LAPD to split $1,000,000 Christopher Dorner reward among three parties that no one can confirm even exist

In the manhunt for Christopher Dorner, an ex-cop who went on a murder rampage, the LAPD promised a $1 million reward for “information leading to his capture and conviction”. But the department is now splitting the reward into three parts.

The Los Angeles Police Departmenton Tuesday announced that $800,000 of the reward would go to the couple that was found tied up in their cabin in Big Bear, Calif. Jim and Karen Reynolds said that Dorner confronted them with a gun, bound and gagged them in their mountain cabin, and stole their car. The LAPD claims that the information they provided “directly led to the hot pursuit and capture of Dorner.”

“Had Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds failed promptly to escape their restraints and contact law enforcement, it is likely Dorner would have escaped,” stated the 12-page LAPD report that announced the division of the reward.

But two others received a portion of the reward, which was highly anticipated and sought by at least 12 people who claim they provided information that was crucial in the manhunt.

The man who found Dorner’s burning truck in the Big Bear area will receive about $150,000, and the remaining $50,000 will be awarded to the truck driver who reported seeing Dorner at a gas station.

The division of the reward may be disappointing to those who may have expected the entire $1 million, and those who claim they provided a useful tip but received nothing for their help.

http://rt.com/usa/lapd-dorner-reward-million-016/

Ohio suspect Ariel Castro charged with 4 counts kidnapping, 3 counts rape

Cleveland authorities have announced that charges will be focused against Ariel Castro, but not his brothers Pedro and Onil, in the kidnapping and forced captivity case of Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus.

Castro is being charged with 4 counts of kidnapping and 3 counts of rape. Allegations had recently surfaced that the three women he is thought to have kidnapped had been sexually abused and likely impregnated during their captivity, which is thought to have included physical restraints.

http://rt.com/usa/ohio-kidnapping-rape-charges-026/

Jodi Arias verdict: GUILTY of first degree murder, penalty to be declared tomorrow

Amanda Berry arrives at sister's home after decade in captivity

Scientists find sunken continent off Brazil

Despite Israeli strikes, U.S. wary of Syria power

Israeli missiles breached Syria's vaunted air defense system over the weekend, but that offered little comfort to U.S. military planners weighing the risks of any intervention against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

With some of the possible U.S. military options in Syria involving a need for air power, the Pentagon remains concerned about Assad's ability to shoot down enemy aircraft with surface-to-air missiles, particularly in a sustained campaign.

President Barack Obama has resisted pressure to deepen involvement in Syria's civil war and has stopped short of even limited steps like arming the anti-government rebels.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-usa-syria-defenses-idUSBRE9470UE20130508

4.7 Magnitude Earthquake MAUG ISLANDS REG, N. MARIANA IS. - 8th May 2013

Magnitude M 4.7
Region MAUG ISLANDS REG, N. MARIANA IS.
Date time 2013-05-08 19:01:13.4 UTC
Location 20.09 N ; 144.39 E
Depth 10 km
Distances 1788 km S of Tokyo, Japan / pop: 8,336,599 / local time: 04:01:13.4 2013-05-09

South Korean military wants documentary casting doubt on whether North Korea really sank the Navy corvette Cheonan banned

The South Korean military wants to ban a documentary that casts doubt on whether North Korea really sank the Navy corvette Cheonan. The families of the sailors who died aboard the Cheonan are joining the military in filing an injunction against the screening of the film.

Earlier this week, the Defense Ministry discussed possible legal steps and decided to involve the families for fear of causing a public outcry.

"The filing of the injunction must be taken from the context of a defamation suit," a Defense Ministry official said Tuesday. "It's legally impossible for the Defense Ministry and the Navy to be libeled, and the defense minister and Navy chief concluded it is legally ambiguous whether the film defames them personally."

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/05/08/2013050801033.html

Matt's thoughts:

Gee whiz, now why would they want this banned?

