Tiger Woods apparently has a new girlfriend. According to the Daily Mail, Tiger has been seeing a 22-year-old student named Alyse Lahti Johnston from Cleveland, Ohio. (Click HERE for more pictures) The two have reportedly been seeing each other for “a few months” and they “have been spotted on Woods’ yacht.” Last year, Johnston was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Orlando, Fla. More from the Daily Mail: She is reportedly attending the Ohio-based Northwood University which has a campus in West Palm Beach, Florida – near Tiger’s new $60million bachelor pad. Tiger and ex-wife Elin Nordegren officially divorced in August of last year. Nordegren recently purchased a 17,178-square-foot home for $12.2 million in North Palm Beach, just 10 miles from Tiger’s new mansion in Jupiter, Fla. Scroll down for the photo: (The picture is from what is believed to be her Facebook page)
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Estimated three-quarters of the 14m Egyptians who voted back election blueprint but calls for reform in Syria and Saudi Arabia meet show of force Egyptians have strongly endorsed amendments to the country’s constitution as aftershocks from the Arab spring revolts rumbled into the furthest reaches of the region. More than 77% of the estimated 14 million-plus people who voted supported changes that will provide a blueprint for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within the next six months. Voting was mostly problem-free across the country, a significant result in a country that is emerging from more than three decades of dictatorship, when elections merely served to rubber-stamp ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s rule, and voter turn out was low. Elsewhere in the Arab world, tentative calls for democratic freedoms were met with force in both Saudi Arabia and Syria. In the Syrian town of Daraa, a second day of clashes with state security officers reportedly left one protester dead, in addition to the four reported killed on Saturday. A council building in the centre of town was burned down during the clashes. Some reports claimed it was a local headquarters of the Baath party, however they could not be verified. In Saudi Arabia, where demonstrations are banned, protesters tried to force their way into the interior ministry in Riyadh demanding the release of prisoners who they said had been detained for up to two years without trial. Around 15 people were arrested, but no serious violence was reported. However, the spectre of protests in the Saudi capital is something the Islamic kingdom’s leader, King Abdullah, has been trying to avoid as he battles to contain an uprising in Bahrain on his northern border. The Saudi government holds grave fears that the Shia protests in Bahrain could stir unrest in eastern Saudi Arabia, which is home to most of the 12% Shia population. Bahrain’s rulers have claimed to have uncovered a plot involving outside powers – an implicit reference to neighbouring Iran. The government asked Iranian diplomats to leave the tiny Gulf state and later called Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organisation that was destabilising the region and impinging on Bahrain’s sovereignty. The unusually vehement tones underscore the sensitivity in the Gulf, where all the petro-states have been under pressure from their citizens to introduce widespread reforms. Bahrain is in its second week of a three-month period of martial law, which was introduced after weeks of violent clashes between citizens and riot police. The clashes have taken on a sectarian tone that the kingdom is anxious to play down. Meanwhile, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the embattled leader of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has sacked his cabinet in the latest of a spate of moves designed to keep power. The clean sweep came two days after a massacre of more than 40 unarmed pro-reform protesters in the capital, Sana’a, which has drawn widespread condemnation and placed further pressure on Saleh to step down after more than 30 years in office. The attacks on Libya have left the Arab world largely mute, unlike the opposition voiced before the last western assault on an Arab capital eight years ago. Amid unrest and rebellion across the Middle East, a clear distinction has been made between the invasion of Baghdad and the bombing of selected targets in Libya. The former was widely condemned by many states that have had no such reservations about the bombing of Gaddafi’s forces by US and European planes. A key reason for that appears to be the west’s stated desire not to overthrow Gaddafi but to leave his fate to be
