Millions in CIA "ghost money" paid to Afghan president's office: New York Times

(Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.

The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.

"The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan", one American official said, "was the United States."

The CIA declined to comment on the report and the U.S. State Department did not immediately comment. The New York Times did not publish any comment from Karzai or his office.

"We called it ?ghost money'," Khalil Roman, who served as Karzai's chief of staff from 2002 until 2005, told the New York Times. "It came in secret and it left in secret."

For more than a decade the cash was dropped off every month or so at the Afghan president's office, the newspaper said.

Handing out cash has been standard procedure for the CIA in Afghanistan since the start of the war.

The cash payments to the president's office do not appear to be subject to oversight and restrictions placed on official American aid to the country or the CIA's formal assistance programs, like financing Afghan intelligence agencies, and do not appear to violate U.S. laws, said the New York Times.

There was no evidence that Karzai personally received any of the money, Afghan officials told the newspaper. The cash was handled by his National Security Council, it added.

U.S. and Afghan officials familiar with the payments were quoted as saying that the main goal in providing the cash was to maintain access to Karzai and his inner circle and to guarantee the CIA's influence at the presidential palace, which wields tremendous power in Afghanistan's highly centralized government.

Much of the money went to warlords and politicians, many with ties to the drug trade and in some cases the Taliban, the New York Times said. U.S. and Afghan officials were quoted as saying the CIA supported the same patronage networks that U.S. diplomats and law enforcement agents struggled to dismantle, leaving the government in the grip of organized crime.

In 2010, Karzai said his office received cash in bags from Iran, but that it was a transparent form of aid that helped cover expenses at the presidential palace. He said at the time that the United States made similar payments.

The latest New York Times report said much of the Iranian cash, like the CIA money, went to pay warlords and politicians.

For most of Karzai's 11-year reign, there has been little interest in anti-corruption in the army or police. The country's two most powerful institutions receive billions of dollars from donors annually but struggle just to recruit and maintain a force bled by high rates of desertion.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Sarah Lynch in Washington; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/millions-cia-ghost-money-paid-afghan-presidents-office-020006835.html

lra lra eric johnson eric johnson big east tournament ashley olsen new apple tv

Jiffy for Android: Always Know Exactly Where the Time Went

It's a busy life we lead?most of us, anyway. And between work, play, family time, rest, secret-other-family time, whatever it may be that you've got going on, making sure you're distributing your time evenly can be a challenge. The simple Android fix Jiffy is here to help.

What does it do?

Lets you track up to three activities in the free version as many as you can handle in the $2, premium version. The main screen lists all your running tasks, letting you tap the one you're about to begin and automatically stopping whichever came before. As time goes on, you can look at summaries by day, week, month in all sorts of fun, brightly colored charts - all of which can be saved as a backup.

Why do we like it?

The app's UI couldn't suit its purpose better: a simplified app to try and break down a complicated life. And if you're more worried about keeping time than you are about reminding yourself to move on, you can set work times so the app stops tracking at a certain point whether you remember to flip it off or not. One of the most practical features, though, is its ability to export a CSV file of all your time-kept data, which you can then use in invoices, web apps, alibis, etc.

Jiffy, Download this app for: Android, Free/$2

The Best: Auto turn-off

The Worst: Life is no less busy

Source: http://gizmodo.com/jiffy-for-android-always-know-exactly-where-the-time-w-484862331

JJ Abrams New Orleans Pelicans chris brown hillary clinton apple stock Pro Bowl 2013 Kick Ass Torrents

Soccer-Too many 'foreigners' in Australia league - coach Arnold

MELBOURNE, April 28 (Reuters) - Australia's top-flight soccer competition has too many foreign players and their prevalence is hurting the national team, according to title-winning coach Graham Arnold.

Arnold, who guided the Central Coast Mariners to their maiden A-League championship last week, said he had prioritised using local players rather than imports in his side and suggested rival teams did the same.

"I think all other clubs need to follow suit because it's damaging the national team," Arnold told reporters on Sunday.

"The Socceroos, at the moment, if you talk to Holger, he has trouble picking any players because there's too many foreigners in the A-League, in my view," he added, referring to national head coach Holger Osieck.

"You've only got nine (Australian) teams in the A-League and one... New Zealand team.

"If every team has five foreigners, that's 45 field players that take the pitch every week that are foreign and only 45 Australians.

"It's not that many players for national teams to choose from."

Australia remain in the hunt for a third successive World Cup appearance at the Brazil finals in 2014, but have struggled to replace a golden generation of players that qualified for the 2006 finals in Germany and in South Africa four years later.

LACKING SHARPNESS

German Osieck has lamented the lack of a new wave of high-quality, young players to choose from, while complaining that the A-League season's early finish leaves potential candidates lacking sharpness for international duties later in the year.

Arnold, also a former head coach of the Socceroos from 2006-07, said outstanding foreign players like Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey would be welcomed Down Under, however.

Former Italy and Juventus great Del Piero will play a second season with Sydney FC in 2013-14, while former England striker Heskey will stay on for another year with Newcastle Jets.

The pair, along with the Western Sydney Wanderers' Japanese recruit Shinji Ono, generated unprecedented buzz for the fledgling competition last year when their signings were announced in the leadup to the just-concluded season.

"Del Piero and Heskey, they've taken the league to another level," Arnold said. "Those type of players, they're welcomed in this country."

Australia, on six points, lie third in Asia's Group B of the World Cup qualifiers, seven behind leaders Japan, who they visit in June before closing out their campaign with home matches against Jordan and Iraq.

