The daytime TV host was stunned when doctors diagnosed a "toxic" testicular tumour shortly before Christmas, but is now on the mend after undergoing chemotherapy and surgery.
A friend of the 47-year-old ITV1 star told The Sun newspaper: "He's now had the all clear - so hopefully he stopped it in its tracks. This has hit him for six. He's relatively young and this was the last thing he expected to happen to him.
"Just by chance he noticed he had a lump and decided to get it checked out. When the doctors told him it was toxic it turned his family's life upside down."
Father-of-four Jeremy is currently on holiday overseas to recuperate from the ordeal and the hardworking 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' host plans to return to his flagship show as soon as possible.
The source added: "Jeremy's a very positive guy and he has followed medical advice so hopefully he's stopped it in its tracks.
"He's having a good break now and getting a bit of sunshine to lift his spirits. He hopes to be back filming his show soon. He won't let this beat him."
Production on his problem-solving chat show has been halted during his recovery and the star was unable to attend the National TV Awards ceremony last week.
Jeremy's spokesman confirmed the news yesterday (29.01.13): "Jeremy has recently undergone treatment for testicular cancer and is currently resting abroad."
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Have you explored and exploited opposing viewpoints to your own? If you can stir up controversy to market information you may have found a valuable avenue to promote yourself and your info products.
Young adult author Daria Snadowsky has 652 comments on her Huff Post Books blog post titled, ?9 Famous Women Who Said I DON?T!?? Seems like her subject matter has struck a nerve with single women, and also with some men who chose to comment on her anti-marriage sentiment as well. Her Amazon page is linked to the post, which takes curious surfers directly to a buying opportunity.
Controversy and Information Marketing
I would be willing to bet that Ms Snadowsky sells a few copies of her new novel, Anatomy of A Single Girl (available in hardcover and also on Kindle) as a result of her bold blog post title and also her accompanying photos of famous single women throughout history.
One more thought while we?re looking at the information marketing opportunities in this example ? young adults are most likely not reading the Huff Post Books blog. But moms and dads are reading it, and they might decide to 1-click the book on Amazon for their preteen daughter.
Stirring up controversy can work this way for your book, e-book and schedule of speaking engagements, too. ?Write a blog post from an angle that differs from your own, find platforms to publish and talk about it, and link it to your products on Kindle and your own website. Liberal use of photos is always a good idea, too. Slideshows and videos enhance your blog post wherever it is posted, and whenever it is linked.
Contact: Ryan Norris rnorris@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 x56300 University of Guelph
Thanks to cultural evolution, male Savannah sparrows are changing their tune, partly to attract "the ladies."
According to a study of more than 30 years of Savannah sparrows recordings, the birds are singing distinctly different songs today than their ancestors did 30 years ago changes passed along generation to generation, according to a new study by University of Guelph researchers.
Integrative biology professors Ryan Norris and Amy Newman, in collaboration with researchers at Bowdoin College and Williams College in the U.S., analyzed the songs of male Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichiensis) recorded over three decades, and found that the songs had changed distinctly from 1980 to 2011.
"The change is the result of cultural transmission of different song elements through many generations," said Norris.
Norris added that the change in tune resembles changes in word choice and language among humans.
"If you listen to how people used to talk in the 1890s and how we talk today, you would notice major differences, and this is the result of shifts in culture or the popularity of certain forms," he said. "The change in sparrow songs over time has occurred much the same way"
The sparrows, which live on Kent Island, N.B., in the Bay of Fundy, can generally sing only one song type that consists of several parts. Male sparrows learn that song early in their first year and continue to sing the same tune for the rest of their lives.
"Young male sparrows learn their songs from the birds around them," said Norris. "It may be their fathers, or it could be other older male birds that live nearby."
Each male sparrow has his own unique sound, added Newman.
"While the island's sparrows all sing a characteristic 'savannah sparrow song,' with the same verses and sound similar, there are distinct differences between each bird," she said. "Essentially, it is like karaoke versions of popular songs. It is the rise and fall in popular cover versions that has changed over time."
The research team found that, in general, each song has three primary elements. The first identifies the bird as a Savannah sparrow, the second identifies which individual is singing, and the third component is used by females to assess males.
Using sonograms recorded from singing males each breeding season, the researchers determined that, while the introductory notes had stayed generally consistent for the last 30 years, the sparrows had added a series of clicks to the middle of their songs. The birds had also changed the ending trill: once long and high-frequency, it is now shorter and low-frequency.
"We found that the ending trill of the song has become shorter, likely because female sparrows preferred this, because males with shorter trills had higher reproductive success," Norris said.
Kent Island has been home to the Bowdoin Scientific Station since it was donated by J. Sterling Rockefeller in 1932, and the birds have been recorded since the 1980s. Individual birds are also monitored throughout their lifetime.
"We know the identity and history of every single sparrow in the study population" said Norris, who has led the project with Newman since 2009. "To have 30 years of recordings is very rare, and it was definitely surprising to see such drastic changes."
###
Their study appears in the January 2013 issue of Animal Behaviour.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca; or Kevin Gonsalves, Ext. 56982, or kgonsalves@uoguelph.ca.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Ryan Norris rnorris@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 x56300 University of Guelph
Thanks to cultural evolution, male Savannah sparrows are changing their tune, partly to attract "the ladies."
According to a study of more than 30 years of Savannah sparrows recordings, the birds are singing distinctly different songs today than their ancestors did 30 years ago changes passed along generation to generation, according to a new study by University of Guelph researchers.
