Life after Paterno begins Saturday at Penn State
Joe Paterno's grave is about halfway between Mount Nittany and Beaver Stadium. In nearby Bellefonte, Jerry Sandusky is inmate No. 12-0529 at the Centre County jail. Penn State is set to begin a season like no other in its storied football history.
Saturday's game (noon, ESPN) against Ohio University once would have been viewed as simply a matchup with that other Ohio school — not Ohio State. But this is no typical year in "Happy Valley," where roars of "We Are … Penn State!" have echoed through past falls, a distinct, unified and thundering voice known across the college football landscape.
"We know what we're going through is tough … but we also know the power football has to bring people together," says senior fullback Michael Zordich, whose father played for Penn State in the 1980s. "We know that it can't heal everything, but we know that it can help."
The healing Zordich speaks of will continue this weekend in a stadium packed with roughly 100,000 fans — die-hards who have witnessed the Penn State football program's stunning and swift fall from grace after a child sexual abuse scandal, and alleged coverup, that dominated the nation's headlines for months.
In interviews with dozens of students, merchants, business people, faculty and alumni, USA TODAY encountered common themes: displeasure with stiff NCAA sanctions, fatigue over news media coverage of the scandal, disgust with the crimes committed — and enduring support for Paterno and the football program that he built.
"I hope it's a year in which we can demonstrate to everyone how important it is for all of us to be respectful of one another … and to reflect the best of the university and the community as we move forward together," university President Rodney Erickson said Monday before an event to build relationships between students and local residents.
In the company of the Nittany Lions mascot, Erickson joined in the fifth annual Lion Walk, visiting homes to chat with students and locals.
"People have really come together," Erickson said as he walked. "Penn State people are very resilient. They're very resolute, and they want to show the world what kind of values we have."
After an extraordinary year, classes started this week in a very ordinary way. State College was busy as usual with students buying supplies. But signs of the times are never far away. One T-shirt in a store window read: "We Are … Still Proud." The outside of Dante's Inferno Brick Oven & Bar read, "Victims, students, athletes and alumni, we support you!"
Crimes and punishment
Sandusky, Paterno's longtime assistant, was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys over a 15-year period from 1994 to 2009. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a potential maximum sentence of 442 years in prison.
Victims testified that assaults occurred in the basement of Sandusky's home, hotels and the coaches shower at Penn State. Sandusky's victims have filed lawsuits against the school that have yet to be resolved. And the Associated Press reported Thursday that Sandusky has been recommended for designation as a sexually violent predator, which would require lifetime registration with authorities, according to a person who read an assessment board's report in the case. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the report's confidential nature.
The scandal rocked the image Paterno built with players who won games, graduated and didn't showboat. Paterno died of cancer in January at 85 after being fired by phone in November within days of Sandusky's arrest. Former university president Graham Spanier was fired, too. The NCAA hammered Penn State with unprecedented penalties for what it deemed a "culture" that put football above "human decency." Among other penalties, the NCAA vacated all of the school's wins starting in 1998 — 111 of them.
Penn State moves on with new coach Bill O'Brien, players who didn't take the NCAA up on a free pass to transfer to other schools and a student body that includes freshmen who won't see the Nittany Lions in a bowl game for the next four seasons. The NCAA has barred postseason participation.
This season, Penn State players will wear blue ribbons on their helmets to show support for children victimized by sexual abuse. Ohio University says its squad also will wear ribbons.
Indeed, the school and much of the Penn State fan base have used the unspeakable abuses seared onto Sandusky's criminal record as a teachable moment to rally against such crimes:
• In May, Penn State invested $1.1 million in a new Center for the Protection of Children in Hershey, Pa.
• As part of the NCAA penalty, the school must pay $60 million in fines over a five-year period. The money will go into an endowment to prevent child abuse and help its victims.
• Known for stadium "White Outs," Penn State plans the second "Blue Out" for its Sept. 22 game against Temple. Fans will wear blue. Donations will benefit the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.
• In October, Penn State will host a conference on ways to prevent sexual abuse of children and care for victims.
Teresa Huizar, executive director of the National Children's Alliance in Washington, says it's a start. Her focus is on where the university goes from here. She says that beyond fines, the attention created by the scandal provides an opportunity for Penn State to "reset football in its appropriate place, which is secondary to the academic mission of the school and even further down from protecting children."
Though the NCAA crippled Penn State football, it did not shut it down.
Two freshmen in the student union this week were excited to hold a pair of the prized 21,000 student season tickets, which sold out in June.
"I'm excited to see how strong they come out and how unified everybody is and the excitement of the stadium," said Jason Huberman, 18, of Atlantic City.
Emilee Rehm, 18, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the latest in her family to attend the university. Her mother and her mother's parents are alums. "My grandfather was in the stadium for Paterno's first game as coach. This will be Bill O'Brien's first game, so I'm just carrying on the legacy," she said.
Michael Brennan, 21, a senior from Marlboro, N.J., wore his opinion about the NCAA penalties on a T-shirt bought off campus: "We Are … Pissed Off."
Thirty former chairs of Penn State's Faculty Senate issued a statement Tuesday acknowledging "horrible, horrible crimes" against boys but also criticizing "layers of conjecture" in the Freeh Report probe of the Sandusky matter — the school's internal investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh. The damning findings were released in July.
But at a Faculty Senate meeting, member Victor Brunsden said the university should fix problems within and not focus on the NCAA.
"My concern is that there are some structural problems with the board of trustees … that helped lead to the Sandusky scandal," said Brunsden, a math professor at Penn State's Altoona campus.
A new-look team
Under the sanctions, any Penn State player could transfer to another school. Nine players left, including last season's rushing leader, Silas Redd (now at Southern California), and kicker-punter Anthony Fera (now at Texas).
The holdovers start over under O'Brien. The first-time head coach, 42, was most recently offensive coordinator of the NFL's New England Patriots.
Ohio University isn't an opening-day patsy. The Bobcats, favorites to win the Mid-American Conference, return 15 starters from a team that went 10-4 last season and beat Utah State in a bowl. Penn State is favored by 6½ points.
The Nittany Lions remain an unknown, returning six starters from a team that went 9-4 last season — though those wins are now voided.
"I'm not going to sit here and say we're going to go out and (go) 12-0," senior quarterback Matt McGloin says. "But what I can say is that we're going to work harder than ever, we're going to play harder than ever and we're going to be in every game."
O'Brien says it's a special team already. That's why the Nittany Lions will have their names on the backs of their uniforms. Paterno never allowed that. He said the Penn State name was more important than the individual.
Paterno is buried at the Spring Creek Presbyterian Cemetery. A stone marker in the ground reads "Paterno." Placed around the grave are blue and white plastic flowers, Penn State caps, mini-footballs and placards with such sentiments as, "Here lies the heart of the Lions." Another note says, "Let history find him guilty of flawed judgment, not evil coverup."
On Saturday, fans pouring into Beaver Stadium will walk past five young trees in a patch of grass where a statue of Paterno once stood.
"There are a lot of great, great people here at Penn State," says John Urschel, junior guard on the football team. "But we've been blessed to be in a position to represent our university … and do the best we can to show the outside world how great of a place Penn State is."
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
What The Apollo Astronauts Did For Life Insurance
What The Apollo Astronauts Did For Life Insurance
This week, Americans have been remembering Neil Armstrong. But before he walked on the moon, he had to solve a much more prosaic problem.
"You're about to embark on a mission that's more dangerous than anything any human has ever done before," Robert Pearlman, a space historian and collector with collectspace.com, told me. "And you have a family that you're leaving behind on earth and there's a real chance you will not be returning."
Exactly the kind of situation a responsible person plans for by taking out a life insurance policy. Not surprisingly, a life insurance policy for somebody about to get on a rocket to the moon cost a fortune.
But Neil Armstrong had something going for him. He was famous, as was the whole Apollo 11 crew. People really wanted their autographs.
"These astronauts had been signing autographs since they day they were announced as astronauts and they knew even though ebay didn't exist back then that there was a market for such things," Pearlman said. "There was demand."
Especially for what were called covers -– envelopes signed by astronauts and postmarked on important dates.
About a month before Apollo 11 was set to launch, the three astronauts entered quarantine. And, during free moments in the following weeks, each of the astronauts signed hundreds of covers.
They gave them to a friend. And on important days — the day of the launch, the day the astronauts landed on the moon — their friend got them to the post office and got them postmarked, and then distributed them to the astronauts' families.
It was life insurance in the form of autographs.
"If they did not return from the moon their families could sell them — to not just fund their day-to-day lives, but also fund their kids' college education and other life needs," Pearlman said.
The life insurance autographs were not needed. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon and came home safely. They signed probably tens of thousands more autographs for free.
But then, in the 1990s, Robert Pearlman says the insurance autographs started showing up in space memorabilia auctions. Tn Apollo 11 insurance autograph can cost as much as 30 thousand dollars.
This week, Americans have been remembering Neil Armstrong. But before he walked on the moon, he had to solve a much more prosaic problem.
"You're about to embark on a mission that's more dangerous than anything any human has ever done before," Robert Pearlman, a space historian and collector with collectspace.com, told me. "And you have a family that you're leaving behind on earth and there's a real chance you will not be returning."
Exactly the kind of situation a responsible person plans for by taking out a life insurance policy. Not surprisingly, a life insurance policy for somebody about to get on a rocket to the moon cost a fortune.
But Neil Armstrong had something going for him. He was famous, as was the whole Apollo 11 crew. People really wanted their autographs.
"These astronauts had been signing autographs since they day they were announced as astronauts and they knew even though ebay didn't exist back then that there was a market for such things," Pearlman said. "There was demand."
Especially for what were called covers -– envelopes signed by astronauts and postmarked on important dates.
About a month before Apollo 11 was set to launch, the three astronauts entered quarantine. And, during free moments in the following weeks, each of the astronauts signed hundreds of covers.
They gave them to a friend. And on important days — the day of the launch, the day the astronauts landed on the moon — their friend got them to the post office and got them postmarked, and then distributed them to the astronauts' families.
It was life insurance in the form of autographs.
"If they did not return from the moon their families could sell them — to not just fund their day-to-day lives, but also fund their kids' college education and other life needs," Pearlman said.
The life insurance autographs were not needed. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon and came home safely. They signed probably tens of thousands more autographs for free.
But then, in the 1990s, Robert Pearlman says the insurance autographs started showing up in space memorabilia auctions. Tn Apollo 11 insurance autograph can cost as much as 30 thousand dollars.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Md. school shooting suspect faced troubled life, according to students and files
Md. school shooting suspect faced troubled life, according to students and files
Charged as an adult in the shooting at a Baltimore County high school, 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. was held without bond Tuesday as a portrait of a withdrawn and occasionally bullied student with a troubled home life emerged through interviews with classmates and court documents.
The suspect, who underwent a mental health evaluation, was charged with attempted murder and assault in the cafeteria shooting at Perry Hall High School on Monday, the first day of classes. Gladden’s attorney, George Psoras Jr., cautioned against a rush to judgment, saying the bullying his client endured pushed him to a breaking point.Gladden’s stepfather, with whom he lived along with his mother and older sister, was also arrested Monday after police searched their Kingsville home and found marijuana and firearms in the home. The stepfather, Andrew Eric Piper, 43, was previously convicted of grand theft, prohibiting him from possessing firearms, police said.
The shotgun allegedly used in Monday’s shooting, though, came from Gladden’s father’s home, where the teenager sometimes stayed, police said.
Gladden is “devastated” and “out of it,” unable to comprehend the charges against him, Psoras said. Police interviewed him for hours without a lawyer on Monday and took a lengthy statement, Psoras said.
According to charging documents, Gladden entered the school cafeteria with a shotgun and began shooting. He fired the first shot at a lunch table and struck Daniel Borowy, 17, in the back, police said.
Borowy remained in critical condition Tuesday night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he had been airlifted. Police said it didn’t appear that Gladden targeted Borowy.
A deeper picture of the suspect emerged Tuesday as students returned to school under heavier security and after many attended a morning prayer vigil for Borowy.
Friends and classmates described Gladden as increasingly alienated and downcast, “one of the weird kids” who got picked on at school, his friend Collin Asbury, 17, said Tuesday.
“He was just so mentally and psychologically injured,” Asbury said of Gladden, adding that doesn’t excuse violence. “When people act so harshly to someone for such a long period of time, it has an impact.”
Another student, Trent McCallum, a junior, said he noticed a change in Gladden last school year. He started wearing baggy black clothes and dying his hair black, and some students started to mock him, McCallum said.
“Something big changed in his life,” McCallum said. “He was acting sad, and he was lonely, but I think he had good in him.”
At 6:27 a.m. Monday, on a Facebook page in which Gladden lists his employer as “The Manson Family” and calls the Columbine shooters “inspirational people,” he posted: “First day of school, last day of my life.”
Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson said Gladden took the school bus, carrying with him a double-barrel shotgun, 21 rounds of 16-gauge, 7.5 shot and a bottle of vodka. He went to two classes, then the cafeteria for lunch, Johnson said, first placing a black backpack with the shotgun, disassembled, in a nearby bathroom.
Students said some kids were throwing food at Gladden in the cafeteria — and not for the first time, said Matt Pedata, 19, a senior who had an art class with him last year. “He was picked on all the time,” Pedata said.
Police said that although the students who threw things at Gladden on Monday had already left the cafeteria, he went to the bathroom to retrieve and assemble the gun.
Charged as an adult in the shooting at a Baltimore County high school, 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. was held without bond Tuesday as a portrait of a withdrawn and occasionally bullied student with a troubled home life emerged through interviews with classmates and court documents.
The suspect, who underwent a mental health evaluation, was charged with attempted murder and assault in the cafeteria shooting at Perry Hall High School on Monday, the first day of classes. Gladden’s attorney, George Psoras Jr., cautioned against a rush to judgment, saying the bullying his client endured pushed him to a breaking point.Gladden’s stepfather, with whom he lived along with his mother and older sister, was also arrested Monday after police searched their Kingsville home and found marijuana and firearms in the home. The stepfather, Andrew Eric Piper, 43, was previously convicted of grand theft, prohibiting him from possessing firearms, police said.
The shotgun allegedly used in Monday’s shooting, though, came from Gladden’s father’s home, where the teenager sometimes stayed, police said.
Gladden is “devastated” and “out of it,” unable to comprehend the charges against him, Psoras said. Police interviewed him for hours without a lawyer on Monday and took a lengthy statement, Psoras said.
According to charging documents, Gladden entered the school cafeteria with a shotgun and began shooting. He fired the first shot at a lunch table and struck Daniel Borowy, 17, in the back, police said.
Borowy remained in critical condition Tuesday night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he had been airlifted. Police said it didn’t appear that Gladden targeted Borowy.
A deeper picture of the suspect emerged Tuesday as students returned to school under heavier security and after many attended a morning prayer vigil for Borowy.
Friends and classmates described Gladden as increasingly alienated and downcast, “one of the weird kids” who got picked on at school, his friend Collin Asbury, 17, said Tuesday.
“He was just so mentally and psychologically injured,” Asbury said of Gladden, adding that doesn’t excuse violence. “When people act so harshly to someone for such a long period of time, it has an impact.”
Another student, Trent McCallum, a junior, said he noticed a change in Gladden last school year. He started wearing baggy black clothes and dying his hair black, and some students started to mock him, McCallum said.
“Something big changed in his life,” McCallum said. “He was acting sad, and he was lonely, but I think he had good in him.”
At 6:27 a.m. Monday, on a Facebook page in which Gladden lists his employer as “The Manson Family” and calls the Columbine shooters “inspirational people,” he posted: “First day of school, last day of my life.”
Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson said Gladden took the school bus, carrying with him a double-barrel shotgun, 21 rounds of 16-gauge, 7.5 shot and a bottle of vodka. He went to two classes, then the cafeteria for lunch, Johnson said, first placing a black backpack with the shotgun, disassembled, in a nearby bathroom.
Students said some kids were throwing food at Gladden in the cafeteria — and not for the first time, said Matt Pedata, 19, a senior who had an art class with him last year. “He was picked on all the time,” Pedata said.
