Monday, 28 February 2011
Farewell Predictions and Advice for 2011 Fantasy Baseball Season
Filed under: MLB Sleepers, MLB Value Machine, Draft Advice
Thank you wholeheartedly to all readers of Fantasy FanHouse over the years. Interacting with you in our chats and on comment boards has always been one of my favorite parts of managing the section. Another big one was getting to work with such talented fantasy sports writers. I really hope that all of you will continue to follow their work in their next stops on the 'net.We'll go out the best way possible: predictions and more advice for the 2011 fantasy baseball season from R.J. White and Knox Bardeen.
Kick butt in your drafts this year!
-- Tom Herrera
Source: http://fantasybaseball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/28/2011-fantasy-baseball-predictions/
Tennessee Makes Special Delivery to NCAA: Lane Kiffin
For the past several months the University of Tennessee and the NCAA have been feverishly negotiating the notice of allegations that UT released Wednesday. The damage to the Volunteer athletic program was significant, but it wasn't crippling. Why? Because Tennessee handled the NCAA, a bureaucratic agency that answers to its own regulations and precedent as it sees fit, just about as well as a university can.
By that I mean that Tennessee immediately retained heavyweight attorney Mike Glazier, who specializes in these investigations and is worth his weight in gold. Whatever legal fees the Vols paid him in 2010 and '11, Tennessee got the best bargain for its money in college football this side of Cam Newton. They ought to retire his gavel on the ring of honor at Neyland Stadium.
In earlier drafts of the notice of allegations the Volunteer football program was set to take a hit for a major violation, a failure to monitor, alongside Lane Kiffin. Then, voila, Glazier worked his magic in the last two weeks and not only managed to avoid a direct hit to the football program, but he delivered Lane Kiffin's head on a silver platter to the NCAA.
Throughout this investigation, according to multiple sources, the goal of Tennessee was to isolate the football violations and place them squarely upon Lane Kiffin and his staff. Ultimately the Vols succeeded in going state's evidence and making Lane Kiffin football's fall guy.
A few months ago, Bruce Pearl said he missed Lane Kiffin being in Knoxville because Kiffin would always put his foot in his mouth and get the attention off Pearl. Well, Pearl got his wish. For one last time, Kiffin delivered the Volunteer basketball coach the ultimate gift, on a day that Pearl got slammed with seven major violations, a great deal of attention has shifted to the only real surprise from the notice, Kiffin's being hit with two major violations of his own.
Let's dive in and consider six other major takeaways from the notice of allegations arriving.
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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/23/tennessee-makes-special-delivery-to-ncaa-lane-kiffin/
Bellamy receives assault caution
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-wales-12597689
Jacobi to appear at Belfast show
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-wales-12597213
US MT: Montana House Overturns Missoula's Marijuana
FanHouse 15: No. 5 Stephen Strasburg
Filed under: MLB Video, Spring Training
It may seem like just weeks ago that the baseball season ended, but, believe it or not, Spring Training is here.If you're like the rest of us at FanHouse, you can't wait for the season to begin. We've got you covered until opening day arrives.
It's the FanHouse 15, a countdown of the 15 most talked about, blogged about, tweeted about, sensational stars of America's pastime. Who will be number one?
The list continues with No. 5, Nationals' phenom Stephen Strasburg.
Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/26/fanhouse-15-no-5-stephen-strasburg/
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Australia: Drugs Blitz Targets Nimbin
Ashley Cole gunshot claim probed
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-england-12593207
Cut red meat to lower cancer risk
Dr Alison Tedstone, Department of Health, explains the risks of eating red meat
People should cut back on red and processed meat to reduce their risk of getting cancer, the government says.
New advice recommends eating no more than 70g a day - equivalent to three rashers of bacon or two sausages.
Experts say thousands of bowel cancer deaths could be prevented every year if people kept to the new limits.
Advisors to the Department of Health in England say the restrictions would not put people at risk of iron deficiencies.
Bowel Cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK - about 36,000 people are diagnosed every year, and 16,500 die.
Eating 100 to 120g of red and processed meat a day - things like salami, ham and sausages - increases the risk of developing the condition by 20 to 30%, according to studies.
But some commentators have questioned whether reducing red meat consumption would put people at greater risk of iron deficiency; red meat is a very good source of iron.
Iron deficiency causes anaemia, which leads to tiredness and dizzy spells, can affect brain development and result in behavioural problems.
But a report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition says if adults cut back to 70g of red meat a day, there would not be much impact on the number of people with low iron intake.
Dr Rachel Thompson, World Cancer Research Fund“Try and make sure as little as possible of their 70g per day is processed”
"Red meat can be part of a healthy balanced diet," said the interim Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Sally Davies, "but people who eat a lot should consider cutting down."
"The occasional steak or extra few slices of lamb is fine, but regularly eating a lot could increase your risk of bowel cancer."
The charity Beating Bowel Cancer welcomed the report.
"A diet high in red and processed meat may increase your risk of developing bowel cancer," said chief executive Mark Flannagan. "But the good news is that red meat can still be enjoyed in moderation."
Some experts, though, say the advice should distinguish between red and processed meat, which is thought to carry a higher bowel cancer risk.
