Twelve dead and three wounded after rebel unit guarding city’s port came under attack, reports say A Nato airstrike has killed 12 rebel fighters and injured three others in a friendly fire incident in the Libyan city of Misrata, according to local doctors and one of the survivors. The attack occurred at about 5pm on Wednesday evening close to the port, which is the lifeline for the besieged city and has been under attack from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. Nato, which had been conducting strikes in the area, has not commented on the incident. Speaking from his hospital bed, rebel fighter Ahmed Swesi, 20, said his 15-strong unit was gathered next to a small building near a salt factory. The area is about 10 miles from the city centre. The men, who had been transferred from their position in the city centre to guard the port, had three improvised battle wagons with them, each equipped with a heavy weapon. “We had a message from Nato to paint a special mark on top of our vehicles so we could be identified, which we had done,” he said. “We had also obeyed an order from our military council not to go beyond a certain point. So we thought we were safe from bombs.” The fighters had just finished having tea with an ambulance crew when they suddenly heard a strange whizzing noise in the sky that did not sound like Gaddafi’s missiles. “I immediately lay down on the ground. But most of the others were still looking up when the bomb struck,” said Swesi. Twelve of the men, who were aged between 20 and 40 and had become “like brothers” after spending two months together since the start of the uprising, were killed instantly. Three others were taken to hospital. Swesi, who had been preparing to go to university when the revolution started, lost four fingers, and his leg and arm were shattered. He had shrapnel wounds to his stomach and face. Dr Ali Ahmed, a neurologist at Hikma hospital where many of the victims were taken, confirmed the death toll. Khalifa al-Zwawi, a judge who heads Misrata’s transitional council, said he was still investigating the incident, but said thatthe fault appeared to be with the rebels. “The coordinates we gave Nato [of our positions] were correct,” he told the Guardian. “It seems that our freedom fighters may have exceeded the limits that we gave them.” The incident was the second friendly fire incident in Libya involving Nato, after one of its planes fired on a rebel convoy in the east of the country a few weeks ago causing several deaths. The majority of residents in Misrata strongly support the Nato mission, which has destroyed a chunk of Gaddafi’s heavy artillery that pounded the city for weeks. But they now fear the incident could reduce Nato’s willingness to act again. Rebels guarding checkpoints near where the incident occurred refused to let journalists visit the site. Swesi said his group had been very happy when Nato attacked several of Gaddafi’s vehicles and weapons on Tuesday, effectively ending the assault on the port: “I forgive them for what they did because they are trying to help our people. We want Nato to help us more.” At a press conference before the accident was made public, Ibrahim Bitalmal, a member of Misrata’s military council, said there was “close co-ordination” between the rebel commanders and Nato. Using a map downloaded from Google Earth, he showed how Gaddafi’s forces had been removed from the city centre after weeks of fierce house-to-house battles, and were now concentrated in farmland near the airport to the south of Misrata. Zwawi said: “We have managed to achieve victories every day and defeated them out of the city centre and far away … We will set Tripoli free very soon.” On the western flank of the city where most of the fighting is concentrated, loyalist troops are gradually being pushed back along the road to the capital. In Zawit al-Majoub, a satellite town about eight miles west of Misrata, rebels had liberated much of the town, including the main highway, whose adjacent buildings had been occupied by Gaddafi’s snipers. Libya Nato Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Xan Rice guardian.co.uk
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Bride-to-be Kate Middleton arrived at a London hotel on Thursday night, the night before her wedding to Prince William. (April 28)
Continue reading …After President Obama released his long-form birth certificate yesterday, the media went ballistic over the “bombshell.” But, noted Jon Stewart last night , “Wouldn’t the bombshell have been him not being from America? Isn’t this more of a non-shell?” Stewart was particularly interested in Donald Trump’s reaction: “Trump’s made Obama’s citizenship…
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It’s been a long, at times lazy, road but the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 hints at a little belated magic JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books are a guilty pleasure without all that much guilt, a stupefyingly English series of stories that somehow avoid harnessing the worst aspects of petty-minded Anglo-Saxon snobbery. Yet the film series, with notable exceptions , has largely failed to capture the richness and depth of the books. Up until the last instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, I’d pretty much given up on expecting anything beyond bland mediocrity from David Yates’s extended tenure in charge. Watching the film again earlier this week, however, it struck me that the decision to split the book in two – while clearly