BBC News - CIA operating drone base in Saudi Arabia, US media reveal, Feb 06, 2013

 "The US Central Intelligence Agency has been operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for the past two years.
The facility was established to hunt for members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen.
A drone flown from there was used in September 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric who was alleged to be AQAP's external operations chief.
US media have known of its existence since then, but have not reported it.
Senior government officials had said they were concerned that disclosure would undermine operations against AQAP, as well as potentially damage counter-terrorism collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
The US military pulled out virtually all of its troops from Saudi Arabia in 2003, having stationed between 5,000 and 10,000 troops in the Gulf kingdom after the 1991 Gulf war. Only personnel from the United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) officially remain."

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IB TIMES - 8.0 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Solomon Islands, Feb 06, 2013

"The quake occurred at a depth nearly 3.6 miles (5.8 km) close to the Santa Cruz Islands, which are part of the Solomon Islands nation, according to the USGS. This was later revised to a much deeper 17 miles (28.7 km).
The epicenter of the quake occurred 347 km east of Kira Kira in the Solomons, Reuters added.
A three-foot wave hit the island of Lata, and One News of New Zealand quoted the director of nursing at Lata Hospital, Augustine Bilve, saying some villages have been destroyed by the tsunami.
"According to the information I have there are three villages close to Lata, but it's more likely that other villages along the coast of Santa Cruz would also be affected.""

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TRIBUNE - World welcomes 2013 in rolling New Year’s party, Jan 02, 2013

 "NEW YORK: A million people cheered in New York’s Times Square Tuesday, as the traditional crystal ball dropped to mark the start of 2013, bringing a rolling global New Year’s party that kicked off in Australia to US shores.
An estimated one billion television viewers around the world also watched the Big Apple extravaganza, which climaxed when the mayor, aided by a bevy of Rockettes dancers, sent the huge, glittering ball down at one minute to midnight, sparking kissing and dancing."

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DANIEL - IRIMIA - Video: Alien Invasion in 2012? Three huge UFOs heading to Earth! Arrival expected in December! Dec 26, 2012

 "Americans want to know everything about aliens and summon President Obama to tell the truth. Thousands of Americans have signed a petition asking the White House to disclose the so-called “X files”.
More and more people are convinced that the U.S. government has information about a possible alien invasion, which could take place in December 2012."

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RADIO TIMES - Christmas 2012: best TV on today, Wednesday 26 December, Dec 26, 2012

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MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012, Dec 26, 2012

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THE WORLD - Israel Kills Head of Hamas Military Wing, Nov 15, 2012

 "The head of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, has been killed during a series of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.
He and another senior Hamas official died when the car they were traveling in was hit in Gaza City.
Israel says it’s the start of a broader operation, fueling concerns about a larger conflict."

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SODAHEAD - President Barack Obama WINS Reelection, Nov 15, 2012

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THE JOURNAL - Venice flooded as 200 evacuated in Tuscany, Nov 15, 2012

 "FLOODWATERS DRENCHED MOST of the tourist destination of Venice and led to the evacuation of 200 people in Tuscany, as bad weather hit northern Italy at the weekend, authorities said today."

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PETITION SITE - Please help stop September 15 deadline for death of Harp Seals at Aquarium des Iles, Quebec, Canada, Sep 13, 2012

 "We are writing to urge you and your organizations to take immediate steps to help save the lives of Zak and Mika, two captive 6-month old Harp Seals pups. They were captured from the wild this spring as newborn pups by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO-MPO) for the purpose of providing them to the Aquarium des Iles in Quebec for tourism display."

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Consumers International - Are consumer groups heading for extinction? Sep 13, 2012

 "Following the CIVICUS World Assembly, CI’s Luke Upchurch reflects on the relevance of consumer groups in a changing civil society.
Last week’s three-day CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal, Canada was a heated, energetic affair, reflecting a civil society movement grappling with its place in a rapidly changing world.
This year’s event brought together civil society organisations from across the globe to look at defining a new social contract. Following Rio+20, Occupy, the Arab Spring and the EU/US economic crisis, many of the organisations present at the event were questioning the role and relevance of traditional civil society organisations - something the consumer rights movement itself must do.As consumers turn to user-generated sources of information about products and services; as single-issue groups take on traditional consumer rights issues; and as online activism challenges the conventional thinking around what constitutes action, our movement is left wondering what it can offer the next generation of consumer rights advocates."

