News Headlines (92) 12 December 2012

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Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis. Published on Jul 2, 2012 by journeymanpictures :: With the US raising their debt ceiling, are we in a global bail-out bubble that will eventually burst? This doc offers a fresh insight into the greatest economic crisis of our age: the one still awaiting us. The financial storm that has rocked the world began brewing in the US when congress pushed the idea of home ownership for all, propping up those who couldn't make the down payments. When it all went wrong the government promised the biggest financial stimulus packages in history and gargantuan bailouts. But what crazed logic is that: propping up debt with more debt? "They're giving alcohol to a drunk: it just sets him up for a bigger hangover." July 2010







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Panetta: No "New Aggressive Steps" From Syria. Published on Dec 11, 2012 by AssociatedPress· :: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Syria is not showing any new signs that it's preparing to use chemical weapons. Panetta commented while flying to Kuwait. (Dec. 11)

► EXCLUSIVE: Obama Recognizes Syrian Opposition Group - By DEVIN DWYER and DANA HUGHES

► Obama: US recognizes Syria's main rebel group - By By MATTHEW LEE | Associated Press 

► Iran insists on nuclear "right" ahead of IAEA talks - By Yeganeh Torbati 

► North Korea launches rocket, seems to pass over Okinawa: Japan 

► Voter disdain spreads as 'fiscal cliff' looms - From NH to Colo., voter disdain spreads as 'fiscal cliff' debate rages - By Steve Peoples, Associated Press

► Ruby, key witness in Berlusconi trial, in Mexico - Associated Press

► Is Berlusconi really set to lead Italy again? Mario Monti's resignation as prime minister of Italy has opened the door to Silvio Berlusconi's return to the office – and he has promised that he will run again in February's elections.By Nick Squires | Christian Science Monitor 

► The L.A. City Council unanimously approved a USC redevelopment plan for large parcels of university-owned land Tuesday.

► Newborn boy mislabeled by hospital as a girl with another mother's name

► Life-sized Noah's Ark launches - A full-scale replica of Noah's Ark has opened its doors to the public in the Netherlands. (Dec. 10) - PHOTOS

► Fish sold in New York is routinely mislabeled: study -  By Peter Rudegeair, Reuters  Dec. 11, 2012



► Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92 

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Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha - Tabla Solo in Jhaptal. Uploaded on Jul 7, 2006 by ganchans 





► That's no ordinary gun, ma'am  - Valuable WWII Gun at Police Buy-Back | By Annie Rose Ramos | ABC News Blogs – Mon, Dec 10, 2012

► Most Expensive Christmas Dinner Priced at $200,000 | By Lauren Torrisi | ABC News Blogs
 



► Celebrities in thigh-high boots - It seems that every celeb from Kim Kardashian to Cheryl Cole has been spotted in thigh-high boots recently | Tue, Nov 6, 2012

► Defiant N Korea in rocket success

North Korea successfully launches a long-range rocket to put a satellite into space, as neighbours accuse it of a disguised missile test.

* 'Great pride' over launch - VIDEO
* 'World taken by surprise' - VIDEO
* Rocket: International reaction
* North Korea's missile programme
* Country profile

► 12 December 2012 - Venezuela President Chavez's cancer surgery 'successful'

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cancer surgery - his fourth in 18 months - is successfully completed in Cuba, says his vice-president.

► 12 December 2012 - Sugar 'comforts babies during immunisations' 

► Flower power border divides US and Canada - 12 December 2012 :: It is not exactly Checkpoint Charlie in Cold War Berlin. But a row of flower pots marking the border between the US and Canada is still provoking controversy in the communities affected. The villages of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec, had long been separated by a border that seemed to exist in name only. But over the past decade fears about terrorism, smuggling and illegal immigration have led to increased security. Metal fences - and in the case of Church Street, flower pots - now block some roads. Residents who cross illegally face fines of $5,000 (£3,106). | The BBC's Franz Strasser reports. (VIDEO) 