motivated by studio suits’ desire for one last payday before the series is done – had made for a rather more rounded product than we’ve seen from a Harry Potter film for some time. Ahead of the arrival of the first trailer for part two, which has just hit the web, it’s worth remembering that part one proved to be something of a slow-paced, existential treat. The action segues are thrillingly depicted, but it’s the long, drawn-out sequences in which the teenage wizards mull over where to begin their quest to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes that stick in the mind. Released from the straitjacket of the series’ usual format, the book always seemed to be a rather unwieldy, distinctly downbeat affair, and yet the same set of circumstances contrived to set the film version free. In particular, I defy anyone not to be swept away by the bravura animated sequence presented to explain the origin of the Hallows. Rowling’s book seemed punctuated with far too many items of significance for one story, yet Yates’s film made the introduction of yet another set of MacGuffins seem like the most natural thing in the world. Almost as importantly, Emma Watson seemed to have suddenly learned how to act. Does Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 “work” as a standalone movie? To be honest, probably not. But then neither did Kill Bill part one – another film enlivened by a standout animated sequence – and Quentin Tarantino’s movie remains one of his best. Perhaps we’ll only discover quite how much the requirement to shrink Rowling’s books down to feature length damaged the films when the inevitable TV iteration arrives in a few years’ time. Imagine an HBO-produced small-screen series: what a prospect that would be. Will part two complete what would be a more-than-decent final fling for the Potter films? At this point it’s still tantalisingly hard to tell, as the trailer inevitably concentrates on the action sequences and Potter’s climactic battle with Voldemort. Nevertheless, there are hints of the first film’s pleasingly off-balance, uneasy tone in a jerky, dissonant opening. The boy wizard has grown up, and Yates seems to have gambled on his readers also having matured: certainly these later films seem gauged more towards a patient audience happy to soak up the full swell of the story, rather than just the more obvious flashpoints. There remains a lot about the Harry Potter series of films that is regrettable, notably the rather safe choice of directors (Alfonso Cuarón excepted), and some lazy casting early on in the series. But as the end comes into sight, a full decade after Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone hit cinemas, we might just be safe in girding our loins for a little belated magic. Dumbledore knows it’s taken long enough to get here. Harry Potter Harry Potter JK Rowling Emma Watson Daniel Radcliffe Science fiction and fantasy Ben Child guardian.co.uk
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Jason Rosolowski got out his camera when a massive, devastating tornado started pushing through Tuscaloosa, Alabama Wednesday. (April 28)
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After a week of sunny skies, rain is in the forecast for the royal wedding. But that won’t stop hundreds of thousands from pouring into London on Friday to watch the ceremony. (April 28)
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Click here to view this media Our own John Amato made an appearance on Al Jazeera to discuss the “carnival barkers” and birthers out there that President Obama attempted to placate by finally releasing the long form of his birth certificate. The Al Jazeera anchor asked John if he thought it was a mistake for President Obama to produce his long form birth certificate. As John noted, when you’ve got 45% of registered Republican voters actually believing this nonsense that the President wasn’t born in the United States and when you tie that into very powerful interests like Trump who is out there touting this stuff, the administration decided they’d finally had enough of it and decided to attempt to put an end to this story. When asked if responding to these conspiracy theorists is just going to promote more of this stuff like asking about the President’s degree from Harvard or college records, John pointed out that people like Pat Buchanan who was questioning his college records and using the term “affirmative action president” are doing nothing but using code words to dog whistle the racist elements of the Republican base. As John noted, this obviously won’t put an end to the right wing questioning the legitimacy of our President and what a sad case this is and what our political dialog has become when we’ve got real problems we should be worrying about instead of this nonsense. The Al Jazeera host asked John why there isn’t more outrage from Democrats and from the White House and why they don’t just come out and call Trump what he is, a racist. John pointed out that President Obama, as the first African American President has always been in a precarious position with this since he’s tried to be the president of the United States, and not just the president of African Americans and the poor. Sadly as John alluded to here, it really didn’t matter how President Obama has governed. There is a large segment of our population that was never going to accept that a black man was elected president. The “carnival barkers” like Trump and Buchanan have just laid that fact bare with their idiotic and racist remarks.