Due to the "emotional distress" experienced by the deceased's families?

Once again: emotion > intelligence = propaganda.

OBAMA 'ON VERGE' OF BACKING FBI PLAN TO TAP WEB USERS...

The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.

The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, has argued that the bureau’s ability to carry out court-approved eavesdropping on suspects is “going dark” as communications technology evolves, and since 2010 has pushed for a legal mandate requiring companies like Facebook and Google to build into their instant-messaging and other such systems a capacity to comply with wiretap orders. That proposal, however, bogged down amid concerns by other agencies, like the Commerce Department, about quashing Silicon Valley innovation.

While the F.B.I.’s original proposal would have required Internet communications services to each build in a wiretapping capacity, the revised one, which must now be reviewed by the White House, focuses on fining companies that do not comply with wiretap orders. The difference, officials say, means that start-ups with a small number of users would have fewer worries about wiretapping issues unless the companies became popular enough to come to the Justice Department’s attention.

Still, the plan is likely to set off a debate over the future of the Internet if the White House submits it to Congress, according to lawyers for technology companies and advocates of Internet privacy and freedom.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/politics/obama-may-back-fbi-plan-to-wiretap-web-users.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0

Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study

Gun crime has plunged in the United States since its peak in the middle of the 1990s, including gun killings, assaults, robberies and other crimes, two new studies of government data show.

Yet few Americans are aware of the dramatic drop, and more than half believe gun crime has risen, according to a newly released survey by the Pew Research Center.

In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.

The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that weren’t fatal fell by 69%. However, guns still remain the most common murder weapon in the United States, the report noted. Between 1993 and 2011, more than two out of three murders in the U.S. were carried out with guns, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found.

The bureau also looked into non-fatal violent crimes. Few victims of such crimes -- less than 1% -- reported using a firearm to defend themselves.

Despite the remarkable drop in gun crime, only 12% of Americans surveyed said gun crime had declined compared with two decades ago, according to Pew, which surveyed more than 900 adults this spring. Twenty-six percent said it had stayed the same, and 56% thought it had increased.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gun-crimes-pew-report-20130507,0,3022693.story

Matt's thoughts:

Americans think a great many things these days because many of them have sadly lot their ability to think for themselves amidst a rash of propaganda and the easy path of basing conclusions on emotions rather than intelligence and logic.

They think Jeff Bauman was an actual casualty at the Boston Bombing and not an actor.

They think Sandy Hook was a real shooting, and that real people actually died there.

They think Muslims, 99.9% of which have never done an evil thing in their lives, are the enemy.

They think the Quran is a book of violence, when it's anything but.

They think the American constitution is outdated, when it's anything but.

They think comfort is more important than freedom.

They think protesting and holding up banners alone will actually change things.

They think voting and similar passive participation in the system will actually change things.

They think having a foot in the boat and a foot on shore is responsibility enough.

It goes on, and on, and on: emotion has been turned on, intellect has been turned off.

Therefore, every American's task today is as follows:

1. Investigate something questionable.
2. Learn something practical.
3. Stop complying with one facet of the status quo.

Repeat each and every day from here on in.

Change will come, guaranteed.

UK out of EU within six years - Nigel Farage

Syrian internet back after 19-hour blackout

The internet in Syria appears to have returned after a nationwide blackout knocked the country offline for more than 19 hours.

Monitoring company Renesys noted signs of activity at around 14:30 GMT (17:30 local time) on Wednesday.

Local state-run media had reported earlier that a "fault in optical fibre cables" was to blame for the blackout.

However, experts dismissed this explanation as "unlikely".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22447247

Spain's Rajoy balks at making deeper reforms

After a year of radical reforms that made Spain more competitive but also exacerbated a deep recession, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has largely lost his appetite for aggressive and unpopular cuts to pensions or state bureaucracy.