Police said that although the students who threw things at Gladden on Monday had already left the cafeteria, he went to the bathroom to retrieve and assemble the gun.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Curiosity is NASA's best bet to find life on Mars
Curiosity is NASA's best bet to find life on Mars
Does NASA's Curiosity Rover Have the Smarts to Find Life on Mars?
By: Leonard David
Published: 08/27/2012 12:02 PM EDT on SPACE.com
NASA's now on-duty Mars rover, Curiosity, is on the hunt to judge whether the Red Planet ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life.
The rover's above-the-wheels intellect is designed to mull over the question of Mars' habitability. However, Curiosity will likely stop short of solving the ultimate question: Has there ever been life on Mars?
The $2.5 billion robotic explorer, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, landed on the Red Planet Aug. 5 (PDT), beginning a two-year trek around Mars' Gale Crater. In determining whether Mars is or ever was habitable to life, Curiosity should give scientists a major boost toward understanding whether life has ever existed there, and where to look for it in the future.
It's not a new inquiry, but a question that has dogged the "search for life" community for decades.
Turning point
"In my opinion the turning point in the search for life on Mars would be if Curiosity finds organics," said Alfonso Davila, senior research scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. He is a principal investigator at the Carl Sagan Center for the Search of Life in the Universe. [Photos from Curiosity's First Drive on Mars]
Davila told SPACE.com that if or when Curiosity establishes that it has the capability to detect organics near the surface, "then the focus should turn to understanding the nature and the origin of those organics, and to establish whether they are linked to life."
While Curiosity might provide some clues, Davila said scientists would likely need to send a new set of instruments specifically selected to find "biomarkers." A biomarker can be any kind of molecule indicating the existence, past or present, of living organisms.
"One option would be to go back to Gale Crater, although my guess is that whatever organics might be there are very ancient and degraded, or non-biogenic -- for example, delivered by meteorites," Davila said.
Another choice would be to send those instruments to a site where organics should be better preserved and for longer periods of time, Davila added, "such as the ground ice at higher latitudes. We know that similar ground ice on Earth preserves organics and even whole cells for millions of years."
If Curiosity does not find organics, Davila said: "This would strongly suggest that neither the dry soils nor the ancient sediments are good places to preserve organics. We still would have the alternative of searching for them in the ground ice, and perhaps in other substrates such as surface evaporates."
Better method
Some scientists don't doubt whether Curiosity is up for the job.
"Curiosity has the ability to detect organic compounds," said Carol Stoker, a staff planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center.
Similar instruments were also carried on previous NASA Mars landers, the Viking and Phoenix spacecraft. "These missions failed to detect organics, setting lower limits on the presence of organics at very low values," Stoker said.
However, a recent re-analysis of the Viking results, led by Rafael Navarro-González of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, suggest that the best explanation is that the Martian soil contains a few parts per million of organics that were oxidized to carbon dioxide during Viking's first stage of the organic analysis procedure.[The Life on Mars Search: Photo Timeline]
Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Suite Investigation is using a better method, "so it may discover organics on Mars that Viking and Phoenix missed," Stoker said.
However, that would not constitute proof of life -- modern or ancient -- because meteorites carry organics to Mars, Stoker added. "Detection of organic compounds has limited relevance to detection of modern life. Curiosity's instrumentation and the choice of landing sites for MSL were optimized for exploring ancient habitable environments, not modern ones," she said.
Stoker said that even if there is modern life on Mars, it can grow only where liquid water is available. Therefore, since Gale Crater has no evidence of modern water or ice, life can't grow there, she noted.
"Furthermore, Curiosity's instrumentation is geared towards characterizing rocks and minerals. Different choices of landing sites and instrumentation are needed to look for evidence of modern life," Stoker said.
Viking redux
The prospect that the Curiosity rover might detect organics has been appraised by one former Viking experimenter who worked on the Pyrolytic Release experiment -- one of the three life-detection tests conducted on the twin lander missions in 1976.
Jerry Hubbard, a retired professor of biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, carried out pre- and post-Viking simulations, leading to his forecast for Curiosity's analysis of soil organics based on Viking biology findings.
"I predicted that Curiosity may detect simple organic compounds," Hubbard told SPACE.com. The tests support a prediction that photocatalytically synthesized organics in Mars soil will be found by Curiosity's sensitive instruments, he said.
Perhaps the greatest surprise of the decades-ago Viking Mission, Hubbard said, was the failure of its Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer to find indigenous organics in the soils tested. However, the results of the Viking Pyrolytic Release experiment and the supporting science provide a clue as to what Curiosity may well find.
Curiosity's "wet chemistry" capabilities, its sensitive gas chromatograph, a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer and the rover's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument package provide new opportunities, Hubbard said, to not only dig into the habitability of Mars issue, but also to decide whether the negative findings of the Viking GCMS could be called to question.
Misinterpreting results
"One of the NASA 2012 strategic objectives is 'to determine if there is or ever has been life elsewhere in the universe,' so of course NASA is interested in detecting life on Mars," said Cassie Conley, NASA's planetary protection officer.
However, the problem of life detection is a hard one, and not really tractable with in-situ instruments, Conley said. "That's one thing we definitely learned from Viking."
Conley said that science works by doing follow-on experiments to answer questions raised by early results, and no mission could carry every instrument needed to make a really definitive conclusion.
"MSL is designed as a very capable geochemistry mission, with the objective of understanding surface conditions on Mars -- at Gale Crater. The strategy of identifying 'habitable environments' that's used on this mission is a good way to avoid misinterpreting results that will be obtained," Conley told SPACE.com.
Complication
Returning Mars samples to Earth would allow for much more comprehensive science, Conley said. "Until this past February, we were planning a set of missions with the European Space Agency to do exactly that. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints and programmatic priorities resulted in the cancellation of plans for that set of missions."
And there's an additional complication to locating life on the Red Planet.
"It's easy to find life on Mars...just bring it with you! The hard part is making sure you could distinguish Mars life, if it's there," from microbes accidentally brought there aboard Earth-made spacecraft, Conley said. There were a number of steps taken on the Viking program, she said, to ensure that Earth life would not contaminate the instruments carried as "life detection" packages.
"Ensuring the proper precautions are taken to minimize the potential for such mistakes is one of the responsibilities of my job," Conley said.
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is a winner of last year's National Space Club Press Award and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.
Does NASA's Curiosity Rover Have the Smarts to Find Life on Mars?
By: Leonard David
Published: 08/27/2012 12:02 PM EDT on SPACE.com
NASA's now on-duty Mars rover, Curiosity, is on the hunt to judge whether the Red Planet ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life.
The rover's above-the-wheels intellect is designed to mull over the question of Mars' habitability. However, Curiosity will likely stop short of solving the ultimate question: Has there ever been life on Mars?
The $2.5 billion robotic explorer, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, landed on the Red Planet Aug. 5 (PDT), beginning a two-year trek around Mars' Gale Crater. In determining whether Mars is or ever was habitable to life, Curiosity should give scientists a major boost toward understanding whether life has ever existed there, and where to look for it in the future.
It's not a new inquiry, but a question that has dogged the "search for life" community for decades.
Turning point
"In my opinion the turning point in the search for life on Mars would be if Curiosity finds organics," said Alfonso Davila, senior research scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. He is a principal investigator at the Carl Sagan Center for the Search of Life in the Universe. [Photos from Curiosity's First Drive on Mars]
Davila told SPACE.com that if or when Curiosity establishes that it has the capability to detect organics near the surface, "then the focus should turn to understanding the nature and the origin of those organics, and to establish whether they are linked to life."
While Curiosity might provide some clues, Davila said scientists would likely need to send a new set of instruments specifically selected to find "biomarkers." A biomarker can be any kind of molecule indicating the existence, past or present, of living organisms.
"One option would be to go back to Gale Crater, although my guess is that whatever organics might be there are very ancient and degraded, or non-biogenic -- for example, delivered by meteorites," Davila said.
Another choice would be to send those instruments to a site where organics should be better preserved and for longer periods of time, Davila added, "such as the ground ice at higher latitudes. We know that similar ground ice on Earth preserves organics and even whole cells for millions of years."
If Curiosity does not find organics, Davila said: "This would strongly suggest that neither the dry soils nor the ancient sediments are good places to preserve organics. We still would have the alternative of searching for them in the ground ice, and perhaps in other substrates such as surface evaporates."
Better method
Some scientists don't doubt whether Curiosity is up for the job.
"Curiosity has the ability to detect organic compounds," said Carol Stoker, a staff planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center.
Similar instruments were also carried on previous NASA Mars landers, the Viking and Phoenix spacecraft. "These missions failed to detect organics, setting lower limits on the presence of organics at very low values," Stoker said.
However, a recent re-analysis of the Viking results, led by Rafael Navarro-González of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, suggest that the best explanation is that the Martian soil contains a few parts per million of organics that were oxidized to carbon dioxide during Viking's first stage of the organic analysis procedure.[The Life on Mars Search: Photo Timeline]
Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Suite Investigation is using a better method, "so it may discover organics on Mars that Viking and Phoenix missed," Stoker said.
However, that would not constitute proof of life -- modern or ancient -- because meteorites carry organics to Mars, Stoker added. "Detection of organic compounds has limited relevance to detection of modern life. Curiosity's instrumentation and the choice of landing sites for MSL were optimized for exploring ancient habitable environments, not modern ones," she said.
Stoker said that even if there is modern life on Mars, it can grow only where liquid water is available. Therefore, since Gale Crater has no evidence of modern water or ice, life can't grow there, she noted.
"Furthermore, Curiosity's instrumentation is geared towards characterizing rocks and minerals. Different choices of landing sites and instrumentation are needed to look for evidence of modern life," Stoker said.
Viking redux
The prospect that the Curiosity rover might detect organics has been appraised by one former Viking experimenter who worked on the Pyrolytic Release experiment -- one of the three life-detection tests conducted on the twin lander missions in 1976.
Jerry Hubbard, a retired professor of biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, carried out pre- and post-Viking simulations, leading to his forecast for Curiosity's analysis of soil organics based on Viking biology findings.
"I predicted that Curiosity may detect simple organic compounds," Hubbard told SPACE.com. The tests support a prediction that photocatalytically synthesized organics in Mars soil will be found by Curiosity's sensitive instruments, he said.
Perhaps the greatest surprise of the decades-ago Viking Mission, Hubbard said, was the failure of its Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer to find indigenous organics in the soils tested. However, the results of the Viking Pyrolytic Release experiment and the supporting science provide a clue as to what Curiosity may well find.
Curiosity's "wet chemistry" capabilities, its sensitive gas chromatograph, a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer and the rover's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument package provide new opportunities, Hubbard said, to not only dig into the habitability of Mars issue, but also to decide whether the negative findings of the Viking GCMS could be called to question.
Misinterpreting results
"One of the NASA 2012 strategic objectives is 'to determine if there is or ever has been life elsewhere in the universe,' so of course NASA is interested in detecting life on Mars," said Cassie Conley, NASA's planetary protection officer.
However, the problem of life detection is a hard one, and not really tractable with in-situ instruments, Conley said. "That's one thing we definitely learned from Viking."
Conley said that science works by doing follow-on experiments to answer questions raised by early results, and no mission could carry every instrument needed to make a really definitive conclusion.
"MSL is designed as a very capable geochemistry mission, with the objective of understanding surface conditions on Mars -- at Gale Crater. The strategy of identifying 'habitable environments' that's used on this mission is a good way to avoid misinterpreting results that will be obtained," Conley told SPACE.com.
Complication
Returning Mars samples to Earth would allow for much more comprehensive science, Conley said. "Until this past February, we were planning a set of missions with the European Space Agency to do exactly that. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints and programmatic priorities resulted in the cancellation of plans for that set of missions."
And there's an additional complication to locating life on the Red Planet.
"It's easy to find life on Mars...just bring it with you! The hard part is making sure you could distinguish Mars life, if it's there," from microbes accidentally brought there aboard Earth-made spacecraft, Conley said. There were a number of steps taken on the Viking program, she said, to ensure that Earth life would not contaminate the instruments carried as "life detection" packages.
"Ensuring the proper precautions are taken to minimize the potential for such mistakes is one of the responsibilities of my job," Conley said.
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is a winner of last year's National Space Club Press Award and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Opinion: UT life analogous to South China Sea
Opinion: UT life analogous to South China Sea
Across the world, in the South China Sea, lay eight uninhabited islands that will have a lot in common with our own UT campus in the coming months. China and Japan (and peripherally, Taiwan) have been locked in a territorial dispute over the islands since the 1970s. China claims the islands are part of their ancient heritage and have always been Chinese. The Japanese claim to have found them uninhabited. After ten years of exploration, they claimed sovereignty over them in 1895. They have different names for the little archipelago—Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Why do they matter to the Chinese and Japanese? They offer access to key shipping routes and natural resources.
But what on earth do they have to do with life at Tennessee? If, since your arrival on campus you have tried to return to an old favorite spot, you already know. The window tables at the Golden Roast cafe have been occupied by incoming freshman "hipsters" and their parents. Sorority women inhabit most of the study rooms on campus. Your favorite corner in Hodges is a construction site, and your usual computer is now downstairs in the cold and practically silent reference room. The Class of 2015 has already said their goodbyes to Presidential Court, but little did they realize that they were the last class to eat waffles at two a.m. at Ihop. Come mid-October and the first round of tests this semester, your favorite table on the third floor of the library will likely be occupied by someone else actively Facebooking on their laptop.
Over the next few weeks, our campus community will be making adjustments similar to those which the Chinese and Japanese have been avoiding for forty years. This adjustment will be most acutely felt by the sophomore class. Last year, we had a foolproof excuse for our strange behavior. Our obnoxiously large groups carrying huge backpacks and spouting pseudo-intellectual mumbo jumbo in the Morrill cafeteria were unapologetically claiming someone else's favorite place as our own. As freshman, we were the Japanese. We found these campus corners uninhabited and claimed them as our own. Now we return as the Chinese, with a new perspective informed by our whole year of experience. Upon our return to school, those places felt like they were always ours.
So many of our memories from the last year are of our first time doing something quintessentially collegiate. It's about the moments when you realized you were finally dipping into the adult world. The first sentences of the next chapters of our lives were (melodramatically), written in those old haunts. The best way to take ownership of the new experience was to subconsciously claim space as our own—it made this campus home.
For the dispute in the East China Sea, there are plenty of activists boating to the islands to claim a series of barren rocks. Superficially, the issue is about access to key resources. The root of the dispute is an old battle for primacy between two economic powerhouses.
Since we recognize our territorial claims as sophomoric at best, at UT the role of activists is hospitality. Sure, we will return to our favorite places and reminisce with our friends. Though we might silently chastise the Class of 2016 for being overly enthusiastic, pathetically confused, or for simply just being naive, we should recognize it as their privilege. They are claiming whatever spaces we have abandoned and making them their own. Instead of working to make this campus home, this fall the rest of us have the privilege of simply returning to it. Welcome back to Rocky Top, ya'll.
Across the world, in the South China Sea, lay eight uninhabited islands that will have a lot in common with our own UT campus in the coming months. China and Japan (and peripherally, Taiwan) have been locked in a territorial dispute over the islands since the 1970s. China claims the islands are part of their ancient heritage and have always been Chinese. The Japanese claim to have found them uninhabited. After ten years of exploration, they claimed sovereignty over them in 1895. They have different names for the little archipelago—Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Why do they matter to the Chinese and Japanese? They offer access to key shipping routes and natural resources.
But what on earth do they have to do with life at Tennessee? If, since your arrival on campus you have tried to return to an old favorite spot, you already know. The window tables at the Golden Roast cafe have been occupied by incoming freshman "hipsters" and their parents. Sorority women inhabit most of the study rooms on campus. Your favorite corner in Hodges is a construction site, and your usual computer is now downstairs in the cold and practically silent reference room. The Class of 2015 has already said their goodbyes to Presidential Court, but little did they realize that they were the last class to eat waffles at two a.m. at Ihop. Come mid-October and the first round of tests this semester, your favorite table on the third floor of the library will likely be occupied by someone else actively Facebooking on their laptop.
