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Delhi professor discovers three new legless amphibians

Three new species of legless amphibians were discovered from forests of northeast India. Amphibian researcher professor SD Biju, professor, University of Delhi, popularly known as 'Delhi's Frogman' led the team that made this discovery together with his PhD student Rachunliu G Kamei.


This discovery is a result of collaboration between DU and The Natural History Museum, London through The Royal Society London/ CSIR, India initiatives.

The research team had two collaborators from The Natural History Museum, London - Drs David Gower and Mark Wilkinson. The new find has been published in the latest issue of Zootaxa (International Journal of Zoological Taxonomy). In a rare scientific feat in 2012 February, which was described as 'discovery of the year', Biju and his team found a new family of legless amphibians commonly known as caecilians.

The new family has been named Chikilidae, consisting of tailless burrowing caecilians, which evolved separately from other caecilian species more than 140 million years ago.

In fact Biju has the rare feat of discovering two new families of amphibians - one in 2003 (the famous purple frog) after a gap of 100 years. The three new species discovered belongs to the to the caecilian amphibian family Chikilidae that was described in the year 2012.

According to Biju, "Worldwide, there are less than 200 species of caecilians. The discovery came following an unprecedented fieldwork effort of soil-digging surveys (involving over 1200 person hours of soil digging) in about 250 localities spread over five years (2006-2010) in various parts of every Northeast Indian state (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal) such that the sampling was truly representative of the biogeographic region. The work is one of the most extensive systematic program of dedicated caecilian surveys ever attempted and the first in Northeast India.

The results were based on morphological traits and using molecular (DNA) markers. Chikilidae comprises a group of caecilians that has been shown to be of ancient lineage (about 140 million years old) with its closest relatives in Africa, and so far known to be restricted to only the Northeast India.

This publication is unique because the family Chikilidae contained so far only one species (Chikila fulleri) known only from a broken museum specimen, which is over 100 years old. The caecilian-dedicated soil-digging surveys across the Northeast India revealed that three species of Chikila were unknown to science. The three new species have been named as Chikila alcocki, Chikila darlong and Chikila gaiduwani.

Source  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Delhi-professor-discovers-three-new-legless-amphibians/articleshow/20435141.cms?

Pure Michigan Campaign Brought $1 Billion in Tourism in 2012

 The "Pure Michigan" tourism campaign was a rousing success in 2012, according to new figures released on Monday. The report, compiled by research firm Longwoods International, estimated that the campaign resulted in 580,000 more trips to the state than in 2011, and generated an additional $80 million in new business, according to reports by television station WOOD and other media outlets.

The Pure Michigan campaign to spark more tourism both from within and from outside the state launched in 2006. In 2011, state officials began placing a greater emphasis on the campaign's potential impact, and increased funding. This year, the tourism initiative will receive a $13 million boost in television advertising. The new ads will air around the country, as reported by the Associated Press.

Here is some of the key information that has emerged from the new report on tourism in Michigan.

* All told, the Pure Michigan campaign helped convince more than 3.8 million out-of-state visitors to take a trip to Michigan in 2012. Those 3.8 million people generated an estimated $1.1 billion in tourism, as noted by WOOD.

* Research by Longwoods International also found that the Pure Michigan campaign generated an estimated $5.76 in tourism for every $1 spent on out-of-state advertising.

* Gov. Rick Snyder is reportedly quite pleased with the Pure Michigan campaign, stating in a news release on Monday that it "plays a vital role in growing our tourism industry by consistently attracting new visitors to Michigan, as well as "delivering a strong return on investment," as quoted by WOOD.

* Last year, Longwoods International conducted an online survey to determine the impact that putting an even greater emphasis on the Pure Michigan campaign in 2011 had made on the state's tourism. That report, released in 2012, indicated at that time that the efficacy of the Pure Michigan campaign in attracting tourists from outside the state looked to be on an upswing, bringing in 3.2 million visitors from out-of-state and raising nearly $1 billion.

* Longswoods International's 2012 report was released on Monday at the start of the annual Pure Michigan Governor's Conference on Tourism, a three-day affair that takes place at Detroit's Renaissance Center each year.

* As noted by The Michigan Traveler, however, not all the numbers released Monday regarding the campaign showed indications of being on the same upward trend. The overall return on the Pure Michigan campaign's investment -- the amount the campaign brings in overall versus what is spent -- dropped from $9.85 per $1 in 2011 to $8.06 per $1 in 2012.

* Still, the vice president of Travel Michigan, George Zimmerman, told The Michigan Traveler on Monday that the state has "tourism momentum." 

Source  http://news.yahoo.com/pure-michigan-campaign-brought-1-billion-tourism-2012-221600832--finance.html

Mark Zuckerberg to enter politics with political campaign group

 The 28-year-old billionaire is forming a political campaign group that is expected to focus initially on liberalising the US immigration and visa system.

Mr Zuckerberg, who has previously donated $100 million (£65 million) of his $13 billion fortune to the state school system in his native New Jersey, is said to be ready to use another $20 million on the new venture.

Work on the group will reunite him with Joe Green, his room-mate at Harvard University, who also went on to be a successful technology entrepreneur.

The pair are courting other financial backers.

Technology firms such as Mr Zuckerberg's social networking giant have complained that America's strict migration controls prevent them from recruiting talented foreigners and overseas graduates.

Earlier this month he and 99 other chief executives wrote a letter to President Barack Obama and leaders in Congress, urging them to ensure that plans currently being drawn up address this problem.

"Many high-skilled immigrants who want to stay in America are forced to leave because they are unable to obtain permanent visas," they wrote. "Some do not bother to come in the first place".

Mr Zuckerberg is also poised to further upset Left-wing admirers whom he shocked earlier this year by hosting a fundraiser in his California home for Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey.