His plunging approval rating at home is holding him back as unemployment soars to 27 percent. Sources within the government say he has also reached the view that deeper reforms at home will win him few points in negotiations with European partners.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-spain-reforms-idUSBRE9470N120130508

China Bird flu: WHO has been notified of 131 #H7N9 laboratory-confirmed case, including 32 deaths

Two more die in Saudi Arabia from SARS-like virus: WHO

Two more people in Saudi Arabia have died from a new strain of coronavirus that has emerged in the Middle East, bringing the toll in the kingdom's latest outbreak to seven, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Six other people are infected, one of them critically ill, in an outbreak centered on a health care facility in Al Ahsa governorate in Eastern Province, WHO spokesman Glenn Thomas said in Geneva.

Worldwide, there have been 30 laboratory-confirmed infections with the new virus, including 18 deaths, since it came to scientists' attention last September, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/07/us-virus-saudi-idUSBRE9460CM20130507

France reports first case of new SARS-like virus

France has identified its first case of a new strain of coronavirus emerging from the Middle East in a person recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said it had opened an investigation into what it said was the first and only confirmed case of the virus in France and would hold a news conference later in the day.

"The person has been placed in isolation in an intensive care ward," the ministry said in a statement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-coronavirus-france-idUSBRE94709Q20130508

Freddie Mac posts second-biggest profit in its history

Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), the No. 2 provider of U.S. mortgage money, posted its second-largest quarterly profit in company history in the first quarter due to rising home prices, falling mortgage delinquencies and increased refinance activity.

The government-controlled company on Wednesday reported net income of $4.6 billion for the first three months of the year, up from $577 million in the year-ago quarter. It was the company's sixth straight quarter of profits, and the largest since a $5.7 billion gain in the third quarter of 2002.

Freddie Mac, which faced insolvency when it was seized by the U.S. government in 2008, paid $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury in the first quarter as a dividend payment under the terms of its government bail-out

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-usa-freddiemac-earnings-idUSBRE9470I120130508

Diamond Heist: Arrests Over Brussels Raid

Police have arrested 33 people suspected of being involved in a £30m diamond heist at a Brussels airport.

A large amount of cash and diamonds were recovered in the early morning raids, involving more than 200 officers across Belgium, France and Switzerland.

One suspected member of the eight-man gang that allegedly staged the theft was arrested in France, while Swiss police made a eight arrests and Belgian police took 24 people into custody.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088362/diamond-heist-arrests-over-brussels-raid

Genoa: Seven Dead As Ship Crashes Into Port

At least seven people have died and six are missing after a container ship smashed into a control tower at the port of Genoa.

Unconfirmed reports have suggested engine failure of the Jolly Nero ship could have been to blame for the crash after one of the pilots was quoted as saying: "Two engines seem to have failed and we lost control of the ship."

Part of the tower, in which about 14 people were present at the time of the crash, collapsed into the water.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088080/genoa-seven-dead-as-ship-crashes-into-port

Emmure Singer Palmeri Electrocuted On Stage

The lead singer of US 'deathcore' group Emmure has been electrocuted on stage.

Performing at a gig in Moscow, Frankie Palmeri, suddenly collapsed to the floor mid-song.

In footage filmed by a fan, another person appears to get a shock after trying to help the singer.

The band pulled the plug on the rest of the performance and later apologised to those who had turned up to see them.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088348/emmure-singer-palmeri-electrocuted-on-stage

Shark Attack: Man Killed Off Reunion Island

A man has been attacked and killed by a shark on his honeymoon while surfing near a beach on the French island of Reunion.

The 36-year-old French national was in the sea just off the popular beach of Brisants de Saint-Gilles on the west of the island when a shark charged at him twice, prompting a nearby swimmer to raise the alarm when he saw blood on the water, the local prefecture said.