Integrative biology professors Ryan Norris and Amy Newman, in collaboration with researchers at Bowdoin College and Williams College in the U.S., analyzed the songs of male Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichiensis) recorded over three decades, and found that the songs had changed distinctly from 1980 to 2011.
"The change is the result of cultural transmission of different song elements through many generations," said Norris.
Norris added that the change in tune resembles changes in word choice and language among humans.
"If you listen to how people used to talk in the 1890s and how we talk today, you would notice major differences, and this is the result of shifts in culture or the popularity of certain forms," he said. "The change in sparrow songs over time has occurred much the same way"
The sparrows, which live on Kent Island, N.B., in the Bay of Fundy, can generally sing only one song type that consists of several parts. Male sparrows learn that song early in their first year and continue to sing the same tune for the rest of their lives.
"Young male sparrows learn their songs from the birds around them," said Norris. "It may be their fathers, or it could be other older male birds that live nearby."
Each male sparrow has his own unique sound, added Newman.
"While the island's sparrows all sing a characteristic 'savannah sparrow song,' with the same verses and sound similar, there are distinct differences between each bird," she said. "Essentially, it is like karaoke versions of popular songs. It is the rise and fall in popular cover versions that has changed over time."
The research team found that, in general, each song has three primary elements. The first identifies the bird as a Savannah sparrow, the second identifies which individual is singing, and the third component is used by females to assess males.
Using sonograms recorded from singing males each breeding season, the researchers determined that, while the introductory notes had stayed generally consistent for the last 30 years, the sparrows had added a series of clicks to the middle of their songs. The birds had also changed the ending trill: once long and high-frequency, it is now shorter and low-frequency.
"We found that the ending trill of the song has become shorter, likely because female sparrows preferred this, because males with shorter trills had higher reproductive success," Norris said.
Kent Island has been home to the Bowdoin Scientific Station since it was donated by J. Sterling Rockefeller in 1932, and the birds have been recorded since the 1980s. Individual birds are also monitored throughout their lifetime.
"We know the identity and history of every single sparrow in the study population" said Norris, who has led the project with Newman since 2009. "To have 30 years of recordings is very rare, and it was definitely surprising to see such drastic changes."
###
Their study appears in the January 2013 issue of Animal Behaviour.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca; or Kevin Gonsalves, Ext. 56982, or kgonsalves@uoguelph.ca.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. -- who has denied what he calls the "fallacious allegations."
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A few weeks ago, the Oscar race looked wide open. The stately, historical "Lincoln" seemed like the safe and likely choice, with the provocative "Zero Dark Thirty" and the quirky and inspiring "Silver Linings Playbook" very much in the mix for the Academy Award for best picture.
But now, an "Argo" juggernaut ? an "Argo"-naut, if you will ? seems to be rolling along and gathering momentum as we head toward Hollywood's top prize.
The international thriller from director Ben Affleck, who also stars as a CIA operative orchestrating a daring rescue during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, received the top honor of best ensemble cast in a movie at Sunday night's Screen Actors Guild Awards, their equivalent of the best-picture Oscar. It's a decent indicator of eventual Academy Awards success, with the two matching up about half the time.
The film, which also stars John Goodman and Alan Arkin as Hollywood veterans who help stage a fake movie as a cover, has received nearly unanimous critical raves and has proven to be a box-office favorite, as well, grossing nearly $190 million worldwide.
But "Argo" also won the Producers Guild of America Award on Saturday night, which is an excellent Oscar predictor, and it earned best picture and director statues from the Golden Globes two weeks earlier. The Directors Guild of America Awards next Saturday will help crystallize the situation even further.
The one tricky thing at work here: Affleck surprisingly didn't receive an Academy Award nomination in the director category, which most often goes hand in hand with best picture. (There are nine best-picture nominees but only five slots for directors.) Only once in modern times has a film won best picture without a directing nomination: 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy." The other two times came in the show's early years, at the first Oscars in 1929 with "Wings" and for 1932's "Grand Hotel."
Asked backstage at the SAG Awards what might happen when the Oscar winners are announced Feb. 24, Affleck said: "I don't do handicapping or try to divine what's going to happen down the road with movies.
"I didn't get nominated as a director and I thought, 'OK, that's that.' Then I remembered that I was nominated as a producer," said Affleck, who already has an original screenplay Oscar for writing 1997's "Good Will Hunting" with longtime friend Matt Damon. "Nothing may happen but it's a wonderful opportunity to be on the ride and I'm really honored."
Many of the usual suspects throughout the lengthy awards season heard their names called again Sunday night, including Daniel Day-Lewis as best actor for his intense, deeply immersed portrayal of the 16th U.S. president in "Lincoln." Accepting the prize on stage, he gave thanks to several of his colleagues including "The Master" star Joaquin Phoenix (who did not receive a SAG nomination), Leonardo DiCaprio and Liam Neeson.
Backstage, Day-Lewis elaborated for reporters that DiCaprio urged him to stick with Steven Spielberg's project, which was in the works for many years.
"He said, 'Don't give up, he's the greatest man of the 19th century,'" Day-Lewis said. "So this is all Leo's fault."
His co-star, Tommy Lee Jones, also won again in the supporting-actor category for his lacerating portrayal of abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens in Spielberg's Civil War epic.
Anne Hathaway, the front-runner for best supporting actress at the Oscars and a winner already at the Golden Globes, won at the SAGs for her performance as the doomed prostitute Fantine in the gritty musical "Les Miserables."
"I'm just thrilled I have dental," Hathaway joked on stage.