His new campaign group is to be fronted by Jon Lerner and Rob Jesmer, political consultants from the Right wing of the Republican party, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mr Lerner once produced an advertisement dismissing American liberals as "latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading" freaks.

However Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary for Bill Clinton and PR chief for Facebook, will also be involved in the campaign group, it was reported.

Senators from both parties are thrashing out details of a bill to overhaul the US immigration system, which Mr Obama named as his top priority after being sworn in for a second White House term.

The plan is expected to include a "pathway" to US citizenship for at least some of the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the country.

Source  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mark-zuckerberg/9951337/Mark-Zuckerberg-to-enter-politics-with-political-campaign-group.html

KFC launches China campaign to rebuild brand

 KFC launched a campaign on Monday to rebuild its battered brand in China, promising tighter quality control after a scandal over misuse of drugs by its poultry suppliers.

The company, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., promised to test meat for banned drugs, strengthen oversight of farmers and encourage them to improve their technology.

It said more than 1,000 small producers used by its 25 poultry suppliers have been eliminated from its network.

KFC is China’s biggest fast-food chain, with more than 4,000 outlets, but was hit hard when state television reported in December that some suppliers violated rules on the use of drugs to fatten chickens.

The company estimates January sales plunged 37%. “Starting now, we will stress strict management and the principle of zero tolerance in food safety,” Sam Sun, the chairman of Yum Restaurants China, said at a news conference.

“We will immediately drop any supplier that lacks the determination or the ability to manage breeding well.” The complaint against KFC was less serious than other product scandals in China over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods.

But KFC’s high profile attracted attention, and its status as a foreign company with less political influence meant Chinese media could publicize its troubles more freely.

Yum, based in Louisville, Kentucky, said it expects sales in China to tumble by up to 25% in the current quarter. The company also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

CEO David Novak said earlier the company would need the “gift of time” for the controversy to die down. KFC has declined to say when it expects the business to fully recover.

The stakes are high for Yum. Even before the chicken scare, growth in China was slowing and fell into negative territory in October.

Executives blamed slower Chinese economic growth and the comparison with earlier explosive expansion. But KFC and other Western fast food chains also face mounting competition from young but ambitious Chinese rivals.

The locals started out copying global brands, but are developing their own identity and the elusive skills to manage chains of hundreds of outlets and networks of far-flung suppliers.

One chain, Yonghe Dawang, copied KFC’s Colonel Sanders logo so closely with its image of a smiling, grandfatherly Chinese man that Western tourists did a double-take at its restaurants.

More recently, Yonghe Dawang has developed its own image and switched to a logo of a noodle bowl. Since being acquired by Jollibee Foods Corp., a Philippine fast food upstart that has expanded throughout Southeast Asia, Yonghe Dawang has expanded to 307 restaurants.

Zhen Gong Fu, which sells bowls of rice with beef, pork and other meat, has 479 restaurants nationwide. Other competitors include Master Kong Chef’s Table, with 100 outlets in 30 cities.

Executives note that Yum has bounced back from other troubles, such as an avian flu scare in 2005 that dragged down sales by as much as 40%. The company says it plans to maintain its rapid pace of opening new restaurants in China.

Another 700 new sites are planned for this year, with Yum focusing more on cities outside Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen where it sees greater potential for growth.

Source  http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/VvJXJ9dGAtOxUO2GWxRANL/KFC-launches-China-campaign-to-rebuild-brand.html

National stage: Will Modi be BJP’s campaign committee chief?

Will he, won’t he? Narendra Modi, who has convincingly held on to his throne in Gujarat is now reportedly set to be primed for a role in national politics by making him in charge of the campaign committee while the party evaluates if he is to be the next prime ministerial candidate.

The Economic Times quotes an unnamed BJP leader as saying,”This is a strategic way to elevate Modi and enthuse the cadre ahead of the next contest at the Centre without disturbing the equations within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.”

According to the leader, the elevation is a result of the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh coming to an agreement that Modi needed to be elevated beyond his restricted role in the state.

As Firstpost noted, even in this time’s Vibrant Gujarat summit while industrialists were effusive in their praise, they stayed clear of Prime Minister references, given that there’s a strong possibility he might just make it to the race.  Likely, they didn’t want to end up on the wrong side of the UPA government by endorsing him openly just yet.

The BJP leader is also no stranger to campaign management, both having micro-managed his own campaign in the state and managing national campaigns in the past as well. He has managed national campaigns for senior party leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the past, and has also been national secretary of the party where he was in charge of states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Modi has campaigned in other states across the country during local elections but hasn’t played a prominent role in the national politics of the party so far. Facing some elements of dissent among leaders within his own party and from others who are part of the NDA alliance, the Gujarat Chief Minister has been bringing his allies and supporters closer and more in the open as seen during his swearing in ceremony.

As he prepares for his big step into the national arena, Modi and the BJP can be expected to make small incremental moves to test the waters before deciding the Guajrat Chief Minister’s role in the next national elections. This may just be the first of many more to come.

Source  http://www.firstpost.com/politics/national-stage-will-modi-be-bjps-campaign-committee-chief-586908.html

Pakistan activists support renaming of chowk after Bhagat Singh

Pakistani Civil society activists have filed two applications in a Lahore High Court asking it to make them parties to a case challenging the renaming of a traffic roundabout in Lahore after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

 Activists Taimur Rehman and Saeeda Diep filed the applications in the Lahore High Court yesterday through lawyer Yasir Latif Hamdani.
  
They contended that a frivolous impression was created by Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, the petitioner in the case, that the decision to rename Fawara Chowk at Shadman after Bhagat Singh was a "conspiracy against Pakistan".  