Continue reading …NPR’s Media Reporter Falsely Claims Vieira ‘Passively’ Dealt With Trump’s Birtherism
April 28, 2011 No Comment
On Wednesday's All Things Considered, NPR's David Folkenflik erroneously claimed that NBC's Meredith Vieira ” notably failed to contradict Donald Trump or others casting doubt on where Mr. Obama was born. Vieira … acknowledged those remarks passively .” In reality, the Today show challenged the billionaire about the birth certificate issue, twice asking, ” Do you believe he's [Obama's] lying? ” [audio clips available here ] The media correspondent began his report by noting how “there comes a moment in almost every American presidency when the commander-in-chief turns media-critic-in-chief.” After playing two clips from President Obama's press conference earlier in the day regarding the release of his birth certificate, he continued, “Mr. Obama said that for too long, the nation has been distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers. Notice, however, the President's words didn't criticize the carnival barker. He criticized those who get distracted, like the press corps sitting in front of him.” [ View video clips from Vieira's April 7, 2011 interview of Trump below ] Folkenflik then singled out Vieira, along with ABC's Christiane Amanpour, for their supposed timidity in pressing the most prominent birthers in interviews: FOLKENFLIK: Some television interviews recently- and there have been a bunch- notably failed to contradict Donald Trump or others casting doubt on where Mr. Obama was born. NBC's Meredith Vieira and ABC's Christiane Amanpour acknowledged those remarks passively. Amanpour did not challenge the Reverend Franklin Graham when he said this- REVEREND FRANKLIN GRAHAM (from ABC's “This Week”): The President, I know, has some issues to deal with here. He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly. I don't know why he can't produce that. Notice that the NPR reporter didn't support his claim by playing sound bites from specifically from Vieira or Amanpour. In the case of the NBC host's interview of Trump, it is abundantly clear that transcript doesn't support Folkenflik's assertion: MEREDITH VIEIRA: Recently, you spent a lot of time talking about President Obama's birth certificate, or lack thereof. You don't seem convinced that he has one. DONALD TRUMP: No, I'm not convinced that he has one. I've had very smart people say, 'Donald, stay on the China issue, stay on the Saudi Arabia issue, stay on the India taking our jobs and the Mexico, which is NAFTA, which cleaned out New England.' VIEIRA: Get off the birth certificate issue . TRUMP: Get off the birth certificate issue. VIEIRA: Why don't you? TRUMP: Because you know what? Three weeks ago, when I started, I thought he was probably born in this country, and now, I really have a much bigger doubt than I did before. VIEIRA: But based on what? TRUMP: And you know what? His grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya and she was there and witnessed the birth, okay? He doesn't have a birth certificate or he hasn't shown it. He has what's called certificate of live birth. That is something that's easy to get. When you want a birth certificate it's very hard to get. VIEIRA: But it's considered.- TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me. VIEIRA: The equivalent and in- TRUMP: It's not the equivalent. VIEIRA: No, wait, in the state of Hawaii, they said they have seen this document- TRUMP: Meredith, it's not the equivalent. VIEIRA: It is evidence that he was born in the United States. That's good enough for them. Scholars have looked at – TRUMP: A birth certificate is not even close. A certificate of live birth is not even signed by anybody. I saw his. I read it very carefully. It doesn't have a serial number. It doesn't have a signature. There's not even a signature- VIEIRA: Do you believe he's lying? TRUMP: And I'm starting to think that he was not born here. VIEIRA: Do you believe he's lying? TRUMP: He spent – listen, Meredith- VIEIRA: Donald, come on, just answer. TRUMP: Meredith, he spent $2 million in legal fees trying on to get away