But in the already-tight best actress race, Jennifer Lawrence made things a little more interesting in winning for the drama "Silver Linings Playbook." The 22-year-old plays a damaged young widow opposite Bradley Cooper, whose character is fresh out of a mental institution. Jessica Chastain, the winner at the Golden Globes, has been her main competition as a driven CIA operative searching for Osama bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty."
Lawrence said on stage that she got her SAG card at 14 ? which was only eight short years ago ? for a promo for the MTV reality series "My Super Sweet 16," which she said felt like the best day of her life.
"And now I have this naked statue which means that some of you even voted for me, and that is an indescribable feeling," she said.
On the television side, the popular PBS series "Downton Abbey" bested more established shows like "Mad Men" to win the TV drama cast award in just its first nomination. "Modern Family won the comedy cast prize for the third straight year.
And Dick Van Dyke received the guild's life-achievement award, an honor he presented last year to his "The Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star, Mary Tyler Moore.
After receiving a lengthy standing ovation from the audience, he asked his fellow actors, "Aren't we lucky that we found a line of work that doesn't require growing up?"
____
Contact AP Movie Writer Christy Lemire through Twitter: http://twitter.com/christylemire
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A presenter on Russian state-owned television has apologized for insulting parliament after lawmakers suggested they might bring in a law barring foreigners criticizing Russia on state media.
Vladimir Pozner, who holds Russian, American and French passports, angered deputies in the Duma by making a reference to "dura", which translates as "fool", while discussing a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children on his talk show in December.
Deputies responded by floating an idea to ban critical foreign passport holders from state television, which dominates the viewing figures and is seen very supportive of the Kremlin.
But in the latest edition of his Channel One show on Sunday, Pozner apologized for what he said was a slip of the tongue in saying "dura" by accident.
Deputies then said they were willing to put aside any plans for legislation over foreigners on state media - for now.
"Of course if such comments towards the higher authorities are repeated in the future, it will be impossible for us not to react," ruling United Russia party deputy Mikhail Starshinov said on Monday, according to Interfax news agency.
Since returning to the presidency in May, Vladimir Putin has enacted a string of laws that critics of the former KGB spy say are designed to stifle dissent and roll back democratic liberties, such as tightening Internet controls and raising fines for protesters.
(Reporting by Sonia Elks; Editing by Alison Williams)
While NHK's Super Hi-Vision 8K TV is still some distance away from becoming an everyday presence in our living rooms, we may get the next best thing soon. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications expects to broadcast the 2014 World Cup next July in 4K, using free capacity on its communications satellites rather than the usual delivery methods -- the bandwidth required is reportedly too much for conventional sources. The 4K airing is still coming two years earlier than originally planned, however, and should eventually spread to broadcast satellites and terrestrial networks. The fortunate ones who can tune in to the ultra-sharp futebol will need an exorbitantly-priced 4K TV set to watch, but it's safe to presume that they'll have some of the best viewing parties around.
Up in the northeastern corner of Scotland?s coast is a unique and unspoiled region with stunning scenery and captivating towns. Called the Grampian Highlands, it has been beloved by the British Royal family ever since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert built Balmoral Castle there in the mid 1800s as a summer home.
Rich in historic castles, royal connections and whisky distilleries, you will find here forested hills tumbling down to a craggy and dramatic coast with quaint fishing villages and secluded beaches. The River Dee, one of the world?s most famous salmon rivers, rises high in the Cairngorm Mountains here and rushes through the wooded river valley to enter the sea at Aberdeen, Scotland?s ?city of flowers?.
A special region of these highlands, called Royal Deeside because of its many Royal connections, has the charming villages of Braemar, Balmoral, Ballater, Aboyne, and Banchory for you to love. The names alone are a song.
The area around Braemar and Ballater is known as Royal Deeside and it is one of the most beautiful regions in Scotland. Since the reign of Queen Victoria the British Royal Family have spent their summers at Balmoral Castle. Every year they attend the Braemar Highland Games and other local events. Birkhall, previously owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is now a favourite retreat of Prince Charles, who spent his second honeymoon there in 2005. Note that the Balmoral Castle grounds, gardens and exhibitions are closed to the Public during August, September and October as The Royal Family are in residence.
Ballater, the ?Jewel of the Cairngorms?, was developed during the 19th Century craze for Spa towns. Today, the original Pannanich Wells still produces bottled spring water which is sold locally and internationally. This village and its surroundings are riotous with flowers in the spring, have pleasantly mild summers, blaze with color in the autumn and have picture-postcard winters. So any time is a good time to visit.
Royal Deeside, looking east from Craigendarroch. Heather is in full August bloom and the valley is flat and wide here.
The village, just a 10-minute drive from Balmoral Castle, is easily accessible by road, rail and air to Aberdeen then a spectacular 1-hour drive by car or bus to town. It is surrounded by famous name whisky distilleries, ski facilities, castles and mountains. Major events of the year, according to the official Royal Deeside website, include: ?in August of each year Victoria Week recognising the areas? Victorian heritage, Ballater Highland Games and Food and Wine events throughout the year. The ?Taste of Royal Deeside? Food & Wine festival is a popular event. Golf Week takes place amid spectacular scenery. Various arts events happen during the year and in 1995 Ballater was proud to host the European Pipe Band Championships. Ballater boasts art galleries, artists and writers, and antique shops.?
So you see that there is no lack of things to see and do in this charming and remote region.