  However, the office of the registrar of the High Court raised objections to the applications.  The applicants stated that the renaming of the roundabout after Bhagat Singh was a "supreme act of patriotism".

They said Pakistan is a Muslim country where everyone respects and cherishes the Prophet Mohammed.   They said the Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool had no locus standi in the matter as Bhagat Singh was known to hold no animosity towards Islam or the Prophet.

 They argued that Bhagat Singh was a non-communal freedom fighter who stood for the independence of the subcontinent from British imperialism for all people, including Muslims.

 The applicants also said the Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool was incensed by the move to rename the roundabout, which was earlier named after Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, who in his writings abused and attacked Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

 They said it was true that Ali came up with the name Pakistan but it was well-known that he distanced himself from the country after its creation in 1947 and chose to live in Britain for the rest of his life and wrote against Jinnah and the Muslim League.

  They further argued that the decision of the Lahore city district government to rename the roundabout was a legitimate exercise of executive authority which could not be impugned as it was an executive decision and was certainly not anti-Pakistan or anti-Islam by any stretch of imagination.

The applicants asked the court to make them party to the case. The Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, a sister organisation of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, had moved the High Court against the city district government's decision to name the roundabout after Bhagat Singh.

 It even threatened to launch a drive against the move.

Source  http://english.samaylive.com/world-news/676518779/pakistan-activists-support-renaming-of-chowk-after-bhagat-singh.html

Back Bay Mission;Hard Rock Casino fight hunger and homelessness

Dozens of people from different walks of life sat together preparing to receive a hot meal, a meal some take for granted every day. 

During this National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, the Back Bay Mission and Hard Rock Casino hope to touch the lives of these men, women and children even if it's just for a day.

Back Bay Mission volunteers say on any given night more than 600 people go homeless or hungry, so they wanted to break bread with them at the Micah Day Center during the 7th Annual Homeless and Hunger Day Meal. 

The meal was provided by the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel. Some of the Hard Rock's employees have been volunteering their time with this charitable event for six years now. Senior Vice President of Gaming Operations Joe Farruggio said anyone can use a helping hand. 

"Sometimes people need help, these people, some of them are American Veterans that have worked all their life and just lost their job and they have nobody else to turn to," says Farruggio.

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Volunteers with the organization say although there's an attached stigma to the state of homelessness and hunger, they keep their doors open to anyone who falls short. 

Source  http://www.wlox.com/story/20113017/back-bay-missionhard-rock-casino-fight-hunger-and-homelessness

Intelligence effort improperly collected information about citizens, not terrorists

A multibillion-dollar information-sharing program created in the aftermath of 9/11 has improperly collected information about innocent Americans and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorism, a Senate report concludes. It portrays an effort that ballooned far beyond anyone's ability to control.

What began as an attempt to put local, state and federal officials in the same room analyzing the same intelligence has instead cost huge amounts of money for data-mining software, flat screen televisions and, in Arizona, two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes that are used for commuting, investigators found.

The lengthy, bipartisan report is a scathing evaluation of what the Department of Homeland Security has held up as a crown jewel of its security efforts. The report underscores a reality of post-9/11 Washington: 

National security programs tend to grow, never shrink, even when their money and manpower far surpass the actual subject of terrorism. Much of this money went for ordinary local crime-fighting.

Disagreeing with the critical conclusions of the report, Homeland Security says it is outdated, inaccurate and too focused on information produced by the program, ignoring benefits to local governments from their involvement with federal intelligence officials.

Because of a convoluted grants process set up by Congress, Homeland Security officials don't know how much they have spent in their decade-long effort to set up so-called fusion centers in every state. 

Government estimates range from less than $300 million to $1.4 billion in federal money, plus much more invested by state and local governments. Federal funding is pegged at about 20 percent to 30 percent.

Despite that, Congress is unlikely to pull the plug. That's because, whether or not it stops terrorists, the program means politically important money for state and local governments.

A Senate Homeland Security subcommittee reviewed more than 600 unclassified reports over a one-year period and concluded that most had nothing to do with terrorism. The panel's chairman is Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

"The subcommittee investigation could identify no reporting which uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution such fusion center reporting made to disrupt an active terrorist plot," the report said.

When fusion centers did address terrorism, they sometimes did so in ways that infringed on civil liberties. The centers have made headlines for circulating information about Ron Paul supporters, the ACLU, activists on both sides of the abortion debate, war protesters and advocates of gun rights.

One fusion center cited in the Senate investigation wrote a report about a Muslim community group's list of book recommendations. Others discussed American citizens speaking at mosques or talking to Muslim groups about parenting.

No evidence of criminal activity was contained in those reports. The government did not circulate them, but it kept them on government computers. The federal government is prohibited from storing information about First Amendment activities not related to crimes.

"It was not clear why, if DHS had determined that the reports were improper to disseminate, the reports were proper to store indefinitely," the report said.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Matthew Chandler called the report "out of date, inaccurate and misleading." He said that it focused entirely on information being produced by fusion centers and did not consider the benefit the involved officials got receiving intelligence from the federal government.

The report is as much an indictment of Congress as it is the Homeland Security Department. In setting up the department, lawmakers wanted their states to decide what to spend the money on. Time and again, that setup has meant the federal government has no way to know how its security money is being spent.

Inside Homeland Security, officials have long known there were problems with the reports coming out of fusion centers, the report shows.

"You would have some guys, the information you'd see from them, you'd scratch your head and say, `What planet are you from?'" an unidentified Homeland Security official told Congress.

Until this year, the federal reports officers received five days of training and were never tested or graded afterward, the report said.

States have had criminal analysis centers for years. But the story of fusion centers began in the frenzied aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The 9/11 Commission urged better collaboration among government agencies. As officials realized that a terrorism tip was as likely to come from a local police officer as the CIA, fusion centers became a hot topic.