Lifeguards jumped in the water to fetch the victim, who had lost a lot of blood and was in cardiac and respiratory arrest. They brought him back to the beach but were unable to revive him.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088367/shark-attack-man-killed-off-reunion-island

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake KURIL ISLANDS - 8th May 2013

Magnitude mb 4.4
Region KURIL ISLANDS
Date time 2013-05-08 14:10:48.0 UTC
Location 44.12 N ; 147.32 E
Depth 80 km
Distances
59 km NE of Шикотан, Russia / pop: 2,100 / local time: 01:10:48.0 2013-05-09

Married, But Living Apart: Highly Unorthodox Arrangement Is Growing In Popularity Among Americans

You fall in love, get married, and move into separate homes?

Believe it or not, such an arrangement is growing in popularity with couples who say living apart is what’s keeping them together, CBS 2’s Maurice DuBois reported Tuesday night.

“We decided right away that we were going to keep our own places,” Allen Sheinman said.

Sheinman and his wife, Collette Stallone, wanted to get married, but neither wanted to give up their Manhattan apartments, so they didn’t.

“What it would mean is that we could be married and still feel like we’re dating,” Sheinman said, “and it actually wasn’t a bad way to go.”

The same was true for Lisa Haisha. She lives in one home, and her husband of seven years lives a few blocks away.

“We want to be the wind beneath each other’s wings, not clip each other’s wings,” Haisha said.

Jeanette Lofas credits living apart from her husband of 10 years for her happy marriage. She lives on Long Island and her husband in Manhattan, but they get together on weekends.

“It’s more of a celebration when he comes,” Lofas said.

It may seem unusual, but these non-traditional arrangements are more common than you think. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 1.7 million married couples in the U.S choose to live apart, and experts say that number is on the rise.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/07/seen-at-11-married-but-living-apart/

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA - 8th May 2013

Magnitude
4.6
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 13:34:02 UTC
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 10:34:02 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
4.407°S, 133.899°E
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
Distances
154 km (95 miles) NNW of Dobo, Indonesia

17 ICBM officers stripped of launch permission as "rot" spreads through US nuclear forces (and the entire military)

The Air Force stripped an unprecedented 17 officers of their authority to control - and, if necessary, launch - nuclear missiles after a string of unpublicized failings, including a remarkably dim review of their unit's launch skills. The group's deputy commander said it is suffering "rot" within its ranks.

"We are, in fact, in a crisis right now," the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by the Air Force.

The tip-off to trouble was a March inspection of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., which earned the equivalent of a "D" grade when tested on its mastery of Minuteman III missile launch operations. In other areas, the officers tested much better, but the group's overall fitness was deemed so tenuous that senior officers at Minot decided, after probing further, that an immediate crackdown was called for.

The Air Force publicly called the inspection a "success."

But in April it quietly removed 17 officers at Minot from the highly sensitive duty of standing 24-hour watch over the Air Force's most powerful nuclear missiles, the intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike targets across the globe. Inside each underground launch control capsule, two officers stand "alert" at all times, ready to launch an ICBM upon presidential order.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NUCLEAR_MISSTEPS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-05-08-03-13-34

Mysterious 30-foot long 'sea monster' with huge teeth found on washed up on New Zealand beach

The rotting carcass of a mysterious-looking 'sea monster' has been found washed ashore on a New Zealand beach.

A YouTube video filmed by Elizabeth Ann on Pukehina Beach shows the half-buried head of the carcass with jagged teeth and gaping jaws.

Most of the rest of the creature's body is missing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2321269/Mysterious-rotting-sea-monster-carcass-New-Zealand-beach-jagged-teeth-30-FEET-long.html

Nasa releases stunning image of giant 'solar whip' as sun heads for 11 year solar maximum

Nasa has revealed an astonishing image of a giant solar 'whip' on the surface of the sun captured as a solar flare erupted.

The amazing image, captured on May 3rd, shows a solar prominence, a loop of red hot plasma which remains attached to the sun, and appeared just as a solar flare was subsiding.