Just a couple of minutes away from the village is Hilton Craigendarroch Resort (pronounced ?Cragendarrick? ? and roll those ?r?s?), a spectacular country estate perched on the slopes of Craigendarroch Hill, high above the Dee Valley. The main house (pictured top left) was built in the 19th century for the Keiller family (the inventors of marmalade) and was converted into a modern resort hotel with timeshare lodges and every imaginable facility. (Note: as of Jan. 6, 2013 the hotel portion? the original manor house ? was closed, to be turned into timeshare suites; the entire property will be a Hilton Grand Vacations Resort. The leisure facilities which currently operate as part of the Country Club will also be refurbished. The resort will continue to offer Country Club memberships, as well as guest access to the restaurant and bar areas.)
An Interval International-affiliated Premier Resort, its leisure facilities include an 55 foot lagoon pool and fully equipped exercise facility. There?s also a health and beauty suite and tennis and squash courts are also available. There?s even a dry ski slope on the grounds and children are exceptionally well accommodated.
You will not want for fine food here, either? whether you dine in town or on the estate grounds! Fine Dining is available on the grounds at the famous Oaks Restaurant, at the family oriented club house restaurant near the pool, at the Alfresco Bar, or the Club Bar. If you want to cozy up with a good book, there is even a library bar available onsite with a blazing log fire.
In addition, a casino is just an hour away; golf less than a mile; fishing and just about anything else you can think of within easy reach.
Options for Hilton Grand Vacations Club members include: The Lochnagar and Glengairn Lodges at Craigendarroch, 99 lodges sprinkled throughout the grounds in small groupings, each unit with its own magnificent view, each with its own fireplace and glassed balcony to protect you from wind and cold, each with its own fully equipped kitchen just in case you really want to make yourself at home. There is nothing impersonal here, and there are no strangers? only new and old friends. (note that Lodge electricity is metered and charged on departure.)
Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Craigendarroch Suites will offer thirty-two, studio, one and two bedroom apartments in the converted Craigendarroch House, originally built by the Keiller family in 1891. (Due for completion by the middle of 2013). Key features include:
Complimentary internet access & latest television and sound technology.
Private access to exclusive members lounge for Suite Owners only
If you like a bit of the unusual combined with luxury, nature, beauty, sports and history, the Hilton Craigendarroch might be your place!
So you take the high road and I?ll take the low road? and I?ll be in Scotland afore ye?
Some Web sites with information about the area:
"On the Road" is a compilation of destination ideas, resort reviews, videos and more gathered from a variety of sources that includes our readers.
The purpose of "On the Road" is to showcase some of the magnificent places in the world to visit, to give you an idea for someplace to go that you might previously not have thought of or known about. In most cases, but not all, we have provided a brief overview of a timeshare resort in the spotlighted area. Most of those resorts are either RCI Gold Crown or I.I. Premier quality. However, these resorts are not usually the only timeshare resorts in the area; be sure to check in your exchange catalog for a complete listing of available resorts. Check it out--- enjoy yourself, go somewhere new this year!
Readers are encouraged to contribute their own stories and photos. Email info@insidethegate.com and put "On the Road" in the Subject line so we'll know what it's about.
RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - A nightclub fire that killed 231 people is prompting Brazilians to worry that a culture of haphazard regulation and lax accountability stand in the way of achieving the country's lofty, first-world ambitions.
Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, has been praised by economists and investors over the past decade during a boom that made it one of the world's most promising emerging markets. That promise raised Brazil's profile in global trade and diplomacy and even helped it secure the 2014 World Cup of soccer and 2016 Olympics, major sporting events for which security and order are paramount.
President Dilma Rousseff, who wept at the impromptu morgue set up near the devastated nightclub in southern Brazil on Sunday, is fond of reaffirming Brazil's march toward the developed world. "Our country today not only has international recognition," she said in a speech last year, but also "the confidence of growing self-esteem of us Brazilians that we can transform it into a developed nation."
But for many living the day-to-day reality of Brazil's chaotic cities, crumbling roads and lawless hinterlands, the country's coming of age often seems elusive.
As Brazilians digested details of a blocked exit and other safety violations at the nightclub, fingers began pointing at lawmakers, regulators and an overall culture that critics say has long tolerated the bare minimum of compliance for everything from the rules of the road to building codes.
"The cause of those deaths wasn't anything complex," said Moacyr Duarte, an emergency management and disaster specialist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. "They were simple elements - administrative flaws, regulatory flaws, inspection flaws, planning flaws. They all led to tragedy."
The sentiment is echoed by everyday Brazilians.
"A tolerance of not following the rules exists here," said Flavia Rodrigues, a 34-year-old attorney in Brasilia, the capital. "This tragedy could have been avoided if only there were enough care."
To be sure, Brazil has no monopoly on accidents.
An eerily similar tragedy killed 100 people at a U.S. nightclub a decade ago and another, the following year, killed 194 in Argentina.
But Sunday's deaths, most of them university students, add to a tally of grim statistics that paint Brazil as a particularly dangerous country, even compared with many of its Latin American neighbors.
During the recent decade of economic growth, which led to a building boom, labor unions and human rights groups lambasted the government and construction companies for a spike in deaths and accidents at poorly regulated job sites. Nearly 40,000 people died at building sites in 2011, according to government data, compared with 35,000 in 2009.
And consider deaths on Brazil's crowded and poorly maintained roads. The country averages more than 18 highway deaths per 100,000 people per year, compared with only about 10 in high-income countries, according to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank. The tolls in nearby Argentina, Colombia and Chile average only about 13.
Most troubling, perhaps, are the country's high murder rates. According to United Nations data, Brazil averaged 21.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2009. Although lower than some Latin American countries with longstanding social conflicts, the rate is multiples higher than in Russia (11.2), India (3.4), or China (1.0), other emerging economies with which it is often grouped.