But putting people together to share intelligence proved complicated. Special phone and computer lines had to be installed. The people reading the reports needed background checks. Some information could only be read in secure areas, which meant construction projects.

All of that cost money.

Meanwhile, federal intelligence agencies were under orders from Congress to hire more analysts. That meant state and local agencies had to compete for smart counterterrorism thinkers. And federal training for local analysts wasn't an early priority.

Though fusion centers receive money from the federal government, they are operated independently. Counterterrorism money started flowing to states in 2003. But it wasn't until late 2007 that the Bush administration told states how to run the centers.

State officials soon realized there simply wasn't that much local terrorism-related intelligence. Terrorist attacks didn't happen often, but police faced drugs, guns and violent crime every day. Normal criminal information started moving through fusion centers.

Under federal law, that was fine. When lawmakers enacted recommendations of the 9/11 Commission in 2007, they allowed fusion centers to study "criminal or terrorist activity." The law was co-sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman, the driving forces behind the creation of Homeland Security.

Five years later, Senate investigators found, terrorism is often a secondary focus.

"Many fusion centers lacked either the capability or stated objective of contributing meaningfully to the federal counterterrorism mission," the Senate report said. "Many centers didn't consider counterterrorism an explicit part of their mission, and federal officials said some were simply not concerned with doing counterterrorism work."

When Janet Napolitano became Homeland Security secretary in 2009, the former Arizona governor embraced the idea that fusion centers should look beyond terrorism. Testifying before Congress that year, she distinguished fusion centers from the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces that are the leading investigative and analytical arms of the domestic counterterrorism effort.

"A JTTF is really focused on terrorism and terrorism-related investigations," she said. "Fusion centers are almost everything else."

Congress, including the committee that authored the report, supports that notion. And though the report recommends the Senate reconsider the amount of money it spends on fusion centers, that seems unlikely.

"Congress and two administrations have urged DHS to continue or even expand its support of fusion centers, without providing sufficient oversight to ensure the intelligence from fusion centers is commensurate with the level of federal investment," the report said.

And following the release of the report, Homeland Security officials indicated their continued strong support for the program.

Source  http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-10-02/intelligence-effort-improperly-collected-information-about-innocent-citizens#.UG6IU2fwC_I

People’s Saarc steering committee formed

Civil society organisations and various individuals of Sindh province formed a 15-member steering committee of People’s Saarc (Sindh Chapter) during their meeting held at the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) House.

The steering committee of People’s Saarc, representing civil society organisations of the province, would chalk out various activities and programmes to mobilise public opinion towards a South Asian Union. Over 60 people attended the meeting.

The members nominated on the committee, include: Karamat Ali (PILER), Nasir Mansoor (NTUF), Asad Butt (HRCP), Hameed Baloch (political worker), Noor Mohammad (trade union leader), Mohammad Ali Shah (Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum), Zulfiqar Halepoto (Pakistan Peace Coalition), Suleman Abro, Bilquis Rehman (HANDS), Ejaz Qureshi (Benazir Bhutto Chair, Karachi University), Zahida Detho (SRPO), Mir Askari (NSF), Dr Tipu Sultan (PMA), Zehra (Labour Party) and Lateef Mughal (Peoples Labour Bureau).

People’s Saarc is an initiative of organisations and individuals working on regional peace, and is a parallel process to the official SAARC aimed at presenting the South Asian civil societies’ collective voices on pressing regional issues.

Earlier, Karamat Ali, Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), briefed the meeting about the People’s SAARC process. He said that after the election of all provincial steering committees a national steering committee would be elected. According to him, Saarc Summit is planned to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal, by the end of this year. The Peoples SAARC meeting is also planned on the occasion and a memorandum would be presented to the heads of the Saarc states.

Source  http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-124520-Peoples-Saarc-steering-committee-formed

Top political guns agree to save their billions, escape routes

Some key cabinet members of the ruling coalition as well as Pakistani politicians having offshore bank accounts, properties and businesses would be the major beneficiaries of the constitutional amendment allowing dual nationality holders to become members of parliament.

The proposed amendment, as approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, if passed, would relieve the Pakistani politicians, including President Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, ANP leader Asfandyar Khan Wali, PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and a large number of parliamentarians, ministers and advisers, etc, from public pressure to bring back their foreign wealth worth billions of dollars to Pakistan.

In a recent statement coming out of Switzerland, it was stated that Pakistanis had close to US$97 billion deposited in Swiss accounts.

In addition, this amendment would save the skin of some influential cabinet members like Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Abdur Rehman Malik. Unconfirmed reports even suggest that Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain and some others also have dual nationality.

Allowing the overseas Pakistanis having foreign nationality to contest elections would also mean allowing the politicians and parliamentarians to keep their accounts, properties and businesses abroad. Moreover, such an amendment would pave the way for dual nationals, settled abroad, to become president, prime minister or to get hold of any key cabinet slot including defence, foreign and finance ministries.

Pakistan did have the likes Moeen Qureshi and others as prime ministers besides a number of parliamentarians and ministers having dual nationality but such serious constitutional violations were the consequence of serious lapses on part of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Till recently the ECP had been overlooking the constitutional bar on dual nationals to become member of the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies owing to which a number of dual nationals have been entering parliament and were able to hold key public offices.

Of late the ECP has decided that every candidate willing to participate in the elections for Parliament would have to submit under oath that he/she had no foreign or dual nationality.

The doing away of this constitutional restriction could see what happened in the case of Moeen Qureshi and others who ruled and ruined Pakistan and ran away with their suitcases as soon as their rule ended without any fear of being held accountable.

It is generally demanded that Pakistan should be ruled by those who live and die with the people of Pakistan and who do not have any option other than Pakistan. For the same reasons, the media in Pakistan and the civil society generally see with abhorrence the foreign businesses, bank accounts and luxury properties of the country’s leaders and MPs.