► North Korea launches long-range Unha-3 rocket despite warnings. Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: North Korea says its long-range rocket has successfully placed a satellite in orbit. The launch, early on Wednesday, was the second by the reclusive state this year, after an earlier attempt in April failed shortly after lift-off. The move by Pyongyang immediately sent shockwaves around the globe, raising criticism from its neighbours. (VIDEO) || NEWS - North Korea declares its rocket launch a success


► North Korea declares its rocket launch a success

► US recognizes Syrian opposition body

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'Chemical weapons hysteria pretext for West to frame Assad & intervene'. Published on Dec 10, 2012 :: Western powers have already warned the Syrian regime against using the banned arms - but Damascus says it's the victim of a smear campaign. Assad officials claim they would never use chemical weapons against civilians, and are only interested in keeping the stockpiles safe. This comes as US sources say Washington's training rebels to secure and handle such weapons, in case the Syrian regime collapses. Some observers are now convinced that a foreign intervention's in the making.



► From US, with conditions: Russia gets Syrian crisis plan - newspaper

► Egyptian protesters break through barricades outside Morsi’s palace (PHOTOS)

► Mozilla rallies for opposition against secret Internet treaty 

► HSBC and Standard Chartered to pay US over $2bn in charges 

► Monkeys & Cocaine: HSBC money laundering case. Published on Dec 12, 2012 :: Watch the full Keiser Report 379 on Thursday. In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert look at HSBC being fined rather than criminally charged in order to avoid destabilizing the system, while JP Morgan and others are being sued for about a trillion in bad mortgages investors were duped into buying. They also look at "1001" under which bankers who lied to the federal housing authorities could be criminally tried for lying to a federal official. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to Kyra Maya Phillips of MisfitEconomy.com about democracy aboard pirate ships of the 18th century on which No Plunder, No Pay was the name of the game and innovation happened on the fringe. Max proposes banksters walk the plank in a specially built platform in Trafalgar Square.


► Russian opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya dies aged 86 

► Jeans no more: Indian college bans girls from wearing 'western' outfits

( This sounds good. Mahatma Gandhi has been motivational and appluied his principles of life to his people to use domestic products,  and there should be no imports (through his  "Swadeshi" movement / An ability to meet its own needs/ A call for consumers to be wary of dangers arising from supporting the foreign industries which can lead to poverty and harmful to workers and people and other creatures. And it still held strong to this day. This is the principle of national pride placement, not to appear haughty but frail. For example, a group of people who call themselves as anti-Western societies but they are fond of using European products without knowing how to say "thank you" in German or French, for example ... ehehehe ....

I told my partner, "Dahling, I admit it. I'm not anti-Japan completely, as long as I still love to read the Doraemon comics, playing music with piano made ​​in Japan, eat Shojin Ryori and dealing with the Toyota dealer"

He laughed out loud and pinched my butt, "Hahahaha ... before we live together, your spoons made ​​in China, hon." he said meaningfully then winked flirtatiously, so looking forward to a commensurate response. My-spoon-made-in-China. What? Why he had to talk like that? Did he think I have forgotten it? Ow, his sentence must be taken care of with action.

I pinched his ​​waist too, pretty tight. "Uh, who said that?"

"Auwwww," he pretended to auww," I said it... ahhaha.."then he laughed shamelessly, because at that time he was also wearing flip-flops made ​​in Japan. But I did not like to judge other people's behavior when I realized that I was not perfect. Was my kimono also made ​​in Japan?

"Dahling, please check what brand of this kimono, "I asked him to look at the label on my nape. He checked it while bending my kimono label to the outside.

"Korea!" he said then burst out laughing, more lively than before. To guess what was in his head when he laughed at me made ​​me laugh too.
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► 'Smart monkey' seen browsing IKEA store in Toronto dressed to the nines (PHOTOS) 

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The Russian Versailles: Mesmerizing Peterhof (RT Documentary). Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: Peterhof is one of Russia's most famous and picturesque tourist attractions, drawing millions of visitors to St. Petersburg every year. RT went to the 'Russian Versailles' to marvel at a Napoleonic ball, learn the history of the many Peterhof's statues and find out what a trick fountain is, and why tourists do not mind occasionally getting wet.