After a recent surge of violence in Sao Paulo, the result of a turf war between gangs and police in Brazil's biggest city, 91 percent of those surveyed there feel unsafe, according to a recent report by the Ibope polling institute.
CULTURE OF IMPUNITY
Making matters worse, murders, like many crimes in a country with a slow judicial system, routinely go unpunished.
A 2012 report by Brazil's federal public prosecutor compared the number of homicides that are solved in the country to those in developed nations. While only about 8 percent of Brazil's murders get resolved, the figure reaches 65 percent in the United States, 90 percent in Britain, and 80 percent in France.
The lapses underscore what is widely perceived to be a lack of accountability, even when deaths result.
"There is an overall culture of impunity," says Julio Jacobo Waiselfiz, a sociologist who keeps the "Map of Violence," an annual tally of crime statistics in Brazil. "That means murderers get away, that roads don't get fixed, and that rules and enforcement still don't keep up with the promise of economic growth."
On Monday, the debate took center stage as Brazilian media, local governments, and even foreign officials weighed in.
"In Sao Paulo, city hall lacks the resources to inspect major events," read a headline in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, citing a study by the state legislature. The state government issued a press release touting ongoing training by local security forces for search and rescue operations.
Jerome Valcke, the secretary general of FIFA, soccer's governing body, on a Monday visit to Brasilia sought to dispel talk that the nightclub tragedy raised safety concerns for stadiums and World Cup planning already subject to heavy criticism because of widespread delays and cost overruns.
The fire "has nothing to do with soccer, has nothing to do with stadiums," he told reporters. Routine security rules for World Cup events, he added, would ensure "we can empty the stadiums in less than a few minutes."
Brazilians certainly hope so. Many recall the partial collapse of a stadium in Salvador, a World Cup venue in Brazil's northeast, caused by jumping by fans in 2007, killing seven and injuring scores. Or how three tall buildings in Rio de Janeiro crumbled one night last year, killing five people and scarring the center of Brazil's most popular city for tourism.
In a letter to O Globo newspaper, a geotechnical engineer recently warned that downpours during the ongoing rainy season could cause a repeat of cataclysmic flooding and mudslides in nearby mountains that killed more than 900 people in 2011. Though the regional and federal governments have invested in technology to alert residents of pending rains, he warned that little has been done to keep people from staying or building anew on steep hillsides dotted with shoddy housing.
"There is nothing natural about these disasters," wrote Alberto Say?o, the engineer. "The country can no longer bear the impunity caused by the leniency, omission and incompetence of the authorities."
(Additional reporting by Eduardo Sim?es in S?o Paulo; Editing by Brian Winter, Todd Benson and Cynthia Osterman)
Because video games are just pretend they don?t have to adhere to any real laws of anything besides their own framework of leaky logic. This is great because it means even the most improbable and impractical and impossible and implausible things can happen at any given time. And gamers--always eager to entertain the suspension of disbelief--absolutely wouldn?t have it any other way because it?s what makes games badass.
One of the unbelievable things commonly exercised in the worlds we play in is the unlikely hero, the against-all-odds adventurer who triumphs against insurmountable odds. Like kids who--at first glance--appear utterly incapable of blowing their own nose without mummy to help with the tissue, but actually end up smiting the Dark Lord of Ultimate Power and saving all of humanity and living happily ever after.
In honour of this fine gaming tradition of small vanquishing big, here are some of gaming's most evil bosses that were defeated by tiny little children...
Sarah Palin has parted ways with Fox News, but says, 'we haven't begun to fight!' even though polls show declining support for the tea party movement. In particular, she promises to 'shake up the GOP machine.'
By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / January 27, 2013
Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin addresses a Tea Partly Express Rally in Manchester, N.H., in 2011. Palin is no longer a Fox News contributor, but she vows to fight on for tea party values.
Stephan Savoia/AP
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The ?lamestream media,? as Sarah Palin calls it, may have written her off now that the former vice presidential candidate and tea party favorite has lost her principal media voice as a well-paid commentator on Fox News.
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But there?s no indication that Ms. Palin will go back to life in Alaska as the former mayor of a small town and then governor for two years, fishing and hunting with her family before Sen. John McCain picked her out of relative political obscurity to be his running mate in 2008.
?I?was raised to never retreat and to pick battles wisely, and all in due season,? she said in the one substantial interview she?s given since Real Clear Politics first reported that Palin and Fox had parted ways. ?When it comes to defending our republic, we haven?t begun to fight!?But we delight in those who underestimate us.?
How well do you know Sarah Palin? A quiz.
The extent to which the conservative-leaning TV enterprise tried to keep her onboard is still unclear.
Fox reportedly offered Palin far less than the million-dollar annual contract that had included a broadcast studio at her home in Wasilla, Alaska. She turned it down, and Fox had no inclination to up the ante.
?What happened, quite simply, is that Palin?s star had faded,? Howard Kurtz wrote in Newsweek?s the Daily Beast. ?She was no longer the rock star of 2008, her future presidential ambitions the subject of constant speculation.?
For Fox News, it seemed to be largely a business decision. Or as CEO Roger Ailes put it in 2011, ?I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.? But there was more to it than that, it seems.
?The political climate shifted as well, with Republicans, having been shellacked in their second straight presidential election, debating a future involving [Marco] Rubio and [Chris] Christie and [Paul] Ryan but not Palin,? Kurtz wrote. ?And the atmosphere at Fox shifted as well. It was no longer a network in the throes of a tea party revolt and providing a platform for Glenn Beck. Fox edged a bit closer to the center, and Palin began to seem more the [actor] Julianne Moore of [the HBO movie] ?Game Change? than a political force.?