For the same reasons the media and the civil society had welcomed Raza Hayat Hiraj’s recent constitutional amendment bill, which provided for disqualification of a member of parliament if he possesses any bank account, assets, wealth or business outside Pakistan or has dual nationality. The bill also sought dismissal from the government service of those members of the judiciary, defence forces and civil services on similar grounds.

It is argued that dual nationals, who are interested in taking part in the elections and want to contribute towards the progress and prosperity of Pakistan by taking part in active politics, should sacrifice their foreign nationality to ensure that the national wealth is not plundered and shifted to offshore accounts as has been repeatedly happening in the past.

Source  http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-15822-Top-political-guns-agree-to-save-their-billions,-escape-routes

Thousands pack downtown Ocean Springs for Cruisin

If you wanted to see classic cars, listen to some old time rock and roll, and just have a good time, downtown Ocean Springs was the place to be Friday night. The city hosted a sock hop for Cruisin' the Coast, and thousands showed up to take part in the fun.

As the sun was setting on classic cars, and the temperatures cooled down, the streets of Ocean Springs were just starting to heat up.

Dennis Landry was one of the stars of the show with his burn-out truck.

"Wow, I got all the traffic shut down. Where's the fire department when you need them?" Landry asked. "I hope the cops love me."

Baby Charlie was another star. Mom Lauren Russell believes in starting them young.

"He's gonna be a cruiser with his dad and his grandpa," Russell said. "He's enjoyed it. It's been a pretty day."

Thousands of people and hundreds of cars made for a spectacular show. First time cruisers from Texas summed up the experience perfectly, praising the beaches, the hospitality, and all the t-shirts.

No matter where you looked, people were swinging to the music, including a little girl in a tiny poodle skirt.

Speaking of poodles and other dogs, they were part of the act as well. There's just something about Cruisin' that all party animals love.

Percy Lott and Genelle Rick are planning on tying the knot soon. But Cruisin' puts the wedding on the back burner for now. Other things take priority.

"I like all the old cars and I love Ocean Springs and I just like all the people, the music, the food, just all the excitement," Rick said.

And what would Cruisin' be without making a few classic memories of a time that never seems to get old. The cameras were out in force capturing the cars and special moments.

For first time cruisers like Tia Gordon, here with her dad who's been cruisin for seven years, it's a day she won't forget anytime soon.

"It's real nice, lovely really," Gordon said. "When it comes to all these classics, I love classic cars."

Visit our Cruisin' the Coast-Ocean Springs Photo Gallery to see more from the downtown party: http://oceansprings.wlox.com/photo-gallery/events/51588-cruisin-coast-ocean-springs

The fun continues in Ocean Springs Saturday as the city hosts the third and final day of the Cruisin' venue throughout downtown. To see the full schedule, visit http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/Schedule.html.

Source http://www.wlox.com/story/15646183/thousands-pack-downtown-ocean-springs-for-cruisin

USTA invests $1.3 million in tennis program for youngsters

The United States Tennis Association has expanded its efforts to get more kids playing tennis.

Last week it announced a $1.3 million investment to help introduce 10 and Under Tennis in 26 communities across the country. Each community will receive $50,000 grants over a three-year-period to build new courts, adapt current ones and create programming in schools, parks and other areas.

The program, 10 and Under Tennis, provides young players a chance to play a scaled-down style of the game, and the USTA aims to bring it to more than 100 American markets during the next five years.

"Imagine if an 8-year-old tried to play baseball on the same sized field and with the same distance from the pitching mound to home plate as the New York Yankees play," said Kurt Kamperman, the USTA's chief executive of community tennis. "Unlike other sports, we've been forcing young kids to play by the same rules as the pro stars, and it really isn't conducive to getting them in the sport."That's where 10 and Under Tennis differs. It's played on a smaller court with lighter racquets and slower balls.

Earlier this month, the USTA announced it will offer free USTA junior memberships to children ages 10 and under. On Wednesday, it announced that Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf would partner with the USTA and will be featured in an upcoming advertising campaign promoting 10 and Under Tennis.

Kamperman said 10 and Under Tennis has already seen good results.

Said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Jon Vegosen: "The scaled-to-size equipment and smaller playing area allows kids to rally and play the kid early on increasing the likelihood that they'll have success and return to the court and continue to have fun."

Source http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2011-07-21-usta-10-and-under-tennis_n.htm

Sarah Palin's Bus Tour May Not Reach Iowa and South Carolina

When Sarah Palin said that her bus tour would not only hit New Hampshire, but Iowa and and South Carolina, too, it was taken as a sign that she was serious about a presidential campaig after all. But when she'll actually venture to those latter two states is uncertain, Real Clear Politics' Scott Conroy reports. The bus schedule was never formalized, but her aides indicated the Palins would hit those critical early voting states sometime in June. Instead, Conroy writes, the Palins are back in Alaska, enjoying the summer's 19 hours a day of sunlight.

Conroy elaborates:

As Palin enjoys her sojourn to the 49th state, she has not reconnected with key early-state figures like Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and she may have jeopardized whatever political momentum she gained from her recent reemergence in the 2012 discussion. Her political action committee's website still greets visitors with a stale banner, announcing the nationwide bus tour beginning "[t]his Sunday, May 29th."

Last week, she shot down a report that she'd decide on a presidential campaign within a week. So right now, the only thing Palin's actually in the running for is an Emmy. TLC has submitted Sarah Palin's Alaska for consideration in four Emmy categories--cinematography, picture editing, music composition, and best reality program. As Christian Heinze notes, "If the show wins in any of those categories, Palin herself gets an Emmy, because she's listed as an executive producer of the show."