Over the next few weeks, our campus community will be making adjustments similar to those which the Chinese and Japanese have been avoiding for forty years. This adjustment will be most acutely felt by the sophomore class. Last year, we had a foolproof excuse for our strange behavior. Our obnoxiously large groups carrying huge backpacks and spouting pseudo-intellectual mumbo jumbo in the Morrill cafeteria were unapologetically claiming someone else's favorite place as our own. As freshman, we were the Japanese. We found these campus corners uninhabited and claimed them as our own. Now we return as the Chinese, with a new perspective informed by our whole year of experience. Upon our return to school, those places felt like they were always ours.
So many of our memories from the last year are of our first time doing something quintessentially collegiate. It's about the moments when you realized you were finally dipping into the adult world. The first sentences of the next chapters of our lives were (melodramatically), written in those old haunts. The best way to take ownership of the new experience was to subconsciously claim space as our own—it made this campus home.
For the dispute in the East China Sea, there are plenty of activists boating to the islands to claim a series of barren rocks. Superficially, the issue is about access to key resources. The root of the dispute is an old battle for primacy between two economic powerhouses.
Since we recognize our territorial claims as sophomoric at best, at UT the role of activists is hospitality. Sure, we will return to our favorite places and reminisce with our friends. Though we might silently chastise the Class of 2016 for being overly enthusiastic, pathetically confused, or for simply just being naive, we should recognize it as their privilege. They are claiming whatever spaces we have abandoned and making them their own. Instead of working to make this campus home, this fall the rest of us have the privilege of simply returning to it. Welcome back to Rocky Top, ya'll.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
India begin life after Dravid, Laxman
India begin life after Dravid, Laxman
Dravid bid farewell in March and Laxman called it quits last Saturday, leaving Sachin Tendulkar the only surviving veteran of the golden generation of Indian batsman that included Sourav Ganguly.
The main task for India in the busy home season that also features four Tests each against England and Australia is to find replacements for Dravid and Laxman, who had a combined tally of 22,069 Test runs in 298 matches.
The batsmen in contention for the two vacant slots, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, have a combined tally of just 20 Tests. Ajinkya Rahane has yet to debut in the five-day game.
India will also miss Dravid and Laxman in the slips. Both were gifted with safe hands with Dravid taking a Test record 210 catches and Laxman 135.
"It will be tough to replace Rahul and Laxman not only as batsmen, but also as slip catchers," Tendulkar said ahead of the first Test.
"They were great in that region and to replace them we are going to need someone to be there for an equally long period of time."
The series against eighth-ranked New Zealand provides the hosts an opportunity to return to winning ways ahead of tougher assignments against England and Australia.
India lost much of their reputation in the past 12 months -- and the number one ranking -- when they crashed to eight successive overseas Test defeats, four each in England and Australia.
But they remain a force at home because conditions are not as seamer-friendly as in England or Australia and spinners usually call the shots on low, slow pitches.
India will be delighted that New Zealand are without their match-winning spinner Daniel Vettori for the two Tests due to an injury.
The Black Caps need to regroup and put in an improved showing to avoid a second successive Test series defeat, having recently lost both Tests in the West Indies.
"We didn't play as well as we would have liked (in the West Indies)," Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor said. "India is a familiar place for our batsmen. We have played well here and we are looking forward to this series.
"It is a huge challenge to face the Indians on their home grounds. They are a very tough side in home conditions. We need to have plans in place to counter all possible challenges."
India have the resources to start the season on a winning note, with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and middle-order batsmen Tendulkar and Virat Kohli all capable of putting pressure on the opposition.
Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Tests and one-dayers with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was in April nominated to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for his contribution to the nation.
In-form Kohli, who has played only eight Tests, has been growing in confidence since hammering his maiden Test century against Australia at Adelaide this January.
India have effective spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha to test the touring batsmen, the duo having played major roles in their team's victory in the last home series against the West Indies in November, 2011.
Dravid bid farewell in March and Laxman called it quits last Saturday, leaving Sachin Tendulkar the only surviving veteran of the golden generation of Indian batsman that included Sourav Ganguly.
The main task for India in the busy home season that also features four Tests each against England and Australia is to find replacements for Dravid and Laxman, who had a combined tally of 22,069 Test runs in 298 matches.
The batsmen in contention for the two vacant slots, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, have a combined tally of just 20 Tests. Ajinkya Rahane has yet to debut in the five-day game.
India will also miss Dravid and Laxman in the slips. Both were gifted with safe hands with Dravid taking a Test record 210 catches and Laxman 135.
"It will be tough to replace Rahul and Laxman not only as batsmen, but also as slip catchers," Tendulkar said ahead of the first Test.
"They were great in that region and to replace them we are going to need someone to be there for an equally long period of time."
The series against eighth-ranked New Zealand provides the hosts an opportunity to return to winning ways ahead of tougher assignments against England and Australia.
India lost much of their reputation in the past 12 months -- and the number one ranking -- when they crashed to eight successive overseas Test defeats, four each in England and Australia.
But they remain a force at home because conditions are not as seamer-friendly as in England or Australia and spinners usually call the shots on low, slow pitches.
India will be delighted that New Zealand are without their match-winning spinner Daniel Vettori for the two Tests due to an injury.
The Black Caps need to regroup and put in an improved showing to avoid a second successive Test series defeat, having recently lost both Tests in the West Indies.
"We didn't play as well as we would have liked (in the West Indies)," Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor said. "India is a familiar place for our batsmen. We have played well here and we are looking forward to this series.
"It is a huge challenge to face the Indians on their home grounds. They are a very tough side in home conditions. We need to have plans in place to counter all possible challenges."
India have the resources to start the season on a winning note, with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and middle-order batsmen Tendulkar and Virat Kohli all capable of putting pressure on the opposition.
Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Tests and one-dayers with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was in April nominated to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for his contribution to the nation.
In-form Kohli, who has played only eight Tests, has been growing in confidence since hammering his maiden Test century against Australia at Adelaide this January.
India have effective spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha to test the touring batsmen, the duo having played major roles in their team's victory in the last home series against the West Indies in November, 2011.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
'Facts of Life' star Lisa Whelchel joins 'Survivor' cast
'Facts of Life' star Lisa Whelchel joins 'Survivor' cast
Children of the ‘80s will remember Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner, the spoiled blond who drove her roommates crazy for nine seasons on “Facts of Life.” In recent years, the former sitcom star has garnered headlines as the result of her, shall we say, creative approach to child discipline, but now Whelchel’s back in the news for a surprising reason: CBS announced Monday that she’d be among the 18 castaways vying for a million-dollar prize on the upcoming season of “Survivor: Philippines."
Known for her perfectly coiffed hair and frequent clashes with tough girl Jo Polniaczek, Blair was hardly the type to rough it – which makes Whelchel’s upcoming stint as a castaway all the more intriguing. Will Blair Warner eat rats? Now that would be something.
Whelchel, an avid “Survivor” fan, describes being cast on the show as the fulfillment of a “longtime desire,” but that doesn’t mean it was much fun. On her website, she describes her days on the island as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life” and compared them to childbirth. “I may need to put a few years behind me and some perspective in front of me before I would ever consider doing it again,” Whelchel wrote.
She’ll be joined on the island by several other famous-ish faces, including former professional baseball MPV Jeff Kent and two beauty pageant winners, though, sadly, none of her “Facts of Life” cast mates.
Whelchel can now add “reality star” to a long and rather eclectic resume. While “The Facts of Life” was still on the air, the actress recorded a Christian pop album, “All Because of You.” Since the show went off the air in 1988, she’s made a name for herself as a speaker and author of 10 books about religion and child-rearing – including one called “Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Discipline,” in which she advocates “hot saucing” as a way of punishing disobedient kids.
To find out whether Whelchel has really learned the facts of life – rimshot! – tune in to “Survivor: Philippines” when it premieres Sept. 19. And for a look at how her sitcom alter ego Blair dealt with personal challenges (hint: not well), check out the clip below.
Children of the ‘80s will remember Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner, the spoiled blond who drove her roommates crazy for nine seasons on “Facts of Life.” In recent years, the former sitcom star has garnered headlines as the result of her, shall we say, creative approach to child discipline, but now Whelchel’s back in the news for a surprising reason: CBS announced Monday that she’d be among the 18 castaways vying for a million-dollar prize on the upcoming season of “Survivor: Philippines."
Known for her perfectly coiffed hair and frequent clashes with tough girl Jo Polniaczek, Blair was hardly the type to rough it – which makes Whelchel’s upcoming stint as a castaway all the more intriguing. Will Blair Warner eat rats? Now that would be something.
Whelchel, an avid “Survivor” fan, describes being cast on the show as the fulfillment of a “longtime desire,” but that doesn’t mean it was much fun. On her website, she describes her days on the island as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life” and compared them to childbirth. “I may need to put a few years behind me and some perspective in front of me before I would ever consider doing it again,” Whelchel wrote.
She’ll be joined on the island by several other famous-ish faces, including former professional baseball MPV Jeff Kent and two beauty pageant winners, though, sadly, none of her “Facts of Life” cast mates.
Whelchel can now add “reality star” to a long and rather eclectic resume. While “The Facts of Life” was still on the air, the actress recorded a Christian pop album, “All Because of You.” Since the show went off the air in 1988, she’s made a name for herself as a speaker and author of 10 books about religion and child-rearing – including one called “Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Discipline,” in which she advocates “hot saucing” as a way of punishing disobedient kids.
To find out whether Whelchel has really learned the facts of life – rimshot! – tune in to “Survivor: Philippines” when it premieres Sept. 19. And for a look at how her sitcom alter ego Blair dealt with personal challenges (hint: not well), check out the clip below.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
India begin life after Dravid, Laxman
India begin life after Dravid, Laxman
India were gearing for life without retired batting stars Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman as they begin a two-Test series against New Zealand in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Dravid bid farewell in March and Laxman called it quits last Saturday, leaving Sachin Tendulkar the only surviving veteran of the golden generation of Indian batsman that included Sourav Ganguly.
The main task for India in the busy home season that also features four Tests each against England and Australia is to find replacements for Dravid and Laxman, who had a combined tally of 22,069 Test runs in 298 matches.
The batsmen in contention for the two vacant slots, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, have a combined tally of just 20 Tests. Ajinkya Rahane has yet to debut in the five-day game.
India will also miss Dravid and Laxman in the slips. Both were gifted with safe hands with Dravid taking a Test record 210 catches and Laxman 135.
“It will be tough to replace Rahul and Laxman not only as batsmen, but also as slip catchers,” Tendulkar said ahead of the first Test.
“They were great in that region and to replace them we are going to need someone to be there for an equally long period of time.”
The series against eighth-ranked New Zealand provides the hosts an opportunity to return to winning ways ahead of tougher assignments against England and Australia.
India lost much of their reputation in the past 12 months — and the number one ranking — when they crashed to eight successive overseas Test defeats, four each in England and Australia.
But they remain a force at home because conditions are not as seamer-friendly as in England or Australia and spinners usually call the shots on low, slow pitches.
India will be delighted that New Zealand are without their match-winning spinner Daniel Vettori for the two Tests due to an injury.
The Black Caps need to regroup and put in an improved showing to avoid a second successive Test series defeat, having recently lost both Tests in the West Indies.
“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked (in the West Indies),” Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor said. “India is a familiar place for our batsmen. We have played well here and we are looking forward to this series.
“It is a huge challenge to face the Indians on their home grounds. They are a very tough side in home conditions. We need to have plans in place to counter all possible challenges.”
India have the resources to start the season on a winning note, with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and middle-order batsmen Tendulkar and Virat Kohli all capable of putting pressure on the opposition.
Tendulkar, the world’s leading scorer in both Tests and one-dayers with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was in April nominated to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for his contribution to the nation.
In-form Kohli, who has played only eight Tests, has been growing in confidence since hammering his maiden Test century against Australia at Adelaide this January.
India have effective spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha to test the touring batsmen, the duo having played major roles in their team’s victory in the last home series against the West Indies in November, 2011.
India were gearing for life without retired batting stars Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman as they begin a two-Test series against New Zealand in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Dravid bid farewell in March and Laxman called it quits last Saturday, leaving Sachin Tendulkar the only surviving veteran of the golden generation of Indian batsman that included Sourav Ganguly.
The main task for India in the busy home season that also features four Tests each against England and Australia is to find replacements for Dravid and Laxman, who had a combined tally of 22,069 Test runs in 298 matches.
The batsmen in contention for the two vacant slots, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, have a combined tally of just 20 Tests. Ajinkya Rahane has yet to debut in the five-day game.
India will also miss Dravid and Laxman in the slips. Both were gifted with safe hands with Dravid taking a Test record 210 catches and Laxman 135.
“It will be tough to replace Rahul and Laxman not only as batsmen, but also as slip catchers,” Tendulkar said ahead of the first Test.
“They were great in that region and to replace them we are going to need someone to be there for an equally long period of time.”
The series against eighth-ranked New Zealand provides the hosts an opportunity to return to winning ways ahead of tougher assignments against England and Australia.
India lost much of their reputation in the past 12 months — and the number one ranking — when they crashed to eight successive overseas Test defeats, four each in England and Australia.
But they remain a force at home because conditions are not as seamer-friendly as in England or Australia and spinners usually call the shots on low, slow pitches.
India will be delighted that New Zealand are without their match-winning spinner Daniel Vettori for the two Tests due to an injury.
The Black Caps need to regroup and put in an improved showing to avoid a second successive Test series defeat, having recently lost both Tests in the West Indies.
“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked (in the West Indies),” Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor said. “India is a familiar place for our batsmen. We have played well here and we are looking forward to this series.
“It is a huge challenge to face the Indians on their home grounds. They are a very tough side in home conditions. We need to have plans in place to counter all possible challenges.”
India have the resources to start the season on a winning note, with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and middle-order batsmen Tendulkar and Virat Kohli all capable of putting pressure on the opposition.
Tendulkar, the world’s leading scorer in both Tests and one-dayers with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was in April nominated to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for his contribution to the nation.
In-form Kohli, who has played only eight Tests, has been growing in confidence since hammering his maiden Test century against Australia at Adelaide this January.
India have effective spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha to test the touring batsmen, the duo having played major roles in their team’s victory in the last home series against the West Indies in November, 2011.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Honour the right to life
Honour the right to life
It is a constitutional right that sets South Africa apart from other murderous states. It also sets the rule-of-law-abiding state apart from the apartheid one.
The Lonmin mineworkers who were killed were entitled to their right to life.
The police officers who were killed were also entitled to their right to life.
But the killings happened because the right to life was demoted to a secondary right.
Freedom of association, the right to strike and the right for police officers to arm themselves reigned over the right to life.
The mineworkers had been toiling in the belly of the earth in an attempt to eke out a living. They went on strike in a bid to improve their lives.
In the process they were not entitled to engage in violence that resulted in the killing of other workers and police officers.
But there are remedies for those who threatened or kill others. Those remedies do not include killing.
You cannot enforce the right to life by taking another life. That's what the Constitutional Court established in the precedent-setting judgment in State vs Makwanyane. The police wantonly trampled on that principle when they became killing agents.
If this is entrenched as a new policing strategy the police will lose their legitimacy in the eyes of citizens and Marikana will repeat itself in different places and under various guises.
The right to life must regain its rightful place. It must neither be killed nor demoted.
It is a constitutional right that sets South Africa apart from other murderous states. It also sets the rule-of-law-abiding state apart from the apartheid one.
The Lonmin mineworkers who were killed were entitled to their right to life.
The police officers who were killed were also entitled to their right to life.
But the killings happened because the right to life was demoted to a secondary right.
Freedom of association, the right to strike and the right for police officers to arm themselves reigned over the right to life.
The mineworkers had been toiling in the belly of the earth in an attempt to eke out a living. They went on strike in a bid to improve their lives.
In the process they were not entitled to engage in violence that resulted in the killing of other workers and police officers.
But there are remedies for those who threatened or kill others. Those remedies do not include killing.
You cannot enforce the right to life by taking another life. That's what the Constitutional Court established in the precedent-setting judgment in State vs Makwanyane. The police wantonly trampled on that principle when they became killing agents.
If this is entrenched as a new policing strategy the police will lose their legitimacy in the eyes of citizens and Marikana will repeat itself in different places and under various guises.