The World Cancer Research Fund advises avoiding processed meat altogether.
"We would suggest that people following this new report's guidelines should try and make sure as little as possible of their 70g per day is processed," said Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the fund.
The bride's a picture
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-12421020
US AZ: PUSD Board Examines Increase In Reports Of Drug Use At
Source: http://mapinc.org/url/X3OrfwSS
Mouse heart 're-grows when cut'
The study suggests newborn mice share the zebrafish's ability to heal a damaged heart Scientists in the United States have found newborn mice can re-grow their own hearts.
The mice had a large chunk of their heart removed a day after birth, only for the heart to restore itself within three weeks.
Fish and amphibians are known to have the power to re-grow heart tissue, but the study in Science is the first time the process has been seen in mammals.
British experts said understanding the process could help human heart care.
The researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center surgically removed what is known as the left ventricular apex of the heart (about 15% of the heart muscle) from mice just a day after birth.
The heart was then quickly seen to regenerate and was fully restored after 21 days. After two months, the organ still appeared to be functioning normally.
But when the same procedure was tested on mice aged one week, the heart failed to regenerate, suggesting this power of self-repair is extremely short-lived in mice.
The belief is that heart cells within the mouse have a narrow window after birth within which they can continue to replicate and repair. Subsequent tests suggested that these repair cells were coming from within the heart muscle.
Professor Eric Olson University of Texas“There's no reason to believe that the same window would not exist in the human heart”
"What our results show are that the new heart muscle cells which repair the amputated region of the heart came from proliferation and migration of pre-existing heart muscle cells," said Professor Eric Olson, who worked on the study.
"We have no evidence they came from a stem-cell population."
Many amphibians and fish, most famously the zebrafish, have the ability to renew heart muscle right into adulthood.
This new study suggests mammals too have such capacity for self-repair, if only for a limited time after birth.
Professor Olson believes future research will show humans have a similar capacity, although no experiments involving human heart tissue are currently planned.
"There's no reason to believe that the same window would not exist in the human heart.
"Everything we know about development and early function of the mouse heart is comparable to the human heart so we're quite confident that this process does exist in humans, although that of course still has to be shown."
The team's focus is now on looking at ways to "re-awaken" this capacity to self repair in adult mice, with the ultimate ambition to do the same in humans to repair damage sustained during heart attacks.
"We've identified a micro-RNA (a small piece of genetic material) which regulates this process so we're tying to use th
Wooing widows
Afghan women living within their compounds in Helmand are barely visible to the outside world After decades of conflict in Afghanistan, there are almost two million widows leading secluded, poverty-stricken lives. But now all-female army units are going into remote villages in an effort to integrate these women into wider society.
In a small village on the edge of the Bolan desert, near Laskhar Gah, a group of women sit huddled together on a sunny terrace. Some are girls, barely out of their teens.
All are shrouded in dark veils.
These women are widows. This one village is home to at least 80 of them.
They are the tragic victims of three decades of conflict which has created a generation of widows and orphans.
In rural Afghanistan women are invisible, locked behind doors in the safety of their compounds.
Reaching such women is a huge challenge for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), but one that is considered vital.
It is also viewed as an important part of the wider counter-insurgency campaign in Afghanistan.
As it is culturally inappropriate for male troops to have any contact with local women, teams of women soldiers form units, known as the Female Engagement Team (Fet), to try to engage with Afghan women.
Corporal Raziya Aslam British military linguist, Helmand“You walk through bazaars, you will not see a woman. They are just hidden away”
In Helmand there are huge challenges.
"It's very different to Kabul, there's a big difference. A large proportion of women in Helmand are uneducated. You walk through bazaars, you will not see a woman. They are just hidden away," says Corporal Raziya Aslam, who works as a military linguist in Helmand.
"Women in their culture get kept behind closed doors. It's not because the men want to rule the roost, and it's more about their safety," says Lance Corporal Stacey Nicholson, a member of the Fet, based in Lashkar Gah.
To help them, she needs to travel to their villages in an armoured convoy. This remains a patriarchal society and Lance Corporal Nicholson has to talk to the local village elder before she can meet any women.
"Once that elder gets to know me and knows what my job is, he then invites me to his compound to meet the women. Once he's comfortable, he then takes me to another compound, maybe his friends or relatives," she says.
This eventually leads to a meeting, known as a "shura".
I travel with the team to a shura. We go to a small village to meet a group of elders. It has been arranged with Wakil, the village elder.
The aim of this shura is to help local widows set up a sewing co-operative. When we arrive, we are greeted by Wakil and his brother, who share the compound with their wives and children.
BMA concerns over confidentiality
The BMA is concerned that new legislation will not safeguard patient confidentiality Flaws in the government's Health and Social Care Bill could threaten the confidentiality of patient records, doctors' leaders have warned.
The British Medical Association says there are "serious concerns" about clauses in the bill on information sharing in a reshaped NHS.
The BMA says it fails to guarantee patients' identities are kept secret.
But the government says the bill makes no changes to any of the existing legal safeguards on confidentiality.