Source  http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/06/sarah-palins-bus-tour-may-not-reach-iowa-and-south-carolina/39116/

Need for protection of child rights stressed

Growing cases of violation of child rights should be a matter of grave concern for every responsible individual. Government, civil society and media should join hands for checking these violations.

These views were expressed by speakers at a seminar titled “Violation of Child Right-Media Responsibilities” organised by Hameed Nizami Press Institute of Pakistan (HNPIP) in collaboration with Sahil and Actionaid on Tuesday. The seminar was presided over by Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal. MPA Arifa Khalid Pervez was the chief guest while Director HNPIP Absar Abdul Ali conducted the meeting.

The speakers stressed the need for improving child rights situation in the country.

The speakers included Taseer Mustafa (Journalist), Shoib Mirza (Editor Phool Magazine), Dawood Saqlain (Provincial Manager Actionaid), Iftikhar Mubarik.(Sahil Coordinator), Akmal Awaisi and Sajjad Cheema. While speaking on the occasion, Nasira Javed said the US, despite claiming so called champion of human rights, was still avoiding to sign the UN Child Rights Convention.

“The Convention on the Rights of the Child (an international treaty that recognises the human rights of children) is the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty. Only two countries, Somalia and the United States, have not ratified this celebrated agreement”. She said the teachings of Islam are the best source of guidance for the solution of every problem.

She also highlighted the need for family planning, which in her view, had become a forgotten idea for Punjab government. However, she hoped for the good future regarding overall human right situation in Pakistan. “No need to worry as many individuals, NGOs has been working to improve child rights situation in the country”, she added.

HNPIP Director, earlier, told the participants of the event that over 1.2 million children have become street children in society, having no roof to sleep under and passing their life without any care. The speakers expressed their grave concern over increasing number of street children in Pakistan. The speakers said the cases of violation of children’s right were reported almost on daily basis.

“Trafficking, torture and abuse of children is rife in many parts of the country,” they observed. They regretted hundreds of thousands of children were engaged in forced child labor, while the number of street children was also on a constant rise. They stressed free education, healthcare and shelter to citizens including children was the responsibility of the state. The speakers appreciated the HNPIP for organising the seminar on important issue, saying, when the huge number of children were working in hazardous, it was need of the hour that the government, the civil society and the media work jointly for improving the child rights situation in the society.

Source http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Lahore/06-Apr-2011/Need-for-protection-of-child-rights-stressed/1

Supreme Court skeptical about Arizona’s campaign finance law

The Supreme Court majority that in recent years has struck down campaign spending restrictions as assaults on free speech seemed ready Monday to do the same with Arizona’s public financing plan.

Under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. , the court’s conservative majority has declared unconstitutional major portions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act. And the court’s loosening of spending constraints on corporations and unions in last year’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission roiled the midterm elections.

“Do you think it would be a fair characterization of this law to say that its purpose and its effect are to produce less speech in political campaigns?” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy asked the lawyer for groups challenging Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Act.

“I believe that that is a goal, and I believe that’s the effect,” answered William R. Maurer, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice, which represented independent groups objecting to the law’s restrictions.

The case raises a new issue for the court. After a wave of political corruption in the state capital, Arizona voters in 1998 approved a public financing system for statewide and legislative candidates. It grants qualified candidates an initial sum and then provides “matching funds” based on the spending of their privately financed opponents who spend more. Candidates also are granted money if an independent group spends against them or for their opponents.

Maurer told the court that the case was governed by a 2008 Supreme Court decision, in which the court by a 5 to 4 vote struck down the “millionaire’s amendment” in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act. That provision allowed a congressional candidate to raise money in excess of contribution limits if his or her opponent was spending large sums of personal wealth.

The Arizona law similarly burdens a privately funded candidate, Maurer said, because it turns “my act of speaking into the vehicle by which my political opponents benefit with direct government subsidies.”

Maurer received strong resistance from Justice Elena Kagan. She had argued the Citizens United case as President Obama’s solicitor general and was on the losing side of the court’s 5 to 4 decision.

Kagan challenged Maurer’s contention that the purpose of Arizona’s law was to level the electoral playing field — something the court has said is not sufficient for restricting political spending and speech — rather than to combat corruption.

“That’s what the purpose of all public financing systems are,” Kagan said. She added that for 40 years such systems “have been based upon the idea that when there is a lot of private money floating around the political system, that candidates and then public officeholders get beholden to various people who are giving that money and make actions based on how much they receive from those people.”

Kagan’s support of campaign finance restrictions seemed as strong as that of the justice she replaced, John Paul Stevens. But that does not change the balance on the court.

The justices who have voted to strike down spending restrictions sharply questioned Bradley S. Phillips, a Los Angeles lawyer representing Arizona, after his opening statement that the law results “in more speech and more electoral competition and directly furthers the government’s compelling interest in combating real and apparent corruption in politics.”

Roberts, who did not ask Maurer a question, seemed particularly concerned that the law seemed to discourage spending by independent expenditure groups. “If you knew that a $10,000 expenditure that you would make that would support a candidate would result in $30,000, $40,000, $50,000, depending on how many opposition candidates there were available for them, wouldn’t you think twice about it?” Roberts asked.

“I think thinking twice is not a severe burden,” Phillips responded.

“Well, if you’re thinking twice and one way you’re thinking is not to do it, that sounds like a sufficient burden,” Roberts replied.

Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. also disputed the idea that the goal of the act was not to level the playing field. It even says so on the election commission’s Web site, Roberts said.

The Obama administration is supporting Arizona, and Assistant Solicitor General William M. Jay told Roberts that whatever is written on a Web site “isn’t dispositive of what the voters of Arizona had in mind when they passed this initiative.”

