News Headlines (126) 15 January 2013

ONLINE TODAY

► Depressed Stroke Survivors May Face Triple the Risk of Death -  Jan. 11, 2013 | People who are depressed after a stroke may have a tripled risk of dying early and four times the risk of death from stroke than people who have not experienced a stroke or depression, according to a study released January 12 that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

► Siblings Separated for 65 Years Reunited by an iPad and an 8-Year-Old - By Melissa Knowles Thu, Jan 10, 2013  || Brother and sister reunite in Iowa after 65 years with help of Facebook, 7-year-old boy - By The Associated Press :: http://news.yahoo.com/brother-sister-reunite-iowa-65-years-help-facebook-032919198.html  || VIDEO

► iPotty: Toilet training ... now with added iPad

► iPotty for iPad does tablet toilet training. Published on Jan 11, 2013 by CNETTV :: CTA Digital's iPotty for iPad holds an iPad in the ready position to help tots learn the ways of the toilet with a digital assist.


► Golden Globes 2013: Wins for Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway  || Jennifer Lawrence, Best Actress Winner At 2013 Golden Globe Awards || 'She's the reason I'm standing here': Underdog Ben Affleck praises wife Jennifer Garner as Argo scoops top Golden Globe honours after Oscars snub

► Japanese foreign policy. Down-turn Abe :: The country's dangerously nationalistic new cabinet is the last thing Asia needs - Jan 5th 2013  || Japan's Abe to visit Southeast Asia to boost economic ties . By Antoni Slodkowski - Reuters || Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 - Abe seen pursuing strong yet pragmatic foreign policy  ||  January 3, 2013  -  Investors embrace 'Abe trade' on Japan. By Ben McLannahan in Tokyo 





► Mali and the return of Françafrique  || Le Conseil de sécurité soutient unanimement l'intervention française au Mali

► Mali: Tombouctou aux mains des islamistes d'Ansar Dine. Published on Apr 6, 2012 by afpfr :: Le groupe islamiste Ansar Dine, qui a pris le contrôle de la ville de Tombouctou dans le nord du Mali, affirme mener une guerre "contre l'indépendance" et "pour l'Islam" et la pratique de la charia, s'opposant à la fois au régime de Bamako et aux indépendantistes touareg.








►
Obama: Gun Control Specifics to Come Within Days. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: President Barack Obama says he's reviewing a list of proposals from Vice President Joe Biden about how to reduce gun violence and expects to present specifics later this week. (Jan. 14)  || ► Bloomberg: Gun Lobby Hiding Behind 2nd Amendment. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for federal gun control reforms. Bloomberg outlined his proposals at a summit on reducing gun violence and took the gun lobby to task for using the Second Amendment to quash any gun regulations. (Jan. 14)


►
Newtown Mother: 'Unbearable Pain' Remains. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: Holding photos of their young children, several parents spoke on Monday at the launch of Sandy Hook Promise, a group calling for a national dialogue to help prevent tragedies like the one that happened one month ago in Newtown. (Jan. 14)


►
Obama: U.S. Is 'Not a Deadbeat Nation'. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: President Barack Obama is demanding that Congress raise the federal debt limit quickly. He says benefits including those for veterans will be delayed if they don't, and warns Republicans not to demand concessions in exchange. (Jan. 14)  || ► First Person: Busy Times for Obama Lookalike. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: The lanky black man has the security detail, the prominent ears and the U.S. flag pin. But substitute teacher Larry Graves is a professional lookalike for President Barack Obama, not the real thing. (Jan. 14)

Other faces like Obama ....? Really? Mmm...what about Ilham Anas? Soultice? Michael Lamar? Nozomu Sato? Gerardo Puisseaux? Who else? ...

► U.S. pledges help to France against al-Qaida rebels in Mali - By BAZI KANANI, DANA HUGHES and LUIS MARTINEZ | ABC News 

► Timeline: Islamist rebels promise long war with France in Mali

► Why US is helping France fight Islamist forces in Mali, Somalia - The US decision to help France with its military campaign comes in light of the growing threat posed by two extremist Islamist groups in northern Mali, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday. Here's what the US is contributing. By Anna Mulrine | Christian Science Monitor 

► Obama digs heels in, refuses to negotiate debt ceiling - By Mark Felsenthal and Matt Spetalnick

► Obama's Message to Republicans: I Won - By George E. Condon Jr. | National Journal 

► GOP Ready to Fight Over Debt Limit - By John Parkinson

► "Lonely" Obama eyes second-term strategy with Congress: the schmooze - By Steve Holland 