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A puzzling Academy Awards season will sort itself out a bit more on Sunday with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where top performers gather to honor their own in what often is a prelude for who'll go home with an Oscar.
Among nominees for the 19th annual guild awards are Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones for the Civil War epic "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for the Victor Hugo musical adaptation "Les Miserables"; and Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Oscar recipient Robert De Niro for the oddball romance "Silver Linings Playbook."
De Niro and Jones are in an exclusive supporting-actors group where all five nominees are past Oscar winners. The others are Alan Arkin for the Iran hostage-crisis thriller "Argo," Javier Bardem for the James Bond adventure "Skyfall" and Philip Seymour Hoffman for the cult drama "The Master."
Honors from the actors union, next weekend's Directors Guild of America Awards and Saturday night's Producers Guild of America Awards ? whose top honor went to "Argo" ? typically help to establish clear favorites for the Oscars.
But Oscar night on Feb. 24 looks more uncertain this time after some top directing prospects, including Ben Affleck for "Argo" and Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty," missed out on nominations. Both films were nominated for best picture, but a movie rarely wins the top Oscar if its director is not also in the running.
Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" would seem the Oscar favorite with 12 nominations. Yet "Argo" and Affleck were surprise best-drama and director winners at the Golden Globes, and then there's Saturday's Producers Guild win for "Argo," leaving the Oscar race looking like anybody's guess.
The Screen Actors Guild honors at least should help to establish solid front-runners for the stars. All four of the guild's individual acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Academy Awards.
Last year, the guild went just three-for-four ? with lead actor Jean Dujardin of "The Artist" and supporting players Octavia Spencer of "The Help" and Christopher Plummer of "Beginners" also taking home Oscars. The guild's lead-actress winner, Viola Davis of "The Help," missed out on the Oscar, which went to Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady."
The guild also presents an award for overall cast performance, its equivalent of a best-picture honor. The nominees are "Argo," ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," ''Les Miserables," ''Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook."
Yet the cast prize has a spotty record at predicting the eventual best-picture recipient at the Oscars. Only eight of 17 times since the guild added the category has the cast winner gone on to take the best-picture Oscar. "The Help" won the guild's cast prize last year, while Oscar voters named "The Artist" as best picture.
Such past guild cast winners as "The Birdcage," ''Gosford Park" and "Inglourious Basterds" also failed to take the top Oscar.
Airing live on TNT and TBS, the show features nine television categories, as well.
The SAG ceremony also includes awards for film and TV stunt ensemble. The film stunt nominees are "The Amazing Spider-Man," ''The Bourne Legacy," ''The Dark Knight Rises," ''Les Miserables" and "Skyfall."
Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Dick Van Dyke, who presented the same prize last year to his "The Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star, Mary Tyler Moore. Van Dyke's award will be presented by his 1960s sitcom's creator and co-star, Carl Reiner, and Alec Baldwin.
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Japan's economy minister said on Saturday his country's extraordinary fiscal and monetary stimulus program was not aimed at weakening the yen or undermining central bank independence.
Akira Amari told the World Economic Forum in Davos it was up to the market to determine the currency's exchange rate, and the Bank of Japan had chosen independently to sign a joint statement with the government on actions to fight deflation and revive economic growth.
"You might think there's a deliberate policy to drive down the value of the yen but we in government refrain from commenting on the exchange rate of the yen," Amari said in response to criticism of Japanese action.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca and Paul Taylor; Writing by Paul Taylor)
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CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations fuelled by anger at the president and his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Thousands of opponents of Mursi massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the cradle of the revolt against Mubarak - to rekindle the demands of a revolution they say has been hijacked by Islamists who have betrayed its goals.
Street battles erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said. Arsonists attacked at least two state-owned buildings as symbols of government were targeted. An office used by the Muslim Brotherhood's political party was also torched.
The January 25 anniversary laid bare the divide between the Islamists and their secular rivals.
This schism is hindering the efforts of Mursi, elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt's currency by enticing back investors and tourists.
Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that had already triggered bloody street battles last month.
"Our revolution is continuing. We reject the domination of any party over this state. We say no to the Brotherhood state," Hamdeen Sabahy, a popular leftist leader, told Reuters.
The Brotherhood decided against mobilizing for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more conflict after December's violence, stoked by Mursi's decision to fast-track an Islamist-tinged constitution rejected by his opponents.
The Brotherhood denies accusations that it is seeking to dominate Egypt, labeling them a smear campaign by its rivals.
DEATH IN SUEZ
There were conflicting accounts of the lethal shooting in Suez. Some witnesses said security forces had opened fire in response to gunfire from masked men.
News of the deaths capped a day of violence which started in the early hours. Before dawn in Cairo, police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they approached a wall blocking access to government buildings near Tahrir Square.
Clouds of tear gas filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by youths, a Reuters witness said.
Skirmishes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets around the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties.
Protesters echoed the chants of 2011's historic 18-day uprising. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" chanted others as they marched towards the square.
"We are not here to celebrate but to force those in power to submit to the will of the people. Egypt now must never be like Egypt during Mubarak's rule," said Mohamed Fahmy, an activist.
There were similar scenes in Suez and Alexandria, where protesters and riot police clashed near local government offices. Black smoke billowed from tires set ablaze by youths.
In Cairo, police fired tear gas to disperse a few dozen protesters trying to remove barbed-wire barriers protecting the presidential palace, witnesses said. A few masked men got as far as the gates before they were beaten back.
Tear gas was also fired at protesters who tried to remove metal barriers outside the state television building.
