escalating the row between the two countries. Pakistan has come in for significant criticism for being unable to identify bin Laden’s hiding place sooner, this despite the fact he was living a huge complex just yards away from the Pakistan military academy.

Pakistan has indicated that all those currently being held will eventually be sent back to their countries of origin.

Bin Laden Loved Coke and Pepsi: The Selfish Terrorist

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Today Osama Bin Laden was exposed as a hypocrite as it emerged he used to order in bulk quantities of Coke and Pepsi. Two Pakistanis helped Osama buy in orders of Coca-Cola and Pepsi from a local shop.

The two brands are some of the strongest symbols of American power and influence. They are synonymous with Western Capitalism. It is simply incredible that bin Laden would buy and therefore fund the very thing he supposedly hated.

In a bizarre way you might suggest that bin laden helped fund his own death. By buying Coke and Pepsi whom then paid taxes to the US government.

In my mind it only goes to show the truth about terrorists. Many terrorists would have you believe they are fighting what they believe is a just cause. We sometimes think about them as being ‘brain washed’ or ‘misguided’.

The truth is that behind every terrorist’s actions is a selfish objective. Yes even suicide bombers are fundamentally selfish. How so? Terrorists become terrorists to give their own lives meaning. In our increasingly interconnected and vast world the individual has felt increasingly disempowered. Many ordinary unexceptional people are finding themselves without meaning. Terrorism and a perceived injustice gives them a cause and a meaning for their existence.

Religion or brain washing don’t create terrorists from nothing. They definitely encourage it and foster it but they do not create it. Individuals who are lost and looking for meaning find such causes. Once they find a cause they throw themselves into it completely, encouraging their own deception. (Interestingly this is not a dissimilar path to many conspiracy theorists)

Ultimately bin Laden didn’t even truly believe in his own terrible cause as the buying of coke shows. His actions were fundamentally selfish as he sought to give his own life meaning.

Londoners Life 12 By Phil Ryan

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Londoners Life 12 – by Phil Ryan

Sunshine. At last. And another London phenomenon is with us. The lovely weather in London always brings out the open top sports cars. And I mean the crazy and ludicrous supercars of Top Gear fame. And to me many of the more overpriced models are slightly baffling given the actual legal and realistic speed of traffic in London. Take the Edgeware Road as a classic example. Seemingly endless rows of Ferraris and Lamborghinis have now instantly appeared driven by various 20 something’s who actually look about 12 (possibly family money or just a generous paper round?) But wait for it they are now out and driving about. At around 10 miles per hour. What’s the point? Why drive a 200 mile per hour supercar in London at 10 miles per hour? The other night my friends and I were sitting outside a restaurant in Camden in a small side street. Suddenly the building virtually shook. And there we saw a bright red open top Ferrari crawling along at the top of the road. It noisily scraped agonisingly over the road humps only to speed past us with a sonic boom of engine roar followed by a brake squeal as it reached the next road hump twenty feet up the road. Very London. It was both awful but fascinating to watch. One of my colleagues commented that it would be great fun when they finally reached the motorway and they could really drive. And I replied yes at a heady 70 miles per hour just like everyone else! Hm not sure about the point of them, but I suppose they are keeping our petrol stations open. I figured that the Camden Ferrari was achieving a respectable ten miles to the gallon – which meant they’d clearly figured out their route carefully based on where the next petrol station was presumably. Wild eh?

And talking of wildlife and pests. The urban foxes are now out in force in London I see but mainly hear sadly. All the local bins get ripped open regularly now and I’m hearing weird squealing noises in the middle of the night. Although I have got some newly married Italian neighbours so I guess it could be them? Recently I saw one on the roof of a Kebab shop in Holloway as I drove past! (not my Italian neighbours a fox) Clearly they really will eat anything. And they really are quite fearless now as I see them sitting next to cars waiting for them to drive off. And now the arguments begin. Are they pests or are they lovely wildlife? Tricky one this. I’m all for nature but I’m starting to come down on the pest side. I’ll admit they do look cute but they’re a bit nasty to cats and rabbits. Plus in my street they regularly rip open bins and drag rubbish everywhere (just like the bin men but without the hi vis vests) I think Walt Disney has a lot to answer for here. Foxes are not cute! They carry diseases and crap everywhere (again a bit like the local bin men but I digress) And talking of Disney it’s the holiday hordes arrival time. Disney Breaks, Legoland all the commercial days out are putting what I call Recession offers out there. But London seems resolutely overpriced for families. The ticket costs at Madame Tussauds, The London Eye and The Tower of London all seem more like attempts to buy them! Upwards of a hundred and thirty pounds per family for half a day out. Whoah. I thought the recession was bringing prices down. But the tourists seem to be coping. Visit London seem to be saying numbers are up this year. There’s lots to do for free now the sunshine is out I’ll freely admit though.