► Putin delivers first parliamentary address in new presidential term

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Shame Old Story: Forced sterilization victims still seek justice in US. Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: Denied the chance of a baby - a decades long program of forced sterilization in America, left tens of thousands of women unable to have children. Once promoted as a way to build a healthy nation, its only recently that the traumatized victims of a eugenics programme, are being considered for compensation. RT's Marina Portnaya went to meet one of those who were left traumatised, by compulsory birth control.

The rapid progress in the late 20 th century on science and technology in general, and particularly in the biotechnology medicine concerning human reproduction is very proud, but also very stressful, whether it is viewed from the perspective of pure science as well as to do with reception ideas reasonable as a whole person (holistic), the common sense of the human being, which is contrary to the ethical and moral appreciation. So in the advancement of medical biotechnology, especially concerning the subject of human reproduction, where people are now more likely to be able to manage their willingness to acquire what is said to be "the best", the adherents of this eugenic flow will shift the understanding of natural selection to the practice of man-made selection or human power, sometimes forgetting the interests of human (social, cultural, ethical, and moral). Thus in biomedical research must engage thought to obtain a normative standard, such as the need for standards for conducting research in genetic engineering for the benefit of future generation.

Individual assessment of a scientist -- which presumably was wrong and deviated from the norm of humanity -- should be replaced by an ethic that can guarantee the existence of a collective social responsibility. The study which was made ​​possible by the advances of biotechnology should not have a negative impact and occurrence of dehumanization.

The most important factor in the biotech research is to find self-identity as a researcher. The rapid progress of science and technology will position ourselves as a scientist to the "crisis of identity" in conducting research. Thus, the nature of openness and mutual understanding in guiding is highly desirable, for the sake of collective social responsibility.
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Inside Story Americas - US fine of HSBC a rap on the knuckles. Published on Dec 12, 2012 :: A British bank has been ordered to pay $1.9bn after laundering money for what the US Department of Justice termed 'drug kingpins' and 'rogue nations'. But is it enough? Plus, is the influence of US trade union declining in the wake of right-to-work laws recently passed in Michigan state? Guests: Jeffrey Robinson, Bill Fletcher Jr, Josh Eidelson.



► The Stream - Can social media tackle Puerto Rico's crime wave? Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: Puerto Rico's violent crime wave and the social media movement that's trying to fight it . (VIDEO) 

► Russia bans US beef 'over diplomatic row'. Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: Russia's lower parliament appears to be retaliating against a US law that targets Russian officials accused of corruption. The Duma has already imposed restrictions on US pork and beef imports and is now considering a host of other punitive measures. A trade bill passed in the US Senate on Friday will deny visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials linked to the death of a Russian whistleblower.

Sergei Magnitsky uncovered evidence of a $230m Russian tax fraud, but himself ended up accused of the crime. He died in suspicious circumstances in a Moscow jail in 2009. Russian health officials deny the ban on US meat is politically motivated. Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker reports from Moscow. (VIDEO) 

► Al Jazeera Investigates - The Hidden Genocide. Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: Earlier this year a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered in western Myanmar. The authorities charged three Muslim men. A week later, 10 Muslims were murdered in a revenge attack. What happened next was hidden from the outside world. Bloodshed pitted Buddhists against minority Rohingya Muslims. Many Rohingya fled their homes, which were burned down in what they said was a deliberate attempt by the predominantly Buddhist government to drive them out of the country.

"They were shooting and we were also fighting. The fields were filled with bodies and soaked with blood," says Mohammed Islam, who fled with his family to Bangladesh.There are 400,000 Rohingya languishing in Bangladesh. For more than three decades, waves of refugees have fled Myanmar. But the government of Bangladesh considers the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants, as does the government of Myanmar. They have no legal rights and nowhere to go. This is a story of a people fleeing the land where they were born, of a people deprived of citizenship in their homeland. It is the story of the Rohingya of western Myanmar, whose very existence as a people is denied.

Professor William Schabas, the former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, says: "When you see measures preventing births, trying to deny the identity of the people, hoping to see that they really are eventually, that they no longer exist; denying their history, denying the legitimacy of their right to live where they live, these are all warning signs that mean it's not frivolous to envisage the use of the term genocide." 