The top two teams qualify automatically for Brazil, with the third facing a playoff against a South American side. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soccer-too-many-foreigners-australia-league-coach-arnold-050219048.html

Martin Richard Bbc News friends tracy mcgrady tracy mcgrady awkward awkward

Obama, Conan O'Brien laugh it up at W.H. dinner (cbsnews)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302119428?client_source=feed&format=rss

chauncey billups caucus results exton kurt warner kurt warner ricky williams missouri primary

White House: Anthony Foxx in line for transportation post

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood.

Foxx is Obama's first black nominee among the new Cabinet members appointed for the second term. The president faced criticism early in his second term for a lack of diversity among his nominees.

The official insisted on anonymity to avoid public discussion of the pick before the official announcement.

The official noted that Foxx has led efforts to improve his city's transit infrastructure to expand economic opportunity for businesses and workers. During Foxx's term as mayor, Charlotte has broken ground on several important transportation projects, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project to bring modern electric tram service to the city as well as a third parallel runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The city has also moved to extend the LYNX light rail system to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the official said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would take over a department that has been at the center of Washington's debate over the impact of the so-called sequester cuts. The automatic cuts resulted in furloughs for air traffic controllers that helped cause delays at many airports.

Congress reached a deal last week to provide the Transportation Department flexibility that allowed it to end the air traffic controller furloughs.

Foxx, an attorney who has worked in several positions with the federal government, was first elected mayor in 2009. He raised his national profile last year when Charlotte played host to the Democratic Party's convention.

He also served as a member of the Charlotte City Council.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wh-anthony-foxx-line-transportation-post-211537174.html

Funny Valentines Chris Kyle Russian meteor Meteor Hits Russia Dorner Manifesto Valentines Day Quotes nerlens noel

FAA: Air traffic system soon at full operation

A United Airlines jet departs in view of the air traffic control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in Seattle. A day after flight delays plagued much of the U.S., air travel is smoother Tuesday. But the government is warning passengers that the situation can change by the hour as it runs the nation's air traffic control system with a smaller staff. Airlines and members of Congress urged the Federal Aviation Administration to find other ways to make mandatory budget cuts besides furloughing controllers. While delays haven't been terrible yet, the airlines are worried about the long-term impact late flights will have on their budgets and on fliers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A United Airlines jet departs in view of the air traffic control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in Seattle. A day after flight delays plagued much of the U.S., air travel is smoother Tuesday. But the government is warning passengers that the situation can change by the hour as it runs the nation's air traffic control system with a smaller staff. Airlines and members of Congress urged the Federal Aviation Administration to find other ways to make mandatory budget cuts besides furloughing controllers. While delays haven't been terrible yet, the airlines are worried about the long-term impact late flights will have on their budgets and on fliers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

The control tower stands in the background as a passenger lays on the pavement outside the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

A passenger sits at right in the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

The control tower stands in the background as a passenger paces while on the phone outside the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, Friday, April 26, 2013, in Atlanta. Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Federal Aviation Administration said that the U.S. air traffic system will resume normal operations by Sunday evening after lawmakers rushed a bill through Congress allowing the agency to withdraw furloughs of air traffic controllers and other workers.

The FAA said Saturday that it has suspended all employee furloughs and that traffic facilities will begin returning to regular staffing levels over the next 24 hours. The furloughs were fallout from the $85 billion in automatic-across-the-board spending cuts this spring.

The furloughs started to hit air traffic controllers this past week, causing flight delays that left thousands of travelers frustrated and furious. Planes were forced to take off and land less frequently, so as not to overload the remaining controllers on duty.

The FAA had no choice but to cut $637 million as its share of $85 billion in automatic, government-wide spending cuts that must be achieved by the end of the federal budget year on Sept. 30.

Flight delays piled up across the country Sunday and Monday of this week as the FAA kept planes on the ground because there weren't enough controllers to monitor busy air corridors. Cascading delays held up flights at some of nation's busiest airports, including New York, Baltimore and Washington. Delta Air Lines canceled about 90 flights Monday because of worries about delays. Just about every passenger was rebooked on another Delta flight within a couple of hours. Air travel was smoother Tuesday.

Things could have been worse. A lot of people who had planned to fly this week changed their plans when they heard that air travel might be difficult, according to longtime aviation consultant Daniel Kasper of Compass Lexicon.

"Essentially what happened from an airline's perspective is that people who were going to travel didn't travel," he said. But canceled flights likely led to lost revenue for airlines. Even if they didn't have to incur some of costs of fueling up planes and getting them off the ground, crews that were already scheduled to work still had to paid.

"One week isn't going to kill them, but had it gone on much longer, it would have been a significant hit on their revenues and profits," Kasper said.

The challenges this week probably cost airlines less than disruptions from a typical winter storm, said John F. Thomas, an aviation consultant with L.E.K. Consulting.

"I think the fact that it got resolved this week has minimized the cost as it was more the inconvenience factor," Thomas said.

The budget cuts at the FAA were required under a law enacted two years ago as the government was approaching its debt limit. Democrats were in favor of raising the debt limit without strings attached so as not to provoke an economic crisis, but Republicans insisted on substantial cuts in exchange. The compromise was to require that every government "program, project and activity" ? with some exceptions, like Medicare ? be cut equally.

The FAA had reduced the work schedules of nearly all of its 47,000 employees by one day every two weeks, including 15,000 air traffic controllers, as well as thousands of air traffic supervisors, managers and technicians who keep airport towers and radar facility equipment working. That amounted to a 10 percent cut in hours and pay.

Republicans accused the Obama administration of forcing the furloughs to raise public pressure on Congress to roll back the budget cuts. Critics of the FAA insist the agency could have reduce its budget in other ways that would not have inconvenience travelers including diverting money from other accounts, such as those devoted to research, commercial space transportation and modernization of the air traffic control computers.