Experts say it is another sign the sun is 'waking up' as it approaches its 11 year solar maximum, which is due later this year.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2321187/Look-Nasa-releases-stunning-image-latest-flare-heading-Earth-sun-heads-solar-maximum.html

Syria cut off from the internet: Complete online blackout for second time in six months amid growing civil unrest

Internet connections between Syria and the outside world have been cut off, according to data from Google and other global Internet companies.

Google's Transparency Report showed traffic to Google services pages from the country, embroiled in a civil war that has lasted more than two years, suddenly stopping shortly before 7pm on Tuesday.

Other firms such as Akamai also revealed a total block on traffic.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2321173/Syria-suffers-complete-internet-blackout-second-time-months-civil-war.html

911 dispatcher under investigation after 'cold' treatment of Amanda Berry as she made desperate plea for help

Cleveland officials are reviewing the actions of the 911 dispatcher who took Amanda Berry’s call seconds after she fled the Cleveland dungeon where she and two others had been held captive for a decade.

The desperate call for help led to the discovery of Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were found alive on Monday inside a house in the west side of the city.

But the 911 dispatcher - one of the first people Miss Berry spoke to after her decade long captivity - has been criticized for not comforting the distressed caller and not keeping the 26-year-old on the phone until the police arrived.

The dispatcher came under fire as it was revealed last night that police bungled three calls that could have led to the earlier rescue of the sex slave victims.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321169/911-dispatcher-investigation-cold-treatment-Amanda-Berry-desperate-plea-help.html

Boston Bombing Fund 'Not Enough To Go Around'

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino does not want the bombing suspect's body to be buried in his city, an aide to the mayor has said the same day victims were told to lower their expectations of compensation.

The attorney administering the fund to help bombing victims said during a public meeting on Tuesday there may not be enough money in One Fund Boston to go around.

Kenneth Feinberg said the $28m (£18.1m) collected so far "isn't enough money to pay everybody who justifiably expects it or needs it".

Three people were killed and 260 injured by the April 15 bombing at the Boston Marathon.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088071/boston-bombing-fund-not-enough-to-go-around

Melanie Smith sentenced to life for the murder of a family of five

Melanie Smith will serve a minimum of 30 years after being sentenced to life for the murder of a family of five who died during a house fire in Prestatyn, Wales.

Lee-Anna Shiers, 20, her four-year-old nephew, Bailey, and two-year-old niece, Skye, died in the arson attack at their home on October 19, 2012.

Firefighters managed to get Ms Shiers' 15-month-old son Charlie and his father Liam Timbrell, 23, from the first-floor flat, but they died later in hospital.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088301/life-sentence-for-prestatyn-fire-deaths

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 8th May 2013

Magnitude
4.5
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 11:18:13 UTC
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 08:18:13 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
35.688°N, 140.677°E
Depth
52.9 km (32.9 miles)
Region
NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances
4 km (2 miles) SE of Asahi, Japan

Now David Cameron Lied again as a letter is revealed in which he admits he CAN'T guarantee EU referendum

The stark declaration, revealed in a private letter to Conservative MPs, comes despite Mr Cameron insisting only days ago that he would consider the introdution of legislation paving the way for a vote on Europe after the next election.

In the letter, Mr Cameron admitted that his Coalition deal with the pro-European Liberal Democrats means the Government cannot introduce legislation paving the way for a vote on Europe after the next election.

Mr Cameron has promised to hold a referendum on the UK relationship with the EU in the next Parliament, if he is re-elected.

"This Government’s legislative programme is founded on the Coalition Agreement which did not include legislating in this Parliament for an In-Out referendum," Mr Cameron wrote.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/397928/Now-PM-admits-he-CAN-T-guarantee-EU-referendum-as-voters-back-bid-to-quit

‘Sex Superbug’ Found In Hawaii, Is Immune To Some Antibiotics

Sex superbug’ may sound like a cheesy teen sex comedy from the late 90s, but it’s no laughing matter. It’s in fact a drug-resistant strain of the STD gonorrhea that has people around the country worried.