And currently one of my favourite but potentially free terrible London phenomena is now springing up everywhere. Of course I mean the roving street musicians. If you eat out in St Christopher’s place nowadays roving bands of accordionists are suddenly smilingly but subtly now regularly harassing the diners. They have the look of banditry about them – I don’t know why. I think it’s the slicked back hair and leather bomber jackets they all seem to wear plus that cartoon blue stubble. They travel in packs of four (like condoms but less welcome) and seem to target any couple crazy enough to hold hands in front of them. I saw one couple the other day get treated to a surreal version of Pyscho Killer! And to my amazement this was followed up with a jaunty but off key version of Elvis Presley’s Wooden Heart complete with incorrect lyrics screamed by a small sweaty fat man who looked constipated. But the couple cracked and I saw a few pounds tumble into the outstretched hat as they nervously smiled at the crooks. Don’t get me wrong I love outside music as it can really lift you up.

I pause however to point out the odd case of the elderly blind guy who plays the violin who has now taken up his usual spot outside Debenhams in Oxford Street. He’s been there for years. He’s like one of those traditional figures on those clocks. He appears as soon as the sunshine appears. But he’s terrible. You would have thought given the years he’s been at it he could at least knock out a recognisable tune but no he can’t. Instead he saws away at the violin making it sound like its being assaulted with a cat on crystal meth. Hm. I’m trying to work out the braille for get some lessons so I can stick a note in his hand but I suppose that’s just me being mean and uncharitable. I always drop some change in his hat honestly. And I’ve recently added the word DEAF to his sign saying he’s blind (well he can’t see it can he) I figure it will help his PR profile.

However my favourite player is this dread locked saxophone player in Leicester Square. He always plays late at night. And I always drop money into his case. He’s like a very cool personal soundtrack. Gorgeous notes soaring about you as you make your way home. It’s like being in a movie. And you are the main character!

So the sunshine is here to stay for the time being and London instantly adapts to it as always. We move outside to eat and drink. And despite the stupid cars, the foxes, the tourists, the burger guys and the summer drunks and now the X factor like invasion of our public spaces – do we mind it all (plus the awful versions of Oasis and The Killers we are now being hit with on a daily basis) Of course not. It’s a London thing.

Osama Bin Laden Killed: News and Reactions

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Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed after US forces raided his hiding place in Pakistan. President Barack Obama said it was, ‘the most significant achievement to date in our efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda’.

On Sunday a team of US forces undertook the operation in Abbottabad, a sleepy hollow 150 kilometres from Peshawar and home to the PMA – Pakistan Military Academy – their Sandhurst. Incredibly Bin Laden was living just 1000 yards away from the academy in a built up complex! Not in some mountain cave as most people thought.

After a fire fight Bin Laden was killed and his body recovered. No US soldiers were killed in the operation. Bin Laden’s body has been identified and has been buried at sea.

Despite being the most wanted man in the world, with a bounty of $25 million on his head, Bin Laden has successfully eluded capture for 10 years since 9/11 (and before then as well). Today thousands of Americans are celebrating news which they thought would never come.

Reaction to the News

A last Americans feel as if they have got some sort of justice, it is significant that it was the Americans who found him. America has struggled to recover from the events of 9/11. Perhaps Americans can now find some closure for that terrible event.

Bin Laden’s death is a vital symbolic victory for America and for US president Barack Obama. In the years since 9/11 the west and America has struggled. There has been a major recession, stock markets are lower. There has been a sense of the declining power of the West. Will today’s events help reverse this?

Terrorism Expert Michael Yardley said,

Bin Laden killed more Afghans than Americans. He used Islam as a screen for his own, evil, crusade. There are only a tiny number of Al Qaeda operating in Afghanistan now – maybe 100. We should not revel in his death too much though, the war isn’t over yet.

Experts and US officials have warned about the possibility of reprisal attacks. But a senior US official said, ‘the loss of Bin Laden puts the group on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse’. Ayman al-Zawahiri, previously Al-Qaeda’s number 2 remains at large. He is much more heavily involved in Al-Qaeda’s day to day operations than Bin Laden ever was in recent years. He is not however thought to be as popular or as charismatic as Bin Laden.

Trump Presidency Bid Damaged as Obama Silences Critics by Producing Birth Certificate

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On Tuesday Barack Obama produced his birth certificate, rebutting wide spread conspiracy theories that he was not born in the US. The president said, ‘I have watched with bemusement, I’ve been puzzled at the degree at which this thing just kept going on.’ The president went on to say that he had far more important issues to deal with and couldn’t afford to be distracted by sideshows.

The revelation comes as a blow to potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the flamboyant businessman and star of the apprentice, who recently gave new life to the claims. It has been suggested that Trump was hoping to garner support from the estimated 45% of Republicans who believed the claims had some merit. Trump said, ‘he was honoured to play such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue’.

Meanwhile British politician John Prescott harshly tweeted. ‘I wonder if Trump can provide a birth certificate for his hair?’

No doubt some will persist with the claims. However there was overwhelming evidence of Obamas US birth even before the certificate was released. Hawaiian newspapers documented his birth almost 50 years ago. It is interesting that the certificate has only just been released. Has Obama deliberately been holding the certificate back so that he can now knock his political rivals off balance? If so it may well have worked.