The BMA, which fears that patients might withhold important information because of confidentiality issues, has written to Minister of State Simon Burns.
The letter says the bill gives very broad powers to a number of bodies, including the Secretary of State, the Commissioning Board and the NHS Information Centre "to obtain and disclose confidential patient information for any number of unspecified health purposes".
"As currently drafted, there is very little in the Bill relating to confidentiality and information governance controls, which are so fundamental to medical practice and the trust-based relationship between doctors and patients," it says.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson Head of Science & Ethics, BMA“By failing to put in place proper safeguards, the government is potentially removing the control doctors and, most importantly, patients have over their confidential data”
"In the course of consultation and treatment, patients will often disclose highly sensitive information to their doctors, information that can be vital to ensuring the optimal provision of appropriate care and treatment."
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the BMA, accused the government of placing its desire for access to information over the need to respect patient confidentiality.
"There is very little reference to rules on patient confidentiality that would ensure patients are asked before their information is shared, or guarantee that the patient's identity will not be revealed.
"Fears that their data may be shared with others may result in patients withholding important information; this may not only affect their own health but has implications to the wider health service.
"By failing to put in place proper safeguards, the government is potentially removing the control doctors and, most importantly, patients have over their confidential data. This conflicts with government promises that patients will be given greater control over their medical records."
The BMA is proposing a number of amendments to the bill and their concerns are echoed by the Patients Association.
Chief executive Katherine Murphy said that very often patients had a very good relationship with their doctor and would disclose very sensitive information.
"Our
Nai Fotu, Utah Linebacker, Suspended After DUI Arrest
Filed under: Utah, Mountain West
Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday that senior linebacker Nai Fotu has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.According to the The Salt Lake Tribune, Fotu was arrested Sunday on the suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Fotu was stopped around 2 a.m. MT and booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of DUI and an open container in the vehicle. He also was speeding and failed to present a valid driver's license.
This isn't Fotu's first run-in with the law. He already had a warrant from the Provo City Justice Court for failure to appear, giving false personal information to police, possessing alcohol or a controlled substance as a minor and public urination all stemming from an incident on March 20, 2009.
Fotu was a starter heading into last spring but suffered a knee injury during spring football and missed the 2010 season. In 2009, Fotu played in 13 games -- one start -- and had 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/21/nai-fotu-utah-linebacker-suspended-after-dui-arrest/
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Kaymer wins to secure top ranking
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport1/hi/golf/9408450.stm
VIDEO: The hackers pushing tech to its limit
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9406884.stm
Free book scheme handed 50% cut
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-12586839
Google blunts Facebook phone app
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-12565527
India in populist railway budget
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/business-12580621
Mets Stingy With Cash as They Eye Future
Filed under: Mets, MLB Free Agency, Spring Training
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Just down the street from the Mets' spring training facility, QVC operates a call center.
There is no truth to the rumor that the Mets did all their offseason shopping there.
An analysis of data from the MLB Trade Rumors website shows that the Mets spent $6.6 million on major league contracts to free agents, 26th-most of the 30 teams. That's less than small-market teams Pittsburgh, San Diego, Oakland and Florida gave just one free agent this winter.
This has led to some grumbling in New York, where nothing comes cheap.
But the Mets did the right thing ...
If.
There's a big if. More on that in a bit.
Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/25/mets-stingy-with-cash-as-they-eye-future/
Morgan answers US show criticism
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/entertainment-arts-12577393
Hero's welcome?
Russia's spies were whisked away from a Moscow airport In the bad old days, homecoming spies could expect heroes' welcomes in Moscow, their faces on commemorative postage stamps and lifelong adulation.
But that, of course, was when they were fighting evil empires, rather than living the suburban American dream.
Today's returning spies seem to have done little hard work - or at least little work for the Russian state.
The glamorous Anna Chapman, for example, appears to have spent more time flogging private planes to Russian oligarchs.
But they have all been offered a Moscow flat and a $2,000 (£1,327) state pension - the sort of riches plenty of Muscovites can still only dream of.
The Russian press are treating the entire episode with a mixture of humour and disdain.
Our Man in Havana, James Wormold, passed off mundane details as secrets One commenter observed: "It reminds me of Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana where the spy convinces his Centre that a diagram of a vacuum cleaner is the blueprint for a new secret weapon."
The radio station Ekho Moskvy has announced a cartoon contest on the topic of the returning spies.
But there are plenty of Russians who say the spies "just weren't up to the job".
With the exception of the redheaded Anna Chapman, who will doubtless soon be offered a talk show and a column on a British tabloid, they do look like a dull lot compared to their Soviet forerunners - who were very good indeed at their jobs.
The old Soviet-era spies tended to be a cheerful lot, full of joie de vivre - it is perhaps their capacity for jollity that made them successful.
Mikhail Lyubimov, who spied in London in the 1980s, once told me that former spies should form an international association aimed at promoting international understanding.
"With our experience, we are by far the best equipped to work towards bettering understandings between nations," he said, only semi-seriously.
A former colleague, who was kicked out of Japan for spying, went on to have a successful career writing books that opened Japanese culture to Russian readers.