The right to life must regain its rightful place. It must neither be killed nor demoted.
Friday, August 17, 2012
His ‘ridiculous’ life gives Robert Pattinson the giggles
His ‘ridiculous’ life gives Robert Pattinson the giggles
How does he deal with it?”
“It drives you nuts,” he says of all the hoopla. “It’s just nuts.
“I don’t know how I cope with it. I really don’t know,” he says in a good-natured voice.
“At times, I find the whole thing pretty funny. It is pretty funny. My life is kind of ridiculous to me. It’s so absurd at time.”
Last week he fended off countless questions about the scandal while making the media rounds to promote “Cosmopolis,” his new film with director David Cronenberg (“A History of Violence,” “Eastern Promises”).
Through it all, he felt the love of his fans. The Twi-hards definitely have been Team Robert.
“I don’t credit that to myself,” Pattinson says. “It’s just that there is something elemental about the ‘Twilight’ books and the movies. The core story has connected to people.
“The fan love from that is kind of amazing. I guess it’s so much better than everyone hating you.”
By now he should have developed an attitude — if only he knew how.
“I want to change. I can’t make myself change. I can’t develop an attitude,” Pattinson says with a goofy giggle that is his trademark.
Adds Cronenberg, “I’ve seen him even try to change and it’s pathetic.”
In “Cosmopolis,” based on the novel by Don DeLillo, Pattinson plays a 28-year-old financial whiz kid and billionaire asset manager whose world is exploding. He gets into his stretch limo to get a haircut from his father’s old barber while wagering his company’s massive fortune on a bet against the Chinese Yuan. His trip across the city becomes a journey as he runs into city riots, various visitors and intimate encounters.
Filming in a limo for so long wasn’t claustrophobic.
“I actually kind of enjoyed it,” he says. “In the beginning, I wanted to stay in the car for the entire day. But it was so unbearably hot. I couldn’t really do this method.
“The car made me really concentrate.”
The London-born actor does an American accent in the movie. “I don’t even know what accent I was doing half of the time,” he admits. “I always found that the dialect was written in the lines.”
This fall, he plays vampire Edward Cullen in “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” meant to be the final installment of the “Twilight” franchise.
Fans of the series are about to enter the depression zone, and Pattinson offers some words of hope.
“I’m sure they’ll have a ‘Twilight’ TV series spinoff soon. They’ll do it again,” Pattinson says.
Would he ever play Edward Cullen again?
“Who knows?” he says. “The only thing that creates a little bit of a problem is that I’m supposed to be 17 forever.
“I’m not sure I can be 17 forever,” he says with another giggle.
He is excited to see what the future holds for him in Hollywood and elsewhere.
“Life is all about luck,” he says. “Getting to this point was lucky. I just hope that my luck holds out.”
Ask him what he knows about life at this point that he didn’t know when he was younger, and he giggles again.
“I basically have learned that I know absolutely nothing,” he says. “I thought I knew it all. Again, I knew absolutely nothing.”
How does he deal with it?”
“It drives you nuts,” he says of all the hoopla. “It’s just nuts.
“I don’t know how I cope with it. I really don’t know,” he says in a good-natured voice.
“At times, I find the whole thing pretty funny. It is pretty funny. My life is kind of ridiculous to me. It’s so absurd at time.”
Last week he fended off countless questions about the scandal while making the media rounds to promote “Cosmopolis,” his new film with director David Cronenberg (“A History of Violence,” “Eastern Promises”).
Through it all, he felt the love of his fans. The Twi-hards definitely have been Team Robert.
“I don’t credit that to myself,” Pattinson says. “It’s just that there is something elemental about the ‘Twilight’ books and the movies. The core story has connected to people.
“The fan love from that is kind of amazing. I guess it’s so much better than everyone hating you.”
By now he should have developed an attitude — if only he knew how.
“I want to change. I can’t make myself change. I can’t develop an attitude,” Pattinson says with a goofy giggle that is his trademark.
Adds Cronenberg, “I’ve seen him even try to change and it’s pathetic.”
In “Cosmopolis,” based on the novel by Don DeLillo, Pattinson plays a 28-year-old financial whiz kid and billionaire asset manager whose world is exploding. He gets into his stretch limo to get a haircut from his father’s old barber while wagering his company’s massive fortune on a bet against the Chinese Yuan. His trip across the city becomes a journey as he runs into city riots, various visitors and intimate encounters.
Filming in a limo for so long wasn’t claustrophobic.
“I actually kind of enjoyed it,” he says. “In the beginning, I wanted to stay in the car for the entire day. But it was so unbearably hot. I couldn’t really do this method.
“The car made me really concentrate.”
The London-born actor does an American accent in the movie. “I don’t even know what accent I was doing half of the time,” he admits. “I always found that the dialect was written in the lines.”
This fall, he plays vampire Edward Cullen in “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” meant to be the final installment of the “Twilight” franchise.
Fans of the series are about to enter the depression zone, and Pattinson offers some words of hope.
“I’m sure they’ll have a ‘Twilight’ TV series spinoff soon. They’ll do it again,” Pattinson says.
Would he ever play Edward Cullen again?
“Who knows?” he says. “The only thing that creates a little bit of a problem is that I’m supposed to be 17 forever.
“I’m not sure I can be 17 forever,” he says with another giggle.
He is excited to see what the future holds for him in Hollywood and elsewhere.
“Life is all about luck,” he says. “Getting to this point was lucky. I just hope that my luck holds out.”
Ask him what he knows about life at this point that he didn’t know when he was younger, and he giggles again.
“I basically have learned that I know absolutely nothing,” he says. “I thought I knew it all. Again, I knew absolutely nothing.”
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Curiosity And The Search For Life On Mars
Curiosity And The Search For Life On Mars
Only those who were in deep hibernation or unconscious would have missed two recent amazing events: the London Olympics and the sensational feat in which NASA engineers and scientists managed to land a car-sized rover onto the Martian surface. Adam wrote about the mission last week.
Now that the dust has settled (in many ways, including around the rover), I'd like to revisit the mission and its promise of discovery.
After years of preparation and 8 ½ months of travel, Curiosity was deposited near Gale Crater, in an area that looks like the Arizona desert. (But it's not, so no deniers, please! Let's celebrate humanity's achievements for what they are.) That the rover landed safely and on target, after using an amazing-looking parachute and a "sky-crane" device to soften the touchdown, was nothing short of wonderful.
Remember, it was all done remotely, commanded by onboard computers following a 500,000 lines-long code. And I thought my 3,000 line-long codes were plenty long. Then there was the "seven minutes of terror," the time it took Curiosity to land. Since communications from the rover take about 14 minutes to reach the base on Earth, the landing had to be done automatically: A very sophisticated robot landed on Mars by itself.
Its main objective? To find life, present or past, on the Martian surface or below. The rover is an ultra-sophisticated moving chemical laboratory. Some of the first pictures can be seen here. You can get more up to date pictures by following the rover on Twitter, @MarsCuriosity, which had just under 1 million followers as of this writing.
Mars around Gale Crater is dry, cold, prohibitive. NASA images show small pebbles scattered around the surface. When Curiosity starts moving in about 10 days, it will collect samples from the soil and underneath, searching for traces of organic matter or any signature of metabolic processes typical of some kind of life, either present or from the past. One of its neat devices is the ChemCam, which uses a laser to vaporize bits of soil up to 23 feet away. The vapor can then be analyzed with a spectrograph to determine the composition of the zapped minerals.
The Mars of today, with a very sparse atmosphere mostly composed of carbon dioxide, is very different then it was billions of years ago. Studies of the Martian geology and the recorded movements of water across its surface — there are plenty of dried up canyons crisscrossing the landscape — suggest it's highly probable that while Earth was still a living hell of lava and volcanic eruptions, Mars was wetter and far friendlier to life.
The expectations are high that Curiosity will find a trace of life, even if long extinct. However, if results turn out negative, we will still learn a lot. After all, the question we are asking is whether life on Earth is the exception or the rule. If life is not found on Mars, it will be harder to justify that life is abundant in the universe.
Of course, life may be there or may have been there and completely escape our methods of detection. If finding life on Earth is easy, it may be much harder in other places. Not because life can be way too weird for us to even identify it. That can happen, of course, but it's a real long shot. Carbon-based life has a much richer biochemistry than any other possibility, including silicon, an often-mentioned alternative. Also, water is essential; ammonia as a solvent is far from being as efficient as water.
Even if there isn't a universally-agreed definition of life, and some argue quite forcibly that it's a mistake to try to define it, the one NASA adopts is very general: "Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution." Life is defined through its metabolism and ability to reproduce itself. It isn't perfect, but it's what is called an operational definition.
Time will tell if Curiosity's experiments will give us a hint of what the story is with Mars and life. Short of detection, there's always room for more search: Science works better at finding out what exists than at ruling out what doesn't. (As long as it satisfies the laws of physics, chemistry and biology, of course. But even so, the possibilities are amazing.) Meanwhile, the least we can do is realize how lucky we are to be living in an age when we can actually go to the Red Planet and see for ourselves — or through a worthy emissary — whether we are the only living creatures in our solar system.
Only those who were in deep hibernation or unconscious would have missed two recent amazing events: the London Olympics and the sensational feat in which NASA engineers and scientists managed to land a car-sized rover onto the Martian surface. Adam wrote about the mission last week.
Now that the dust has settled (in many ways, including around the rover), I'd like to revisit the mission and its promise of discovery.
After years of preparation and 8 ½ months of travel, Curiosity was deposited near Gale Crater, in an area that looks like the Arizona desert. (But it's not, so no deniers, please! Let's celebrate humanity's achievements for what they are.) That the rover landed safely and on target, after using an amazing-looking parachute and a "sky-crane" device to soften the touchdown, was nothing short of wonderful.
Remember, it was all done remotely, commanded by onboard computers following a 500,000 lines-long code. And I thought my 3,000 line-long codes were plenty long. Then there was the "seven minutes of terror," the time it took Curiosity to land. Since communications from the rover take about 14 minutes to reach the base on Earth, the landing had to be done automatically: A very sophisticated robot landed on Mars by itself.
Its main objective? To find life, present or past, on the Martian surface or below. The rover is an ultra-sophisticated moving chemical laboratory. Some of the first pictures can be seen here. You can get more up to date pictures by following the rover on Twitter, @MarsCuriosity, which had just under 1 million followers as of this writing.
Mars around Gale Crater is dry, cold, prohibitive. NASA images show small pebbles scattered around the surface. When Curiosity starts moving in about 10 days, it will collect samples from the soil and underneath, searching for traces of organic matter or any signature of metabolic processes typical of some kind of life, either present or from the past. One of its neat devices is the ChemCam, which uses a laser to vaporize bits of soil up to 23 feet away. The vapor can then be analyzed with a spectrograph to determine the composition of the zapped minerals.
The Mars of today, with a very sparse atmosphere mostly composed of carbon dioxide, is very different then it was billions of years ago. Studies of the Martian geology and the recorded movements of water across its surface — there are plenty of dried up canyons crisscrossing the landscape — suggest it's highly probable that while Earth was still a living hell of lava and volcanic eruptions, Mars was wetter and far friendlier to life.
The expectations are high that Curiosity will find a trace of life, even if long extinct. However, if results turn out negative, we will still learn a lot. After all, the question we are asking is whether life on Earth is the exception or the rule. If life is not found on Mars, it will be harder to justify that life is abundant in the universe.
Of course, life may be there or may have been there and completely escape our methods of detection. If finding life on Earth is easy, it may be much harder in other places. Not because life can be way too weird for us to even identify it. That can happen, of course, but it's a real long shot. Carbon-based life has a much richer biochemistry than any other possibility, including silicon, an often-mentioned alternative. Also, water is essential; ammonia as a solvent is far from being as efficient as water.
Even if there isn't a universally-agreed definition of life, and some argue quite forcibly that it's a mistake to try to define it, the one NASA adopts is very general: "Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution." Life is defined through its metabolism and ability to reproduce itself. It isn't perfect, but it's what is called an operational definition.
Time will tell if Curiosity's experiments will give us a hint of what the story is with Mars and life. Short of detection, there's always room for more search: Science works better at finding out what exists than at ruling out what doesn't. (As long as it satisfies the laws of physics, chemistry and biology, of course. But even so, the possibilities are amazing.) Meanwhile, the least we can do is realize how lucky we are to be living in an age when we can actually go to the Red Planet and see for ourselves — or through a worthy emissary — whether we are the only living creatures in our solar system.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Mike McCoy’s jet-lagged life as a Blue Jay
Mike McCoy’s jet-lagged life as a Blue Jay
The flight is always a round trip, and the suitcase is always packed the same: a hat, some shirts and jeans, a suit and a couple pairs of shoes.
Mike McCoy never knows how much he’ll need, or for how long he’ll be gone. The life of a utility player doesn’t allow for much certainty.
He understands his role and knows the Toronto Blue Jays will use him as they see fit. One game on the field, the next two on the bench. Up with the Jays for a homestand, sent back down to the minors minutes after a game ends.
It’s been a while now since McCoy allowed himself to think he might one day find a better place to sleep than the team hotel.
“I try to stay realistic. You always know someone’s coming off the (disabled list), we have to make a move, so you kind of understand the ins and outs of the game,” he says.
“I don’t have, like, false hope. I understand that it’s a business and I’m one of the guys that has options and I’m a utility player so if they need to send to send me down then they’re going to do that.”
Yet the 31-year-old McCoy is one of the Jays’ most valuable players. His career batting average, in only 297 at-bats and 147 games through three seasons, is a paltry .199. But what he lacks at the plate is made up for in an ability to play virtually every position. McCoy has played everywhere professionally except catcher and first base — although he says he could probably play those as well if he tried.
He can even pitch, if needed. During an ugly game last season that ended in a 16-4 loss to Boston, McCoy was asked to pitch the ninth. He says he “threw a lot of junk,” but McCoy still finished the game with a perfect inning.
McCoy grew up as a shortstop, but quickly figured out he would never make it to the majors without learning some new tricks.
“I was never a prospect and I was on the outskirts looking in,” he says. “There’s always a higher-round pick in front of me and just being on the field I had to show what I could do in other areas.”
Those tricks have helped him carve out a niche in Toronto’s lineup. McCoy was drafted in the 34th round by St. Louis in 2002. He made his major-league debut in 2009 with Colorado for 12 games, and in the off-season was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays.
The 2011 season gave him hope for a regular gig. He was called up from triple-A Las Vegas six times, sometimes for just three days. The up-and-down life meant he had to get used to the constant jet lag, and spending time away from his wife and twin sons who reside in San Diego.
“I was up and down a lot. So it was a little more living out of a suitcase but this year I’ve settled in a little more,” says McCoy.
This year, McCoy has only been recalled twice as the Jays try to fill in the gaps of an injury-ravaged roster by developing younger prospects such as Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra and Adeiny Hechavarria. On Sunday, McCoy batted second in the lineup. The next day he was on the bench. Tomorrow he could be back in Las Vegas.
It’s still deflating for McCoy to be sent back to Nevada, but he’s not unhappy with his career. He gets a thrill out of playing different positions, and is now able to offer guidance to Blue Jays rookies who he watched develop in the minors.
“I was a 34th-round pick. I felt like I beat the odds and was able to make it to the big leagues and hopefully I can have a long big-league career in the next five, six, seven years, hopefully.”
And, if he’s lucky, the next flight north of the border will come with a one-way ticket.
The flight is always a round trip, and the suitcase is always packed the same: a hat, some shirts and jeans, a suit and a couple pairs of shoes.
Mike McCoy never knows how much he’ll need, or for how long he’ll be gone. The life of a utility player doesn’t allow for much certainty.
He understands his role and knows the Toronto Blue Jays will use him as they see fit. One game on the field, the next two on the bench. Up with the Jays for a homestand, sent back down to the minors minutes after a game ends.
It’s been a while now since McCoy allowed himself to think he might one day find a better place to sleep than the team hotel.
“I try to stay realistic. You always know someone’s coming off the (disabled list), we have to make a move, so you kind of understand the ins and outs of the game,” he says.
“I don’t have, like, false hope. I understand that it’s a business and I’m one of the guys that has options and I’m a utility player so if they need to send to send me down then they’re going to do that.”