President Barack Obama chided lawmakers Saturday over their fix for widespread flight delays, deeming it an irresponsible way to govern, dubbing it a "Band-Aid" and a quick fix, rather than a lasting solution to the spending cuts known as the sequester.

"Republicans claimed victory when the sequester first took effect, and now they've decided it was a bad idea all along," Obama said, singling out the GOP even though the bill passed with overwhelming Democratic support in both chambers.

He scolded lawmakers for helping the Federal Aviation Administration while doing nothing to replace other cuts that he said harm federal employees, unemployed workers and preschoolers in Head Start.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-27-US-FAA-Furloughs/id-ff266ec5f2524584b286063a61123c2e

Oscar Results Jennifer Lawrence Fall Ang Lee les miserables jennifer lawrence Oscar Winners 2013 quentin tarantino

2 RCR crew members arrested for post-race fight

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Nelson Piquet Jr. was involved in a post-race altercation that led to the arrest of two crew members for Richard Childress Racing, his team said Saturday.

Piquet and RCR driver Brian Scott tangled on the track during Friday night's Nationwide Series race and in the pits after. Crews for both drivers confronted each other when Scott went over to Piquet's car, and Piquet shoved him and then kicked Scott in the groin.

"When I went to talk to him, he just pushed and shoved me and then kicked me below the belt," Scott said after the race. "It's just a chicken move."

Henrico County police said there was a fight in the motorhome lot that led to the arrests of two crew members. Michael Searce was arrested on two charges of misdemeanor assault, and Thomas Costello was arrested on one count of misdemeanor assault. They were released early Saturday.

"Several members of another race team confronted a group that included Nelson Piquet Jr., resulting in the arrest of two individuals from the other race team," Turner Scott Motorsports said in a statement.

Team owner Richard Childress said his crew members were on their way home when the incident occurred.

"Our team members were walking to their cars and words were exchanged with members from another team, which led to an altercation," Childress said. "I am still learning all the exact details and, because it did happen outside of the track, and local authorities became involved. We are working with them to resolve this matter.

"We are now concentrating on winning the Sprint Cup race tonight."

NASCAR said it doesn't comment on ongoing police investigations, but officials were gathering information and would address the situation at a later date.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-27-NASCAR-Crew%20Members%20Arrested/id-310c2c74caf140cf9d9d5a2fbf68298d

living social nate robinson pnc dallas cowboys minnesota vikings Jarvis Jones

How to mark a podcast as already played with the Podcasts app for iPhone and iPad

Listening to and watching podcasts with the Podcasts app for iPhone and iPad is simple enough but if you subscribe to quite a few feeds, your unplayed count can get pretty high. If you'd rather pick and choose episodes but don't want badge counts or unread counts for ones you don't plan on listening to or watching, you can always just mark them as played already.

Here's how:

• How to mark an individual podcast episode as played
• How to mark an entire series of podcasts as played

How to mark an individual podcast episode as played

1. Launch the Podcasts app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the podcast series you'd like to mark an episode as played within from the My Podcasts section.
3. Tap on the blue arrow next to the podcast title that you'd like to mark as played.
4. Tap on the Mark as Played button.

How to mark an entire series of podcasts as played

1. Launch the Podcasts app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the podcast series you'd like to mark an episode as played within from the My Podcasts section.
3. Tap on the Settings button.
4. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on the Mark All as Played button.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/hyGo66Cqwdw/story01.htm

Family Guy Boston Marathon revolution huffington post What is ricin Boston Marathon Explosion Boston Marathon bombing irs

Heat Top Bucks 104-91 In Game 3: Ray Allen Sets Record As Miami Takes 3-0 Series Lead (VIDEO)

MILWAUKEE -- Every game, someone different steps up for the Miami Heat.

Well, someone different and that guy named LeBron.

Ageless Ray Allen scored 23, setting the NBA career playoff record for 3-pointers in the process, and LeBron James had seven of his 22 points during a decisive run that closed out the third quarter ? and maybe the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat's 104-91 victory Thursday night gave the defending champions a 3-0 lead, with a chance to complete the sweep Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

"That's been our calling card all year, the depth that we have," said Allen, whose five 3s gave him 322 for his career, two more than Reggie Miller. "

"As a team, you've got to find way to plug in the holes, and every night we find somebody different."

Chris Bosh added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who have won 11 straight dating to the regular season and 40 of their last 42. Chris Andersen had another big game, scoring 11 on 5-of-5 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in less than 14 minutes.

Dwyane Wade had just four points, and his 1-of-12 shooting was his worst in a postseason game. But he contributed 11 assists, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

"I shot the ball terrible," Wade, who is still nursing a bruised right knee, said with a laugh. "But we played a good game. Game 3 is a tough game. I thought, as a team, we showed a lot of guts, a lot of grit. When those guys came out hot, we stayed with it, we stayed with our game plan and were able to get a great win. There's nothing as satisfying as winning a Game 3 on the road. But it's over now. Now we have to focus on closing the series out."

Milwaukee, meanwhile, will simply try and avoid being swept.

Larry Sanders and Brandon Jennings had 16 each to lead six Bucks in double figures, and Sanders added 11 rebounds while Jennings contributed eight assists. But the Bucks couldn't maintain the 10-point lead they took in the first quarter, when they shot 57 percent (12 of 21) and were 5 of 10 from 3-point range. Milwaukee was just 12 of 21 over the final three quarters (41 percent), and made only two more 3s.

"I hope we're still confident," Jennings said. "As a team, we need to stay together."

