Tuesday, October 22, 2013

New Rocky Mountain field guide demonstrates the area's dynamic, enigmatic nature

New Rocky Mountain field guide demonstrates the area's dynamic, enigmatic nature


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18-Oct-2013



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Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America



Field guide includes information about Colorado's floods




Boulder, CO, USA - The U.S. Rocky Mountain region has been the subject of continuous, exhaustive scientific work since the first organized geologic trips to the area in the 1860s. Despite almost 150 years of scrutiny, the region's magnificent geology continues to challenge, perplex, and astound modern geoscientists. It is a testing ground for geologists and for big geologic ideas. This new book serves both as a progress report and a guide to future scientific questions about the region.


The volume's fourteen chapters, which span the region's 1.7-billion-year history, give a retrospective glimpse of early geologic ideas being forged, bring the latest mapping and analytical results from classic locations, and introduce techniques that will form the bedrock of our geologic understanding in the years to come.


Prepared for the 2013 GSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Denver, Colorado, USA, the book features trips in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. But even as the book entered its final production stages, Colorado showed that it would not give up its mysteries easily. Between 9 and 13 September 2013, unprecedented heavy rains and catastrophic flooding hit the Colorado Front Range, taking lives and causing destruction from the foothills to the eastern plains. Nearly 15 inches of rain fell in Boulder, where the Geological Society of America is headquartered, with almost as much falling elsewhere along the Front Range.


Volume editors Lon D. Abbott of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Gregory S. Hancock of the College of William and Mary were faced with a dilemma when final production of the book was underway. Two planned GSA field trips, including the Mahan et al. trip detailed in the field guide, had to be canceled because the field areas were inaccessible. The itineraries of other trips had to be altered. Because these floods have altered the landscape, some features and landmarks described herein may have been altered or may no longer exist.


Abbott, who co-authored the book Geology Underfoot along Colorado's Front Range, and Hancock were able to add a "note in proof" to provide readers with information about the floods. They write, "Although the Front Range frequently receives brief, intense rain events that trigger flash flooding in a single drainage, this event was unusual in that it spanned 2000 square miles and lasted for days. ... As we write this, flood damage reports are still preliminary, but even these incomplete assessments are impressive. Two hundred homes, 200 miles of state highway, and 50 highway bridges were destroyed."


A late-breaking field trip is now planned for Boulder, put together Abbott and colleagues to examine the effects of the 2013 Front Range flood on low-order streams and alluvial terraces in the area.


###

Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America's online store or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.



Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.


Classic Concepts and New Directions: Exploring 125 Years of GSA Discoveries in the Rocky Mountain Region

Edited by Lon D. Abbott and Gregory S. Hancock

Geological Society of America Field Guide 33

FLD033, 388 p., $60.00; Member price $48.00

ISBN 978-0-8137-0033-5


http://www.geosociety.org



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New Rocky Mountain field guide demonstrates the area's dynamic, enigmatic nature


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

18-Oct-2013



[


| E-mail

]


Share Share

Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America



Field guide includes information about Colorado's floods




Boulder, CO, USA - The U.S. Rocky Mountain region has been the subject of continuous, exhaustive scientific work since the first organized geologic trips to the area in the 1860s. Despite almost 150 years of scrutiny, the region's magnificent geology continues to challenge, perplex, and astound modern geoscientists. It is a testing ground for geologists and for big geologic ideas. This new book serves both as a progress report and a guide to future scientific questions about the region.


The volume's fourteen chapters, which span the region's 1.7-billion-year history, give a retrospective glimpse of early geologic ideas being forged, bring the latest mapping and analytical results from classic locations, and introduce techniques that will form the bedrock of our geologic understanding in the years to come.


Prepared for the 2013 GSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Denver, Colorado, USA, the book features trips in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. But even as the book entered its final production stages, Colorado showed that it would not give up its mysteries easily. Between 9 and 13 September 2013, unprecedented heavy rains and catastrophic flooding hit the Colorado Front Range, taking lives and causing destruction from the foothills to the eastern plains. Nearly 15 inches of rain fell in Boulder, where the Geological Society of America is headquartered, with almost as much falling elsewhere along the Front Range.