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Estimated three-quarters of the 14m Egyptians who voted back election blueprint but calls for reform in Syria and Saudi Arabia meet show of force Egyptians have strongly endorsed amendments to the country’s constitution as aftershocks from the Arab spring revolts rumbled into the furthest reaches of the region. More than 77% of the estimated 14 million-plus people who voted supported changes that will provide a blueprint for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within the next six months. Voting was mostly problem-free across the country, a significant result in a country that is emerging from more than three decades of dictatorship, when elections merely served to rubber-stamp ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s rule, and voter turn out was low. Elsewhere in the Arab world, tentative calls for democratic freedoms were met with force in both Saudi Arabia and Syria. In the Syrian town of Daraa, a second day of clashes with state security officers reportedly left one protester dead, in addition to the four reported killed on Saturday. A council building in the centre of town was burned down during the clashes. Some reports claimed it was a local headquarters of the Baath party, however they could not be verified. In Saudi Arabia, where demonstrations are banned, protesters tried to force their way into the interior ministry in Riyadh demanding the release of prisoners who they said had been detained for up to two years without trial. Around 15 people were arrested, but no serious violence was reported. However, the spectre of protests in the Saudi capital is something the Islamic kingdom’s leader, King Abdullah, has been trying to avoid as he battles to contain an uprising in Bahrain on his northern border. The Saudi government holds grave fears that the Shia protests in Bahrain could stir unrest in eastern Saudi Arabia, which is home to most of the 12% Shia population. Bahrain’s rulers have claimed to have uncovered a plot involving outside powers – an implicit reference to neighbouring Iran. The government asked Iranian diplomats to leave the tiny Gulf state and later called Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organisation that was destabilising the region and impinging on Bahrain’s sovereignty. The unusually vehement tones underscore the sensitivity in the Gulf, where all the petro-states have been under pressure from their citizens to introduce widespread reforms. Bahrain is in its second week of a three-month period of martial law, which was introduced after weeks of violent clashes between citizens and riot police. The clashes have taken on a sectarian tone that the kingdom is anxious to play down. Meanwhile, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the embattled leader of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has sacked his cabinet in the latest of a spate of moves designed to keep power. The clean sweep came two days after a massacre of more than 40 unarmed pro-reform protesters in the capital, Sana’a, which has drawn widespread condemnation and placed further pressure on Saleh to step down after more than 30 years in office. The attacks on Libya have left the Arab world largely mute, unlike the opposition voiced before the last western assault on an Arab capital eight years ago. Amid unrest and rebellion across the Middle East, a clear distinction has been made between the invasion of Baghdad and the bombing of selected targets in Libya. The former was widely condemned by many states that have had no such reservations about the bombing of Gaddafi’s forces by US and European planes. A key reason for that appears to be the west’s stated desire not to overthrow Gaddafi but to leave his fate to be
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Like a pesky video game villain that just won’t go away, Microsoft’s DirectX has been a mainstay of mainstream PC gaming pretty much since the inception. Its existence hasn’t been without its tensions, however, with notable graphics guru John Carmack of id Software ignoring it in favor of OpenGL — until last week when he finally acknowledged that Direct3D had outgrown its cross-platform alternative and was now the preferable API for PC game development. That’s all well and good, but plenty of game devs, says Richard Huddy, head of AMD’s developer relations team, don’t want any API at all. Huddy points out the sadly obvious fact that modern graphics cards can pretty much stomp any console hardware into the dirt in a straight fight and yet fail to show the full extent of their superiority in actual game visuals. He’d prefer to see developers given direct low-level access to the hardware, so they can maximize their own talents and really push things forward. Of course, the beauty of DirectX is that it’s a standard that every Windows game designer can code to, leading to predictable and more widely compatible (if not necessarily spectacular) results. For more on how the future’s shaping up, hit the links below. Game developers want DirectX to ‘go away,’ says AMD man originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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• Ofgem wants single tariff and no tie-ins for consumers • Watchdog wants suppliers to sell a fifth of generating capacity • Evidence companies put up bills quicker than they cut them in response to costs Britain’s electricity and gas suppliers have been ordered to reform their pricing and stop confusing customers, or face a formal referral to the Competition Commission. In a damning verdict on the UK energy market, industry regulator Ofgem said consumers are being “bamboozled”, with more than 300 different energy tariffs now available . It pledged to “sweep away this complexity”, so that households can easily compare prices and pick a good deal. The UK’s Big Six suppliers have just two months