The defending champions still haven't played their best game. But it hardly matters with their ability to pull off one of their patented runs.

After leading for much of the game, Milwaukee was trying to pull away early in the third. Jennings was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws, then followed with a one-hand slam after Ersan Ilyasova's steal. Luc Mbah a Moute made two sets of free throws, and the Bucks were back up 61-55 with 7:14 left in the third.

But the Heat have made a habit of putting the Bucks away with runs, and this game was no different.

Udonis Haslem made a layup and a pair of free throws, Mario Chalmers followed with a layup and the Heat were off on what would be a 23-7 run to close out the quarter. The Bucks got to 67-66 on a layup by Mbah a Moute, but James answered with a monster 3. After a pair of free throws by Mbah a Moute, Chalmers stripped Monta Ellis and fed James, who sprinted to the other end for the layup as the Bucks watched helplessly. Chris Andersen scored on a reverse, James made a layup and then fed Andersen for another layup that gave Miami a 78-68 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bucks never got within single digits again.

"A three-, four-minute stretch just like in the first two games, where they kind of blitzed us," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "We dug ourselves a big hole that we could not come back from."

Allen made sure of that, knocking down a huge 3 from the right corner with 8:38 to play to give Miami a 90-73 lead. That broke Miller's record of 320, and Allen added one more two minutes later.

"I think about when I first stepped on this floor for the very first time, I thought about what I was going to be able to contribute to this game," said Allen, who spent his first six-plus seasons in Milwaukee. "It's ironic that I'm on this floor right now, because this is where it all started."

And this could be where the playoffs end for the Bucks.

With no team ever rallying from a 3-0 deficit, Thursday night's game was a must-win for the Bucks. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team expected a "desperate, competitive response" from the Bucks, and the Milwaukee players were hoping for a boost by being back home ? the first playoff game at the Bradley Center in three years.

Milwaukee certainly looked sharper early on. After struggling to get their entire offense going at the same time in the first two games, the Bucks finally had everything clicking in the first quarter. Sanders set the tone from the first possession, scoring on a layup and converting the three-point play after he drew a foul.

The Bucks would shoot 57 percent in the first quarter, getting field goals from six different players ? including Jennings, whose struggles in Game 2 contributed to Milwaukee's demise. Jennings' reverse layup sparked a 9-2 run that gave Milwaukee an early 18-11 lead. He then made a 3, the first of four straight for the Bucks, and Milwaukee found itself with a 10-point lead, double its largest margin in either of the first two games.

"We had to fight for this one," Spoelstra said. "They came out with a great deal of intensity as we expected. Got us on our heels."

But no lead is safe when the Heat are hanging around, and this game was no different.

Allen made three 3-pointers in the last four minutes of the first half and James scored his only field goal of the second quarter at the buzzer, a jumper at the buzzer that pulled Miami within 50-48 at the half.

"Consistent effort on their part," Sanders said. "They didn't get shaken, rattled by us playing hard. They expected it. When they started playing harder, we got shaken, rattled a little bit. We got to expect that. Keep pushing."

Notes: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was at the game. ... Bucks fans were tough on all of the Heat players, even Allen, who spent his first six-plus years in Milwaukee, and Wade, whose No. 3 at Marquette hangs from the rafters at the Bradley Center. "I expect that," Allen said. "Even though I played quite a while here and won some big games, I'm still the opposing team. I didn't expect any special favors." ... Wade is the first player since Rajon Rondo on March 23, 2011 to have at least 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals in a game.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/allen-heat-up-30-after-10_n_3160062.html

dan marino godaddy did the groundhog see his shadow Ray Lewis Murder UFC 156 my bloody valentine Super Bowl Winners

Fiery Afghan bus crash kills 45, Taliban blamed

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) ? A bus collided on Friday with the wreckage of a truck that had been attacked by Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, killing 45 people aboard the bus in a fiery crash, officials said.

The battered oil tanker had been left in the middle of a narrow road near the border of Kandahar and Helmand provinces for several days after insurgents attacked it. Police considered the area too dangerous to enter, the officials said.

Before sunrise Friday, the bus smashed into the truck and burst into flames, said Abdul Razaq, the provincial police chief of Kandahar.

As police, soldiers and ambulances rushed to the desolate area, where many of the victims were burned beyond recognition, one survivor, Mohammad Habib, cried as he searched for his brother.

"I don't care about my belongings and money that were burned inside the bus, but please help me find my brother, dead or alive," he told AP Television News. "How will I face my mother without him?"

Forty-five people were killed and 10 injured, said Javeed Faisal, the spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province. He spoke to The Associated Press at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar city, where many of the victims, including men, women and children, were being taken.

Razaq said it would be difficult to identify many of the bodies.

The bus began its journey in the capital of Helmand province and was to stop in Kandahar city, then travel north to Kabul, the Afghan capital, Razaq said.

Meanwhile, Afghan and coalition forces continued to conduct joint operations around Afghanistan.

They arrested about 10 insurgents on Thursday and Friday in four provinces of Afghanistan, including several Taliban fighters in Kandahar, the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

---

AP writers Thomas Wagner and Amir Shah in Kabul contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiery-afghan-bus-crash-kills-45-taliban-blamed-121520376.html

ryan zimmerman oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine 84th annual academy awards

What are the pros and cons of keeping birds as pets? | The best ...

Issue:

And please give me some tips on low maintenance birds I can keep as pets if I decide to. Thanks!

Question :

What are the pros and cons of keeping birds as pets?

Best Solver (Answer):

Answer by allyalexmch
Birds are not low maintanence animals.