Yet the 31-year-old McCoy is one of the Jays’ most valuable players. His career batting average, in only 297 at-bats and 147 games through three seasons, is a paltry .199. But what he lacks at the plate is made up for in an ability to play virtually every position. McCoy has played everywhere professionally except catcher and first base — although he says he could probably play those as well if he tried.
He can even pitch, if needed. During an ugly game last season that ended in a 16-4 loss to Boston, McCoy was asked to pitch the ninth. He says he “threw a lot of junk,” but McCoy still finished the game with a perfect inning.
McCoy grew up as a shortstop, but quickly figured out he would never make it to the majors without learning some new tricks.
“I was never a prospect and I was on the outskirts looking in,” he says. “There’s always a higher-round pick in front of me and just being on the field I had to show what I could do in other areas.”
Those tricks have helped him carve out a niche in Toronto’s lineup. McCoy was drafted in the 34th round by St. Louis in 2002. He made his major-league debut in 2009 with Colorado for 12 games, and in the off-season was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays.
The 2011 season gave him hope for a regular gig. He was called up from triple-A Las Vegas six times, sometimes for just three days. The up-and-down life meant he had to get used to the constant jet lag, and spending time away from his wife and twin sons who reside in San Diego.
“I was up and down a lot. So it was a little more living out of a suitcase but this year I’ve settled in a little more,” says McCoy.
This year, McCoy has only been recalled twice as the Jays try to fill in the gaps of an injury-ravaged roster by developing younger prospects such as Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra and Adeiny Hechavarria. On Sunday, McCoy batted second in the lineup. The next day he was on the bench. Tomorrow he could be back in Las Vegas.
It’s still deflating for McCoy to be sent back to Nevada, but he’s not unhappy with his career. He gets a thrill out of playing different positions, and is now able to offer guidance to Blue Jays rookies who he watched develop in the minors.
“I was a 34th-round pick. I felt like I beat the odds and was able to make it to the big leagues and hopefully I can have a long big-league career in the next five, six, seven years, hopefully.”
And, if he’s lucky, the next flight north of the border will come with a one-way ticket.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Somali pirate negotiator receives 12 life sentences in U.S. court
Somali pirate negotiator receives 12 life sentences in U.S. court
A Somali man who acted as a ransom negotiator for pirates who seized an American yacht last year and killed four American hostages was sentenced on Monday by a U.S. federal judge to serve 12 life sentences.
Mohammad Shibin was convicted in April on 15 charges including piracy, hostage taking, kidnapping and conspiracy. He was paid $30,000 to $50,000 in cash for his negotiating services, according to a federal indictment.
In a courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar sentenced Shibin to serve 10 concurrent life sentences, two consecutive life sentences and two 20-year sentences and ordered him to pay $5.4 million in restitution.
"Mohammad Shibin was a key participant in two of the most heinous acts of piracy in modern memory," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement.
Pirates commandeered an American yacht carrying Jean and Scott Adam of California and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle in February 2011 off the coast of Somalia. All four hostages were killed despite attempts by the U.S. military to negotiate their release.
Prosecutors said Shibin was among an elite group whose skills were needed to negotiate ransoms.
According to evidence presented at trial, Shibin researched the background of the hostages over the Internet to determine how much ransom to demand and to find family members to contact for the payments, prosecutors said.
Shibin also served as a ransom negotiator for pirates who seized the M/V Marida Marguerite in 2010. The German-owned vessel had a crew of 22 men who were held hostage for seven months starting in May 2010 and reported being tortured.
In 2011 Somali piracy cost the world economy $7 billion and earned the pirates some $160 million in ransoms, according to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau.
"(Shibin's) multiple life sentences should put all pirates on notice that the Justice Department will hold you accountable in a U.S. courtroom for crimes on the high seas," MacBride said.
A Somali man who acted as a ransom negotiator for pirates who seized an American yacht last year and killed four American hostages was sentenced on Monday by a U.S. federal judge to serve 12 life sentences.
Mohammad Shibin was convicted in April on 15 charges including piracy, hostage taking, kidnapping and conspiracy. He was paid $30,000 to $50,000 in cash for his negotiating services, according to a federal indictment.
In a courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar sentenced Shibin to serve 10 concurrent life sentences, two consecutive life sentences and two 20-year sentences and ordered him to pay $5.4 million in restitution.
"Mohammad Shibin was a key participant in two of the most heinous acts of piracy in modern memory," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement.
Pirates commandeered an American yacht carrying Jean and Scott Adam of California and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle in February 2011 off the coast of Somalia. All four hostages were killed despite attempts by the U.S. military to negotiate their release.
Prosecutors said Shibin was among an elite group whose skills were needed to negotiate ransoms.
According to evidence presented at trial, Shibin researched the background of the hostages over the Internet to determine how much ransom to demand and to find family members to contact for the payments, prosecutors said.
Shibin also served as a ransom negotiator for pirates who seized the M/V Marida Marguerite in 2010. The German-owned vessel had a crew of 22 men who were held hostage for seven months starting in May 2010 and reported being tortured.
In 2011 Somali piracy cost the world economy $7 billion and earned the pirates some $160 million in ransoms, according to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau.
"(Shibin's) multiple life sentences should put all pirates on notice that the Justice Department will hold you accountable in a U.S. courtroom for crimes on the high seas," MacBride said.
Monday, August 13, 2012
London Olympics: Finale shows the bright side of life
London Olympics: Finale shows the bright side of life
"These Games have gone so well. What are we going to do when they are all over? How will we distract the public from impending gloom?"
The bright idea must have been to refocus them with a gig. A celebration of British pop from the past 50 years.
Closing ceremony artistic director Kim Gavin made no bones about the fact he wanted to host the best ever after-show party.
The sport was the main event, he said, this slot was the celebration.
It had less lofty historical aspirations or scene-setting duties than its elder sibling, Danny Boyle's wonder creation, born two-and-a-bit weeks ago.
'Mosh pit'
Instead of the industrial revolution, workers' rights and quirky Britain, it was a riot of music and colour. Beginning in front of a constructed skyline of London that the roadies finished putting up only as the audience came in at the start of the evening.
It was less than 24 hours since sport had finished with its dramas here.
Big noises from One Direction, through Emeli Sande and the Pet Shop Boys and the Kaiser Chiefs to George Michael were rolled out in front of the athletes, who walked in to fill the "mosh pit" on the stadium floor.
They like a mosh pit front and centre stage, these London 2012 ceremony directors. And a smattering of Royals - Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge were here.
Did the ceremony do its job? To be honest, it felt a bit like elite sport, down one minute and up the next. Unlike the carefully scripted effect of the opener, at a time of national unity, you were sometimes left wondering how to feel.
One minute the ceremony rocked out to Brian May following the big screen ghost of Freddie Mercury. It was sombre with a lowered Olympic flag and Welsh male voice choir the next.
Muse's Olympics anthem Survival has played out in the last fortnight at moments of great sporting drama. Tonight it was tested to full stadium effect, with flames rushing up to the sky either side of the band.
But that immediately followed a comedy moment where a man was fired out of a cannon. During the Games we've seen great bravery in performance. This took real guts.
The Spice Girls reunion was memorable not necessarily for the five former music dominators on top of taxis. More for Boris Johnson pulling wild dance moves while standing next to the prime minister.
What was Annie Lennox doing on a skeletal boat? Was that a reference to the slender and beautiful super models near her in the running order, people asked?
It took the young guns, of the generation these Games have aimed to inspire, to really get the party started. A bold Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz following Fat Boy Slim.
There were poignant parts, it's good ceremony territory this, poignancy.
Until now, Elbow's One Day Like This has always seemed to be the perfect song to end a festival. Who knew it would be a fitting soundtrack to the flood of athletes who swept into the stadium?
If Lord Coe had wanted to bottle the feel good factor from the Olympics and save it for the country, this would have been the moment to uncork all the bottles and scoop it up.
Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill makes the point that men and women cannot trade places. It was fitting at a Games where women have made up a greater percentage of the athletes than ever before, and been allowed to box. To gold medal-winning effect for Britain.
There were reminders that real, non-Olympic life was just around the corner too, with the most commercially successful bands garnering the biggest cheers; supermodels strutting stuff; traffic - albeit wrapped in newspaper - taking over the floor.
'Happy and glorious'
Like the end of the Olympics, the finish line of the ceremony rushed up to meet us.
International Olympics Committee President Jacques Rogge invoked the national anthem by saying the Games had been "happy and glorious".
Lord Coe's voice cracked either through exhaustion or emotion as he declared "When our time came, Britain, we did it right, thank you!"
His praise for the volunteers at the Games brought a speech-stopping ovation.
There was audience participation after such crowd support during the Olympics. A genuine "groan" from the country that gave the world panto when it was announced the cauldron would be extinguished.
And a hush of expectation ahead of Rio's segment. How would the Games look when passed over to another country's custody?
There was so much glitz you could hear it rustle. We have Beckham, let's be frank, they've got Pele. We have models, they have scanty Samba dancers. Whisper it, will Rio's Games have the sex factor, while London's had the XXXth Olympiad factor?
There were rousing performances from Take That and the Who to take our minds off the fact that the Olympic flame was about to go out. And to remind us that actually, worse things than the end of the Games do happen.
Before this all begins again for the Paralympic Games in a couple of weeks' time perhaps best then, to keep the words of Eric Idle in mind, as he bobbed back up through the Stadium floor, shortly before being bamboozled by Bhangra.
"If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten, and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
"Always look on the bright side of life."
"These Games have gone so well. What are we going to do when they are all over? How will we distract the public from impending gloom?"
The bright idea must have been to refocus them with a gig. A celebration of British pop from the past 50 years.
Closing ceremony artistic director Kim Gavin made no bones about the fact he wanted to host the best ever after-show party.
The sport was the main event, he said, this slot was the celebration.
It had less lofty historical aspirations or scene-setting duties than its elder sibling, Danny Boyle's wonder creation, born two-and-a-bit weeks ago.
'Mosh pit'
Instead of the industrial revolution, workers' rights and quirky Britain, it was a riot of music and colour. Beginning in front of a constructed skyline of London that the roadies finished putting up only as the audience came in at the start of the evening.
It was less than 24 hours since sport had finished with its dramas here.
Big noises from One Direction, through Emeli Sande and the Pet Shop Boys and the Kaiser Chiefs to George Michael were rolled out in front of the athletes, who walked in to fill the "mosh pit" on the stadium floor.
They like a mosh pit front and centre stage, these London 2012 ceremony directors. And a smattering of Royals - Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge were here.
Did the ceremony do its job? To be honest, it felt a bit like elite sport, down one minute and up the next. Unlike the carefully scripted effect of the opener, at a time of national unity, you were sometimes left wondering how to feel.
One minute the ceremony rocked out to Brian May following the big screen ghost of Freddie Mercury. It was sombre with a lowered Olympic flag and Welsh male voice choir the next.
Muse's Olympics anthem Survival has played out in the last fortnight at moments of great sporting drama. Tonight it was tested to full stadium effect, with flames rushing up to the sky either side of the band.
But that immediately followed a comedy moment where a man was fired out of a cannon. During the Games we've seen great bravery in performance. This took real guts.
The Spice Girls reunion was memorable not necessarily for the five former music dominators on top of taxis. More for Boris Johnson pulling wild dance moves while standing next to the prime minister.
What was Annie Lennox doing on a skeletal boat? Was that a reference to the slender and beautiful super models near her in the running order, people asked?
It took the young guns, of the generation these Games have aimed to inspire, to really get the party started. A bold Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz following Fat Boy Slim.
There were poignant parts, it's good ceremony territory this, poignancy.
Until now, Elbow's One Day Like This has always seemed to be the perfect song to end a festival. Who knew it would be a fitting soundtrack to the flood of athletes who swept into the stadium?
If Lord Coe had wanted to bottle the feel good factor from the Olympics and save it for the country, this would have been the moment to uncork all the bottles and scoop it up.
Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill makes the point that men and women cannot trade places. It was fitting at a Games where women have made up a greater percentage of the athletes than ever before, and been allowed to box. To gold medal-winning effect for Britain.
There were reminders that real, non-Olympic life was just around the corner too, with the most commercially successful bands garnering the biggest cheers; supermodels strutting stuff; traffic - albeit wrapped in newspaper - taking over the floor.
'Happy and glorious'
Like the end of the Olympics, the finish line of the ceremony rushed up to meet us.
International Olympics Committee President Jacques Rogge invoked the national anthem by saying the Games had been "happy and glorious".
Lord Coe's voice cracked either through exhaustion or emotion as he declared "When our time came, Britain, we did it right, thank you!"
His praise for the volunteers at the Games brought a speech-stopping ovation.
There was audience participation after such crowd support during the Olympics. A genuine "groan" from the country that gave the world panto when it was announced the cauldron would be extinguished.
And a hush of expectation ahead of Rio's segment. How would the Games look when passed over to another country's custody?
There was so much glitz you could hear it rustle. We have Beckham, let's be frank, they've got Pele. We have models, they have scanty Samba dancers. Whisper it, will Rio's Games have the sex factor, while London's had the XXXth Olympiad factor?
There were rousing performances from Take That and the Who to take our minds off the fact that the Olympic flame was about to go out. And to remind us that actually, worse things than the end of the Games do happen.
Before this all begins again for the Paralympic Games in a couple of weeks' time perhaps best then, to keep the words of Eric Idle in mind, as he bobbed back up through the Stadium floor, shortly before being bamboozled by Bhangra.
"If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten, and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
"Always look on the bright side of life."
Friday, August 10, 2012
Student life: beyond academia - sports teams, volunteering and societies
Student life: beyond academia - sports teams, volunteering and societies
A baffling array of choices greets new university students. In Freshers’ Week alone, you will be plied with cheap alcohol, asked if you row, act, sing or play football, urged to join several political parties and will meet at least a dozen people who seem fun, interesting and different from your mates back home.
Visit our Student Life hub for tips on preparing for all aspects of university life, by experts who've been there, done that, and got the stash to prove it
The challenge is, of course, to choose wisely. Once the initial excitement has faded, a lot of first-year students find themselves juggling so many balls that they soon start to feel out of their depth. They can end up lurching from one mini-crisis to the next — an overdue essay, cash-flow problems, a relationship gone pear-shaped, meeting the demands of all those clubs they joined — all the while nagged by a vague fear that there is something vital they have forgotten.
The very nature of student life promises a dizzying sense of freedom, and achieving a sensible balance is something you must learn for yourself.
But you won’t be alone at a modern university that takes the welfare of its students seriously, and tries to put the right structures in place to create a happy, wholesome environment.
“We want to attract students who are not only bright but also well-rounded — willing to play hard as well as work hard,” says Prof Janice Kay, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Exeter. “But that ideal cannot be imposed from above. Students need to be empowered to see themselves as partners in the learning process, not just as customers.”
With tuition fees due to soar this autumn, it will be more important than ever for students to use their time at university wisely if they want to get a decent degree, keep their finances under control and have the time of their lives. The days when an “organised” student was an oxymoron, at which we could all chuckle, are fast receding.
When graduate unemployment was virtually unknown, students were able to treat university as a time of innocent escapism before life got serious. Now, what you do at university outside your studies, and the subject you are reading, increasingly shapes your future career.
“I wish I had done more student journalism,” said a final-year undergraduate at Warwick University desperately searching for a job. “I was interested in working for the BBC, but that gap in my CV worked against me. I didn’t even get an interview.”
Employers will look at students in the round, not just make a note of their degree. Captaining a sports team, running a society, fundraising for charity or even organising a college ball will all help to enhance a CV.
At Lancaster University, where significant emphasis is placed on getting the work-play balance right, students are encouraged to apply for a special Lancaster Award. It is given to those who have successfully demonstrated an ability to make the necessary connection between their studies and their extracurricular activities.
“We have found that students consistently underestimate how much employers are likely to value the non-academic things they do at university,” says Prof Amanda Chetwynd, pro-vice- chancellor at Lancaster University. “By inviting them to make a written record of the life skills they have acquired through part-time jobs, or volunteering, we are helping them focus on their future careers.” Activities pursued by students who have gained the award include holding responsible positions in student societies and acting as student ambassadors, voluntary work in a homeless shelter and as a “reading buddy” in local primary schools, and summer jobs in a solicitor’s office and for a local authority.