to accept wide-ranging reforms that will prevent them from continuing to fail customers, Ofgem warned. The regulator wants suppliers to sell off up to a fifth of their electricity generation capacity to inject much-needed competition into the industry. It also said that, for the first time, there was clear evidence that energy firms have adjusted their prices in response to rising costs more quickly than they reduced them when costs fell. “Ofgem’s proposals should force open the electricity and gas markets to ensure the market works effectively for consumers,” said Ofgem’s chairman, Lord Mogg. “The energy supply companies have eight weeks in which to engage constructively with Ofgem’s proposals. If firms frustrate reforms they risk ending up at the Competition Commission (CC). This is a holistic package of changes.” Three years ago, Ofgem conducted a probe into the energy market , which resulted in new measures that were meant to improve competition. It admitted on Monday that the industry’s response to the 2008 investigation had been “disappointingly poor”. It now wants to tighten licence conditions, so that suppliers comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of the law. “Consumers must have confidence that energy companies are playing fair at a time when they are being asked to foot the £200bn bill to pay for the investment Britain needs to ensure secure and sustainable energy supplies,” said Ofgem’s chief executive, Alistair Buchanan. Britain’s electricity and gas market was fully deregulated in the late 1990s , giving consumers the ability to take their energy from a range of suppliers. More than a decade on, though, the landscape is dominated by six companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power. According to Ofgem, these companies reap higher profits from customers who take both electricity and gas – the “dual-fuel” option – from the company which supplied them before deregulation. It hopes that forcing companies to auction off some of their generation capacity will help new firms to enter the market. On pricing, Ofgem proposes that suppliers would only be allowed to offer one single domestic tariff for each payment method, for so-called “evergreen” products which do not tie consumers into a fixed-term. This would make it easy to compare the suppliers’ “per unit” price. The regulator also announced that it has launched an investigation into Scottish Power over concerns that consumers are being frustrated when they try to switch to another supplier. It is already investigating how British Gas, EDF Energy and npower deal with consumers’ complaints, and is also conducting a separate probe into allegations of mis-selling by EDF Energy, npower, Scottish Power, and Scottish and Southern Energy. Ofgem’s proposals will now enter a consultation period, which will close on 1 June 2011. Utilities Energy industry Energy bills Consumer affairs Household bills EDF Energy Scottish and Southern Energy Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Ofgem wants single tariff and no tie-ins for consumers • Watchdog wants suppliers to sell a fifth of generating capacity • Evidence companies put up bills quicker than they cut them in response to costs Britain’s electricity and gas suppliers have been ordered to reform their pricing and stop confusing customers, or face a formal referral to the Competition Commission. In a damning verdict on the UK energy market, industry regulator Ofgem said consumers are being “bamboozled”, with more than 300 different energy tariffs now available . It pledged to “sweep away this complexity”, so that households can easily compare prices and pick a good deal. The UK’s Big Six suppliers have just two months to accept wide-ranging reforms that will prevent them from continuing to fail customers, Ofgem warned. The regulator wants suppliers to sell off up to a fifth of their electricity generation capacity to inject much-needed competition into the industry. It also said that, for the first time, there was clear evidence that energy firms have adjusted their prices in response to rising costs more quickly than they reduced them when costs fell. “Ofgem’s proposals should force open the electricity and gas markets to ensure the market works effectively for consumers,” said Ofgem’s chairman, Lord Mogg. “The energy supply companies have eight weeks in which to engage constructively with Ofgem’s proposals. If firms frustrate reforms they risk ending up at the Competition Commission (CC). This is a holistic package of changes.” Three years ago, Ofgem conducted a probe into the energy market , which resulted in new measures that were meant to improve competition. It admitted on Monday that the industry’s response to the 2008 investigation had been “disappointingly poor”. It now wants to tighten licence conditions, so that suppliers comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of the law. “Consumers must have confidence that energy companies are playing fair at a time when they are being asked to foot the £200bn bill to pay for the investment Britain needs to ensure secure and sustainable energy supplies,” said Ofgem’s chief executive, Alistair Buchanan. Britain’s electricity and gas market was fully deregulated in the late 1990s , giving consumers the ability to