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Inside Story - Is the Nobel Peace Prize losing its prestige? Published on Dec 11, 2012 :: It has been described as the most prestigious award in the world - the Nobel Peace Prize, whose past winners include Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. But this year's award to the European Union is adding to growing criticism over the choice of winners - and the politics behind the decisions. So, is the Nobel Peace Prize losing its prestige? And is the Nobel Peace Prize still contributing to world peace in the way Alfred Nobel envisioned?



► Inside Story Americas - Canada's 'war on science'. Published on Dec 11, 2012 ::Canadian campaigners say the Conservative government of Stephen Harper is waging a "war on science" through a slow and systematic unravelling of environmental and climate research budgets. How bad is it? Guests: Danielle Droitsch, PJ Partington. (VIDEO) 

Latest Headlines

■ Japan Election Puts Spotlight on Reviving Economy
■ New Inquiry in '86 Crash Killing Mozambique Leader 
■ Egyptians Abroad Vote on Disputed Constitution 
■ Putin Promises to Bolster Economy, Military Power
■ China Revokes New Shanghai Catholic Bishop's Title 
■ Panetta: Obama Weighing U.S. Presence in Afghanistan 
■ Vatican: World Not Ending, Despite Maya Prediction
■ Uruguay's Lower House Approves Gay Marriage Law
■ Gunman Opens Fire in Portland Mall; 3 Dead
■ Venezuela VP: Hugo Chávez Recovering After Surgery 
■ Obama: U.S. Recognizes Syria's Main Rebel Group 
■ Court Strikes Down Illinois' Concealed Carry Ban 
■ CNN: Mandela Battles Lung Infection 
■ CNN: Prank-Call Radio Station to Donate Funds to Nurse's Family
■ CNN: First Arrests in Libor Manipulation Case 

► Defying Warnings, North Korea Launches Long-Range Missile

Escape from North Korea: New Book Takes Us Inside a Hermit Kingdom
* Cover Story: Meet Kim Jong Un 
* North Korea Launches a Satellite. Why Now? 

► What Mario Monti's Exit Tells Us About Europe's Debt Crisis

* In Italy, Will Monti's Exit Mean Berlusconi's Return?

► Why the U.S. Designated an Anti-Assad Group 'Terrorist' 

* Syria's Horror Portrayed: Photographers Reflect on Their Most Potent Images

► Indian Sitar Virtuoso Ravi Shankar Dies at 92

* Utter Joy Uninhibited: TIME Reviews a 1968 Concert

► The Pope Tweets with You: Benedict XVI Joins the Twitterverse 
► Mali's Endless Crisis: Army Soldiers Arrest Prime Minister
► Why Japan Is Still Not Sorry Enough for World War II
► A 1% Fix: Can the Estate Tax Solve the Fiscal Cliff?
► Forty Years Later: Apollo 17′s Final Footprints (PHOTOS)
► Refined Retail: LIFE's Look Inside Neiman Marcus (PHOTOS) 
► TIME's Best Photojournalism of 2012

► Address concerns before staff changes at 911 center, L.A. mayor says 

► Holiday Food

* Homemade brown sugar shortbread 
* Oil illuminates classic Hanukkah dishes 
* Stocking stuffers: Compartes chocolate bars
* Holiday cookie recipe: Peppermint pinwheels
* More: 25 gift ideas from the Times' Test Kitchen

► F R A M E W O R K

* Times editors working during first World War II blackout 
* Pictures in the News | December 11, 2012 -  Posted By: Marc Martin 

2 PICTURES TODAY

A New Zealand SPCA dog Monty, an 18-month-old Giant Schnauzer, drives a modified Mini Countryman on a race track in Auckland in this December 10, 2012 handout picture. The SPCA said they trained three dogs to drive cars for a series of events to publicize the adoption of animals looked after by the shelter, claiming "you can teach an SPCA dog new tricks". (REUTERS/SPCA/Michael Bradley/Handout)

B o o t s

■ NYPD officer photographed giving boots to barefoot homeless man melts icy hearts online -By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News
■ New York's most famous shoeless man stashes new boots - By Peter Rudegeair | Reuters – Mon, Dec 3, 2012