► Obama demands quick action to raise debt limit. 'Not a deadbeat nation:' Obama says Congress must act quickly to raise the US debt ceiling - By Julie Pace, AP White House Correspondent

► Clinton to testify on Benghazi Jan. 23 - By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News

► Obama lookalike in demand for inauguration season - By DAVID BRUNS | Associated Press 

► Obama, Netanyahu: Bad blood between key allies - By STEVEN R. HURST

► INAUGURATION 2013: Can Obama avoid the second-term curse? - By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News 

► When presidential inaugurations go very, very wrong - By NCC Staff | National Constitution Center 

► Milky Way Galaxy May Be Less Massive Than Thought - By Mike Wall | SPACE.com 

► No-Book Library? BiblioTech Is Coming - By JOANNA STERN

► Identical Twins Marry Identical Twins - Identical twin brothers met identical twin sisters in Twinsburg, Ohio at a festival for twins, then one of the couples had twins. It may sound like a riddle, but it's a true story and what passes for an interesting segment on Jeff Probst's new talk show, which is called "The Jeff Probst Show". Sounds like a lot of fun, guys. 



► Lance Armstrong's doping admission: Questions Oprah should have asked 



► The friendliest towns in America - By Morgan Brennan | Forbes.com – Thu, Jan 10, 2013 



► Hearty Winter Dishes To Serve For Dinner 

► UN backs French Mali intervention

The UN Security Council backs France's intervention against Islamists in Mali, as thousands of African troops are expected to join the operation.
* France's war in the desert
* UN backing for France - VIDEO
* 'Serious concern' for UK 
* Defeating rebels tough task - VIDEO
* Mali a risk for 'new' Hollande
* Media split on intervention

► Lance Armstrong apology to staff

Lance Armstrong apologises to the staff at his Livestrong Foundation, amid reports that the US cyclist may admit doping in a TV interview.
* Armstrong on Oprah: The potential fallout BBC Sport
* Armstrong may confess, says paper BBC Sport

► 'One million children' join Buddhist meditation event. 15 January 2013 - Every year, a project called V-Star Change the World brings schoolchildren to a Buddhist temple in Thailand for a day of meditation. Organisers claim that one million children attended the most recent event at the Phra Dhammakaya temple near Bangkok. The temple has attracted controversy in the past, with critics claiming the meditation exercise is simply for show, and others likening its activities to a cult. But the temple believes that when one million children meditate together it can help to change the world. BBC News went along to find out more. VIDEO journalist: Aggarat Bansong

► Inside the new BBC World News headquarters. 14 January 2013 - BBC World News TV has moved into its new home, Broadcasting House, in the heart of central London. The BBC's Lucy Hockings gives a tour of some of the highlights of the building. Available to users outside the UK only (VIDEO) 

► 15 January 2013  - Fishing on the frontline amid South China Sea dispute | By Martin Patience BBC News, Hainan island 

► Germans united in regret over Britain's EU stance

► Kumbh Mela attracts 10 million on first day. 14 January 2013  - As many as 10 million people are expected to have bathed at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad in India, on the first day of Kumbh Mela. The event, held once every 12 years, is billed as the biggest gathering of humanity on Earth, with more than 100 million people expected to attend over the next 55 days. Yogita Limaye reports from Allahabad. (VIDEO)

► 15 January 2013 - African elephant poaching threatens wildlife future | By Gabriel Gatehouse BBC News, Kenya/Nigeria

► 15 January 2013 - Edible edifice: Building the offices of tomorrow | By Michael Millar Business reporter, BBC News

► Gridlocked: Which city has the worse traffic? 14 January 2013  - BBC News sets out to find the world's most gridlocked cities. Alastair Leithead in Los Angeles and Steve Rosenberg in Moscow see how far they can get in an hour's drive through crowded streets. (VIDEO) 

► Slums and the future of cities

► Dune bashing in Oman's Wahiba Sands

► America's most beautiful college libraries 

► BMW makes a bid for best in show

► Honda shrinks, sculpts CR-V for new concept

► 12 January 2013 -  Longing for peace in Central African Republic | By Laeila Adjovi BBC Africa, Bangui 

► 15 January 2013  - Farc ceasefire 'to end on Sunday'. Farc rebels say their ceasefire will end on Sunday, as peace talks with the government of Colombia resume in Havana.