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VOGUE News, Sep 13, 2012

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IRISH TIMES - Child mortality declines significantly, Sep 13, 2012

 "Countries across the world are making rapid progress on child survival rates, showing it is possible to bring down child mortality significantly in two decades, the United Nations Children's Fund said today.
In its latest report on child survival, Unicef hailed a sharp drop of about 40 per cent in the number of children under the age of five dying, with the estimated global toll falling from nearly 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011.
There was progress across diverse nations with varied wealth, Unicef said, providing evidence that neither a country's regional nor economic status was necessarily a barrier to being able to reduce child death rates."

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DAILY BEAST - Did Obama Err in Tolerating Egypt's Intolerant Muslim Brotherhood? Sep 13, 2012

 "Egyptian protesters burn the US flag during a demonstration against a film deemed offensive to Islam on September 12, 2012 outside the US embassy in Cairo. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/GettyImages)
Mitt Romney has received much (deserved) criticism for his maladroit comments on the 9/11 embassy attacks.
But you know what? There is a critique to be made of the Obama administration's approach to Islamism, especially in Egypt - and it doesn't require anyone to hurl false charges that the president "sympathizes" with the killers of Americans.
The critique is this:
The Obama administration has staked its foreign policy on the assumption that the best way to deal with radical Islam is by engaging with radical Islam, thus splitting the men of violence from the men willing to try politics.
By this theory, the problem with radical Islam was its method (terrorism), not its goals (establishing Muslim Brotherhood style governments)."

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TIMES FREE PRESS - For Sept. 11 anniversary, a turning point passed? Sep 11, 2012

"NEW YORK (AP) — As the sun rose over the World Trade Center on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the neighborhood around ground zero seemed more normal than in previous years, with fewer police barricades and commuters rushing out of the subway.
At the southwest corner of ground zero, a lineup of airport-style metal detectors has been set up to clear visitors entering the ceremony.
The detectors are several hundred feet from Engine 10 and Ladder 10, and the company's dozens of firefighters are preparing for the ceremony."

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DAILY MAIL - London 2012 Paralympics: Closing ceremony brings down curtain, Sep 11, 2012

 "Stunning effects and raw courage signalled the end of the Paralympic Games in London on Sunday night.
The closing ceremony - billed as the Festival of the Flame - lived up to its name as flame throwers, blazing torches and a gigantic heart of fire lit up the Olympic Stadium.
An awed audience roared with delight, particularly for Britain's joint flagbearers wheelchair racer David Weir and cyclist Sarah Storey, who each won four golds

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THE SUN - 1st man on the moon Neil Armstrong dies, Aug 26, 2012

"TRIBUTES poured in last night for Neil Armstrong — whose “one giant leap for mankind” made him the first astronaut on the Moon.
The Apollo 11 mission commander — whose historic lunar landing in 1969 was watched by a fifth of the world’s population — has died aged 82.
Armstrong had emergency heart-bypass surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries on August 7, two days after his birthday."

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THE TELEGRAPH - Olympic Closing Ceremony London 2012, Aug 14, 2012

The musical director of the Olympic Closing Ceremony, David Arnold, said he had whittled down the Guinness Book of Hit Singles to thirty tracks for a curtain closer that would be a celebration of British music. But was there really a pop song that hadn’t been played at these games over the last two weeks? Because from the moment Danny Boyle had his nurses flinging themselves around to Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, London 2012 has been a cacophony of pop music. Blaring out of every arena at every opportunity have been the choruses of Dizzee Rascal’s Bonkers or Queen’s We Will Rock You. Many events seemed like they were taking part inside a nightclub with a sideshow of some sport to break up the rotation of full-throttle hits.

    

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CS MONITOR - London 2012 closing ceremony ends a 'happy and glorious' Olympics, Aug 14. 2012

 "London, after all, was not Beijing, Turin, or Salt Lake. It had nothing to prove to anyone and certainly didn't need to spend $14 billion for a party. All Britain – indeed all the British Commonwealth – had already had a rather large one to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. After a Diamond Jubilee, wouldn't an Olympic Games, even a golden one, be a little less precious?"

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MICHAEL PHELPS with all his Olympic medals, Aug 05, 2012, Yahoo.Sports

 Medal No. 5
The U.S. team -- Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller -- beat Australia to win gold in the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay in a time of 7:07.33. Phelps collects his second gold of the night.

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