Clegg AV Gaffe

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Nick Clegg was accused of making another gaffe today, as the comments he made yesterday against Boris Johnson backfired. Clegg has accused Boris for his anti AV stance, accusing him of fighting against a system which he himself was elected under.

However Boris was elected under the SV system. Today Labour peer and electoral expert Lord Campell-Savours accused Clegg of not understanding his own system he said, ‘Nick Clegg doesn’t seem to know how the AV system he is advocating actually works’.

He continued to argue that Labour rejected AV in 1998 because it was too complicated and could produce a freak result. The SV system is designed to avoid some of the flaws of AV by making it harder for outside candidates to win. Liberal democrats have repeatedly opposed the SV system and yet now Nick Clegg is supporting it!

For arguments for and against AV, see our AV article below
http://frostmagazine.com/2011/04/av-vote-yes-or-no-reasons-for-and-against-the-alternative-vote/

NASA and Partners Fund New Climate Impact Studies on Species and Ecosystems

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NASA is partnering with other federal agencies to fund new research and applications efforts that will bring the global view of climate from space down to Earth to benefit wildlife and key ecosystems.

NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Smithsonian Institution will provide $18 million for 15 new research projects during the next four years. Organizations across the United States in academia, government and the private sector will study the response of different species and ecosystems to climate changes and develop tools to better manage wildlife and natural resources. The projects were selected from 151 proposals.

NASA’s Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate has funded several ecosystem and biodiversity research projects during recent years. This is the first time the agency has targeted research investigating the intersection of climate and biological studies.

The wildlife species that will be studied include polar bears in Greenland, bowhead whales in the Arctic Ocean, and migratory birds and waterfowl in the United States. Other studies will focus on species of commercial interest such as clams, oysters and other bivalves in U.S. coastal waters, and Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico.

To learn more about climatic effects on plants, researchers will focus on the loss of cordgrass marshes in coastal wetlands of the southeastern states. They also will examine the stresses to native tree species, many of commercial value, across the western states and Canada.

“We know very little about how the majority of species and ecosystems will respond to environmental changes related to changing climates,” said Woody Turner, manager of NASA’s Ecological Forecasting program in Washington. “These projects bring together NASA’s global satellite data of the physical environment with ground-based data on specific species and ecosystems and computer modeling to detect and understand biological responses to climate. As a result, we will improve our management and mitigation of the impact of changing climate.”

The studies will use long-term observations of Earth from space, including data on sea surface temperature, vegetation cover, rainfall, snow cover, sea ice and the variability in the microscopic marine green plants that form the base of ocean food chains.

One study seeks to determine how waterfowl and forest bird populations respond to extreme events such as long-term droughts, heat waves and cold snaps. Wildlife biologists like Patricia Heglund of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in La Crosse, Wis., the leader of the study, have several hypotheses, including lower reproduction rates and adult mortality. Satellite data will be used to map the habitats and identify extreme events in the continental United States.

Another study will seek to explain why the distribution of native tree species across the western states and Canada is changing and why some species are dying as the climate becomes progressively warmer and drier. Scientists have used computer models to explain how environmental stresses have affected tree species in the Pacific Northwest. The new study, led by Richard Waring of Oregon State University in Corvallis, will extend that research to the entire Rocky Mountain west and 25 native tree species, including aspen and lodgepole pine.

A project led by Mitchell Roffer of Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service in West Melbourne, Fla., aims to improve existing models to predict spawning habitat of Atlantic bluefin and other migratory tunas in the Gulf of Mexico. The model will assess possible effects of future climate change scenarios on fish populations.

According to Turner, the most ambitious project in terms of scale will use a global inventory of data from about 1,000 species, merged with satellite and ground-based observations of the environment and climate. These data will be used to assess climate’s impact on biodiversity during the past 40 years in two 20-year increments. The study, led by Walter Jetz of Yale University, will focus on land-based mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

For a complete list of the new projects, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/climate_partners.html

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA

POKER SHUT DOWN – UPDATE

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On Wednesday there was some good news for online poker players following the shutdown last Friday. The two biggest sites in the US, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, came to an agreement with the United States Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York. The deal means the sites get there domains back but US players will still not be allowed to play. However the agreement means that the sites are once again open for all non-US players.

Although unable to play, many US players believe this is an important first step to getting their money back. This was affirmed by FullTilt.

‘The agreement represents an important first step towards returning funds to U.S. players because it allows Full Tilt Poker to utilize its domain to facilitate the withdrawal of player funds. But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future.’

Since the shutdown, poker players have exerted a substantial amount of pressure on US politicians and many believe this is the reason for the swift agreement. Well known player Andrew Robl tweeted, ‘Part of the reason for swift return of the domains is the huge public outcry. call/email your senators etc’

We can now be hopeful that US account holders will receive their money back in the future at some point.

In a statement the US attorney for the Southern District of New York stated, ‘this Office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players, as today’s agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker as today’s agreement demonstrates.’

See the 2+2 thread below for the poker communities reaction to the shutdown in MS Paint form!

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/mspaint-online-poker-players-before-after-1023686/