Smarter birds such as parrotts, love birds, cockatiels need constant amusement or they develop behavioural and mental problems. They take as much effort as about a 2 year old child except they never grow up. Very rewarding pets, but a lot of time.

BUdgies and finches take less time but be prepared to listen to a lot of chirping

Ally

Rating: 5? 99% like it? Reviewed by Master on Thursday,April 25th, 2013 In What are the pros and cons of keeping birds as pets?

Source: http://www.thebestsolver.com/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-keeping-birds-as-pets.html

hocus pocus hocus pocus mta schedule PECO Hurricane Sandy update ellen degeneres tomb of the unknown soldier

Clipr sends pasted text to your phone via SMS with a press of a button

If you've ever wanted to send some text from your computer to your phone, you usually have to go with a dedicated app like Evernote, with a mobile app required at the other end. With the new version of Clipr for Mac, however, all you need to do is enter your phone number in the settings and the info will magically appear on your mobile device via SMS -- just press the command key when selecting a clip and away it'll go. Right now all major US carriers are supported, with the promise of more to come. For the uninitiated, Clipr is a clipboard manager that works with your computer's existing copy and paste system without any special key combos. Bear in mind that while the app itself is free, the aforementioned SMS feature costs $0.99 extra. Still, at least this particular clip-inspired helper looks to be a lot better than, you know, that other one.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple

Comments

Source: Clipr (Mac App Store)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/clipr-sends-pasted-text-via-sms/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

Skylar Diggins kim jong un lollapalooza Facebook Phone lindsay lohan emma watson Jaromir Jagr

Pride parade shuns CDU over gay marriage - The Local

Organizers of Berlin's Christopher Street Day will not give Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) their normal float at this year's gay pride parade in protest against the party's opposition to same-sex marriage.

The CDU would be excluded from the event this year because of certain politicians' "undignified" and "indecent" remarks arguing against marriage and equality for gay couples in recent debates, said parade organizer Robert Kastl in a statement on Tuesday.

The chancellor's conservatives reject same-sex marriage and has been dragging its feet over implementing a demand by Germany's highest Constitutional Court to grant gay and lesbian couples the same tax breaks and adoption rights as straight married couples.

On Saturday June 22, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, along with smaller events across Germany and Switzerland. Last year, organizers said 700,000 people attended in the German capital alone.

And this year's parade, set to take place just three months ahead of national elections, could get highly political, said Kastl in his statement, released on the day politicians voted to legalize gay marriage in neighbouring France.

In protest against the CDU's stance, this year's parade will be motto: "No more empty speeches! Demonstrate! Vote! Change!"

Same-sex marriage supporters have celebrated several successes this year, with not only France, but also Uruguay and New Zealand becoming the latest to join 14 countries worldwide in which gay and lesbian couples can marry.

British MPs voted in February for a bill allowing same-sex marriage in the UK, even though the Conservative Party is in power.

In Germany at the end of March, the Bundesrat upper house of parliament passed an initiative to allow gays to marry, which has yet to be put before the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

While the CDU will be denied its usual big float, organizers welcomed members of the LSU gay and lesbian party sub-group and all those who clearly reject their party's position to participate.

The Christopher Street Day parades commemorate the Stonewall uprising of June 28, 1969, when police harassment at a New York gay bar sparked five days of rioting that launched the US gay rights movement.

The Local/jlb

Source: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130424-49335.html

Trick or Treat Amy Weber Happy Halloween! Star Wars Episode 7 jfk airport faith hill metro north

Venezuela opposition accuses government of post-vote vendetta

By Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition is accusing state institutions of intimidating and threatening to fire employees critical of President Nicolas Maduro after a disputed election that stirred protests and a wave of violence.

Activists are outraged at two recordings that appear to show officials vowing to sack workers who support opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who narrowly lost a snap election to replace the late socialist president Hugo Chavez.

One opposition activist told Reuters she had received more than 2,000 complaints of workplace harassment, of which some 300 people said they had been fired for their political views.

Maduro allies deny the accusations, insisting Venezuelans should focus instead on charges that Capriles stirred up violent protests last week that killed eight people.

For many Venezuelans, it is a reminder of a list once used by Chavez's government to target opposition supporters.

"I will not accept members of fascist parties," Housing Minister Ricardo Molina said in a video of what appeared to be a meeting of ministry personnel.

"Whoever wants to be a member of (opposition party) Voluntad Popular ... can resign, because if they don't resign I'm going to fire them myself."

A ministry official said Molina had not responded and that for now his office had no plans to comment on the video.

Maduro kept Molina in his post when he unveiled a new cabinet on Sunday, a day after the video began circulating online.

The wave of discrimination charges came on the heels of violent opposition demonstrations demanding a full recount of the April 14 vote that Maduro won by less than 2 percentage points.

While officials say Capriles is responsible for the deaths, his camp believe the government has exaggerated the violence and included victims of common crime.

'WE'RE GOING TO FIRE YOU'

Opposition activist Delsa Solorzano says government agencies, public schools and state-run companies are using pictures on social networks or even stray comments critical of the government to target workers suspected of opposing Maduro.

She says she has received a flood of emails and calls from public employees, some of whom say they have been interrogated about their political views.

"They don't know who you voted for, but they suspect you might be an opposition sympathizer if once you posted some comment like 'Crime is really bad,'" said Solorzano, looking through an email inbox bulging with complaints.

"There are people in ministries whose job is to review Facebook and Twitter accounts."

In another video that also circulated widely online, an official in the western state of Zulia was apparently recorded telling employees in his office that campaign canvassing phone calls had revealed which of them supported Capriles.