Jay also said that while publicly funded candidates are subjected to a ceiling on their spending, privately funded candidates and independent groups have no such limit.

The court in 1976 held that public financing of campaigns did not violate the Constitution, and Maurer said the challenge of the Arizona law went only to the matching funds portion. A handful of other states have similar laws.

A decision in the combined cases of Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett and McComish v. Bennett will come sometime before the court adjourns at the end of June.

Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme_court_skeptical_about_arizonas_campaign_finance_law/2011/03/28/AF2xXIrB_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

State HFAs Urge Congress To Protect and Support Vital Federal Housing Programs, Launch Faces of Home Campaig

Life -changing stories of working families benefiting from a range of federal housing programs will be at the forefront of this week’s annual Legislative Conference of the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA).

The Faces of Home campaign illustrates the “life-changing impact HFA programs have across the spectrum of housing need, from making first-time homeownership possible for working families, to developing affordable rental housing in partnership with the private sector, to providing safety net rental assistance for the most vulnerable among us,” said Barbara Thompson, executive director of NCSHA.

“These success stories, along with the hard facts on the country’s scarce supply of affordable housing, are what HFAs will carry with them as they petition Congress this week to support and protect the vital federal housing programs HFAs administer.”

Consider the situation of 71-year-old Jennie, who lost her home to foreclosure after her husband of 38 years passed away and she couldn’t afford the payments on her own. “I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t have a choice,” she said. “I didn’t know what would happen to me. I was afraid I would end up homeless.” But Jennie was one of the lucky ones. Her children helped her find an affordable apartment at Bethel Ridge Estates, a development for seniors that was financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

In the desert Southwest, Marjorie Delgarito and her family were living in a small trailer with no running water or electricity on the Navajo Nation when she heard about a new apartment complex being built nearby. “We [used to have] five five-gallon jugs of water we hauled into the house for washing and bathing,” Marjorie said. “We gathered and chopped wood for heat. The kids had to hurry and finish their homework outside before dark.” The family now lives in the Chaco River Apartments, one of the first rental housing developments ever to be built on the Navajo Nation. The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority financed the development in part with HOME funds. “The kids…are all on the honor roll now,” Marjorie said. “We are very happy.”

In Florida, Tamela Nelloms, a working mother of three who grew up in public housing as one of nine siblings, never thought her homeownership dreams would come true. She didn’t know anyone who had ever bought a home and had no idea how the process worked. Now, thanks to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and its federal housing bond-supported low-cost mortgage program, Tamela is a proud first-time homebuyer with a monthly payment well within her economic means. “I wanted my kids to have what I didn’t,” Tamela said. “My boys will grow up knowing that anything in life is possible. This home has changed all of our lives.” (These and other stories of transformation are available on NCSHA’s official Faces of Home website at www.ncsha.org/faces-of-home.)

Thompson stressed that future funding levels and tax incentives for a wide range of housing programs could all be in jeopardy as Congress debates cuts in the current federal budget and considers tax reform, the future of the housing finance system, and long-term deficit reduction strategies.

“Housing Bonds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME, and Section 8 are time-tested programs that effectively provide affordable housing around the country,” said Thompson. “HFAs have successfully administered these programs for decades, and nothing demonstrates the importance of that work like the powerful stories of transformation and hope chronicled in the Faces of Home campaign.”

The Faces of Home web exhibit features stories of people from every state who have received housing help from their HFA. Stories are searchable by state or by program, and offer a glimpse into the larger story of the integral role HFAs play in affordable housing, and why that role matters so very much—to the people whose lives are changed, the communities they live in, and to the economy.

HFAs are state-chartered housing agencies that operate in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Though they vary widely in their characteristics, including their relationship to state government, HFAs have in common their public purpose mission to provide affordable housing to the people of their states who need it.

NCSHA is a national, nonprofit organization created by state HFAs to assist them in increasing housing opportunities for lower income and underserved people through the financing, development, and preservation of affordable housing.

About 200 HFA leaders are expected to meet with members of Congress during NCSHA’s three-day Legislative Conference.

Source http://www.realestaterama.com/2011/03/07/state-hfas-urge-congress-to-protect-and-support-vital-federal-housing-programs-launch-faces-of-home-campaig-ID08747.html

Meanings of flowers

Q Every year for Valentine's Day I gave my sweetheart red roses. However this year I would like to give her some different kind of flowers.

Could you give me some ideas on different flowers. Also would you be able to tell me the meaning of these flowers? -Jessie, Windsor

A Roses are traditional, but other flowers are becoming increasingly popular as Valentine's Day gifts for that special person in your life. For years I gave my sweetheart red roses also.

Then a couple years ago I switched for a different flower.

My choice for my wife, was a dozen long stem red carnations which symbolizes love, pride and admiration. A few years ago my wife gave me a card for Valentine's Day and that card had the meanings of many different flowers. Some examples are:

Roses: The love language of different coloured roses have many meanings.

Red roses say, quite simply, "I love you" and are the traditional roses for Valentine's Day because they represent beauty and perfection. Orange roses might make the boldest statement on Valentine's Day. They represent desire and enthusiasm, symbolize passion and anticipation and definitely articulate pensioned romance. If you are newlyweds, give your husband or wife white roses. They mean innocence and purity and are traditionally associated with marriages and new beginnings.

Carnation: Symbolizes pride and beauty. A red carnation symbolizes love, pride and admiration; a pink carnation symbolizes the love of a woman or a mother.

A purple carnation symbolizes capriciousness. A yellow carnation symbolizes disdain, rejection or disappointment while a white carnation symbolizes innocence and pure love. A striped carnation conveys refusal.

Alstroemeria: Wealth, prosperity, fortune and friendship.

Amaryllis: Splendid beauty. It is used to indicate worth beyond beauty.