Nevertheless, it cannot be eas
Friday, 25 February 2011
Afghan Kunar probe accuses Nato
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-south-asia-12575394
BMA concerns over confidentiality
The BMA is concerned that new legislation will not safeguard patient confidentiality Flaws in the government's Health and Social Care Bill could threaten the confidentiality of patient records, doctors' leaders have warned.
The British Medical Association says there are "serious concerns" about clauses in the bill on information sharing in a reshaped NHS.
The BMA says it fails to guarantee patients' identities are kept secret.
But the government says the bill makes no changes to any of the existing legal safeguards on confidentiality.
The BMA, which fears that patients might withhold important information because of confidentiality issues, has written to Minister of State Simon Burns.
The letter says the bill gives very broad powers to a number of bodies, including the Secretary of State, the Commissioning Board and the NHS Information Centre "to obtain and disclose confidential patient information for any number of unspecified health purposes".
"As currently drafted, there is very little in the Bill relating to confidentiality and information governance controls, which are so fundamental to medical practice and the trust-based relationship between doctors and patients," it says.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson Head of Science & Ethics, BMA“By failing to put in place proper safeguards, the government is potentially removing the control doctors and, most importantly, patients have over their confidential data”
"In the course of consultation and treatment, patients will often disclose highly sensitive information to their doctors, information that can be vital to ensuring the optimal provision of appropriate care and treatment."
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the BMA, accused the government of placing its desire for access to information over the need to respect patient confidentiality.
"There is very little reference to rules on patient confidentiality that would ensure patients are asked before their information is shared, or guarantee that the patient's identity will not be revealed.
"Fears that their data may be shared with others may result in patients withholding important information; this may not only affect their own health but has implications to the wider health service.
"By failing to put in place proper safeguards, the government is potentially removing the control doctors and, most importantly, patients have over their confidential data. This conflicts with government promises that patients will be given greater control over their medical records."
The BMA is proposing a number of amendments to the bill and their concerns are echoed by the Patients Association.
Chief executive Katherine Murphy said that very often patients had a very good relationship with their doctor and would disclose very sensitive information.
"Our
Intel launches high-speed cable
Future versions of Thunderbolt will use fibre optics Chip manufacturer Intel has announced it is to roll out a new technology for connecting computers and peripherals.
The system, know as Thunderbolt, promises transfer speeds twice as fast as USB 3.0.
However it won't reach its theoretical maximum because Intel has opted to use copper wires rather than fibre optic cables.
The company said it would gradually move to higher speeds over time.
Apple will become the first manufacturer to use Thunderbolt, on its Macbook Pro computers.
The Cupertino firm is said to have been a major driver of its development, although it remains to be seen how may other manufacturers will adopt the new standard.
Intel has been working on the technology for several years.
It was first announced, under the codename Light Peak in 2009.
At launch, its top speed will be limited to 10 Gigabits per second - twice as fast as USB 3.0, but still well below the theoretical maximum using optical cables.
Intel claims that future versions will be able to reach 100 Gb/sec.
The faster data transfer rates are likely to be welcomed by those consumers who use high-definition video, said Sarah Rottman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research.
"This isn't an innovation that consumers have been asking for, but it's one they'll appreciate," she said.
"Especially when transferring video, as that's when [USB] starts to feel slow."
The system also promises to reduce the number of cables a user has connecting their computer setup.
It is able to carry multiple signal types at the same time, enabling power, display and peripherals to use a single cable.
However, in the short term, users may need to invest in special adaptors to connect their older devices onto Thunderbolt sockets.
Its arrival on the consumer market also raises questions about the future of other connector standards, such as USB and Firewire.
Thunderbolt's most high profile supporter, Apple, is expected to gradually transition to a single connector, according to Karen Haslam, editor of Macworld UK.
"In the long run there will be no need for Apple to support these multiple formats with individual ports - existing products can run through an adaptor," she said.
Not everyone is convinced that Thunderbolt will become the lone standard.
Ian Chiu, editor of the website Everythingusb.com told BBC News that the cost of components could put off some manufacturers.
"I don't really know how Intel will make Thunderbolt appealing to all the other first-tier PC manufacturers," he said.
"HP, Sony, Dell, Acer, Asus make most of their money from the low-end and medium-end notebooks.
"On the other hand, Apple's Macbook Pro line-up is targeted at the p
VIDEO: Deep cracks near NZ quake's epicentre
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-asia-pacific-12575775
Tennessee Makes Special Delivery to NCAA: Lane Kiffin
For the past several months the University of Tennessee and the NCAA have been feverishly negotiating the notice of allegations that UT released Wednesday. The damage to the Volunteer athletic program was significant, but it wasn't crippling. Why? Because Tennessee handled the NCAA, a bureaucratic agency that answers to its own regulations and precedent as it sees fit, just about as well as a university can.
By that I mean that Tennessee immediately retained heavyweight attorney Mike Glazier, who specializes in these investigations and is worth his weight in gold. Whatever legal fees the Vols paid him in 2010 and '11, Tennessee got the best bargain for its money in college football this side of Cam Newton. They ought to retire his gavel on the ring of honor at Neyland Stadium.