It was reported last week that a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea was found in two people in Hawaii. The finding led people to assume that it was the same ‘sex superbug’ that has been found to be immune to all forms of antibiotics. Fortunately, the Hawaiian Health Department says the case of gonorrhea it found is different from the ‘sex superbug’ strain found elsewhere.

http://www.webpronews.com/sex-superbug-found-in-hawaii-is-immune-to-some-antibiotics-2013-05

Israeli forces detain top Palestinian cleric

Israeli police detained on Wednesday the Palestinians' top Muslim religious leader from his Jerusalem home, a day after a scuffle between Palestinians and Israelis outside the city's main al-Aqsa mosque.

Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, serves under the Palestinian Authority which exercises limited rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as well as neighboring Jordan, long a custodian over Jerusalem's Muslim holy places.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Hussein was detained to answer questions about his connection to a "public disturbance" on Tuesday at a compound that houses al-Aqsa mosque and overlooks Judaism's Western Wall.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-israel-palestinians-mufti-idUSBRE94708R20130508

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA - 8th May 2013

Magnitude
4.5
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 08:08:13 UTC
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 12:08:13 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
52.825°N, 169.529°W
Depth
35.7 km (22.2 miles)
Region
FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
Distances
46 km (28 miles) WSW of Nikolski, Alaska

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL. - 8th May 2013

Magnitude
4.2
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 07:28:35 UTC
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 05:28:35 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
19.085°N, 145.228°E
Depth
212.8 km (132.2 miles)
Region
MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
Distances
58 km (36 miles) NW of Agrihan, Northern Mariana Islands

Obama: 'N. Korea has failed again'

President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday nuclear aggression from North Korea has further isolated the region and vowed to use all means to deter further provocations.

"If Pyongyang thought its recent threats would drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States or somehow garner the North international respect, today is further evidence that North Korea has failed again," Obama said during a joint press conference with the two leaders. "The United States and the Republic of Korea are as united as ever ... North Korea is more isolated than ever."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/07/obama-north-korea-has-failed-again/?hpt=hp_t3

Chinese vet who fought for N. Korea

Duan Keke greets visitors with a crisp salute and a few pieces of candy.

The 80-year-old man stands at the gates of Henan Provincial Military Hospital in China where he has lived in retirement for years, dressed in an olive green army uniform and soldier's cap, carrying a long wooden stick that he taps against the pavement as he walks.

"Thank you," he cheerfully repeats to hospital guests -- in Korean.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/06/world/asia/china-north-korea-veterans/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Kerry says Russia, U.S. have "common interests" in Syria

Assad's forces capture strategic town

The Syrian army captured a strategic southern town from rebel fighters on Wednesday after a ferocious two-month bombardment, in an advance likely to result in President Bashar al-Assad's forces regaining control of an international transit route, opposition sources said.

The fall of Khirbet Ghazaleh, situated in the Hauran Plain on the highway to Jordan, came after a Jordanian-backed Syrian opposition military council failed to supply weapons to the town's defenders.

This raised resentment among opposition fighters over what they saw as a lack of Jordanian support for their efforts to defeat Assad's forces in the region, according to rebel commanders and activists in the area.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-syria-crisis-town-idUSBRE94703H20130508

Rise in sex crimes in military: Pentagon

The Obama administration expressed outrage about a recent high-profile Air Force groping scandal on Tuesday as the Pentagon released a study estimating that the number of sex crimes involving military personnel soared 37 percent last year.

The annual Pentagon report, which estimated there were 26,000 sex crimes ranging rape to abusive sexual contact in 2012, came a day after the Air Force removed the officer in charge of its anti-sexual assault office for allegedly groping a civilian in a suburban parking lot near the Pentagon.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/07/us-usa-defense-sexassault-obama-idUSBRE9460TR20130507

Imran Khan Hurt In Election Rally Stage Fall

Pakistani politican Imran Khan has been injured after falling from a mechanical lift at an election rally in Lahore.