take their energy from a range of suppliers. More than a decade on, though, the landscape is dominated by six companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power. According to Ofgem, these companies reap higher profits from customers who take both electricity and gas – the “dual-fuel” option – from the company which supplied them before deregulation. It hopes that forcing companies to auction off some of their generation capacity will help new firms to enter the market. On pricing, Ofgem proposes that suppliers would only be allowed to offer one single domestic tariff for each payment method, for so-called “evergreen” products which do not tie consumers into a fixed-term. This would make it easy to compare the suppliers’ “per unit” price. The regulator also announced that it has launched an investigation into Scottish Power over concerns that consumers are being frustrated when they try to switch to another supplier. It is already investigating how British Gas, EDF Energy and npower deal with consumers’ complaints, and is also conducting a separate probe into allegations of mis-selling by EDF Energy, npower, Scottish Power, and Scottish and Southern Energy. Ofgem’s proposals will now enter a consultation period, which will close on 1 June 2011. Utilities Energy industry Energy bills Consumer affairs Household bills EDF Energy Scottish and Southern Energy Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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• Coalition forces launched a second wave of strikes • Dispute over whether civilians have been killed • Italy joins France, US, Britain and others • Gaddafi officials announce a fresh ceasefire Follow live updates here 9.34am: The EU’s top foreign policy official is trying to play down cracks in the coalition. Catherine Ashton says the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, was misquoted when he expressed alarm at reported civilians deaths in the first raids. “Moussa was misquoted, as I understand it,” said Ashton, without elaborating on what she thought what Moussa actually said. Shortly after the air strikes began, Moussa yesterday told reporters in Cairo that, “What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives. What we want is civilians’ protection not shelling more civilians.” 9.25am: British commanders have insisted that the targets so far have been “carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties”. Earlier we heard France say it had no evidence of any civilian casualties , apparently in response to the Arab League calling for an emergency meeting and claiming coalition strikes had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. The Guardian’s security and defence correspondent, Nick Hopkins, has been speaking to Air Vice Marshall Phil Osborn, who said the military are “hugely aware of the risks”. “The targeting would have been highly detailed. We will not proceed against targets if the risk is deemed to be unacceptable. The risk of collateral damage is at the forefront of our minds.” Major General John Lorimer told Nick: “Targets were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and to strike at key military instillations in Libya.” 9.12am: The Guardian’s Chris McGreal is at “what is now the front line”, 9km outside Ajdabiya, having travelled with rejuvenated rebel forces from Benghazi. He says rebel forces have gained 150km of ground , and a substantial amount of morale, since coalition air strikes began on Saturday morning. He says Gaddafi’s forces have been driven all the way back to the edge of Ajdabiya – having previously been on the outskirts of Benghazi – but are repelling any further advance by the rebels. There definitely is continuing resistance. There have been a number of incoming tank rounds from Gaddafi’s forces, which suggests that they’ve still got tanks, they may still have some rockets. But above us now we can hear planes, which we have to assume are coalition planes, and we have heard a number of very deep explosions in the past few minutes which suggests those are attacks by coalition forces, possibly on those same tanks which were shelling us just a few minutes earlier. Chris says: “If the coalition air forces are now turning their attention to those Gaddafi forces around Ajdabiya I can only imagine they’re going to meet the same fate as they did on the edge of Benghazi, which was fairly comprehensive destruction”. 9.06am: Reports of air strikes on or around Gaddafi-held Ajdabiya in the last few minutes. More shortly. 8.50am: I’ve just been speaking to the Guardian’s Ian Black , who is in Tripoli and has more on the alleged bombing of Gaddafi’s compound in the capital by coalition forces. The compound was famously bombed in 1986 by the US in retaliation for a terrorist attack blamed on Libya against US troops in Germany, which gives a “symbolic significance” to the strike, Ian says. Something happened, certainly, in the centre of Tripoli last night I could certainly see a substantial column of smoke rising from the general direction of it, maybe a couple of miles from where I am. There was a lot of very, very loud, but pretty erratic, anti-aircraft fire going up around the same time, and later on in the middle of the night some reporters were taken to the compound to see the damage. Ian says journalists were shown a three storey building that was “in ruins”, but there was no smoke or flames at the scene. He adds: “Whatever happened has been used quite energetically by the Libyan propaganda system to present its view of what is going on. It’s hard to say what exactly did happen.” 