Paid work is not only an income source for cash-strapped students, it’s also a chance to gain entrepreneurial skills – such as event management or setting up a website — rather than just working in a bar.
Striking the right balance is never easy, and, with so many competing demands on students, the importance of time-management skills can hardly be overstated. University is a great time to experiment and those with a flair for business will be able to hit the ground running when they graduate. But even friendships might need to be rationed. The famous advice to an Oxford freshman in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited — “You’ll find you spend half your second year shaking off all the undesirable friends you made in your first” — still holds true today.
A baffling array of choices greets new university students. In Freshers’ Week alone, you will be plied with cheap alcohol, asked if you row, act, sing or play football, urged to join several political parties and will meet at least a dozen people who seem fun, interesting and different from your mates back home.
Visit our Student Life hub for tips on preparing for all aspects of university life, by experts who've been there, done that, and got the stash to prove it
The challenge is, of course, to choose wisely. Once the initial excitement has faded, a lot of first-year students find themselves juggling so many balls that they soon start to feel out of their depth. They can end up lurching from one mini-crisis to the next — an overdue essay, cash-flow problems, a relationship gone pear-shaped, meeting the demands of all those clubs they joined — all the while nagged by a vague fear that there is something vital they have forgotten.
The very nature of student life promises a dizzying sense of freedom, and achieving a sensible balance is something you must learn for yourself.
But you won’t be alone at a modern university that takes the welfare of its students seriously, and tries to put the right structures in place to create a happy, wholesome environment.
“We want to attract students who are not only bright but also well-rounded — willing to play hard as well as work hard,” says Prof Janice Kay, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Exeter. “But that ideal cannot be imposed from above. Students need to be empowered to see themselves as partners in the learning process, not just as customers.”
With tuition fees due to soar this autumn, it will be more important than ever for students to use their time at university wisely if they want to get a decent degree, keep their finances under control and have the time of their lives. The days when an “organised” student was an oxymoron, at which we could all chuckle, are fast receding.
When graduate unemployment was virtually unknown, students were able to treat university as a time of innocent escapism before life got serious. Now, what you do at university outside your studies, and the subject you are reading, increasingly shapes your future career.
“I wish I had done more student journalism,” said a final-year undergraduate at Warwick University desperately searching for a job. “I was interested in working for the BBC, but that gap in my CV worked against me. I didn’t even get an interview.”
Employers will look at students in the round, not just make a note of their degree. Captaining a sports team, running a society, fundraising for charity or even organising a college ball will all help to enhance a CV.
At Lancaster University, where significant emphasis is placed on getting the work-play balance right, students are encouraged to apply for a special Lancaster Award. It is given to those who have successfully demonstrated an ability to make the necessary connection between their studies and their extracurricular activities.
“We have found that students consistently underestimate how much employers are likely to value the non-academic things they do at university,” says Prof Amanda Chetwynd, pro-vice- chancellor at Lancaster University. “By inviting them to make a written record of the life skills they have acquired through part-time jobs, or volunteering, we are helping them focus on their future careers.” Activities pursued by students who have gained the award include holding responsible positions in student societies and acting as student ambassadors, voluntary work in a homeless shelter and as a “reading buddy” in local primary schools, and summer jobs in a solicitor’s office and for a local authority.
Paid work is not only an income source for cash-strapped students, it’s also a chance to gain entrepreneurial skills – such as event management or setting up a website — rather than just working in a bar.
Striking the right balance is never easy, and, with so many competing demands on students, the importance of time-management skills can hardly be overstated. University is a great time to experiment and those with a flair for business will be able to hit the ground running when they graduate. But even friendships might need to be rationed. The famous advice to an Oxford freshman in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited — “You’ll find you spend half your second year shaking off all the undesirable friends you made in your first” — still holds true today.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Upcoming releases: 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green,' 'Sparkle'
Upcoming releases: 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green,' 'Sparkle'
Wednesday
"The Odd Life of Timothy Green": Fantasy drama about two wannabe parents who bury a box containing all of their wishes for a child in their backyard. Soon, a boy arrives on the scene, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears to be. With Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton. Rated PG for mild mature themes and language.
Aug. 17
"The Expendables 2": Sequel to the 2010 adventure that reunited an all-star pack of '80s action stars. This time, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews are joined by new members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) on a new mission handed to them by Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). Rated R for action, bloody violence and language.
"ParaNorman": Animated tale for kiddies about a boy who can speak with the dead and who battles ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. With the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman and Casey Affleck. Rated PG for scary action and images, mature themes, rude humor and language.
"Sparkle": In the 1960s, three sisters form a girl group and soon become Motown sensations, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit group begins to fall apart. Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks star in the eagerly awaited made-in-Detroit drama. Rated PG-13 for mature themes, content involving domestic abuse and drugs, violence and language.
Aug. 24
"The Apparition": A young couple (Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan) are haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a parapsychology experiment. Rated PG-13 for terror, frightening images and sensuality.
"Celeste and Jesse Forever": A husband and wife in the midst of a divorce try to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people. With Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg. Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use.
"Hit & Run": Michigan natives Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell star in an adventure comedy about a former getaway driver who jeopardizes his protected identity to help his girlfriend get to L.A. They're pursued en route by both the feds and gang members. With Bradley Cooper. Rated R for language, sexual references, graphic nudity, violence and drug content.
"Premium Rush": A Manhattan bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. Rated PG-13 for violence, intense action and language.
"The Queen of Versailles": Documentary about a billionaire couple and the construction of a mansion inspired by Versailles. Things change when the economy fails and the couple's wealth, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, takes a hit. Rated PG for mature themes and language.
Wednesday
"The Odd Life of Timothy Green": Fantasy drama about two wannabe parents who bury a box containing all of their wishes for a child in their backyard. Soon, a boy arrives on the scene, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears to be. With Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton. Rated PG for mild mature themes and language.
Aug. 17
"The Expendables 2": Sequel to the 2010 adventure that reunited an all-star pack of '80s action stars. This time, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews are joined by new members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) on a new mission handed to them by Mr. Church (Bruce Willis). Rated R for action, bloody violence and language.
"ParaNorman": Animated tale for kiddies about a boy who can speak with the dead and who battles ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. With the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman and Casey Affleck. Rated PG for scary action and images, mature themes, rude humor and language.
"Sparkle": In the 1960s, three sisters form a girl group and soon become Motown sensations, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit group begins to fall apart. Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks star in the eagerly awaited made-in-Detroit drama. Rated PG-13 for mature themes, content involving domestic abuse and drugs, violence and language.
Aug. 24
"The Apparition": A young couple (Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan) are haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a parapsychology experiment. Rated PG-13 for terror, frightening images and sensuality.
"Celeste and Jesse Forever": A husband and wife in the midst of a divorce try to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people. With Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg. Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use.
"Hit & Run": Michigan natives Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell star in an adventure comedy about a former getaway driver who jeopardizes his protected identity to help his girlfriend get to L.A. They're pursued en route by both the feds and gang members. With Bradley Cooper. Rated R for language, sexual references, graphic nudity, violence and drug content.
"Premium Rush": A Manhattan bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. Rated PG-13 for violence, intense action and language.
"The Queen of Versailles": Documentary about a billionaire couple and the construction of a mansion inspired by Versailles. Things change when the economy fails and the couple's wealth, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, takes a hit. Rated PG for mature themes and language.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Bristol Palin’s ‘Life’s a Tripp’ Reportedly Prompts Levi Johnston to Consider Full Custody of Son
Bristol Palin’s ‘Life’s a Tripp’ Reportedly Prompts Levi Johnston to Consider Full Custody of Son
Dismayed by a reality-TV show featuring his ex-fiancee, Bristol Palin, and their son, Tripp, Levi Johnston plans to seek full custody of the boy.
In a statement to ABC News, Johnston wrote, “I want full or half custody of Tripp. His room is already set up in my house and just waiting for him.”
Palin, 21, and 3-year-old Tripp are featured on the Lifetime show, “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.” Johnston says the show is proof that his ex is a terrible parent and his son is “on a downward spiral,” the gossip website TMZ reported.
TMZ reported that Johnston, 22, is so “disgusted” by his son’s language and behavior that he obtained the required court papers to file the custody petition.
“I love my son more than anything … and I will do whatever it takes to make sure he is raised the right way,” Johnston reportedly told TMZ.
In a recent episode of the show, Tripp threw a temper tantrum when told he couldn’t go to the pool. When his aunt, Willow, tried to calm him, Tripp told her and his mother that he hated them, then told Willow, “Go away, you f***!”
Initial reports indicated Tripp had used an anti-gay slur, but his mother said in a blog post that he “used a different ‘f word.’” Palin confessed on the show to doing “a terrible job disciplining Tripp.”
Of her son’s behavior, she also wrote that the cameras “caught a moment on film that would cause any parent to be red in the face.”
Johnston was Palin’s high school boyfriend. The pair have been engaged twice but are no longer a couple.
Under the terms of their child-custody agreement, Palin has primary custody and Johnston may visit Tripp.
The agreement prohibits either parent from publicly disparaging the other.
Since the pair split, she has been a spokeswoman for teen abstinence, written a book and appeared on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Johnston has posed for Playgirl magazine and written a tell-all book about his relationship with Palin and the Palin family.
Palin is the daughter of former Alaska governor and one-time Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
The disclosure during her mother’s 2008 campaign that Bristol Palin, then 17, was pregnant created sweeping controversy.
Dismayed by a reality-TV show featuring his ex-fiancee, Bristol Palin, and their son, Tripp, Levi Johnston plans to seek full custody of the boy.
In a statement to ABC News, Johnston wrote, “I want full or half custody of Tripp. His room is already set up in my house and just waiting for him.”
Palin, 21, and 3-year-old Tripp are featured on the Lifetime show, “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.” Johnston says the show is proof that his ex is a terrible parent and his son is “on a downward spiral,” the gossip website TMZ reported.
TMZ reported that Johnston, 22, is so “disgusted” by his son’s language and behavior that he obtained the required court papers to file the custody petition.
“I love my son more than anything … and I will do whatever it takes to make sure he is raised the right way,” Johnston reportedly told TMZ.
In a recent episode of the show, Tripp threw a temper tantrum when told he couldn’t go to the pool. When his aunt, Willow, tried to calm him, Tripp told her and his mother that he hated them, then told Willow, “Go away, you f***!”
Initial reports indicated Tripp had used an anti-gay slur, but his mother said in a blog post that he “used a different ‘f word.’” Palin confessed on the show to doing “a terrible job disciplining Tripp.”
Of her son’s behavior, she also wrote that the cameras “caught a moment on film that would cause any parent to be red in the face.”
Johnston was Palin’s high school boyfriend. The pair have been engaged twice but are no longer a couple.
Under the terms of their child-custody agreement, Palin has primary custody and Johnston may visit Tripp.
The agreement prohibits either parent from publicly disparaging the other.
Since the pair split, she has been a spokeswoman for teen abstinence, written a book and appeared on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Johnston has posed for Playgirl magazine and written a tell-all book about his relationship with Palin and the Palin family.
Palin is the daughter of former Alaska governor and one-time Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
The disclosure during her mother’s 2008 campaign that Bristol Palin, then 17, was pregnant created sweeping controversy.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Life-Time Jail Requested in Torture Case
Life-Time Jail Requested in Torture Case
A public prosecutor has demanded aggravated life imprisonment for two prison guards charged with inflicting torture on Engin Çeber that resulted in his death in 2008.
The hearing in the case of Çeber’s death was held at Bakırköy’s 14th Court for Serious Crimes yesterday.
The jailed suspects Fuat Karaosmanoğlu, Selahattin Apaydın, Nihat Kızılkaya, and Sami Ergazi and lawyers for all parties were in attendance at the hearing. Çeber’s father, Ali Tekin, and sister, Şerife Çeber, were also present.
Public Prosecutor Erdal Şenol demanded “aggravated life imprisonment” for guards Selahattin Apaydın and Sami Ergazi, who are charged with “aggravated torture,” a prison sentence of between 3 to 12 years for guard Nihat Kızılkaya on the charge of “torture,” and between 6 months and 1 year in prison for Deputy Director Fuat Karaosmanoğlu on a charge of “misconduct.” The prosecutor expressed his opinion that Kızılkaya and Karaosmanoğlu should be released on charges of misconduct at their post, but requested 3 to 12 years in prison for police officers Mehmet Pek, Abdülmuttalip Bozyel, Murat Çise and Yavuz Uzun.
Çeber allegedly died due to torture and maltreatment he suffered at Metris Prison on Oct. 10, 2008.
The victim and three friends were taken into custody after participating in a rally protesting police brutality and violence, at which they read a press statement. His friends, who survived, described in detail the torture they experienced at the Şehit Muhsin Bodur police station and Metris prison.
The forensic medical report said Çeber died as a result of torture. Then-Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin accepted the report’s statement and apologized to the public.
A public prosecutor has demanded aggravated life imprisonment for two prison guards charged with inflicting torture on Engin Çeber that resulted in his death in 2008.
The hearing in the case of Çeber’s death was held at Bakırköy’s 14th Court for Serious Crimes yesterday.
The jailed suspects Fuat Karaosmanoğlu, Selahattin Apaydın, Nihat Kızılkaya, and Sami Ergazi and lawyers for all parties were in attendance at the hearing. Çeber’s father, Ali Tekin, and sister, Şerife Çeber, were also present.
Public Prosecutor Erdal Şenol demanded “aggravated life imprisonment” for guards Selahattin Apaydın and Sami Ergazi, who are charged with “aggravated torture,” a prison sentence of between 3 to 12 years for guard Nihat Kızılkaya on the charge of “torture,” and between 6 months and 1 year in prison for Deputy Director Fuat Karaosmanoğlu on a charge of “misconduct.” The prosecutor expressed his opinion that Kızılkaya and Karaosmanoğlu should be released on charges of misconduct at their post, but requested 3 to 12 years in prison for police officers Mehmet Pek, Abdülmuttalip Bozyel, Murat Çise and Yavuz Uzun.
Çeber allegedly died due to torture and maltreatment he suffered at Metris Prison on Oct. 10, 2008.
The victim and three friends were taken into custody after participating in a rally protesting police brutality and violence, at which they read a press statement. His friends, who survived, described in detail the torture they experienced at the Şehit Muhsin Bodur police station and Metris prison.
The forensic medical report said Çeber died as a result of torture. Then-Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin accepted the report’s statement and apologized to the public.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Phelps starts life out of the water
Phelps starts life out of the water
Like a fish out of water, Michael Phelps started the first day of his new life uncertain where to turn and wondering what to do next.
For the first time in two decades, he didn't need to set his alarm clock to get up before dawn and stuff his swimming trunks and goggles in a bag and head to the pool.
Exhausted from the night before when he finished his incredible career by winning his 18th Olympic gold medal, he had planned to sleep in but his body and mind wouldn't allow it.
He woke at 6 a.m., as always, but with his head still spinning with the magnitude of what he had accomplished and his emotions overflowing as the realisation that it was all over began to sink in.
"I didn't really sleep past the normal time I wake up. I only had three or four hours of sleep last night then I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep," he told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.
"It's kinda weird, it's very strange, the first day of not having to swim and never having it again."
Phelps had known for a long time that this day was coming after deciding in Beijing four years ago that London would be his last Olympics.
The American knew well in advance what his last race would be and what day it would take place so he started to get himself ready.
He didn't train as hard as he did before Beijing, where he won eight gold medals, but he got himself fit enough and stayed motivated enough to bag another four golds and two silvers and finish his career with a staggering record total of 22 medals.
His final race, Saturday's medley relay, was watched by millions of people around the world and could not have been scripted better.
The crowd inside London's Aquatics Centre let out a mighty roar, instinctively rising to their feet to honour the most decorated Olympian of all time.
He received his gold medal, then a lifetime achievement award from swimming's world governing body and a thousand handshakes and backslaps. There were tears as well, from his family, his coach, even Phelps himself. It was little wonder he hardly slept.