The former cricketer hurt his head in the fall, which happened when the lift was just short of a platform around 15ft (4.5 metres) off the ground.

Television footage showed the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party being led away to hospital with blood on his head.

http://news.sky.com/story/1087975/imran-khan-falls-off-stage-at-election-rally

Toxic Caterpillars: Pesticide To Destroy Bug

Swathes of woodland will be sprayed in a bid to eradicate a toxic caterpillar which can cause eye problems and breathing difficulties.

The Forestry Commission will use helicopters to spray a pesticide over one part of England where the oak processionary caterpillar has made its home.

The insects, which usually emerge from eggs in May, are covered in thousands of tiny hairs which release an irritating substance called thaumetopoein.

http://news.sky.com/story/1087906/toxic-caterpillars-pesticide-to-destroy-bug

Rodman Asks Kim Jong-Un To Free Prisoner

In an odd twist of international diplomacy, American basketball superstar Dennis Rodman has called for North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un to release a US prisoner from custody.

Rodman wrote on his Twitter page: "I’m calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him "Kim", to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose."

Mr Bae, 44, is an American tour operator who was arrested while hosting a group of tourists in North Korea last November.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088116/rodman-asks-kim-jong-un-to-free-prisoner

Tim Lambesis: Singer 'Hired Cop To Kill Wife'

The vocalist from an award-winning heavy metal band has been accused of trying to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Tim Lambesis, the co-founder of metalcore group As I Lay Dying, was arrested over the allegations.

An official statement said detectives received information that the 32-year-old had solicited someone to kill his wife.

http://news.sky.com/story/1088095/tim-lambesis-singer-hired-cop-to-kill-wife

Chetham's School of Music: 'Pool Of Offenders' In Music School Abuse

Police are investigating a pool of "around 10 offenders" after claims of historic sexual abuse by over 30 women at a music school.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said that since they commenced their investigation of abuse at Chetham’s School of Music last February, more than a dozen other claims have also been received.

Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Daniels, from GMP's Protective Services Division, said: "This is a significant inquiry in terms of potential number of offenders and number of victims."

http://news.sky.com/story/1088135/pool-of-offenders-in-music-school-abuse

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA - 8th May 2013

Magnitude
4.2
Date-Time
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 05:53:40 UTC
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 01:53:40 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
36.021°N, 99.430°E
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles)
Region
NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
Distances
40 km (24 miles) SSW of Dongke, China

Sweatshop Union, "Makeshift Kingdom"

CNN Anchors Pretend They’re Having A “Satellite Interview” Even Though They’re In The Same Parking Lot

Yes, those are all the same cars. Apparently they thought we wouldn’t notice because Nancy is on the right side of the screen, when in reality she is to Asleigh Banfield’s left. See The Atlantic Wire’sexcellent breakdown of the shots to see exactly what happened. Tricky, CNN, very tricky. We understand, though. When a major crime story like the Cleveland Kidnapping breaks, you have to send in Nancy Grace. However, since Nancy Grace is a poorly-medicated vengeance demon who’s always just a bad morning away from ending up on her own show, you also send in a real anchor with whom she can “correspond.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to get shooting permits in Cleveland on short notice, so you set up in the same parking lot. Do us a favor, CNN, just put them next to each other and have them talk into each other’s faces instead of relaying their words through satellites to come back down 30 feet away like we’re idiots.

http://beforeitsnews.com/media/2013/05/cnn-anchors-pretend-theyre-having-a-satellite-interview-even-though-theyre-in-the-same-parking-lot-2456012.html

China: Company Has Employees Crawl in Public as Training Exercise, All Comply: Shut Up and Enjoy Capitalism