8.27am: The head of the Gulf’s main political bloc, the Gulf Cooperation Council, has said Qatar and the United Arab Emirates remain part of the international military coalition. Abdul Rahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah said the two states are part of the coalition, despite criticism from Arab League’s Secretary-General Amr Moussa that the attacks had killed civilians. Al-Attiyah did not clarify Qatar and the UAE’s role or say whether they have taken part in air strikes. He spoke on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Abu Dhabi. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. 8.13am: Yesterday we heard that supporters of Gaddafi had formed a human shield around his compound in Tripoli, with men, women and children singing songs against the rebel “germs”. But it is likely such fervour does not quite sum up the mood of all those in the capital, with many tweets suggesting less warmth towards the Libyan leader. @OurLibya Tripoli’s silence is not a sign of consent. it is muted by Gaddafi brutality.I live in Tripoli and I know what I am talking about.#Libya 8am: Good morning, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the continuing military intervention in Libya, as Gaddafi remains in power. • Coalition forces have launched the second night of air strikes on Libya after halting the advance of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on Benghazi and targeting air defences to allow their planes to enforce the no-fly zone. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the US military’s Joint Staff, told reporters there had been no new Libyan air activity or radar emissions, but a significant decrease in Libyan air surveillance, since the strikes began on Saturday. Benghazi was not yet free from threat, Gortney said, but Gaddafi’s forces in the area were in distress and “suffering from isolation and confusion” after the air assaults. • France – the first country to bomb Libya on Saturday – said on Monday morning it has no evidence of civilians being killed, contradicting the Arab League, which had said the strikes had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. A Libyan government health official said 64 people had been killed by Western bombardment on Saturday and Sunday morning, while the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called for an emergency meeting of the group’s 22 states to discuss Libya. He requested a report on the bombardment, which he said had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. “What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” Egypt’s state news agency quoted him as saying. French government spokesman Francois Baroin told television Canal+ that “there is no information of killed civilians that the French command is aware of”. • Italy joined the attacks on Sunday night, as Gaddafi officials claimed the Libyan leader’s Tripoli compound had been targeted. Libyan officials took Western reporters to Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli – a sprawling complex that houses his private quarters as well as military barracks, anti-aircraft batteries and other installations – to show what they claimed was the site of a missile attack two hours earlier. “It was a barbaric bombing,” said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, showing pieces of shrapnel that he said came from the missile. “This contradicts American and Western [statements] … that it is not their target to attack this place.” The Guardian has been unable to confirm the damage was caused by coalition air strikes. • The onslaught resumed last night despite a ceasefire announced by the Libyan authorities at 7pm UK time. “We, the Popular Social Leadership of Libya, recommend to the armed forces to announce an immediate ceasefire to all military units,” said regime spokesman Ibrahim Moussa in a pre-prepared statement. Earlier in the day, the Libyan dictator had threatened “a long war”, and his forces launched a fresh assault on rebels in Misrata, where one resident in the town said pro-Gaddafi boats in the port were preventing aid from reaching the town. Libya Arab and Middle East protests Protest Muammar Gaddafi Military Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Coalition forces launched a second wave of strikes • Dispute over whether civilians have been killed • Italy joins France, US, Britain and others • Gaddafi officials announce a fresh ceasefire Follow live updates here 9.34am: The EU’s top foreign policy official is trying to play down cracks in the coalition. Catherine Ashton says the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, was misquoted when he expressed alarm at reported civilians deaths in the first raids. “Moussa was misquoted, as I understand it,” said Ashton, without elaborating on what she thought what Moussa actually said. Shortly after the air strikes began, Moussa yesterday told reporters in Cairo that, “What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives. What we want is civilians’ protection not shelling more civilians.” 