"I'm telling you, we're going to fire you," Leonet Cabezas, a Zulia sports official, said in the audio recording. "We're not idiots ... We've identified you and we're going to get rid of you."

Cabezas later told a local newspaper his office was not going to sack anyone, and accused the legislator who released the recording of seeking to create "disturbances."

One anonymous Facebook page entitled "Denounce Traitors to the Fatherland" shows pictures of opposition marches with arrows and tags identifying the names and workplaces of public employees in the Andean state of Tachira.

"Now you see why we have to have to clean out so many state institutions!" one comment read.

'NO HARASSMENT'

Government allies say the charges are ridiculous because Venezuela's ballot is secret, meaning officials would have no way of knowing who voted for Capriles. Nearly all the complaints are anonymous, meaning they are impossible to verify.

"There is no harassment of workers," said ruling Socialist Party official Blanca Eekhout, according to local media.

"Why don't you ask about the deaths from violence spurred by Capriles, who should be accused of crimes against humanity?"

The situation is not without precedent in Venezuela. Ten years ago, Chavez allies collected a list of people who signed petitions calling for a recall referendum against him.

The opposition says that became a blacklist used to block people who later sought jobs or government contracts.

At the time, the practice was openly acknowledged by some rank-and-file "Chavistas," who described it as revenge for a botched 2002 coup that briefly ousted Chavez.

In 2005, the president himself lamented that government officials were using the list to decide "if someone gets a job or doesn't get a job" and ordered them to "bury" it.

Solorzano said the names of victims of discrimination after the latest election are being kept confidential, a few have gone on record with cases in previous months.

Evelyn Giambalvo, 40, who is on medical leave from the state-run Venezuelan Agricultural Bank, said her salary was cut off last September, the day after she posted a picture on social networks of herself with Capriles.

"The management said 'how can you publish that picture when you work at this institution?'" she said.

Her husband Freddys Diaz, 55, said he was fired from the same institution in February without explanation.

The Agriculture Ministry, which oversees the bank, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

"We're supposed to be living in a democratic country where you don't have to agree with what the government says, or much less applaud things you don't agree with," said Giambalvo.

(Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-opposition-accuses-government-post-vote-vendetta-161418803.html

pro bowl victoria azarenka Royal Rumble 2013 senior bowl norovirus Eclampsia Kendrick Lamar

BlackBerry set to add Skype to its app line-up

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry said on Wednesday it plans to fill one of the biggest gaps in the app line-up on its new BlackBerry 10 devices with a long-awaited Skype application.

Skype, which was acquired by Microsoft Corp in 2011, allows its users to communicate via voice, video or chat over the Internet, by-passing traditional telephone networks. The service has hundreds of millions of users across the globe.

The announcement comes a day after BlackBerry said its new Q10 smartphone will be available in Canada on May 1, and in the United States before the end of May. The Q10, which comes with the physical keyboard that many of BlackBerry's core fan base cherish, is the second device to be powered by the company's new BB10 operating system.

Skype will be available on the Q10 on launch day. Users of the existing Z10 touchscreen device will have to wait a few weeks more to get Skype, after a software upgrade on the operating system, BlackBerry said.

A smaller app base than Apple's iOS and Google Inc's Android platforms has been one of the biggest criticisms of the new BlackBerry system. It has yet to offer some big-name apps like Netflix and Instagram.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-set-add-skype-app-line-185006609--sector.html

mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus

Obama threatens "family tattoo" if daughters get their own

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If they were thinking about getting tattoos, the Obama daughters may want to reconsider.

Speaking on NBC's "Today" show in a segment originally filmed before the Boston Marathon bombings, President Barack Obama revealed the strategy he and First Lady Michelle Obama have been using to keep their daughters away from tattoos.

"What we've said to the girls is, 'If you guys ever decide you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo, in the same place, and we'll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo,'" Obama said.

"Our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that's a good way to rebel."

During the segment, the president also said he understood his wife's "slip of the tongue" when she called herself a "single mother" in early April, noting that they were often apart for a week at a time when he was campaigning for the Senate and presidency.

"I tend to cut my wife or anybody some slack when it comes to just slips of the tongue," he said.

"But there's no doubt that there have been times where Michelle probably felt like a single mom ... She definitely, I think, understands the burdens that women in particular tend to feel if they're both responsible for child rearing and they're responsible for working at the same time," he added.

(Reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-threatens-family-tattoo-daughters-own-163516084.html

Lady Gaga New Girl Avalanna Gigi Chao Jimmy Hoffa Ed Hochuli Opie

Egrips Non-Slip Strips review

Although I’ve written a lot of case reviews over the years, I personally prefer NOT to use one on my phone. I just don’t care for the added bulk. Unfortunately my current phone, the Samsung Galaxy S3, is so slippery that I was forced to use a snap-on back cover to give it some extra [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/23/egrips-non-slip-strips-review/

uk vs louisville university of kansas buckeye west side story final four 2012 bridesmaids winning lottery numbers

Mortgage Applications Increase Slightly in Latest MBA Weekly ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. ? April 24, 2013 ? (RealEstateRama) ? Mortgage applications increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 19, 2013.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 0.3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.3 percent from one week earlier to the highest level since May 2010. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 75 percent of total applications from the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4 percent of total applications. The HARP share of refinance applications increased from 31 percent last week to 32 percent this week, the highest level since MBA began tracking HARP applications in February 2012.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.65 percent from 3.67 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 3.75 percent from 3.77 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 3.37 percent, with points increasing to 0.64 from 0.55 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 2.89 percent from 2.91 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.62 percent from 2.57 percent, with points decreasing to 0.21 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

If you would like to purchase a subscription of MBA?s Weekly Applications Survey, please visit www.mortgagebankers.org/WeeklyApps, contact or click here.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.