Outside Cairo, protesters broke into the offices of provincial governors in Ismailia and Kafr el-Sheikh in the Nile Delta. A local government building was torched in the Nile Delta city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra.
BADIE CALLS FOR "PRACTICAL, SERIOUS COMPETITION"
With an eye on parliamentary elections likely to begin in April, the Brotherhood marked the anniversary with a charity drive across the nation. It plans to deliver medical aid to one million people and distribute affordable basic foodstuffs.
Writing in Al-Ahram, Egypt's flagship state-run daily, Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie said the country was in need of "practical, serious competition" to reform the corrupt state left by the Mubarak era.
"The differences of opinion and vision that Egypt is passing through is a characteristic at the core of transitions from dictatorship to democracy, and clearly expresses the variety of Egyptian culture," he wrote.
Mursi's opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through the new constitution last month.
"I am taking part in today's marches to reject the warped constitution, the 'Brotherhoodisation' of the state, the attack on the rule of law, and the disregard of the president and his government for the demands for social justice," Amr Hamzawy, a prominent liberal politician, wrote on his Twitter feed.
The Brotherhood says its rivals are failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat via free elections.
Six months into office, Mursi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.
The parties that called for Friday's protests list demands including a complete overhaul of the constitution.
Critics say the constitution, which was approved in a referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, grants the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of a military establishment supreme in the Mubarak era.
Mursi's supporters say enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability needed for economic recovery.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed el-Shemi, Ashraf Fahim, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Robert Woodward)
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least three people were killed on Friday when Iraqi troops opened fire during clashes in Falluja city with Sunni protesters rallying against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, officials and witnesses said.
It was the most serious violence since Sunni protesters began taking to the streets in late December to challenge Maliki's Shi'ite-led government and rally against what they see as the marginalization of their minority sect.
"We received three bodies with gunshot wounds in the abdomen, back and shoulder," a hospital source told Reuters.
A Reuters witness at the scene said troops initially fired in the air to disperse crowds, but later some soldiers fired shots at protesters who approached their military vehicles and set one of them on fire.
A local television channel showed demonstrators approaching the army vehicles and throwing stones and water bottles while troops tried to keep them away began firing in the air. But it showed at least one soldier aiming his rifle at demonstrators.
The demonstrations in Falluja, a predominantly Sunni city 50 km (30 miles) north of capital, were part of weekly Friday anti-government rallies in the Iraqi Sunni heartland of Anbar province and other mainly Sunni areas.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, many Iraq Sunnis feel they have been sidelined by the country's Shi'ite leadership and believe Maliki is amassing power at their community's expense.
(Reporting by Kamal Naama in Falluja and Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad; Writing by Patrick Markey)
>>>today at the pentagon when two men sat down press corps and announced a policy change that will change while this has been happening by itself and over the course of the last decade in our two wars, this officially opens up a ton of jobs and new pathways to leadership for women. about those two men, one of those was the outgoing
defense secretaryleon panetta
. the other was a decorated veteran,
bronze star
recipient, four-star
army general
,
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff
. he is general
martin dempsey
, and days before the big announcement at the pentagon,
ted koppel
sat down with him for our broadcast tonight.
>>we all wear the same uniform and we all fire the same weapons. most importantly, we all take the same oath.
>> reporter: and with that the
chairman of the joint chiefs
and the outgoing secretary of defense signed an order rescinding a
1994
rule that bars women from direct ground combat. tonight we're going to tell you a little about this low-key, low-profile four-
star general
. today he made history. but when the occasion calls for it, he's not above poking a little fun at himself.
>>you will pick up the chorus and i will point to you and you, you better deliver, because i'm the chairman.
>> reporter: they used to call sinatra chairman of the board. you're my kind of team
>>this guy is know sinatra, but he is
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff
. right there at the front of the
war novel
"
billy lynn
's long halftime walk" and it is a terrific book, a plug from the
chairman of the joint chiefs
. worth reading, general william
dempsey
. except his name is
martin dempsey
, not william. and until i brought it to the publisher's attention, no one had noticed. that probably wouldn't have happened to
omar bradley
or
colin powell
. but general
dempsey
is little known outside the military. married, one son, two daughters, all of whom have served in the army, general
martin dempsey
is the highest ranking officer in the
armed forces
and principal military adviser to the president.
>>this is a card.
>> reporter: on his desk at the pentagon is a small wooden box with what looks like a collection of
baseball cards
.
>>and so i'll just pull a handful out of this box and cycle them into my money clip.
>> reporter: these are young soldiers who died while general
dempsey
was demacommanding
u.s. forces
in baghdad.
>>but from time to time if i forget why we're doing what we do, then i just reach in. some people don't even know i'm doing it. i just reach in my pocket and make sure i've still got my cards.
>>which part of the world do you worry about the most right now?
>>you know there's kind of a near term, long term --
>>near term.
>>-- aspect to that. i think near term it continues to be the threat of global terrorism. you know, we track a global terrorist network that is not uniquely
al qaeda
, but is affiliated at some level with
al qaeda
. what we've had to do in response is we have become a network. to defeat a network, we've had to become a network.
>>what does that mean?
>>what it means is you're not going to see these broad sweeping movements across the desert of eastern iraq in a
hail mary
, you know, right-
hand cross
, whatever it was called in
1991
. you're going to see smaller groups of military formations confronting these distributed enemy across a much wider scope.