In earlier drafts of the notice of allegations the Volunteer football program was set to take a hit for a major violation, a failure to monitor, alongside Lane Kiffin. Then, voila, Glazier worked his magic in the last two weeks and not only managed to avoid a direct hit to the football program, but he delivered Lane Kiffin's head on a silver platter to the NCAA.
Throughout this investigation, according to multiple sources, the goal of Tennessee was to isolate the football violations and place them squarely upon Lane Kiffin and his staff. Ultimately the Vols succeeded in going state's evidence and making Lane Kiffin football's fall guy.
A few months ago, Bruce Pearl said he missed Lane Kiffin being in Knoxville because Kiffin would always put his foot in his mouth and get the attention off Pearl. Well, Pearl got his wish. For one last time, Kiffin delivered the Volunteer basketball coach the ultimate gift, on a day that Pearl got slammed with seven major violations, a great deal of attention has shifted to the only real surprise from the notice, Kiffin's being hit with two major violations of his own.
Let's dive in and consider six other major takeaways from the notice of allegations arriving.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/23/tennessee-makes-special-delivery-to-ncaa-lane-kiffin/
Lost cause
Kashmir has been a disputed territory since 1948 In the quagmire of Kashmir militancy, those who took up arms for independence appear to have been quashed. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan investigates the fate of the Kashmiri fighters who did not want to be ruled by India or Pakistan.
Ismat Karim gives a harrowing account of a recent 20-day detention in what he calls a "torture cell".
Mr Karim says he was held along with two other residents of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and describes how they were "punished and interrogated" in turn for half-an-hour every evening.
"They would whip us with lashes, and ask the whereabouts of a person whose name we had never heard."
They were given no reason for their arrest.
Mr Karim was an emotional and aggressive activist who belonged to the United Kashmir Peoples National Party (PNP), which advocates a sovereign Kashmir, independent of both India and Pakistan.
Abdul Majeed“For three months I was in a police lock-up. When the court set aside one case, they would bring another one against me”
He says that he had been rounded up by Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Pakistan's military spokesman, Athar Abbas, told the BBC that all such allegations were simply not true. But Mr Karim has now quit politics out of fear.
In Kashmir, such groups are called pro-independence, as opposed to pro-Pakistan groups that advocate union with Pakistan.
Pakistan and India went to war over Kashmir in 1948. A ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations left the region divided between the two countries, pending a final resolution which still remains elusive.
While initially there was a predominantly pro-Pakistan sentiment across the region, over the last few decades many pro-independence groups have emerged.
Many former independence fighters live a life of social and economic exclusion Pakistan's security establishment, which India accuses of fuelling an insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir since 1989, views these groups with suspicion.
Abdul Majeed is a member of one.
Many years ago while he was a student he was implicated in as many as 47 different criminal offences ranging from murder and treason to rioting and theft.
"For three months I was in a police lock-up. When the court set aside one case, they would bring another one against me," he says.
Finally, a senior law enforcement official summoned him to his office and told him that if he withdrew from student politics, the court cases would be quashed.
"I assured him accordingly. Three days later I was released. I stayed away from politics for several years."
Former Kashmiri militants who later gave up fighting have also been under pressure.
The first group of fighters to renounce militancy was linked to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a secular, pro-independence group that started the 1989 insurgency in Indian Kashmir.
Pakistan's government denies any involvement with militant groups in Kashmir. But security sources and analysts maintain that certain elements of the ISI are involved in Kashmiri militancy.
According to JKLF leaders, the group was initially supported by Pakistan and its fighters crossed into Pakistan-administered Kashmir where they were trained by the military.
But when the uprising became popular, the Pakistani authorities decided to abandon JKLF and field a pro-Pakistan force instead.
Abdul Wadood Former fighter“My future is a lost cause, and that of my children is at stake”
In the early 1990s an Islamic group of Kashmiri fighters, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), was introduced into the conflict with a mandate to fight both the Indian forces and the JKLF, analysts say.
Thus cornered, many JKLF fighters laid down their arms and quietly slipped into a life of social and economic exclusion.
Abdul Wadood is one such fighter.
Once a top JKLF commander in the Baramulla region of Indian-administered Kashmir, he now lives in a tent with his wife and two children in a village near Muzaffarabad.
"My future is a lost cause, and that of my children is at stake. It's a traumatic existence," he says.
By the mid-1990s, frustration also started to creep into the HM ranks as the insurgency descended into a stalemate and the local population began to suffer the fallout from the conflict.
"The problem which we left our homes to resolve has remained where it was. For a while we thought it was holy war. Now I think it's just business," says Abdul Rauf, a former HM militant.
Originally from a merchant family of Sopore on the Indian side, Mr Rauf now makes a living as a construction worker in Muzaffarabad.
Some former militant commanders and their families now live in tents in Pakistan-administered Kashmir As the Kashmiri fighters became increasingly disillusioned, activists say the Pakistani security establishment started to raise Pakistani groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad to keep the conflict going in Indian Kashmir.
These groups still have offices and camps in several parts of Pakistani Kashmir, says Fazal Mehmood Baig, a lawyer and pro-independence activist.