from this issue, and if he weren't lying, why wouldn't he just solve it? And I wish he would because if he doesn't it's one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period. You are not allowed to be a president if you're not born in this country. He may not have been born in this country, and I'll tell you what: three weeks ago, I thought he was born in this country. Right now, I have some real doubts. I have people that actually have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they're finding. If this is Vieira “passively” dealing with Trump's birther claims, one wonders what it would take to put it on the “active” part of the spectrum, according to Folkenflik's standards. Later in his report, the NPR reporter did at least acknowledge that the President made a false claim of his own during that Wednesday press conference: FOLKENFLIK: Today, President Obama said that during the budget battle two weeks ago- OBAMA: The dominant news story wasn't about these huge monumental choices that we're going to have to make as a nation. It was about my birth certificate. FOLKENFLIK: Now, that would appear to be a flat-out exaggeration .
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The Shake Weight it is not, but as 21st century workout solutions go, Tweet_Fit certainly has the potential to get people talking — or, at the very least, tweeting . Developed by a UK design student, the connected gym accessory attaches to the end of a standard dumbbell and sends updates to your Twitter account when you start and stop your workout. Take it offline and it guides you through the perfect curl. Tweet_Fit’s designer points out that it offers a novel way for trainers to keep track of their clients, and can be used to spur healthy competition between friends. Given, it won’t make bragging about how much you can bench any easier, but, then, tweeting an invitation to the gun show is so impersonal. Tweet_Fit is still a prototype, but you can check out a video of the Twitter-enabled dumbbell in action after the break. [Thanks, Fraser] Continue reading Tweet_Fit tweets while you sweat to the oldies (video) Tweet_Fit tweets while you sweat to the oldies (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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¿Toca Pepe a Alves? Semifinales de Champions Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona HD PEPE NO TOCA A DANI ALVES, ROJA INJUSTA, ROBO DE PARTIDO. Dani Alves symuluje faul, czerwona kartka dla Pepe [27.04.2011] Liga Mistrzów Pepe's Red Card Challenge On Dani Alves – Real Madrid vs Barcelona … Lots of controversy on this challenge by Pepe on Dani Alves ….. But when you give the referee a chance to make a decision, you’ve already put yourself in. Football round up Apr 27 2011 Booked: Dani Alves , Mascherano. Goals: Messi 76, 87. Att: 78000. Ref: Wolfgang Stark (Germany). Since Pep Guardiola became Barcelona manager, Lionel Messi has scored 137 goals in 154 games for the Catalans. … kallenfs – Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 2: match report The Real midfielder’s dismissal came for a studs-up challenge on Dani Alves , the Barcelona right-back who would be deemed too theatrical for RADA. Such was the poverty of player conduct that at times it made the World Cup final in … apixt – Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 2: match report The Real midfielder’s dismissal came for a studs-up challenge on Dani Alves , the Barcelona right-back who would be deemed too theatrical for RADA. Such was the poverty of player conduct that at times it made the World Cup final in … evinsp – Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 2: match report The Real midfielder’s dismissal came for a studs-up challenge on Dani Alves , the Barcelona right-back who would be deemed too theatrical for RADA. Such was the poverty of player conduct that at times it made the World Cup final in … NS130393 says: BREAKING NEWS: Dani Alves to be nominated for the next Oscars, as a reward of his brilliant(fake) rendition of a serious injury #pieceofshit
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