It is a country that has endured political instability, corruption and poverty for much of the past two decades. Its latest crisis sees Sali Berisha, the conservative prime minister, facing growing opposition from Socialists who accuse his government of abusing its power and rigging elections in 2009. Tensions between the two sides have been mounting for months and erupted into violent clashes last week in the capital Tirana. Three people were shot dead and more than 150 protesters injured at an opposition rally. The Socialists, led by Edi Rama, are demanding early elections. But Berisha has bluntly rejected that and accused the Socialists of trying to stage a coup. The EU, which Albania hopes to join one day, has urged the two leaders to resolve their differences peacefully. But what is behind the current crisis and is it really just a personal power struggle between two men who, according to some reports, have to bus their supporters in from the countryside to attend their rallies?
Continue reading …http://www.youtube.com/v/lygQzEoMyl0?f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata Original post: AJE Egypt picture slideshow
Continue reading …Internet and mobile phone services have been blocked in Egypt since early on Friday morning. Many viewers also had trouble watching Al Jazeera Arabic’s Live Service. Ayman Gaballah, head of Al Jazeera’s Live service, spoke about the ongoing black-out being experienced.
Continue reading …Bill Maher has for years bragged about his love for marijuana and his desire for drugs to be legalized. On HBO's “Real Time” Friday, the sometimes comedian linked our nation's education problems to drugs claiming, “The kids are dumb asses and their parents are dumb asses and they’re taking drugs and f–king and not learning” (video follows with transcript and commentary): BILL MAHER: [President Obama] seemed to be saying in this speech if I get it right that education is where we have to start. That if we're going to reclaim our place in the world — because we're not doing too well — we're going to have to spend money to educate our kids. I mean, the most recent nationwide science tests, a third of fourth graders and only a fifth of high school seniors are at the proficiency level. Allen Friedman, who's on the board who administers, says, “I was rather dismayed at the relative lackluster performance at the top of the achievement tests.” Well, it’s not your fault, Allen. Just watch that “Skins” show on MTV and you'll see what the problem is. The kids are dumb asses and their parents are dumb asses and they’re taking drugs and fucking and not learning. In reality, I agree with Maher that this is a huge part of the problem. But last week, he admitted – as he often does on his show – that he’s a frequent pot user that advocates the legalization of drugs: MAHER: Look, I have never made a secret of the fact that I have tried marijuana. UNKNOWN PANELIST: Shocking. [Cheers and applause] MAHER: About 50,000 times. The jury is still out. You know, I'm gathering evidence. RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: Testing. MAHER: But, you know, this is a picture from High Times. They have the, now I like High Times. You know, they do this every, they actually have a center fold like this. I never understood this, because, like, even if you like pot, well why, what do you, okay, that’s enough of it. Do you, do you, I mean, what do you masturbate to it? Okay. DAVID STOCKMAN: The two are related, alright. The number one source of gun violence in America is the fact that illegal drugs drive this massive culture of violence. And if we want to deal with gun violence, then let's legalize illegal drugs. STEPHEN MOORE, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I agree with that. [Cheers and applause] MOORE: In fact, just to punctuate that point, the murder rate… MAHER: Right on. MOORE: …the murder rate in the United States dropped every year for ten years after we eliminated prohibition. So, this is a good, you’re exactly right, this is a good way to fight crime. I think we may even have a consensus. MADDOW: I have learned when two Republicans are talking about legalizing drugs to shut up. [Cheers and applause] Of course, no one will forget the October 29, 2010, installment of “Real Time” when Maher said he supported California's Prop 19 – which would have legalized marijuana in the Golden State if it had passed – leading guest Zach Galifianakis to light up a joint on the set passing it around to other panelists. So which is it, Bill? Are drugs harming America's youth making it impossible for them to learn science and other subjects in school thereby harming our public education system, or should drugs be legalized so that you and your adult friends like Zach can smoke whatever and wherever you want? If the answer is the former, then stop glorifying drug use every chance you get bragging about it like some insecure child on the playground pretending he's cool to his friends. If it's the latter, then stop complaining about kids taking drugs and doing poorly in school for it is you and all your hip friends in Hollywood that are setting this pathetically poor example encouraging Amerca's youth to light up whenever the urge strikes them. If Maher wasn't so stoned all the time, he'd realize his hypocrisy is so thick you need Glenn Beck's chainsaw to cut it.