Volume editors Lon D. Abbott of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Gregory S. Hancock of the College of William and Mary were faced with a dilemma when final production of the book was underway. Two planned GSA field trips, including the Mahan et al. trip detailed in the field guide, had to be canceled because the field areas were inaccessible. The itineraries of other trips had to be altered. Because these floods have altered the landscape, some features and landmarks described herein may have been altered or may no longer exist.


Abbott, who co-authored the book Geology Underfoot along Colorado's Front Range, and Hancock were able to add a "note in proof" to provide readers with information about the floods. They write, "Although the Front Range frequently receives brief, intense rain events that trigger flash flooding in a single drainage, this event was unusual in that it spanned 2000 square miles and lasted for days. ... As we write this, flood damage reports are still preliminary, but even these incomplete assessments are impressive. Two hundred homes, 200 miles of state highway, and 50 highway bridges were destroyed."


A late-breaking field trip is now planned for Boulder, put together Abbott and colleagues to examine the effects of the 2013 Front Range flood on low-order streams and alluvial terraces in the area.


###

Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America's online store or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.



Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.


Classic Concepts and New Directions: Exploring 125 Years of GSA Discoveries in the Rocky Mountain Region

Edited by Lon D. Abbott and Gregory S. Hancock

Geological Society of America Field Guide 33

FLD033, 388 p., $60.00; Member price $48.00

ISBN 978-0-8137-0033-5


http://www.geosociety.org



[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

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| E-mail


Share Share

]

 


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.




Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/gsoa-nrm101813.php
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Daniil Kvyat gets Toro Rosso drive for 2014 | 2014 F1 season


Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, Silverstone, Young Drivers' Test, 2013Toro Rosso have confirmed Russian driver Daniil Kvyat will race for them in 2014 in place of Daniel Ricciardo[1].


Kvyat will partner Jean-Eric Vergne[2], who remains at the team for a third season. The 19-year-old Russian driver is currently second in the GP3 category with two races remaining.


He also appeared at most of this year’s European Formula Three races, winning once at Zadnvoort. He tested for Toro Rosso at Silverstone earlier this year.


“We are pleased to continue our policy of bringing on drivers from the Red Bull Junior Programme,” said team principal Franz Tost.


“He impressed our team with a strong performance and very informative technical feedback at the young driver test in Silverstone. This suggests that the basic qualities from which he can progress are all in place. Daniil can be sure that we will use all our experience of training youngsters to give him the best possible start to his Formula One career.”


Kvyat said his promotion to the team was “a dream come true”.


“I want to thank Red Bull and Toro Rosso for giving me this priceless opportunity,” he said. “Ever since I began karting, I wanted to get to Formula 1 and now that wish will become reality next season.”


“I had a brief taste of working with the Toro Rosso team, when I drove for them at the Silverstone test and I enjoyed the experience very much. The fact I am based in Italy and speak Italian will, I am sure, help me to become part of the team very quickly.”


Kvyat will be the second Russian driver to race in F1 following Vitaly Petrov[3]. Russia will hold its first round of the world championship next year. Sauber are also considering promoting Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin to their team for next year.


Formula Renault 3.5 driver Antonio Felix da Costa had previously been tipped to take Ricciardo’s place at the team.


2014 F1 season



Browse all 2014 F1 season articles[4]

Image © Red Bull/Getty



References

  1. ^ Daniel Ricciardo (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
  2. ^ Jean-Eric Vergne (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
  3. ^ Vitaly Petrov (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
  4. ^ Browse all 2014 F1 season articles (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/0fjmhQNdyOg/
Category: dexter   9 news   nasdaq  

Steve Miller On World Cafe





Courtesy of the artist


Steve Miller.


Courtesy of the artist





  • "Looking at You" by MC5

  • "Down on the Street" by The Stooges

  • "What I Like About You" by The Romantics



Class is in session for Detroit Rock 101 with author Steve Miller. The former crime writer and rock musician sits down for a discussion with host David Dye on another Sense of Place: Detroit feature.


Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Rock 'n' Roll in America's Loudest City is an oral history featuring commentary from such artists as Mitch Ryder, Iggy Pop and Jack White. In this discussion, Miller tells his story about seeing the legendary MC5 rehearse at age 12 and getting hooked on the local music scene. The writer also touches on the evolution of Detroit rock, from punk in the '70s through the garage revival of the '90s.


Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/WorldCafe/2013/10/21/239273589/steve-miller-on-world-cafe?ft=1&f=10001
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Review: Salt keeps server automation simple



October 17, 2013








Like Puppet, Chef, and Ansible, Salt is an open source server management and automation solution with commercial, officially supported options. Based on command-line-driven server and client services and utilities, Salt is primarily focused on Linux and Unix server management, though it offers significant Windows management capabilities as well. While Salt may look simple on its face, it's surprisingly powerful and extensible, and it has been designed to handle extremely large numbers of clients.


Salt uses a push method of communication with clients by default, though there's also a means to use SSH rather than locally installed clients. Using the default push method, the clients don't actively check in with a master server; rather, the master server reaches out to control or modify each client based on commands issued manually or through scheduling. But again, Salt can also operate in the other direction, with clients querying the master for updates. Salt functions asynchronously, and as such, it's very fast. It also incorporates an asynchronous file server for file deployments.


[ Review: Ansible orchestration is a veteran Unix admin's dream | Review: Chef cooks up configuration management | Review: Puppet Enterprise 3.0 pulls more strings | Puppet or Chef: The configuration management dilemma | Subscribe to InfoWorld's Data Center newsletter to stay on top of the latest developments. ]



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Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/review-salt-keeps-server-automation-simple-228936?source=rss_infoworld_test_center_articles
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Monday, October 21, 2013

How Crazy Are the Democrats? (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.
Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/335307537?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Affordable Care Act Is Producing Benefits


For the past 3 1/2 years, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have made misstatements about what would happen to families, to seniors, to employers and to health care costs as a result of the historic law. In spite of their predictions being so wrong, the attacks continue. So it’s important to give a snapshot of what health benefits the law has already produced for Kansans and what the new health insurance marketplace means for qualified residents in the Sunflower State.



Let’s start with the 86 percent of Kansans who already have health coverage. Since March 2010, when the law was signed, 448,000 Kansas seniors on Medicare have benefited as costs have been held down in historic fashion – national cost growth has been constrained to the slowest rate in nearly 50 years. Furthermore, seniors now have an annual wellness visit and preventive care, such as cancer or cholesterol screenings, with no co-pays, as part of their new Medicare benefits under the ACA.


 





Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2013/10/21/affordable_care_act_is_producing_benefits_318302.html
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Study: 15 percent of US youth out of school, work


WASHINGTON (AP) — Almost 6 million young people are neither in school nor working, according to a study released Monday.

That's almost 15 percent of those aged 16 to 24 who have neither desk nor job, according to The Opportunity Nation coalition, which wrote the report.

Other studies have shown that idle young adults are missing out on a window to build skills they will need later in life or use the knowledge they acquired in college. Without those experiences, they are less likely to command higher salaries and more likely to be an economic drain on their communities.

"This is not a group that we can write off. They just need a chance," said Mark Edwards, executive director of the coalition of businesses, advocacy groups, policy experts and nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing economic mobility. "The tendency is to see them as lost souls and see them as unsavable. They are not."

But changing the dynamic is not going to be easy.

The coalition also finds that 49 states have seen an increase in the number of families living in poverty and 45 states have seen household median incomes fall in the last year. The dour report underscores the challenges young adults face now and foretell challenges they are likely to face as they get older.

A young person's community is often closely tied to his or her success. The Opportunity Nation report tracked 16 factors — Internet access, college graduation rates, income inequality and public safety among them — and identified states that were doing well for its young people.

Topping the list of supportive states are Vermont, Minnesota and North Dakota. At the bottom? Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico.

"Their destiny is too often determined by their ZIP code," said Charlie Mangiardi, who works with Year Up, a nonprofit that trains young adults for careers and helps them find jobs.