###

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation?s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA?s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org.

Tagged as: Survey

?

?

Related posts:

• Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 27, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 7.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 22, 2013....

• Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 7.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 18, 2013....

• Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 1.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 4, 2012....

• Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 4.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 12, 2013. ...

• Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 4.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association?s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 6, 2012. The results include an adjustment to account for the New Year?s Day holiday....

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

?

Source: http://www.realestaterama.com/2013/04/24/mortgage-applications-increase-slightly-in-latest-mba-weekly-survey-ID020487.html

London 2012 Fencing olympics chariots of fire Medal Count Sam Mikulak London 2012 diving Tim Berners-Lee

Pakistan government says it won't charge Musharraf

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan's caretaker government told the Supreme Court on Monday it will not file treason charges against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but will leave the decision on that to the winner of the upcoming election.

The petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed treason while in power constitute just one of several legal challenges he is facing following his recent return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile.

The former military strongman was placed under house arrest over the weekend in connection with a different case, which involves his decision to fire senior judges while in power.

Musharraf's detention was the latest in an array of setbacks he has faced since returning home last month with hopes of making a political comeback.

Lawyers have filed private petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed various treasonable offenses, including toppling a civilian government, suspending the constitution and declaring a state of emergency.

But according to Pakistan's constitution, the government is the only one with authority to file treason charges against Musharraf.

Attorney General Irfan Qadir submitted a statement to the Supreme Court on Monday, saying caretaker officials have decided not to file treason charges because it was not part of their mandate.

The caretaker government should avoid controversial matters that are not reversible by the winner of the May 11 parliamentary election, Qadir said. Instead, he added, caretaker officials are focused on routine matters, such as ensuring security for the upcoming election.

However, Law Minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi indicated that caretaker officials would not defy the Supreme Court if the judges ordered the government to act.

"At present all the focus, the attention is on the election arrangement," Soofi told reporters in Islamabad. "But we will be ready to proceed according to what the court asks us to do."

The interim government took over last month and will hold power until a new government is formed after the vote.

At this point, it's unclear how the next government will choose to proceed in the case of treason charges against Musharraf.

The front runner to become the next prime minister is Nawaz Sharif, who was toppled by Musharraf in a military coup when he was serving as premier in 1999.

Musharraf held power for nearly a decade until he was forced to step down in 2008 because of growing discontent with his rule. He returned despite Taliban death threats and an array of legal challenges.

But upon his homecoming, Musharraf encountered paltry levels of public support and was disqualified to run in the upcoming election because of his actions while in office.

Things got even worse last week, when Musharraf fled a court in the capital Islamabad to avoid arrest after a judge rejected his bail and ordered his detention. The arrest order was connected to Musharraf's decision in 2007 to dismiss senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, apparently out of concern that they would challenge his re-election as president.

Musharraf was eventually placed under house arrest at his heavily guarded compound on the outskirts of Islamabad until the next hearing on May 4.

____

Associated Press writer Asif Shahzad contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-government-says-wont-charge-musharraf-103221867.html

peeps nhl playoffs 2012 masters shroud of turin the borgias the masters warren sapp

Video: Courting Revis

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/51626556#51626556

kinkade thomas kinkade paintings navy jet crash virginia beach isiah thomas easter recipes live free or die hard carlos pena

The Constitution and terrorism: Why suspect never heard his rights

Lyle Denniston looks at the issues of Miranda warnings, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tsarnaev?s protections under the Constitution?s Fifth Amendment, and the public safety exception.

The statement at issue:

?The police can interrogate a suspect without offering him the benefit of Miranda [warnings] if he could have information that?s of urgent concern for public safety.? That may or may not be the case with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.? The problem is that Attorney General Eric Holder has stretched the law beyond that scenario.?

?? Emily Bazelon, a columnist for Slate.com, in an article on April 19, ?Why Should I Care That No One?s Reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev His Miranda Rights???

?[As of Saturday night] Authorities have not read him his Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Federal law enforcement officials said they plan to use a public safety exception, outlined in a 1984 Supreme Court decision, ?in order to question the suspect extensively about other potential explosive devices or accomplices and to gain critical intelligence.??

?? Washington Post story on April 21, by reporters Joel Achenbach and Robert Barnes, ?Authorities seek answers in Boston Marathon bombing.

We checked the Constitution, and?

Some three decades ago, the Supreme Court for the first time gave police and federal agents the authority to avoid giving criminal suspects Miranda warnings about their constitutional rights, when the public safety justified that suspension.? That authority, given in the 1984 decision of New York v. Quarles, has since been expanded by lower courts so that, even if a suspect has claimed the right to remain silent or the right to a lawyer, the questioning can go on if the public safety threat remains.

How long such questioning can continue, and what kinds of questions can be asked, is now the source of considerable uncertainty, as officials have developed interrogation policies they think are necessary in dealing with terrorist incidents.? But one thing does remain certain: the Constitution still requires that the police not use outright coercion in order to get answers even to the most pressing questions.?? If authorities want to use the evidence that they gain by such questioning, that evidence must have been given voluntarily.

In the case of the 19-year-old suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon and other crimes after that, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, there is no doubt that he has some protection under the Constitution?s Fifth Amendment against being forced to implicate himself.? He is a U.S. citizen, so he has the legal shield of the Constitution.? (On April 2, we discussed the rights during terrorism investigations of suspects who are not U.S. citizens; those rights may differ.)

The night that Tsarnaev was captured in Watertown, Mass., the chief U.S. prosecutor, Carmen Ortiz, told the news media that the suspect would not be given Miranda warnings immediately when questioning began, and she cited the ?public safety exception.?