Continue reading …Facing a popular uprising, Egypt’s president fired his Cabinet after protesters engulfed his country in chaos, battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters and defying a night curfew enforced by the army. (Jan. 28)
Continue reading …Charlie Sheen is back in rehab and his hit CBS TV sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” is on hold, one day after a 911 caller said the actor was intoxicated and in pain. (Jan. 28)
Continue reading …The grapevine did already hint at the timing of the Verizon iPhone 4 pre-orders, but now, to be absolutely sure nobody misses them, we have a countdown ! Eager iPhone bandwagon jumpers will have to stay up till 3AM EST on February 3rd to get their orders in from a “reserved quantity” of handsets, which will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis — presumably to be delivered on that February 10th launch date everyone’s been anticipating for so long. Sadly for Verizon newcomers, a contract with the network will be a prerequisite for signing up when the countdown expires. [Thanks, Jarrett and Anthony] Continue reading Verizon turns on iPhone 4 pre-order countdown, existing customers can order on February 3rd at 3AM Verizon turns on iPhone 4 pre-order countdown, existing customers can order on February 3rd at 3AM originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 01:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chaos engulfed Egypt Friday as protesters seized the streets of the capital, battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters, and defying a night curfew enforced by a military deployment. (Jan. 28)
Continue reading …Tens of thousands of Egyptians ignored the nighttime curfew and took to the streets of Cairo for another day of protests, setting fire to police vehicles and the ruling party’s headquarters. A population generally viewed as being apathetic seems to have finally found its strong political voice. But with President Mubarak’s recent pronouncements unlikely to quench the thirst for change displayed on the streets, the outcome of Egypt’s protests remains to be seen. Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports.
Continue reading …If anyone doubts that our entertainment industry and our entertainment media are evangelists for a revolution of sexual immorality (or in their lingo, “progress”), he needs only to read the latest cover story in Entertainment Weekly magazine, a “special report” on gay teen characters on TV, and “How a bold new class of young gay characters on shows like 'Glee' is changing hearts, minds, and Hollywood.” Gay “Glee” actor Chris Colfer and his boyfriend on the show, Darren Criss, lovingly put their heads together on the cover. Colfer just won a Golden Globe for his part, which is another way the Hollywood press rewards propagandizing the youth of America. In his acceptance speech, he lamented anyone who would say a discouraging word about teen homosexuality, somehow putting all of those words in mouths of bullies: “Screw that, kids!” In this cover story, Colfer likens the gay couple he and Criss play to beloved and iconic teen-romance “Happy Days” characters from the 1970s: “They're kind of like the Joanie and Chachi of our generation,” he suggests. That line was played up in large promotional type over a full-page photograph of the couple. Their most controversial scene was the two private school boys singing “Baby, It's Cold Outside” to each other on the Fox show. “That was the gayest thing that has ever been on TV, period, “ Colfer boasted. The magazine touted this was the hottest-selling track on the “Glee” Christmas album, which gives you a flavor of Hollywood's reverence for that holy day. As you might suspect, Entertainment Weekly didn't plan to debate gay teen propaganda, but to encourage it, energetically. Not a single soul had anything critical to say. Not even a question. If this magazine weren't so earnestly in the tank, the story could come with a disclaimer: “This issue is an advertisement bought and paid for by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.” Writer Jennifer Armstrong summed it up like this: “The good news: Young gay characters are on a momentous roll after years of stops and starts.” EW championed under the inside headline how “networks are making up for years of on-air silence and providing inspiration for real-life youth (and parents) still searching for answers.” Armstrong says gay characters are “not just an accepted, but expected part of teen-centric television.” (Emphasis hers.) They are not celebrating diversity. They are intimidating dissidents. In their Gay Teen Timeline, we hear the gay actors proclaiming the lack of opposition. “We never received a negative word,” says the gay actor on ABC's 1994 bomb “My So-Called Life.” The gay teen on ABC's “Ugly Betty” insisted “99 percent of the public response was positive.” Translation: get in line. One of the leading cable channels in this revolution is ABC Family, which has come a very long distance from its origins as a Pat Robertson channel. Entertainment Weekly crowed that they top GLAAD's “Network Responsibility Index” – as in, you have a responsibility to engage in didactic pro-gay messaging. Most of ABC Family's teen shows seem to have a sympathetic gay character: “Greek,” “Huge,” Pretty Little Liars,” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” ABC Family vice president Kate Juergens underlined that the children are expecting this:
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