► 15 January 2013 - Genes link Australians with India

Far from being cut off from the rest of the world, Australia experienced a migration from India about 4,000 years ago, a study suggests.
* Hair unlocks Aboriginal origins 
* Oz marsupials 'began in Americas'

► Today's African Proverb:  "When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father's estate"  - An Igbo proverb sent by Ugochukwu Okwesili-Val, Anambra State, Nigeria

►
War, Not Welfare: Israel-US drill drowns out austerity activism. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: Meanwhile Israel is hosting what's being called the largest ever multi-national air force exercise - with more than a hundred fighter planes taking part. The combat training came just a couple of months after another large-scale military drill conducted jointly with the U.S. And, with a parliamentary election in the country just around the corner, a growing number of Israelis are questioning such huge expense on war games, as Paula Slier explains.


►
'US strikes China nuclear match in Asia-Pacific powderkeg'. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: The right to a preemptive nuclear strike against China is now part of US law - thanks to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Pentagon's also ordered a thorough review of when, and how, America could strike at the network of tunnels believed to hold Beijing's atomic arsenals. Editor of a Japan-based news website James Corbett suggests ulterior motives in this decision of US government.


► US court drops charges on Aaron Swartz days after his suicide

► France launches airstrikes in Mali to ease intervention

► 'Red October': Global cyber-spy network uncovered by Russian experts

► 'Criminal refuge': UK police warn against opting-out of EU laws

► Great Fallout: NDAA Chinese tunnel scare 'smokescreen for US nuclear intentions'

► Republicans set to let US default

► Congo's M23 conflict: Rebellion or resource war? (Op-Ed) 

► Music to her ears: Violinist Vanessa-Mae confirms Sochi 2014 participation

►
Viewfinder Colombia - Acting Lessons. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: "I have always been surrounded by poverty and it was poverty that stole what was most precious to me." Maria is fighting back. After 10 years of poverty, prostitution, drugs and crime, she is turning her life around through theatre, expressing her past experiences and helping others to leave prostitution. Filmmakers: Manuel Contreras/ Russ Finkelstein. || ► Viewfinder - Workshop Roundtable. Published on Jan 9, 2013 :: May, 2012 - Montevideo, Uruguay - Following an intense six day workshop, independent filmmakers from across Latin America sat down to discuss their work. These regionally based filmmakers examined what it means to reflect the changes occurring in their countries today through observational documentary films. This in-depth exploration of their aims and their craft highlights one of the goals of the Viewfinder project; to provide a forum for regionally based storytellers and their films.



►
Myanmar shells Kachin rebel stronghold. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: Kachin rebels say artillery strike by Myanmar army killed three civilians in their stronghold in Laiza. The group is fighting for greater immunity and self-rule for ethnic Kachins in northern Myanmar. The government denies it is planning to seize Laiza, but the attack on Monday has raised alarms among the civilian population. Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports from neighbouring Bangkok, Thailand.


► The Stream

■ Out but not equal. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: Repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" may have allowed gays in the US military to be more open, but did it give them equal rights? (VIDEO)
■ NRA releases "Practice Range" game, #OpAngel and #PDFtribute honor Aaron Swartz . Published on Jan 14, 2013 (VIDEO)

►
Inside Story - The human cost of China's rapid development. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: As the world's second largest economy steams ahead, it is leaving a dense smog in its wake. Pollution in China has reached dangerously high levels in recent days. Dozens of cities are affected by thick smog and haze, 40 times the limit deemed safe by the World health Organisation (WHO). More than 100 million citizens have been affected; from Beijing to Guiyang, factories have been asked to close and people are being urged to stay indoors. So, is China's rapid development damaging the quality of life for its people?



►
Inside Story Americas - What was Aaron Swartz fighting for? Published on Jan 15, 2013 :: Computer programmer and internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz takes his own life. But what was really at stake in his work to ensure internet freedoms and free access to public information? Guests: Lawrence Lessig, Tim Lee, Maria Bustillos.



►
Cadillac wins 'Car of the Year' in Detroit. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: This year's Detroit auto show, one of the most important annual auto industry events, features a comeback from a rare source: Detroit. The North American car of the year is actually North American. Cadillac won the award for its ATS, the company's first win in the award's 20-year history. On it's 60th anniversary, Chevrolet also unveiled a new model of its classic Corvette, the Stingray. Al Jazeera's John Hendren reports from Detroit.