"They conduct open propaganda campaigns to promote jihad, while those who oppose them are threatened, beaten up and arrested," he says.
In 2004, former Kashmiri fighters tried to organise a group they called the "Real Warriors" which opposed the activities of the pro-Pakistani militant groups.
But it soon became defunct when, according to one group member, some of its leaders were picked up by the ISI and others were threatened with incarceration.
Mr Baig says hundreds of pro-independence a
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Hospitals told to 'change or die'
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/health-12566716
Five-Step Drop: FSU Signs Jimbo Fisher to Lucrative Extension
Filed under: Florida State, Maryland, Nebraska
FanHouse's college football staff provides you with a personal quarterback. We do the primary and secondary reads for you so you can properly start your day.1. It didn't take Jimbo Fisher very long to prove his worth to the Florida State administration. Fisher, who went 10-4 in his first season, signed a five-year, $13.75 million contract which raises his total pay package by just under $1 million per season. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Noles increased Fisher's buyout from a variable figure of $500,000 to $725,000 to a flat $2 million. Sounds like both parties are in it for the long haul.
2. Apparently you can forget those "Randy Shannon will be Randy Edsall's defensive coordinator at Maryland" rumors. The Terps have promoted linebackers coach Todd Bradford to the coordinator job, according to ESPN.com's Heather Dinich. She notes that a report circulating on Wednesday had Shannon, whose Miami contract was bought out after the season, losing at least $1.5 million in buyout money if he took the Maryland job. There are no reports on how much Shannon would have made at Maryland, but you have to figure it was a lot less than $1.5 million. You can't fault Shannon for making the smart economic decision, particularly since he won't have trouble finding another job once the buyout is safely in his bank account.
McCartney to write ballet score
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/entertainment-arts-12565979
US: Web: If The Feds Get Their Way, Big Pharma Could Sell Pot
Hero's welcome?
Russia's spies were whisked away from a Moscow airport In the bad old days, homecoming spies could expect heroes' welcomes in Moscow, their faces on commemorative postage stamps and lifelong adulation.
But that, of course, was when they were fighting evil empires, rather than living the suburban American dream.
Today's returning spies seem to have done little hard work - or at least little work for the Russian state.
The glamorous Anna Chapman, for example, appears to have spent more time flogging private planes to Russian oligarchs.
But they have all been offered a Moscow flat and a $2,000 (£1,327) state pension - the sort of riches plenty of Muscovites can still only dream of.
The Russian press are treating the entire episode with a mixture of humour and disdain.
Our Man in Havana, James Wormold, passed off mundane details as secrets One commenter observed: "It reminds me of Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana where the spy convinces his Centre that a diagram of a vacuum cleaner is the blueprint for a new secret weapon."
The radio station Ekho Moskvy has announced a cartoon contest on the topic of the returning spies.
But there are plenty of Russians who say the spies "just weren't up to the job".
With the exception of the redheaded Anna Chapman, who will doubtless soon be offered a talk show and a column on a British tabloid, they do look like a dull lot compared to their Soviet forerunners - who were very good indeed at their jobs.
The old Soviet-era spies tended to be a cheerful lot, full of joie de vivre - it is perhaps their capacity for jollity that made them successful.
Mikhail Lyubimov, who spied in London in the 1980s, once told me that former spies should form an international association aimed at promoting international understanding.
"With our experience, we are by far the best equipped to work towards bettering understandings between nations," he said, only semi-seriously.
A former colleague, who was kicked out of Japan for spying, went on to have a successful career writing books that opened Japanese culture to Russian readers.
Nevertheless, it cannot be eas
Oak Trees Deliberately Poisoned at Toomer's Corner in Auburn
Filed under: Auburn, SEC, General CFB Insanity
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Auburn University says someone deliberately poisoned trees at Toomer's Corner, and that the live oaks likely can't be saved.The university said in a statement Wednesday that a herbicide commonly used to kill trees was applied "in lethal amounts" to the soil around the trees. Toomer's Corner has long been a site where Auburn fans celebrate big wins, including the football national championship on Jan. 10.
City police are investigating the incident.
The use of Spike 80DF, or tebuthiuron, is also governed by state agricultural laws and the Environmental Protection Agency. The university says it doesn't use the herbicide.
The university says a caller to a syndicated radio show on Jan. 27 claimed he had applied the herbicide. Soil samples taken the next day and were tested at Mississippi State to determine the type of poison.
US MI: Column: Wal-Mart Wins a Round
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Hero's welcome?
Russia's spies were whisked away from a Moscow airport In the bad old days, homecoming spies could expect heroes' welcomes in Moscow, their faces on commemorative postage stamps and lifelong adulation.
But that, of course, was when they were fighting evil empires, rather than living the suburban American dream.
Today's returning spies seem to have done little hard work - or at least little work for the Russian state.
The glamorous Anna Chapman, for example, appears to have spent more time flogging private planes to Russian oligarchs.
But they have all been offered a Moscow flat and a $2,000 (£1,327) state pension - the sort of riches plenty of Muscovites can still only dream of.
The Russian press are treating the entire episode with a mixture of humour and disdain.