"I'm not sure right now what I feel. It's really confusing," he said.
"I'm all over the place right now. I've got really mixed emotions. I just don't know really how to react yet."
Phelps planned to spend the day with his mother Debbie, but had to fulfill one commitment first, a round of media interviews with his sponsor Visa.
He spent 30 minutes on stage in a packed auditorium answering questions on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from swimming, the food in London and whether he planned to marry soon, then spoke privately to a handful of selected media outlets, including Reuters.
Red-eyed and battling to keep awake, he reflected on his success and talked about his future, saying he wanted to travel more and improve his golf handicap.
The 27-year-old said he wanted to keep in shape after piling on the pounds when he took a short break after Beijing but was not going near a pool again, except to watch the world championships and Olympics.
"The competitive part of my career is over but it doesn't mean my involvement with swimming is over," he said. "I'm still going to be involved, but looking at it from the outside."
Like a fish out of water, Michael Phelps started the first day of his new life uncertain where to turn and wondering what to do next.
For the first time in two decades, he didn't need to set his alarm clock to get up before dawn and stuff his swimming trunks and goggles in a bag and head to the pool.
Exhausted from the night before when he finished his incredible career by winning his 18th Olympic gold medal, he had planned to sleep in but his body and mind wouldn't allow it.
He woke at 6 a.m., as always, but with his head still spinning with the magnitude of what he had accomplished and his emotions overflowing as the realisation that it was all over began to sink in.
"I didn't really sleep past the normal time I wake up. I only had three or four hours of sleep last night then I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep," he told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.
"It's kinda weird, it's very strange, the first day of not having to swim and never having it again."
Phelps had known for a long time that this day was coming after deciding in Beijing four years ago that London would be his last Olympics.
The American knew well in advance what his last race would be and what day it would take place so he started to get himself ready.
He didn't train as hard as he did before Beijing, where he won eight gold medals, but he got himself fit enough and stayed motivated enough to bag another four golds and two silvers and finish his career with a staggering record total of 22 medals.
His final race, Saturday's medley relay, was watched by millions of people around the world and could not have been scripted better.
The crowd inside London's Aquatics Centre let out a mighty roar, instinctively rising to their feet to honour the most decorated Olympian of all time.
He received his gold medal, then a lifetime achievement award from swimming's world governing body and a thousand handshakes and backslaps. There were tears as well, from his family, his coach, even Phelps himself. It was little wonder he hardly slept.
"I'm not sure right now what I feel. It's really confusing," he said.
"I'm all over the place right now. I've got really mixed emotions. I just don't know really how to react yet."
Phelps planned to spend the day with his mother Debbie, but had to fulfill one commitment first, a round of media interviews with his sponsor Visa.
He spent 30 minutes on stage in a packed auditorium answering questions on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from swimming, the food in London and whether he planned to marry soon, then spoke privately to a handful of selected media outlets, including Reuters.
Red-eyed and battling to keep awake, he reflected on his success and talked about his future, saying he wanted to travel more and improve his golf handicap.
The 27-year-old said he wanted to keep in shape after piling on the pounds when he took a short break after Beijing but was not going near a pool again, except to watch the world championships and Olympics.
"The competitive part of my career is over but it doesn't mean my involvement with swimming is over," he said. "I'm still going to be involved, but looking at it from the outside."
Friday, August 3, 2012
Knight Capital fighting for its life
Knight Capital fighting for its life
Knight Capital Group Inc. fought for survival on Thursday after a $440 million trading loss caused by a software glitch wiped out much of its capital, forcing Knight to seek new funding as its shares plunged almost 80 percent in two days.
Many of the company's biggest customers, including TD Ameritrade, the No. 1 U.S. retail brokerage by trading volume, and fund giants Vanguard and Fidelity Investments, stopped routing orders through Knight. One of the biggest fears is that the company will collapse, landing trading partners with losses.
"They have about 48 hours to shore up confidence," said James Koutoulas, head of an advocacy group for former customers of failed brokerages MF Global and Peregrine Financial.
Knight said it is "actively pursuing its strategic and financing alternatives," raising the likelihood the firm will be sold or face bankruptcy because of the loss and subsequent damage to business.
As one of the leading market makers in U.S. stocks, Knight is among the firms that are critical to smooth, orderly trading. Market makers match orders from buyers and sellers and often provide liquidity by stepping into the market themselves.
The speed at which Knight has unraveled has been particularly unnerving for investors and markets. It resulted from problems with the firm's trading software that sent bogus, rapid-fire trades into the market for 45 minutes on Wednesday and left Knight with big losses on numerous stocks it bought at inflated prices.
Knight is in talks with Silver Lake Partners-backed trading firm Virtu Financial LLC about a possible deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. Knight has approached JPMorgan Chase & Co for financing, according to a report on Fox Business Network. A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment. Spokeswomen for both Knight and Silver Lake also declined comment.
Knight's $440 million trading loss has reignited debate over whether technology has elevated risk in trading to unacceptable levels.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday said it would consider whether new measures might be necessary to safeguard markets.
"We continue to closely review the events surrounding yesterday's trading and discuss those events with other regulators as well as Knight Capital Group," said SEC spokesman John Nester.
"We also are considering what, if any, additional steps may be necessary, beyond the post-Flash Crash measures that limited the impact of yesterday's trading," Nester said.
Advocates of trading systems that can pump thousands of shares across Wall Street in milliseconds say the fault lies not in the systems but in the lack of controls at individual firms. Knight blamed its technology breakdown on new software that routed a flood of erroneous orders to the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, but offered no explanation as to why traders didn't immediately intervene to arrest the obvious errors.
DISASTERS SEEN INEVITABLE
Trading veterans say the sprawl of trading venues in the United States coupled with the constant tinkering with software codes and systems upgrades have led to such complexity that disasters are bound to occur. Since March, a series of embarrassing technology issues, including the botched Facebook trading debut after its IPO and the failed public offering of BATS Global Markets have rocked markets and shaken the confidence of investors.
"You've got 13 exchanges, 50 dark pools, brokers that internalize client orders at their own desks and thousands of algorithms pumping orders in milliseconds," said Larry Tabb, founder of Tabb Group, a financial consulting firm. "The structure just may be too complicated to work."
But some experts fear that a regulatory and populist backlash -- let alone protests from competitors -- will reverse advances that benefit investors.
"I'm very worried people will take a look and say there is something fundamentally wrong with the market, and there isn't," said Maureen O'Hara, a finance professor at Cornell University who sat on an advisory panel that explored reforms after the U.S. stock market collapsed inexplicably in a few minutes in the 2010 "Flash Crash."
USING OTHER MARKET MAKERS
Several large retail brokerages said they had not resumed trading with Knight, instead routing orders to other market makers. TD Ameritrade, which usually routes about 4.5 percent of its orders through Knight, is currently not sending orders through the firm, said Joe Kinahan, its chief derivatives strategist.
Knight Capital Group Inc. fought for survival on Thursday after a $440 million trading loss caused by a software glitch wiped out much of its capital, forcing Knight to seek new funding as its shares plunged almost 80 percent in two days.
Many of the company's biggest customers, including TD Ameritrade, the No. 1 U.S. retail brokerage by trading volume, and fund giants Vanguard and Fidelity Investments, stopped routing orders through Knight. One of the biggest fears is that the company will collapse, landing trading partners with losses.
"They have about 48 hours to shore up confidence," said James Koutoulas, head of an advocacy group for former customers of failed brokerages MF Global and Peregrine Financial.
Knight said it is "actively pursuing its strategic and financing alternatives," raising the likelihood the firm will be sold or face bankruptcy because of the loss and subsequent damage to business.
As one of the leading market makers in U.S. stocks, Knight is among the firms that are critical to smooth, orderly trading. Market makers match orders from buyers and sellers and often provide liquidity by stepping into the market themselves.
The speed at which Knight has unraveled has been particularly unnerving for investors and markets. It resulted from problems with the firm's trading software that sent bogus, rapid-fire trades into the market for 45 minutes on Wednesday and left Knight with big losses on numerous stocks it bought at inflated prices.
Knight is in talks with Silver Lake Partners-backed trading firm Virtu Financial LLC about a possible deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. Knight has approached JPMorgan Chase & Co for financing, according to a report on Fox Business Network. A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment. Spokeswomen for both Knight and Silver Lake also declined comment.
Knight's $440 million trading loss has reignited debate over whether technology has elevated risk in trading to unacceptable levels.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday said it would consider whether new measures might be necessary to safeguard markets.
"We continue to closely review the events surrounding yesterday's trading and discuss those events with other regulators as well as Knight Capital Group," said SEC spokesman John Nester.
"We also are considering what, if any, additional steps may be necessary, beyond the post-Flash Crash measures that limited the impact of yesterday's trading," Nester said.
Advocates of trading systems that can pump thousands of shares across Wall Street in milliseconds say the fault lies not in the systems but in the lack of controls at individual firms. Knight blamed its technology breakdown on new software that routed a flood of erroneous orders to the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, but offered no explanation as to why traders didn't immediately intervene to arrest the obvious errors.
DISASTERS SEEN INEVITABLE
Trading veterans say the sprawl of trading venues in the United States coupled with the constant tinkering with software codes and systems upgrades have led to such complexity that disasters are bound to occur. Since March, a series of embarrassing technology issues, including the botched Facebook trading debut after its IPO and the failed public offering of BATS Global Markets have rocked markets and shaken the confidence of investors.
"You've got 13 exchanges, 50 dark pools, brokers that internalize client orders at their own desks and thousands of algorithms pumping orders in milliseconds," said Larry Tabb, founder of Tabb Group, a financial consulting firm. "The structure just may be too complicated to work."
But some experts fear that a regulatory and populist backlash -- let alone protests from competitors -- will reverse advances that benefit investors.
"I'm very worried people will take a look and say there is something fundamentally wrong with the market, and there isn't," said Maureen O'Hara, a finance professor at Cornell University who sat on an advisory panel that explored reforms after the U.S. stock market collapsed inexplicably in a few minutes in the 2010 "Flash Crash."
USING OTHER MARKET MAKERS
Several large retail brokerages said they had not resumed trading with Knight, instead routing orders to other market makers. TD Ameritrade, which usually routes about 4.5 percent of its orders through Knight, is currently not sending orders through the firm, said Joe Kinahan, its chief derivatives strategist.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Building castles in the sand on Lebanon’s glorious beaches
Building castles in the sand on Lebanon’s glorious beaches
But it’s also an art, and in Lebanon, for the fourth consecutive summer, sandcastle building is a competitive sport – albeit an amateur one.Sandcastles in Lebanon is an initiative founded and run by Rita Maalouf, who upon returning to Lebanon from the U.S. four years ago decided to be a doer rather than a complainer.
Observing that the country’s coastline had changed and that the stretch of beach between Blat and Jbeil where she had built sandcastles in her youth was now dominated by the plush pink loungers of the Edde Sands resort, Maalouf decided to take action, not in opposition to the coastal development, but in tandem with it to highlight the value of Lebanon’s sandy beaches and bring Lebanese together in a classic seaside activity.
“I was used to going to that beach when it was public, and it was a huge beach with a lot of sand ... We used to go there and make sand sculptures – just us family. [When I returned] I realized everything is closed and we couldn’t get there anymore,” Maalouf explains.
Then, she says, one day a friend led her onto the Jbeil beach through a public entrance. The pair walked down the beach toward Blat, passing along the waterfront in front of the new coastal resorts. Maalouf felt anxious: “We felt guilty,” she says, “because we knew [when we were] crossing we were walking into one [resort] and [then] into the others.”
However, when she asked around later, people told her: “No, you are allowed to go – it’s the municipality entrance.”
“I figured I wanted people to know about [this],” she says. “The whole beach is actually public [for] the first 10 meters [from the sea]. Of course you don’t want to ... annoy these resorts, but you can still enjoy [the beach].”
Maalouf’s brainchild to this end was a sandcastle-building competition – a half-day event during which teams would create, using only sand and water, a sculpture of their choosing.
Indeed, Maalouf even enlisted the cooperation of a private beach resort in running the inaugural competition.
“The first year we did it in Blat. It was with the help of Bay 183, and they let everyone in for free,” she explains.
The turnout that first year was only 20 to 25 people, Maalouf admits, and most of them were friends and family who she had convinced to come.
“They really didn’t know what they were getting into, but they didn’t want to fail me. So they came. But then they had a blast, and they all said, ‘We never imagined it was so much fun.’”
Taking this positive response as encouragement, Maalouf ran the competition again in 2010 and 2011.
“I did it the year after and I had 60 contestants, and then last year I had 80,” she says, adding that she actually had to turn people away in 2011 due to a lack of space.
Over the years the sand edifices produced at the Sandcastles in Lebanon event have ranged from fairy-tale castles to a recreation of an Egyptian pyramid. Sharks have materialized along the shoreline next to a living room replete with couch cushions and a DVD player. One team created an enormous Converse shoe, while another conjured from the sands a swimmer frantically struggling to escape a crowd of swarming crocodiles. Others have turned sea turtles into sand turtles, while many have skillfully crafted mermaids and female nudes, which at the end of the day are left to tranquilly bathe in the moonlight.
In both 2010 and 2011, the competition was held in Jbeil with the cooperation of Edde Sands.
This year, under the patronage of Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, Maalouf is not only expanding the initiative – events will be held in Beirut and Tyre as well as Blat Jbeil – but also forgoing private sector cooperation in favor of using public beaches only.
Alongside highlighting Lebanon’s remaining public beach areas, space is a major factor in Maalouf’s decision.
“I think we can handle a lot more [contestants this year], especially as I am not bound within a limited area [because I am not working with a resort],” she says.
As for the competition itself, the formula is simple and very relaxed, although Maalouf says that ideally teams should register beforehand so she can estimate the space and equipment needed.
Otherwise, entry is free of charge; teams are usually comprised of four people although bigger or smaller groups may participate; and a bucket, a small spade and some basic sculpting tools (a plastic knife, fork and straw) are provided.
If you’re in it to win it though, Maalouf has a few suggestions: Bring a big shovel to hasten progress and decide on your sculpture or castle design ahead of time, bearing in mind that you’ll have a 3-meter square space in which to work.
She is also keen to point out that you’ll be working in the sun for four to five hours straight, so a hat, a T-shirt and plenty of water are essential accessories for castle building.
Don’t be discouraged if you’re neither an architect nor an artist, as the competition is designed for sand sculpting amateurs, with prizes not only awarded for the best sculpture but also for the most original and most difficult designs.
This year at Jbeil well-known sculptors Antoine Berberi and Naim Doumit return as judges, and so far prize sponsors include Quicksilver and Roxy. In addition to the judges’ award, both participants and passersby can choose their favorite sand sculpture in “The People’s Vote” category.
But, Maalouf explains, the prizes are just tokens. The real rewards of the competition are the friendships forged and awareness raised.
Sandcastles in Lebanon offers people an alternative and new way to interact with the coastal environment, one which, Maalouf believes, may break down social barriers.
“It’s very hard mixing people from different areas because they are so used to different ways of attending the beach,” she says.
“But I think this is a common way to have people join [together].
“You know, you don’t have to wear a swimsuit to go to the beach – you can still do something with the sand,” Maalouf adds.
However, for Maalouf, “the most important thing [to highlight] is that we are losing our sand.”
Both pollution and exploitation are damaging Lebanon’s beaches.
But, Maalouf contends, “when people realize that we can actually use [our sand] as an attraction to our country, or we can enjoy it, we wouldn’t allow people to suck up the sand in front of our shore and say it’s not a priority.”
What’s more, she believes that when people actually get down to working in the sand and they come upon garbage, it will highlight in a very tangible way the need to prohibit the littering and dumping on Lebanon’s beaches.
This year’s Sandcastles in Lebanon competitions will take place in Blat Jbeil on Aug. 12, Ramlet al Baida, Beirut on Sept. 2 and Tyre on a date yet to be announced.
For more information or to register your team visit SandCastles in Lebanon on
But it’s also an art, and in Lebanon, for the fourth consecutive summer, sandcastle building is a competitive sport – albeit an amateur one.Sandcastles in Lebanon is an initiative founded and run by Rita Maalouf, who upon returning to Lebanon from the U.S. four years ago decided to be a doer rather than a complainer.