According to multiple weibo posts by Chongqing netizens, at noon on 2013 May 2, the employees of a certain company circled around Liberation Monument by crawling on their knees, attracting many onlookers. Soon after, the Chongqing Yuzhong District Public Security Sub-bureau claimed on their official microblog account ”Through investigation, this was an exercise a cosmetics company gave their employees to train them to deal with pressure, and the police have already persuaded them to leave, and have also criticized and educated the organizers of the company.” Pictures are of photos taken by netizens at the scene.

http://www.chinasmack.com/2013/pictures/chinese-company-employees-crawl-in-public-training-exercise.html

China boils baby chickens alive as country is engulfed by panic over continuing outbreak of new strain of bird flu

Tens of thousands of baby chicks are being boiled alive in China as panic grips the country over the current outbreak of a mysterious new strain of bird flu.

Four more people have died from the new strain, bringing to the total number of deaths from the H7N9 virus to 31, Chinese health officials revealed yesterday.

Meanwhile, the number of infections has risen by two to 129, with health experts saying that the disease is probably being spread by poultry.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320731/China-boils-baby-chickens-alive-country-engulfed-panic-continuing-outbreak-new-strain-bird-flu.html

'Road rage' driver is fatally injured by Chinese police who beat him with wooden poles for 'resisting arrest'

A 'road rage' driver has been fatally injured after he was attacked by Chinese police with poles for resisting arrest, it has been claimed.

Police were called as the unidentified motorist reportedly stabbed another driver after a minor traffic altercation.

It has been claimed he also stabbed two passengers who ran to the driver's aid during the incident, in China.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320894/Shocking-moment-road-rage-driver-fatally-injured-Chinese-police-attacked-wooden-poles-resisting-arrest.html

Bear mauls a monkey during 'bike race' at Shanghai Wild Park

The Euro charade: Nigel Lawson's absolutely right - the idea that we can renegotiate with the EU is pure fantasy - and voters will never fall for it

Nigel Lawson played a role in bringing down Margaret Thatcher, largely because of her resistance to Britain joining the Exchange Rate Mechanism, which she regarded as the precursor to the European single currency.

How things change. Twenty-three years later, the former Tory Chancellor not only accepts that Lady Thatcher was right about the euro, but he also argues that Britain would be better off outside the European Union.

Lord Lawson’s views are not especially unusual in today’s Conservative Party.

Though David Cameron wants to remain in the EU, albeit on new terms, 72 per cent of Tory voters and 84 per cent of party members say they would vote to leave tomorrow.

They evidently believe that any renegotiation would be, as the extraordinarily sharp 81-year-old peer puts it, ‘inconsequential’.

What makes this intervention significant is not just that Lord Lawson is the most senior Conservative so far to have said in public what many party bigwigs feel in private.

Nor is it that as a man who has chosen to make his home in France, he is hard to caricature as anti-European.

No, the real importance lies in the fact that Lord Lawson was a hugely successful Chancellor, whose tax reforms made possible Britain’s economic resurrection in the Eighties. We trust him on money matters.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2320945/The-Euro-charade-The-PM-like-Nigel-Lawsons-absolutely-right-The-idea-renegotiate-EU-pure-fantasy--voters-fall-it.html

3 dead, several missing in Italy shipping accident

Three people died and several others were missing in the water in the port of Genoa on Wednesday, after a container ship smashed into a control tower in a night-time accident which revived painful memories in Italy of a deadly cruise ship disaster last year.

Part of the tower in which about 14 people were present at the time of the accident crashed into the water.

One of the victims was reported by some media to be a woman in her 30s, while the other two were male.

Rescue workers dived into the inky waters around the port -- one of the busiest in Italy -- in a frantic night-time search to find around 10 people believed to be missing.
Six others were reported seriously injured.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jxlMC6hyu2Bg14uUtssyeh72TQJA?docId=CNG.1c6cd168b5b2c977de7042822c519fd1.e21