Our Man in Havana, James Wormold, passed off mundane details as secrets One commenter observed: "It reminds me of Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana where the spy convinces his Centre that a diagram of a vacuum cleaner is the blueprint for a new secret weapon."
The radio station Ekho Moskvy has announced a cartoon contest on the topic of the returning spies.
But there are plenty of Russians who say the spies "just weren't up to the job".
With the exception of the redheaded Anna Chapman, who will doubtless soon be offered a talk show and a column on a British tabloid, they do look like a dull lot compared to their Soviet forerunners - who were very good indeed at their jobs.
The old Soviet-era spies tended to be a cheerful lot, full of joie de vivre - it is perhaps their capacity for jollity that made them successful.
Mikhail Lyubimov, who spied in London in the 1980s, once told me that former spies should form an international association aimed at promoting international understanding.
"With our experience, we are by far the best equipped to work towards bettering understandings between nations," he said, only semi-seriously.
A former colleague, who was kicked out of Japan for spying, went on to have a successful career writing books that opened Japanese culture to Russian readers.
Nevertheless, it cannot be eas
CN MB: Legal High Short-Lived
Live - Wednesday football
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport1/hi/football/9405723.stm
US MT: OPED: How Law Enforcement, Judicial System Deal With
Ancelotti hails Chelsea strikers
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport1/hi/football/europe/9405199.stm
A hunger strike, wedding cakes and puppies
With the big day nearing for Prince William and Kate Middleton, the internet is abuzz with royal wedding stories. As a confessed wedding obsessive, I'll be keeping up with what's being talked about. Today's round up includes a hunger strike, wedding cakes and puppies.
Don't forget to check the post this week. Invitations to the Royal Wedding have been signed, sealed and delivered.
Though, as expected, an envelope adorned with the Queen's official seal won't come through everyone's letter boxes.
No matter. Estibalis Chavez, a 19-year-old from Mexico, feels particularly snubbed and has staged a hunger strike outside the British embassy in Mexico City in a bid to gain an invitation, says MSNBC's Royal Wedding blog the Windsor Knot.
"The Mexican teen hasn't eaten for the past eight days - consuming only water - in hopes that her bizarre, pathetic stunt will force Will and Kate to invite her to their exclusive wedding celebration."
And Chavez, convinced her hunger pangs won't go unnoticed by the couple, asks:
"Are they going to let me die just because they wouldn't give me an invitation to the royal wedding?"
Sound logical? Don't rush to skip any meals. The stunt hasn't persuaded Palace officials, says the Daily Mail.
"In a statement, the British embassy confirmed staff were aware of her campaign, but said: 'Buckingham Palace regrets that there are no more spots available.'"
Meanwhile, the foodies of the world are cooking up a royal storm over wedding cakes.
Food firm Betty Crocker has designed four wedding cakes in honour of the upcoming nuptials, despite the company's reputation as an "icon of a certain kind of middle-class American domesticity", says AOL food blog Slashfood.
Vivienne Westwood fashion designer“I have to wait until she [Kate Middleton] kind of catches up a bit somewhere with style”
"The odds that Betty Crocker would be asked to bake the wedding cake for Prince William and his fiancée may seem
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
UK plans to charter Libya plane
William Hague: ''The safety of British nationals is of paramount concern''
The UK government is making plans to charter a plane to Libya to help stranded Britons return home, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Mr Hague said a Royal Navy warship, HMS Cumberland, would also be moved to wait off the Libyan coast.
Talks are under way to fly a charter aircraft to Tripoli within 48 hours.
Rights groups say nearly 300 people have died in the violence there so far. Meanwhile, Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has refused to stand down.
In his first major speech since unrest began last week, Col Gaddafi said the whole world looked up to Libya, protesters were "cockroaches" or "rats" and their protests were "serving the devil".
Reading from the country's constitution, he said enemies of Libya would be executed and vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" rather than leave the country he has ruled for 41 years.
At a news conference in Whitehall, Mr Hague said the "worsening" situation in Libya "remained highly unpredictable" and the safety of British nationals in Libya was of "paramount concern".
Most of the 3,500 Britons resident in Libya are thought to have already left, but Mr Hague said a "rapid deployment team" of Foreign Office specialists would be sent to the country to help those still there.
William Hague Foreign Secretary“The Libyan government is trying to stop the world seeing what is happening in Libya, but we will do everything we can to make sure they're held accountable for their actions”
"In light of the fluid and dangerous situation, we are urgently reinforcing our team on the ground with specialist personnel to provide help and assistance to British nationals," he said.
The foreign secretary said the UK was "urgently seeking landing clearances and permissions from the Libyan government" so that it could charter a plane.
He said British people were experiencing "significant difficulties" leaving Libya, and a number were stranded at Tripoli airport with no immediate flights out.
HMS Cumberland was also being redeployed from the eastern Mediterranean to international waters near Libya, he said, so that it would be in a position to "play a role in assisting British nationals".
Tens of thousands of foreigners are trying to leave the country by land and air and many oil companies are attempting to remove their expatriate staff.
One Briton, whose relatives are stuck in Tripoli, described chaotic scenes at the airport and said the UK government was doing nothing to help them.