Anemone: On a darker note indicates fading hope and a feeling of having been forsaken. On a positive note it symbolizes anticipation.

Anthurium: Hospitality, happiness and abundance.

Aster: Patience, elegance and daintiness.

Bird of Paradise: Joyfulness, magnificence, and wonderful anticipation.

Calla Lily: Symbolizes magnificence and beauty. White Calla lilies combine these two attributes with purity and innocence.

Chrysanthemum: Symbolizes fidelity, optimism, joy and long life. A red chrysanthemum conveys love; a white chrysanthemum symbolizes truth and loyal love while a yellow chrysanthemum symbolizes slighted love.

Daffodil: Symbolizes regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth, new beginnings and eternal life. It also symbolizes unrequited love. A single daffodil foretells a misfortune while a bunch of daffodils indicate joy and happiness.

Daisy: Symbolizes innocence and purity. It conveys loyal love and "I will never tell."

Delphinium: Symbolizes big-heartedness, fun, lightness and levity. It also indicates ardent attachment.

Forget-me-not: Which blooms in white, blue and lavender, means true love, hope, and of course, remembrance or memories, which may reflect on wonderful times together.

Freesia: Symbolizes innocence and thoughtfulness.

Gardenia: Symbolizes you're lovely, secret love, joy, sweet love, good luck.

Gerbera: Belongs to the daisy family and therefore assumes the symbolism associated with the daisy flower. Gerbera specifically conveys cheerfulness.

Gladiolus: Symbolizes strength of character, faithfulness and honour. The Gladiolus flower signifies remembrance.

Heather: While white heather symbolizes protection and indicates that wishes will come true.

Hyacinth: Playfulness and a sporty attitude and in its extreme rashness and constancy. Blue hyacinth stands for constancy, purple for sorrow, red or pink for play, white for loveliness and yellow for jealousy.

Hydrangea: Heartfelt emotions. It can be used to express gratitude for being understood. In its negative sense hydrangea symbolizes frigidity and heartlessness.

Iris: Symbolizes eloquence. Purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments. Blue iris symbolizes faith and hope.

Yellow iris symbolizes passion while white iris symbolizes purity.

Jasmine: White symbolizes amiability, while yellow symbolizes grace, elegance

Larkspur: Symbolizes levity or lightness. It is also indicative of fickleness and haughtiness.

Flowers are looked upon as a very personal, intimate or cherished gift, so it matters not which flowers you may choose, to give on Valentine's Day.

Also as long that you remember your sweetheart for any or all occasion or just when your thinking of your loved one, flowers are very nice to receive or to give.

Send a question to the Master Gardener hotline, (519) 561-6328 or email essexwindsor@mastergardeners. fastmail.fm

Source http://www.windsorstar.com/life/Meanings+flowers/4230029/story.html

Worms Reloaded Cheats

Click Game Icon to Download Game Worms Reloaded

Game Icon

Game Info

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publisher: Team 17

developer: Team 17

genre: Strategy

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

PIV 1250, 1MB RAM, 2GB HDD, 128MB video card ESRB rating: n/a

homepage:

n/a

release date: Aug 26, 10 (released)

Download Cheat Game Worms Reloaded in Various Game Consoles

Steam Achievements

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Source  http://www.21cheat.com/search/worms+reloaded+campaigh+21+solution

'I'm a Believer' campaign launches to help Detroit

With a rousing new song to enlist Detroiters to believe in the city and turn it around, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing unveiled a new $10-million advertising campaign Tuesday that will plaster the city with billboards and flood the news media with its positive message.

The "I'm a Believer" campaign comes from a volunteer effort led by two local media specialists tired of all the Detroit bashers who live in the region and beyond. It addresses the hope that Detroit can rebound and regain its status as a world-class city.

"We're coming back," said Bing, when asked Tuesday why people should believe in Detroit. "We will be the city everyone wanted to be."

Newly elected Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the suburbs support Detroit's need to be successful.

"The suburbs developed from the city of Detroit," he said. "Their success is our success. The issues they are facing, we are facing. If Detroit does not come back, the suburbs will have a difficult time doing the same."

Paige Curtis, co-founder of the campaign and an owner of a Bloomfield Hills advertising agency, told the 200 dignitaries who showed up Tuesday at the Renaissance Center to launch the effort that Detroit needs more than another ad campaign.

"What we needed, and what we told the mayor, was we wanted to recruit an army, an army of volunteers to help Mayor Bing change our city, and that's what makes 'I'm a Believer' different. It's a call to change hearts and a call to action to encourage people to stop whining and do something."

Detroit paid nothing for the campaign. Its $10-million cost, raised totally from donations, reflects what someone would have paid to design the campaign, create its ads and a Web site, and buy advertising time and space.

"I'm a Believer" will feature 40 billboards and a slew of radio, TV and print ads with some of the region's leaders, entertainers and celebrities. The ads point people to the campaign's Web site, where they will find dozens of opportunities to help make Detroit a good, clean, safe place to live.

Spots feature Bing; the county executives in the tri-county area; Detroit's police and schools chiefs; Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy; numerous metro Detroit news media personalities, mystery writer Elmore Leonard; rapper Ro Spit, and music producer Trick Trick, among others.

Ferndale singer and songwriter Jill Jack wrote the campaign's song. She delivered it Tuesday with the City Mission Choir, a youth group in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood, and Beth Griffith, backup singer for Detroit blues songstress Anita Baker.

The ads will try to offset years of bad publicity that have made Detroit a poster child for the aging Rust Belt and a magnet for photographers who consider the city's abandoned buildings a new art form they dub ruin porn.

Source http://www.freep.com/article/20110112/NEWS06/101120346/1319/10-million-Im-a-Believer-campaign-launches-to-help-Detroit