About Constitution Check

• In a continuing series of posts, Lyle Denniston provides responses based on the Constitution and its history to public statements about its meaning and what duties it imposes or rights it protects.

Last year, in a bulletin to law enforcement officers across the nation, the FBI cautioned them that this exception applied only to questions ?directed at neutralizing an imminent threat.?? It added that ?once the questions turn from those designed to resolve the concern for safety to questions designed solely to elicit incriminating statements, the questioning falls outside the scope of the exception and within the traditional rules of Miranda.?

Related story: Constitution Check: Why would a terrorism suspect be given Miranda warnings?

However, under the terms of a 2010 Justice Department legal memo (criticized by Slate.com?s Emily Bazelon in the column quoted above), questioning of a terrorism suspect who has not been told of his rights may also continue even beyond concerns for the moment, in order potentially to get significant intelligence information ?not related to any immediate threat.?? The memo cautions that the officers conducting the interrogation should get approval from their superiors to go further into intelligence-gathering.

None of these issues that are specifically related to terrorism investigations have yet reached the Supreme Court, so federal agents and police use this added authority without knowing what the legal risks are.

There is some risk that, if the public safety exception and the 2010 Justice Department memo are pressed too far by officers in the field, they could put in jeopardy their chances of using at later trials the evidence of crime that has been gathered.? The calculation thus has to be made whether to run that risk.? That involves a balancing of the needs of trial prosecutors with the needs of finding out about potential future threats.

What investigators are generally expected to understand is that the whole purpose of the Miranda warnings is to make sure that any incriminating evidence that results from questioning is available for use at trial, and the warnings are designed to help assure that whatever the suspect has said that gets him into trouble was said voluntarily.

If the threat of terrorism rises to the level that intelligence is more important than criminal evidence, then official policy, as outlined in the 2010 Justice Department memo, for example, will give it a higher priority.

That, however, is a judgment call that has to be made one case at a time, as in the case of the Boston bombing suspect.? From all that officials involved in the investigation in Boston have said, it may well be that they have such overwhelming evidence to support prosecution that they have little need to get Tsarnaev to confess and can focus, instead, on finding out what he may know ? if anything ? about other threats or accomplices.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center?s adviser on constitutional literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 55 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Court?s work.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

Constitution Check: Is the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay beyond court review?

Constitution Check: Is the war crimes court constitutionally jinxed?

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/constitution-check-limits-questioning-bombing-103826150.html

stevie nicks anchorman capybara duggars peter facinelli bobby rush supreme court justices

Alternative therapies may help lower blood pressure

Apr. 22, 2013 ? Alternative therapies such as aerobic exercise, resistance or strength training, and isometric hand grip exercises may help reduce your blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.

In a new scientific statement published in its journal Hypertension, the association said alternative approaches could help people with blood pressure levels higher than 120/80 mm Hg and those who can't tolerate or don't respond well to standard medications.

However, alternative therapies shouldn't replace proven methods to lower blood pressure -- including physical activity, managing weight, not smoking or drinking excess alcohol, eating a low sodium balanced diet and taking medications when prescribed, the association said.

High blood pressure -- a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke -- affects more than 26 percent of the population worldwide and contributes to more than 13 percent of premature deaths.

An expert panel assessed three alternative remedy categories: exercise regimens; behavioral therapies such as meditation; and non-invasive procedures or devices including acupuncture and device-guided slow breathing. The panel did not review dietary and herbal treatments.

"There aren't many large well-designed studies lasting longer than a few weeks looking at alternative therapies, yet patients have a lot of questions about their value," said Robert D. Brook, M.D., Chair of the panel and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "A common request from patients is, 'I don't like to take medications, what can I do to lower my blood pressure?' We wanted to provide some direction."

The alternative therapies rarely caused serious side effects and posed few health risks, but the analysis revealed some approaches were more beneficial than others and could be part of a comprehensive blood pressure-lowering treatment plan.

Brook and colleagues reviewed data published in 2006-11, including 1,000 studies on behavioral therapies, non-invasive procedures and devices, and three types of exercise (aerobic, resistance or weight training and isometric exercises, most commonly handgrip devices).

The studies also examined the effects of yoga, different styles of meditation, biofeedback methods, acupuncture, device-guided breathing, relaxation and stress reduction techniques.

The panel found:

• All three types of exercise reduced blood pressure. Walking programs provided modest benefit while, somewhat surprisingly, four weeks of isometric hand grip exercises resulted in some of the most impressive improvements -- a 10 percent drop in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, isometric exercise should be avoided among people with severely-uncontrolled high blood pressure (180/110 mm Hg or higher).
• Behavioral therapies such as biofeedback and transcendental meditation may help lower blood pressure by a small amount. However, there's not sufficient data to support using other types of meditation.
• Strong clinical evidence is also lacking to recommend yoga and other relaxation techniques for reducing blood pressure.
• There isn't enough evidence to recommend acupuncture for lowering blood pressure, particularly given the complexities involved in employing this treatment. However, device-guided slow breathing did prove effective in lowering blood pressure when performed for 15-minute sessions three to four times a week.

"Most alternative approaches reduce systolic blood pressure by only 2-10 mm Hg; whereas standard doses of a blood pressure-lowering drug reduce systolic blood pressure by about 10-15 mm Hg," Brook said. "So, alternative approaches can be added to a treatment regimen after patients discuss their goals with their doctors."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/ncqE2SZ3z1g/130422175710.htm

election results Doug Martin Barack Obama & Joe Biden Am I registered to vote Voter registration Election Election results 2012