"We have the supply. We don't have a lack of young people who need this opportunity," Mangiardi added.

Just look at some of the nation's largest cities. Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Riverside, Calif., all have more than 100,000 idle youth, the Opportunity Nation report found.

"Often times they lack the social capital in life," Mangiardi said. "There's a whole pool of talent that is motivated, loyal and hardworking." They just can't get through an employer's door, he added.

That's why Year Up spends a year working with high school graduates to teach them career skills such as computer programming or equipment repair they can use when the program ends. It also includes life coaching so they can learn skills such as time management. More than 4,500 young adults from urban areas have completed the program and 84 percent of them have found work.

But it's a far tougher time for other young people.

In Mississippi and West Virginia, 1 in 5 young people are idle — higher than their older neighbors. Mississippi has an overall unemployment rate of 8 percent, while West Virginia posts about 7 percent. Like most states, they saw their unemployment rate fall since 2011, but researchers caution that shift could come from fewer residents looking for work and from more who had simply given up their search for jobs.

And it's not as though the challenges emerge from nowhere. Quality early childhood programs help students from poor families overcome societal hurdles, and on-time high school graduation rates often follow quality schools — other factors Opportunity Nation examined in its report.

"A lot of times we don't want to look at data because we don't want to be depressed," said Rob Denson, president of Des Moines Area Community College in Iowa.

But it's an uncomfortable reality that needs to be addressed, he said.

Using previous years' reports from Opportunity Nation, Denson helped rally community organizations in his city to develop a pilot program to help students as young as 14 find summer work.

"When we got the index, it really allowed us to use it as a rallying point for all of the community-based organizations we work with to say, 'Look, this is what the world sees when they look at Iowa,'" he said.

Starting next summer, Des Moines students will be placed in paying jobs, part of a citywide collaboration to help its urban communities. It will help older adults, as well, because crime rates are expected to fall, he said.

"If they're not in school or at work," Denson said, "they're not usually doing something positive."

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-15-percent-us-youth-school-040246252.html
Category: yom kippur   amber heard  

Greek charity: mystery Gypsy camp girl aged 5-6


ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek charity says an unknown girl found living with a Roma couple charged with abducting her is older than police initially thought.

The "Smile of the Child" charity, which is caring for the child known as "Maria" until her biological parents are found, says she is aged around five or six.

The charity director said Monday that the revision follows dental and other examinations done at a hospital where the girl is undergoing health checks. The charity had initially set her age at around four.

A Greek appeal for help in identifying the girl has triggered a global outpouring of sympathy and tips — over 8,000 calls so far — but no concrete breakthroughs, authorities say.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A Greek appeal for help in identifying an unknown girl who had been living with a Roma couple has triggered a global outpouring of sympathy and tips — over 8,000 calls so far — but no concrete breakthroughs, authorities said Monday.

Greek police on the case are investigating everything from a potential link with child trafficking rings to a welfare scam or even simple charity as they seek the child's biological parents.

The "Smile of the Child" charity, which is caring for the approximately 4-year-old girl, said it has received thousands of emails in addition to the calls. Respondents include people from the U.S., Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, Australia and South Africa.

"The case has touched a chord with lots of people from many countries," Panayiotis Pardalis, a charity spokesman, told The Associated Press on Monday. "We've received photos of missing children and potentially connected cases which we are forwarding to the police, but there are also — and that's the majority — people conveying their support and concern."

Greek police have also sought assistance from Interpol, the international police agency, which has 38 girls younger than 6 on its missing persons database. None of them, however, fit the girl's description and the agency only receives cases when member governments seek its help.

The Greek appeal follows the discovery last week of the girl in a Gypsy settlement near Farsala in central Greece during a police raid looking for drugs, firearms and fugitives. The blond, blue-eyed child was strikingly unlike the couple she lived with, which triggered the curiosity of prosecutor Christina Fasoula, who had accompanied the police.

A DNA test proved that "Maria," as the child was called, was not related to the Gypsy couple she was living with. Police say the couple initially claimed her as their own.