Observing that the country’s coastline had changed and that the stretch of beach between Blat and Jbeil where she had built sandcastles in her youth was now dominated by the plush pink loungers of the Edde Sands resort, Maalouf decided to take action, not in opposition to the coastal development, but in tandem with it to highlight the value of Lebanon’s sandy beaches and bring Lebanese together in a classic seaside activity.
“I was used to going to that beach when it was public, and it was a huge beach with a lot of sand ... We used to go there and make sand sculptures – just us family. [When I returned] I realized everything is closed and we couldn’t get there anymore,” Maalouf explains.
Then, she says, one day a friend led her onto the Jbeil beach through a public entrance. The pair walked down the beach toward Blat, passing along the waterfront in front of the new coastal resorts. Maalouf felt anxious: “We felt guilty,” she says, “because we knew [when we were] crossing we were walking into one [resort] and [then] into the others.”
However, when she asked around later, people told her: “No, you are allowed to go – it’s the municipality entrance.”
“I figured I wanted people to know about [this],” she says. “The whole beach is actually public [for] the first 10 meters [from the sea]. Of course you don’t want to ... annoy these resorts, but you can still enjoy [the beach].”
Maalouf’s brainchild to this end was a sandcastle-building competition – a half-day event during which teams would create, using only sand and water, a sculpture of their choosing.
Indeed, Maalouf even enlisted the cooperation of a private beach resort in running the inaugural competition.
“The first year we did it in Blat. It was with the help of Bay 183, and they let everyone in for free,” she explains.
The turnout that first year was only 20 to 25 people, Maalouf admits, and most of them were friends and family who she had convinced to come.
“They really didn’t know what they were getting into, but they didn’t want to fail me. So they came. But then they had a blast, and they all said, ‘We never imagined it was so much fun.’”
Taking this positive response as encouragement, Maalouf ran the competition again in 2010 and 2011.
“I did it the year after and I had 60 contestants, and then last year I had 80,” she says, adding that she actually had to turn people away in 2011 due to a lack of space.
Over the years the sand edifices produced at the Sandcastles in Lebanon event have ranged from fairy-tale castles to a recreation of an Egyptian pyramid. Sharks have materialized along the shoreline next to a living room replete with couch cushions and a DVD player. One team created an enormous Converse shoe, while another conjured from the sands a swimmer frantically struggling to escape a crowd of swarming crocodiles. Others have turned sea turtles into sand turtles, while many have skillfully crafted mermaids and female nudes, which at the end of the day are left to tranquilly bathe in the moonlight.
In both 2010 and 2011, the competition was held in Jbeil with the cooperation of Edde Sands.
This year, under the patronage of Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, Maalouf is not only expanding the initiative – events will be held in Beirut and Tyre as well as Blat Jbeil – but also forgoing private sector cooperation in favor of using public beaches only.
Alongside highlighting Lebanon’s remaining public beach areas, space is a major factor in Maalouf’s decision.
“I think we can handle a lot more [contestants this year], especially as I am not bound within a limited area [because I am not working with a resort],” she says.
As for the competition itself, the formula is simple and very relaxed, although Maalouf says that ideally teams should register beforehand so she can estimate the space and equipment needed.
Otherwise, entry is free of charge; teams are usually comprised of four people although bigger or smaller groups may participate; and a bucket, a small spade and some basic sculpting tools (a plastic knife, fork and straw) are provided.
If you’re in it to win it though, Maalouf has a few suggestions: Bring a big shovel to hasten progress and decide on your sculpture or castle design ahead of time, bearing in mind that you’ll have a 3-meter square space in which to work.
She is also keen to point out that you’ll be working in the sun for four to five hours straight, so a hat, a T-shirt and plenty of water are essential accessories for castle building.
Don’t be discouraged if you’re neither an architect nor an artist, as the competition is designed for sand sculpting amateurs, with prizes not only awarded for the best sculpture but also for the most original and most difficult designs.
This year at Jbeil well-known sculptors Antoine Berberi and Naim Doumit return as judges, and so far prize sponsors include Quicksilver and Roxy. In addition to the judges’ award, both participants and passersby can choose their favorite sand sculpture in “The People’s Vote” category.
But, Maalouf explains, the prizes are just tokens. The real rewards of the competition are the friendships forged and awareness raised.
Sandcastles in Lebanon offers people an alternative and new way to interact with the coastal environment, one which, Maalouf believes, may break down social barriers.
“It’s very hard mixing people from different areas because they are so used to different ways of attending the beach,” she says.
“But I think this is a common way to have people join [together].
“You know, you don’t have to wear a swimsuit to go to the beach – you can still do something with the sand,” Maalouf adds.
However, for Maalouf, “the most important thing [to highlight] is that we are losing our sand.”
Both pollution and exploitation are damaging Lebanon’s beaches.
But, Maalouf contends, “when people realize that we can actually use [our sand] as an attraction to our country, or we can enjoy it, we wouldn’t allow people to suck up the sand in front of our shore and say it’s not a priority.”
What’s more, she believes that when people actually get down to working in the sand and they come upon garbage, it will highlight in a very tangible way the need to prohibit the littering and dumping on Lebanon’s beaches.
This year’s Sandcastles in Lebanon competitions will take place in Blat Jbeil on Aug. 12, Ramlet al Baida, Beirut on Sept. 2 and Tyre on a date yet to be announced.
For more information or to register your team visit SandCastles in Lebanon on
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Stephan Salisbury: Life in the American Slaughterhouse
Stephan Salisbury: Life in the American Slaughterhouse
article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
Is America an increasingly violent society? Statistics seemingly tell us no. From 2001 to 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, violent crime victimizations actually dropped 34%.
While this decrease is part of a longer-term trend (and there's still startling amounts of carnage in this country), it begs the question of whether the United States is really less violent than previously and, if so, where all that excess violence went.
It's notable that, since 2001, the U.S. has been exporting and facilitating violence of all sorts all over the globe. Some of this violence is thoroughly sanctioned and some isn't. In Iraq, members of the U.S. military committed violent acts against untold numbers of Iraqis, including military personnel who served Saddam Hussein's regime, as well as insurgents, and civilians. (The U.S. invasion itself touched off Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence that killed tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands and continues to this day.) Though the numbers may not be comparable, much the same story could be told about Afghanistan, not to speak of Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Americans have also killed African pirates on the high seas and, just days ago, an Indian fisherman on a boat in the Persian Gulf.
Recently, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents have been killing suspected drug smugglers in Honduras. U.S. arms have been sent to Middle Eastern autocrats visiting violence on their own people and the U.S. military has trained African troops to more effectively kill African insurgents. American weapons have flooded Mexico and supercharged drug violence there. A war in Libya, involving the U.S. military, led to Tuareg fighters looting Libyan weapons stockpiles and committing acts of violence across the border in Mali (which was plunged into further violence due to a military coup by an American-trained officer). Today, America's commander-in-chief regularly selects individuals in a number of countries to be placed on a "kill list," targeted, and assassinated. And so it goes.
Exporting violence is not, of course, simply a post-9/11 phenomenon. It's been an American tradition, from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, from Haiti to Hiroshima. When the U.S. exported war to Southeast Asia, it eventually engulfed Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in utter carnage. One way civilians there were frequently killed resulted from what historian David Hunt has trenchantly called "the sin of running." A Vietnamese villager frightened by the roar of a helicopter or a door-gunner pointing an M-60 machine gun at her would bolt in fear or a young military-age man would take flight when armed American teenagers, who might detain, beat, or kill him, approached. As Vietnam veterans would later tell me, "running" branded Vietnamese as guilty, and so as enemies, in the minds of many U.S. troops and led to startling numbers of noncombatants being gunned down.
Today, TomDispatch regular Stephan Salisbury examines police violence in America, which may, hardly noticed, be on the rise. In poor neighborhoods, in particular, the "sin of running," it appears, is alive and well. For the last decade, we've barely noticed as the U.S. spread violence globally. At home, we generally take note of only a few of the most egregious or spectacular cases of violence. Luckily, Salisbury has delved deeper and offers a window onto the less-reported version of American violence that most of us fail to see. (To catch Timothy MacBain's latest Tomcast audio interview in which Salisbury discusses the lack of good numbers on police shootings and why they are so poorly covered, click here or download it to your iPod here.) Nick Turse
Police Shootings Echo Nationwide
Aurora Gets the Attention, But Guns Are Going Off Everywhere
By Stephan Salisbury
Welcome to the abattoir -- a nation where a man can walk into a store and buy an assault rifle, a shotgun, a couple of Glocks; where in the comfort of his darkened living room, windows blocked from the sunlight, he can rig a series of bombs unperturbed and buy thousands of rounds of ammo on the Internet; where a movie theater can turn into a killing floor at the midnight hour.
We know about all of this. We know because the weekend of July 20th became all-Aurora-all-the-time, a round-the-clock engorgement of TV news reports, replete with massacre theme music, an endless loop of victims, their loved ones, eyewitness accounts, cell-phone video, police briefings, informal memorials, and "healing," all washed down with a presidential visit and hour upon hour of anchor and "expert" speculation. We know this because within a few days a Google search for "Aurora movie shootings" produced over 200 million hits referencing the massacre that left 70-plus casualties, including 12 fatalities.
We know a lot less about Anaheim and the killing of Manuel Angel Diaz, shot in the back and in the head by that city's police just a few short hours after the awful Aurora murders.
But to the people living near La Palma Avenue and North Anna Drive, the shooting of Manuel Diaz was all too familiar: it was the sixth, seventh, or eighth police shooting in Anaheim, California, since the beginning of 2012. (No one seems quite sure of the exact count, though the Orange County District Attorney's office claims six shootings, five fatalities.)
Diaz, 25, and as far as police are concerned, a "documented gang member," was unarmed. He was apparently running when he was shot in the back and left to lie on the ground bleeding to death as police moved witnesses away from the scene. "He's alive, man, call a cop!" a man shouted at the police. "Why would you guys shoot him in the head?" a woman demanded.
"Get back," officers repeatedly said, pushing mothers and youngsters away from the scene, which they surrounded with yellow crime-scene tape.
Neighborhood residents gathered on lawns along the street, upset at what had happened near their homes, upset at what has been occurring repeatedly in Anaheim. Then, police, seeking to disperse the crowd, began firing what appeared to be rubber bullets and bean bag rounds directly at those women and children, among others. Screaming chaos ensued. A police dog was unleashed and lunged for a toddler in a stroller. A mother and father, seeking to protect their child, were themselves attacked by the dog.
We know this because a local CBS affiliate, KCAL, broadcast footage of the attack. We know it because cell phone video, which police at the scene sought to buy, according to KCAL, showed it in all its stark and sudden brutality. We know it also because neighbors immediately began to organize. On Sunday they demonstrated at police headquarters, demanding answers. "No justice, no peace," they chanted.
article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
Is America an increasingly violent society? Statistics seemingly tell us no. From 2001 to 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, violent crime victimizations actually dropped 34%.
While this decrease is part of a longer-term trend (and there's still startling amounts of carnage in this country), it begs the question of whether the United States is really less violent than previously and, if so, where all that excess violence went.
It's notable that, since 2001, the U.S. has been exporting and facilitating violence of all sorts all over the globe. Some of this violence is thoroughly sanctioned and some isn't. In Iraq, members of the U.S. military committed violent acts against untold numbers of Iraqis, including military personnel who served Saddam Hussein's regime, as well as insurgents, and civilians. (The U.S. invasion itself touched off Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence that killed tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands and continues to this day.) Though the numbers may not be comparable, much the same story could be told about Afghanistan, not to speak of Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Americans have also killed African pirates on the high seas and, just days ago, an Indian fisherman on a boat in the Persian Gulf.
Recently, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents have been killing suspected drug smugglers in Honduras. U.S. arms have been sent to Middle Eastern autocrats visiting violence on their own people and the U.S. military has trained African troops to more effectively kill African insurgents. American weapons have flooded Mexico and supercharged drug violence there. A war in Libya, involving the U.S. military, led to Tuareg fighters looting Libyan weapons stockpiles and committing acts of violence across the border in Mali (which was plunged into further violence due to a military coup by an American-trained officer). Today, America's commander-in-chief regularly selects individuals in a number of countries to be placed on a "kill list," targeted, and assassinated. And so it goes.
Exporting violence is not, of course, simply a post-9/11 phenomenon. It's been an American tradition, from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, from Haiti to Hiroshima. When the U.S. exported war to Southeast Asia, it eventually engulfed Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in utter carnage. One way civilians there were frequently killed resulted from what historian David Hunt has trenchantly called "the sin of running." A Vietnamese villager frightened by the roar of a helicopter or a door-gunner pointing an M-60 machine gun at her would bolt in fear or a young military-age man would take flight when armed American teenagers, who might detain, beat, or kill him, approached. As Vietnam veterans would later tell me, "running" branded Vietnamese as guilty, and so as enemies, in the minds of many U.S. troops and led to startling numbers of noncombatants being gunned down.
Today, TomDispatch regular Stephan Salisbury examines police violence in America, which may, hardly noticed, be on the rise. In poor neighborhoods, in particular, the "sin of running," it appears, is alive and well. For the last decade, we've barely noticed as the U.S. spread violence globally. At home, we generally take note of only a few of the most egregious or spectacular cases of violence. Luckily, Salisbury has delved deeper and offers a window onto the less-reported version of American violence that most of us fail to see. (To catch Timothy MacBain's latest Tomcast audio interview in which Salisbury discusses the lack of good numbers on police shootings and why they are so poorly covered, click here or download it to your iPod here.) Nick Turse
Police Shootings Echo Nationwide
Aurora Gets the Attention, But Guns Are Going Off Everywhere
By Stephan Salisbury
Welcome to the abattoir -- a nation where a man can walk into a store and buy an assault rifle, a shotgun, a couple of Glocks; where in the comfort of his darkened living room, windows blocked from the sunlight, he can rig a series of bombs unperturbed and buy thousands of rounds of ammo on the Internet; where a movie theater can turn into a killing floor at the midnight hour.
We know about all of this. We know because the weekend of July 20th became all-Aurora-all-the-time, a round-the-clock engorgement of TV news reports, replete with massacre theme music, an endless loop of victims, their loved ones, eyewitness accounts, cell-phone video, police briefings, informal memorials, and "healing," all washed down with a presidential visit and hour upon hour of anchor and "expert" speculation. We know this because within a few days a Google search for "Aurora movie shootings" produced over 200 million hits referencing the massacre that left 70-plus casualties, including 12 fatalities.
We know a lot less about Anaheim and the killing of Manuel Angel Diaz, shot in the back and in the head by that city's police just a few short hours after the awful Aurora murders.
But to the people living near La Palma Avenue and North Anna Drive, the shooting of Manuel Diaz was all too familiar: it was the sixth, seventh, or eighth police shooting in Anaheim, California, since the beginning of 2012. (No one seems quite sure of the exact count, though the Orange County District Attorney's office claims six shootings, five fatalities.)
Diaz, 25, and as far as police are concerned, a "documented gang member," was unarmed. He was apparently running when he was shot in the back and left to lie on the ground bleeding to death as police moved witnesses away from the scene. "He's alive, man, call a cop!" a man shouted at the police. "Why would you guys shoot him in the head?" a woman demanded.
"Get back," officers repeatedly said, pushing mothers and youngsters away from the scene, which they surrounded with yellow crime-scene tape.
Neighborhood residents gathered on lawns along the street, upset at what had happened near their homes, upset at what has been occurring repeatedly in Anaheim. Then, police, seeking to disperse the crowd, began firing what appeared to be rubber bullets and bean bag rounds directly at those women and children, among others. Screaming chaos ensued. A police dog was unleashed and lunged for a toddler in a stroller. A mother and father, seeking to protect their child, were themselves attacked by the dog.
We know this because a local CBS affiliate, KCAL, broadcast footage of the attack. We know it because cell phone video, which police at the scene sought to buy, according to KCAL, showed it in all its stark and sudden brutality. We know it also because neighbors immediately began to organize. On Sunday they demonstrated at police headquarters, demanding answers. "No justice, no peace," they chanted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)