The woman, who asked not to be named, told BBC News: "The Foreign Office has told everyone to leave Libya, however there are no flights available.
US NJ: Editorial: Medical Marijuana Law Needs A Final Push
Source: http://mapinc.org/url/0HMsxOL8
Court case against carer dropped
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-northern-ireland-12264415
Love replaces hate
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-england-london-12526820
UCF Notches One of Its Best Classes
Filed under: UCF, Recruiting, Prospects
While most teams feel the success of the latest season in a year or even two years, Central Florida started cashing in on its 2010 campaign with its 2011 recruiting class.The Knights' 11 wins, Conference USA championship, Liberty Bowl win over Georgia and No. 21 ranking were enough to attract what coach George O'Leary claims is the best class in his seven seasons as the head of the program.
"I think the athleticism and the balance (make this our best class)," O'Leary said. "I think we helped out a lot of positions as far as bringing in quality players at all the positions, and I think that's what you really need to be doing."
The Knights signed 29 players, including three four-star recruits who all signed after the Feb. 2 signing date. Included among those four-star recruits were linebacker Leilon Willingham and receiver Rayshon Williams, who go to Mullen High School in Denver. Both players signed their letters of intent on Feb. 3 because a snowstorm in Denver forced Mullen to cancel classes on Feb. 2. Williams is the cousin of former UCF standout and current Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall is also Williams' legal guardian.
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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/18/ucf-notches-one-of-its-best-classes/
Thousands at alcohol 'death risk'
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/health-12506127
Colombia sentences Uribe's cousin
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-latin-america-12532826
Doug Williams Going Back to Grambling, Leaving UFL Behind
At first glance, Doug Williams' return to Grambling State as head football coach seems like a great move for the longtime NFL quarterback and Super Bowl XXII Most Valuable Player.
It sounds like less than good news for the UFL, which Williams leaves after exactly eight months as the general manager of the Virginia Destroyers, the Norfolk-based team scheduled to begin play this fall.
The UFL announced Williams' departure Monday morning in a press release, in which Williams was quoted: "I was looking forward to working with the Destroyers, but this is a great opportunity for me and it is very rare that a father gets to coach his son at the college football level ... I went to school there, I coached there, and now I have a great opportunity to coach there again."
Williams' son, Doug III (known as D.J.), also a quarterback, committed to Grambling last month.
Grambling had been looking for a head coach since Rod Broadway left for North Carolina A&T earlier this month. Williams, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race as a Grambling senior in 1977, replaced retiring Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson in 1998 and had a 52-18 record in six seasons. Grambling went 9-2 under Broadway last season.
Williams left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' front office to become the UFL expansion team's general manager last June 21. In September, after speaking at a charity golf event in Norfolk to promote the team, Williams told FanHouse that he saw the job as the next logical step in his football career, in which he aspired to be in charge of an entire organization.
Monday, 21 February 2011
US OH: Editorial: Dialogue About Drug Testing Bill Should
Green economies to grow, says UN
The current "brown" economy is carbon and resource intensive and is not sustainable, the study says Investing $1.3 trillion (£800bn) each year in green sectors would deliver long-term stability in the global economy, a UN report has suggested.
Spending about 2% of global GDP in 10 key areas would kick-start a "low carbon, resource efficient green economy", the authors observed.
They also recommended following policies that decoupled economic growth from intensive consumption.
The findings have been published at a meeting attended by 100 ministers.
"Governments have a central role in changing laws and policies, and in investing public money in public wealth to make the transition possible," said Pavan Sukhdev, head of the UN Environment Programme's (Unep) Green Economy Initiative.
"Misallocation of capital is at the centre of the world's current dilemmas and there are fast actions that can be taken, starting literally today," he added.
"From phasing down and phasing out the $600bn global fossil fuel subsidies, to re-directing more than $20bn subsidies perversely rewarding those in unsustainable fisheries."
Unep defined a "green economy" as one that resulted in "improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities".
When it came to investing 2% of GDP in greening the global economy, the authors recommended a number of investments, including:
$108bn greening agriculture, such as encouraging and supporting smallholder farms$134bn on the building sector, including improving energy efficiency$110bn improving fisheries, including reducing the capacity of the world's fishing fleet$15bn on forestry, with "important knock-on benefits for combating climate change"Almost of $110bn on both water and waste, including sanitation and recyclingThe report, produced by experts from developed and developing nations, suggests that the green economy model would deliver higher annual growth rates within 5-10 years than a business-as-usual scenario.
In order to unlock the level of investment required, it added that it was necessary to reform existing national and international policies.
"The green economy - as documented and illustrated in the report - offers a focused and pragmatic assessment of how countries, communities and corporations have begun to make a transition towards a more sustainable pattern of consumption and production," said Unep executive director Achim Steiner.
"With 2.5bn people living on less than $2-a-day and with more than two billion people being added to the global population by 2050, it is clear that we must continue to develop and grow our economies.
"But this development cannot come at the expense of the very life support systems on land, in the oceans or in the atmosphere that sustain our economies, and thus, the lives of each and everyone of us."