►
'Ruby' steals show at Berlusconi sex trial. Published on Jan 14, 2013 :: The dancer at the centre of a sex trial against Italy's Silvio Berlusconi has appeared in court for the first time. The former prime minister's lawyers decided not to call Moroccan-born Karima El-Mahroug, better known by her nickname as "Ruby the Heart Stealer", to testify on Monday. They said her testimony would have "interfered with the serenity of the electoral campaign" ahead of Italy's upcoming polls and asked to hear from six other witnesses instead. Al Jazeera's Charlie Angela reports from Rome.

Latest Headlines

■ Syria Bombs Damascus Suburbs to Keep Rebels Out
■ Mali Rebels Rake Gains, Vow to Avenge French Bombs
■ Thousands Rally in Pakistani Capital Against Government 
■ N.Y. May Pass 1st Post-Sandy Hook Gun Bill 
■ Lance Armstrong Says 'Sorry' to Livestrong Staff 
■ Ex-President George H.W. Bush Leaves the Hospital
■ 2012 Military Suicides Hit Record High of 349
■ Oracle Says Java Patch Fixes Security Problem
■ Obama Urges Assault Weapons Ban, Specifics to Come Within Days 
■ Iraq Says It Released Hundreds of Inmates
■ Coroner Releases New Report on Natalie Wood Death 
■ Toyota Retakes Global Auto Sales Crown from GM
■ Palace: Prince William and Kate's Baby Due in July 
■ CNN: Schoolhouse Rock at 40 
■ CNN: 47 States Affected by Flu Breakout 

► Beijing Air: So Bad, Even the Government Admits There Is a Problem

By Hannah Beech
* How Bad Air Is Slowly Changing China 
* Beijing Sandstorms 2010 - PHOTOS

► India's Sexual Violence: Will the Spotlight Last?

* Were the Delhi Rape Suspects Tortured by Police? 

► AP Source: Armstrong Tells Oprah He Doped 

► Aaron Swartz's Suicide Prompts Review at MIT 

► Polio in India: How the Country Fought the Disease — And Won

► Halperin: Obama Uses Bully Pulpit to His Advantage

► Pediatricians Need to Be More Aware of Alternative Medicine Use Among Children 

► CNN: Inside the Life of a Syrian Rebel 

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► Detroit Auto Show

* Audi unleashes 560-horsepower RS7
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    ► F R AM E W O R K :: Pictures in the News | January 14, 2013 - Posted By: Marc Martin

Mumbai, India & Tamil women stand in queue to collect utensils and other materials to cook Pongal during the Pongal festival in Mumbai. Pongal, very popular in South Indian states, is a dish in which rice is boiled with milk, sugar and other sweeteners.


► Bull Flight from Tamil Nadu, India for Pongal Festival Called Jallikattu. Uploaded on Jan 16, 2012 by Mahesh Kannan :: Bull Flight form the villages of Tamil Nadu / India for Pongal Festival 



► International Kite Festival Uttarayan, Gujarat | Kite Festival in India 2013. Published on Jan 4, 2013 by addmeall :: Uttarayan is celebrated every year on 14th January, known as Makar Sankranti in other parts of north India, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and continues on the 15th.

The festival of Uttarayan is a uniquely Gujarati phenomenon, when the skies over most cities of the state fill with kites from before dawn until well after dark. The festival marks the days in the Hindu calendar when winter begins turning to summer, known as Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan. On what is usually a bright warm sunny day with brisk breezes to lift the kites aloft, across the state almost all normal activity is shut down and everyone takes to the rooftops and roadways to fly kites and compete with their neighbors.

Kites of all shapes and sizes are flown, and the main competition is to battle nearby kite-flyers to cut their strings and bring down their kites. For this, people find their favored kite-makers who prepare strong resilient kite bodies with springy bamboo frames and kite-paper stretched to exactly the right tension. Lastly, the kites are attached to a spool (or firkin) of manja, special kite-string coated with a mixture of glue and glass to be as sharp as possible for cutting strings of rival kites. Production of kites and kite supplies can be seen on the streets of Ahmedabad beginning in November, to get ready for Uttarayan, and nowhere more so than in Patang Bazaar, the special kite market that appears in the old city. For the week preceding the festival, it is open 24 hours a day for all kite lovers to stock up for the festivities.