>>that's a major change. no more massive troop deployments, lots of small covert insertions. think joint
special operations
, rangers,
green berets
, s.e.a.l.s. think paramilitary cia operatives and civilian contractors with military backgrounds. think unarmed surveillance drones and their killer cousin, the predator with its missiles. above all, think of doing more with less visibility and dispersed over a far wider battlefield. on numerous occasions in the past and again in his
inaugural address
, the president chose a different emphasis.
>>this generation of americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. a decade of war is now ending.
>>you're telling me we're not going to be done?
>>well, i tell you what -- the language that i've actually taken to heart, which is by the end of
2014
, our
war in afghanistan
will be complete, but no one has ever suggested that that will end the war.
>>is it a mistake to give the american public the sense that
afghanistan
is essentially over? we can stop worrying about
afghanistan
?
>>i think it would be a mistake to give the
american people
the sense that
al qaeda
is defeated. wherever we happen to find them. and i think that it's fair to say that there will be a part of the
al qaeda
threat emanating from both western pakistan and potentially
afghanistan
for the foreseeable future.
>>we have capabilities today that make us sort of comfortable with the use of drones, but imagine if some other entity had the capability of using drones against the
united states
. are we prepared for that?
>>well, i think --
>>as a nation, i mean.
>>yeah, i think we are prepared for that. i think it's maybe an inevitability.
>>there's another kind of warfare already being waged. remember what hurricane sandy did to the
power grid
in
lower manhattan
? a
cyber attack
would be even more devastating.
>>there have been instances of our using
cyber warfare
, i'm going to say our using it, the
united states
, israel, against iran. there are also examples of the
iranians
using it against us.
>>there are reports that destructive cyber tools have been used against iran. i'm not either confirming or denying any part in that. but what it should tell you is that capability exists. and if it exists, it doesn't -- you know, whoever is using those, can't assume that they're the only
smart people
in the world.
>>so if we, hypothetically speaking, are using it against the
iranians
, we have to assume the
iranians
would use it against us?
>>that's a valid assumption. let me confirm that there is disruption -- this was a phrase that may not be common knowledge, but disruptive denial of services, where you overwhelm a website in order to impede people who would normally use it from using it. it is literally disruption. that happens.
>>what happens when that occurs?
>>well, literally it shuts the network down.
>>what kind of networks have been shut down?
>>there have been financial networks shut down, there have been industry networks shut down.
>>if i were to say to you that the assumption is that both the chinese and the
iranians
are engaged in that kind of behavior, can you confirm that?
>>i would answer that the assumption is that both
nation states
, which is to say governments, and individuals and groups, organizations, are engaged in trying to take advantage of vulnerabilities in cyber. that's what makes cyber so worrisome.
>>what is it you worry about?
>>well, what i worry about is that that same capability could be used to implant a
destructive device
that could cause significant harm to the industrial base, whether it's critical infrastructure or the financial network.
>> reporter: all of which makes the recent press frenzy over
david petraeus
and marital i didn't -- infidelity seem like less of an issue. to my surprise, general
dempsey
didn't dismiss it that easily.
>>what is it the commander would not have known before haenld or any man or woman serving under you would not have known beforehand from this situation.
>>we had a conversation about competence and character. i think over the last ten years when you're at war, you tend to value competence above all else. naturally, the nation's well-being is
hanging in the balance
. so the first lesson i think would be not that we've neglected the character side of this equation, but we probably are at a point where we ought to reemphasize it. maybe we can't see character from the top down. maybe you can see part of it. maybe we need the impression, maybe we need the view of those that are looking from the bottom up. i'm actually more interested in what are the colonels,
lieutenant colonels
saying about the colonels? what are the colonels saying about the brigadiers? competence will always be the most important thing. you can't have a man of -- or woman of incredible character who can't deliver on the battlefield because at the
end of the day
that's what we're accountable for. but character counts, and it counts mightily.
>>fascinating look at that character in the pentagon. our thanks to
ted koppel
for joining us with that tonight.
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The area around Braemar and Ballater is known as Royal Deeside and it is one of the most beautiful regions in Scotland. Since the reign of Queen Victoria the British Royal Family have spent their summers at Balmoral Castle. Every year they attend the Braemar Highland Games and other local events. Birkhall, previously owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is now a favourite retreat of Prince Charles, who spent his second honeymoon there in 2005. Note that the Balmoral Castle grounds, gardens and exhibitions are closed to the Public during August, September and October as The Royal Family are in residence.
Just a couple of minutes away from the village is Hilton Craigendarroch Resort (pronounced ?Cragendarrick? ? and roll those ?r?s?), a spectacular country estate perched on the slopes of Craigendarroch Hill, high above the Dee Valley. The main house (pictured top left) was built in the 19th century for the Keiller family (the inventors of marmalade) and was converted into a modern resort hotel with timeshare lodges and every imaginable facility. (Note: as of Jan. 6, 2013 the hotel portion? the original manor house ? was closed, to be turned into timeshare suites; the entire property will be a Hilton Grand Vacations Resort. The leisure facilities which currently operate as part of the Country Club will also be refurbished. The resort will continue to offer Country Club memberships, as well as guest access to the restaurant and bar areas.)
Options for Hilton Grand Vacations Club members include: The Lochnagar and Glengairn Lodges at Craigendarroch, 99 lodges sprinkled throughout the grounds in small groupings, each unit with its own magnificent view, each with its own fireplace and glassed balcony to protect you from wind and cold, each with its own fully equipped kitchen just in case you really want to make yourself at home. There is nothing impersonal here, and there are no strangers? only new and old friends. (note that Lodge electricity is metered and charged on departure.)
If you like a bit of the unusual combined with luxury, nature, beauty, sports and history, the Hilton Craigendarroch might be your place!