9.25am: British commanders have insisted that the targets so far have been “carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties”. Earlier we heard France say it had no evidence of any civilian casualties , apparently in response to the Arab League calling for an emergency meeting and claiming coalition strikes had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. The Guardian’s security and defence correspondent, Nick Hopkins, has been speaking to Air Vice Marshall Phil Osborn, who said the military are “hugely aware of the risks”. “The targeting would have been highly detailed. We will not proceed against targets if the risk is deemed to be unacceptable. The risk of collateral damage is at the forefront of our minds.” Major General John Lorimer told Nick: “Targets were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and to strike at key military instillations in Libya.” 9.12am: The Guardian’s Chris McGreal is at “what is now the front line”, 9km outside Ajdabiya, having travelled with rejuvenated rebel forces from Benghazi. He says rebel forces have gained 150km of ground , and a substantial amount of morale, since coalition air strikes began on Saturday morning. He says Gaddafi’s forces have been driven all the way back to the edge of Ajdabiya – having previously been on the outskirts of Benghazi – but are repelling any further advance by the rebels. There definitely is continuing resistance. There have been a number of incoming tank rounds from Gaddafi’s forces, which suggests that they’ve still got tanks, they may still have some rockets. But above us now we can hear planes, which we have to assume are coalition planes, and we have heard a number of very deep explosions in the past few minutes which suggests those are attacks by coalition forces, possibly on those same tanks which were shelling us just a few minutes earlier. Chris says: “If the coalition air forces are now turning their attention to those Gaddafi forces around Ajdabiya I can only imagine they’re going to meet the same fate as they did on the edge of Benghazi, which was fairly comprehensive destruction”. 9.06am: Reports of air strikes on or around Gaddafi-held Ajdabiya in the last few minutes. More shortly. 8.50am: I’ve just been speaking to the Guardian’s Ian Black , who is in Tripoli and has more on the alleged bombing of Gaddafi’s compound in the capital by coalition forces. The compound was famously bombed in 1986 by the US in retaliation for a terrorist attack blamed on Libya against US troops in Germany, which gives a “symbolic significance” to the strike, Ian says. Something happened, certainly, in the centre of Tripoli last night I could certainly see a substantial column of smoke rising from the general direction of it, maybe a couple of miles from where I am. There was a lot of very, very loud, but pretty erratic, anti-aircraft fire going up around the same time, and later on in the middle of the night some reporters were taken to the compound to see the damage. Ian says journalists were shown a three storey building that was “in ruins”, but there was no smoke or flames at the scene. He adds: “Whatever happened has been used quite energetically by the Libyan propaganda system to present its view of what is going on. It’s hard to say what exactly did happen.” 8.27am: The head of the Gulf’s main political bloc, the Gulf Cooperation Council, has said Qatar and the United Arab Emirates remain part of the international military coalition. Abdul Rahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah said the two states are part of the coalition, despite criticism from Arab League’s Secretary-General Amr Moussa that the attacks had killed civilians. Al-Attiyah did not clarify Qatar and the UAE’s role or say whether they have taken part in air strikes. He spoke on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Abu Dhabi. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. 8.13am: Yesterday we heard that supporters of Gaddafi had formed a human shield around his compound in Tripoli, with men, women and children singing songs against the rebel “germs”. But it is likely such fervour does not quite sum up the mood of all those in the capital, with many tweets suggesting less warmth towards the Libyan leader. @OurLibya Tripoli’s silence is not a sign of consent. it is muted by Gaddafi brutality.I live in Tripoli and I know what I am talking about.#Libya 8am: Good morning, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the continuing military intervention in Libya, as Gaddafi remains in power. • Coalition forces have launched the second night of air strikes on Libya after halting the advance of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on Benghazi and targeting air defences to allow their planes to enforce the no-fly zone. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the US military’s Joint Staff, told reporters there had been no new Libyan air activity or radar emissions, but a significant decrease in Libyan air surveillance, since the strikes began on Saturday. Benghazi was not yet free from threat, Gortney said, but Gaddafi’s forces in the area were in distress and “suffering from isolation and confusion” after the air assaults. • France – the first country to bomb Libya on Saturday – said on Monday morning it has no evidence of civilians being killed, contradicting the Arab League, which had said the strikes had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. A Libyan government health official said 64 people had been killed by Western bombardment on Saturday and Sunday morning, while the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called for an emergency meeting of the group’s 22 states to discuss Libya. He requested a report on the bombardment, which he said had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”. “What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” Egypt’s state news agency quoted him as saying. French government spokesman Francois Baroin told television Canal+ that “there is no information of killed civilians that the French command is aware of”. • Italy joined the attacks on Sunday night, as Gaddafi officials claimed the Libyan leader’s Tripoli compound had been targeted. Libyan officials took Western reporters to Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli – a sprawling complex that houses his private quarters as well as military barracks, anti-aircraft batteries and other installations – to show what they claimed was the site of a missile attack two hours earlier. “It was a barbaric bombing,” said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, showing pieces of shrapnel that he said came from the missile. “This contradicts American and Western [statements] … that it is not their target to attack this place.” The Guardian has been unable to confirm the damage was caused by coalition air strikes. • The onslaught resumed last night despite a ceasefire announced by the Libyan authorities at 7pm UK time. “We, the Popular Social Leadership of Libya, recommend to the armed forces to announce an immediate ceasefire to all military units,” said regime spokesman Ibrahim Moussa in a pre-prepared statement. Earlier in the day, the Libyan dictator had threatened “a long war”, and his forces launched a fresh assault on rebels in Misrata, where one resident in the town said pro-Gaddafi boats in the port were preventing aid from reaching the town. Libya Arab and Middle East protests Protest Muammar Gaddafi Military Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Nexus S 4G confirmed by Sprint’s own website, first ‘fully integrated’ Google Voice smartphone
March 21, 2011 No Comment
in case we didn’t leak this thoroughly enough for your tastes, here’s Sprint spoiling its own surprise: the Nexus S is coming to the Now Network in a 4G flavor. Touted as “Pure Google,” this WiMAX-toting device will be the very first to feature “fully integrated” Google Voice — which we’re told means using only one number for all your calls and permits for things like web calling and voicemail transcription. Pretty snazzy, if you ask us, and potentially even more important than the mere addition of 4G networking. All it took to discover this bit of intel was a casual search for “nexus” on Sprint’s web portal, not exactly the hardest snooping job ever, but we appreciate our eagle-eyed tipster for doing it all the same. Now it’s just a matter of waiting a few more hours until Sprint’s CTIA event to hear the full details of its collaboration with Google. [Thanks, MTW] Update: What do you know, Sprint must read Engadget. The offending search topic has now disappeared from its public servers. Nexus S 4G confirmed by Sprint’s own website, first ‘fully integrated’ Google Voice smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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ostara11 Spring Equinox Earth Healing Meditation Ostara, Supermoon and other trivials Blog O' The Irish: Ostara and Spring Equinox Ostara is a festival of fertility and growth. Ostara occurs on the Spring Equinox, the first day of Spring. On this day, darkness and light are in balance. From this day onward, day will dominate the night and the Earth will explode … Capital Witch: Ostara and Prayers Under Cherry Blossoms Happy Ostara from the DC Pagan Newswire Collective! We’ve been having quite the busy sabbat weekend with much to report on and more on the way. Ostara in Arlington Yesterday I attended the Ostara open circle at The Firefly House, … Ostara's history, observances and ties to Easter | Hot News Today Ostara , a pagan holiday surrounding the move from winter into spring, is celebrated by pagans on the spring equinox each year. Ostara is an homage to a Norse goddess whose symbols include the egg and the hare. … ostara – March 20, 2011 | Submit Digital Ostara , a pagan holiday surrounding the move from winter into spring, is celebrated by pagans on the spring equinox each year. Ostara is an homage to a Norse goddess whose symbols include the egg and the hare . … Dermorae All Buzzing Information » Breaking News: Ostara Black Hills area heathens, neo-pagans and witches cede hold sabbats, blots and other routine gatherings this weekend to mark Ostara , or Eostre, more commonly known as the spring equinox. Spring begins Sunday, March 20, also polytheistic … IncitingARiot says: New post on IncitingARiot.com about Ostara , Super Moon, and my first #DoTheStuffChallenge task! Send in YOUR feedback!
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