Parents who normally find their children hard to get out of bed for school will find them setting the alarm for 5 am on 14th Jan., to get up and start flying kites in the ideal pre-dawn wind. The atmosphere is wonderfully festive, as whole families gather on the rooftop, special foods like laddoos , undhyu or surati jamun are prepared for eating over the course of the day, and friends and neighbors visit each other for group kite-flying fun. Often people look out for which of their friends has the optimum terrace for kite flying and many will congregate there. This leads to many social gatherings that would not otherwise occur, as one person's brother's friends meet their classmate's cousins, because they have all gathered on the rooftop of the same mutual friend. People often find themselves marking time by Uttarayans: "I met you three Uttarayans ago, right?" is a not uncommon phrase. At night, kite fighters send up bright white kites to be seen in the darkness, and skilled flyers will send aloft their tukkals with strings of brightly lit lanterns in a long line leading back down to the rooftop. From early morning to late at night, Uttarayan provides lots of fun and beautiful sights to remember for a long time.

Since 1989, the city of Ahmedabad has hosted the International Kite Festival as part of the official celebration of Uttarayan, bringing master kite makers and flyers from all over the world to demonstrate their unique creations and wow the crowds with highly unusual kites. In past years, master kite makers from Malaysia have brought their wau-balang kites, llayang-llayanghave come from Indonesia, kite innovators from the USA have arrived with giant banner kites, and Japanese rokkaku fighting kites have shared the skies with Italian sculptural kites, Chinese flying dragons, and the latest high-tech modern wonders. A master kite maker and famous kite flyer Rasulbhai Rahimbhai of Ahmedabad trains of up to 500 kites on a single string have come to be a classic attraction. Almost every known variety of kite can be seen in the skies over Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, from box kites to high-speed sport kites, from windsocs and spinsocs to hand-painted artistic kites.

A PICTURE & A SONG TODAY



Paris, France & soldiers patrol under the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed Monday to avenge, on French soil, France's fierce military offensive against them.

Cisca Zarmansyah sent :
I love the evenings, passionless and fair, I love the evens,
Whether old manor-fronts their ray with golden fulgence leavens,
In numerous leafage bosomed close
Whether the mist in reefs of fire extend its reaches sheer,
Or a hundred sunbeams splinter in an azure atmosphere
On cloudy archipelagos.
Oh, gaze ye on the firmament! a hundred clouds in motion,
Up-piled in the immense sublime beneath the winds' commotion,
Their unimagined shapes accord
Under their waves at intervals flame a pale levin through,
As if some giant of the air amid the vapors drew
A sudden elemental sword.
The sun at bay with splendid thrusts still keeps the sullen fold;
And momently at distance sets, as a cupola of gold,
The thatched roof of a cot a-glance
Or on the blurred horizon joins his battle with the haze
Or pools the blooming fields about with inter-isolate blaze,
Great moveless meres of radiance.
Then mark you how there hangs athwart the firmament's swept track, Yonder a mighty
crocodile with vast irradiant back,
A triple row of pointed teeth?
Under its burnished belly slips a ray of eventide,
The flickerings of a hundred glowing clouds in tenebrous side
With scales of golden mail ensheathe.
Then mounts a palace, then the air vibrates--the vision flees.
Confounded to its base, the fearful cloudy edifice
Ruins immense in mounded wrack
A far the fragments strew the sky, and each en vermeile d'cone
Hangeth, peak downward, over head, like mountains overthrown
When the earthquake heaves its hugy back.
These vapors, with their leaden, golden, iron, bronzèd glows,
Where the hurricane, the waterspout, thunder, and hell repose,
Muttering hoarse dreams of destined harms,
'Tis God who hangs their multitude amid the skiey deep,
As a warrior that suspendeth from the roof-tree of his keep
His dreadful and resounding arms!
All vanishes! The sun, from topmost heaven precipitated,
Like a globe of iron which is tossed back fiery red
Into the furnace stirred to fume,
Shocking the cloudy surges, plashed from its impetuous ire,
Even to the zenith spattereth in a flecking scud of fire
The vaporous and inflamèd spaume.
O contemplate the heavens! Whenas the vein-drawn day dies pale,
In every season, every place, gaze through their every veil?
With love that has not speech for need!
Beneath their solemn beauty is a mystery infinite
If winter hue them like a pall, or if the summer night
Fantasy them starre brede.
( A SunseT - VicTor HuGo )


Valentino Vie replied :
Pour ma femme, Mme Vie en Calif:
Les êtres étoilés que nous nommons archanges
La bercent dans leurs bras au milieu des louanges,
Et, parmi les clartés, les lyres, les chansons,
D'en haut elle sourit à nous qui gémissons.
Elle sourit, et dit aux anges sous leurs voiles
Est-ce qu'il est permis de cueillir des étoiles ?
***
Les contemplations - VICTOR HUGO