A 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman appeared Monday before an investigating judge in Larissa, near Farsala, to face criminal charges of child abduction, which carries a maximum ten-year prison sentence.

Both denied the charges last week, claiming instead to have adopted the child while she was just days old. A defense lawyer said they were motivated by charity, after being approached by an intermediary for a destitute foreign mother who reportedly could not afford to raise the child.

The suspects have also been charged with illegally obtaining official documents such as birth records.

Police allege the woman claimed to have given birth to six children in less than 10 months, while 10 of the 14 children the couple had registered as their own are unaccounted for.

It is unclear whether these all exist, or are fake declarations of parenthood to milk the Greek welfare system. Police say the two suspects received about 2,500 euros ($3,420) a month in subsidies from three different cities where they had registered the children.

The man also faces separate charges, together with other people from the settlement, for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm and drug-related offences.

Roma, a poor people in a country devastated by an economic crisis, try to make a living on the outskirts of Farsala by selling fruits, carpets, blankets, baskets and shoes. They are already stereotyped by some in Greece and elsewhere in Europe as social outcasts, thieves and beggars — and now fear they will be stigmatized as child traffickers as well.

The case "doesn't reflect on all of us," Babis Dimitriou, president of the local Roma community, told the AP on Sunday.

Dimitriou said the female suspect claimed the child's biological mother was a Bulgarian woman.

"I have seen that woman in our settlement, but she disappeared a few days ago," he said.

Greece's Roma community has for centuries been exposed to poverty and discrimination. According to the London-based Minority Rights Group, some 80 percent of Greece's 300,000 Roma are illiterate.

___

Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-charity-mystery-gypsy-camp-girl-aged-5-130731171.html
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Billy Crystal Finds Fun In Growing Old (But Still Can't Find His Keys)





Billy Crystal has hosted the Academy Awards more times than anyone except Bob Hope. "I love doing it because I love the danger of it," Crystal says. "You have to come through and think on your feet."



Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images


Billy Crystal has hosted the Academy Awards more times than anyone except Bob Hope. "I love doing it because I love the danger of it," Crystal says. "You have to come through and think on your feet."


Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images


Billy Crystal isn't happy about turning 65, but at least he's finding a way to laugh about it. His new memoir — Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? — is on the best-seller list, and he'll be back on Broadway in November.


Crystal got his start in standup comedy, and in 1977 he landed a leading role in the sitcom Soap — playing one of the first openly gay characters on TV. In 1984 he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and went on to star in the films When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers and Analyze This. He's hosted the Oscars more times than anyone except Bob Hope. In 2007 he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. His autobiographical one-man show 700 Sundays won a Tony in 2005 and reopens on Broadway in November.



Interview Highlights


On how his show business family brought him to comedy early


[I did impressions] of relatives because I heard so many different sounds. You know, my dad was in the music business and of course my uncle was a giant [music producer], but my dad in particular had the house filled with these Dixieland jazz stars — really the best of them, Henry "Red" Allen, Willie "Lion" Smith, Buster Bailey, Cutty Cutshall, Tyree Glenn, Zutty Singleton, these are big names in the Dixieland world. It was mostly African-American [musicians] and my Jewish Eastern European relatives.


The house as I say ... smelled of brisket and bourbon, so you could hear that. I started imitating them. Phrases came out of that, "Can't you dig that?" "I knew that you would." We were at [Passover] Seders and they were confused with the bitter herbs, "Do we smoke these or do we do we dip them in salt water?" "We dip them in salt water, well that's gonna kill the vibrancy of the weed, you know." So that's what I was around. So I would imitate them. That's where it all started.



On losing his father at age 15


At the time it was devastating, of course. My two older brothers were both out of the house and in college, and I was left alone with [my mom] and we developed this incredible bond where I could not let her get too sad, [even] when I felt it in myself. It was a hard thing to juggle. I never felt like I could have a weak moment, I had to always be there for her and keep her up. ...


I'd try to make her laugh, and try to do things with her. ... She is the greatest hero I'll ever know because she kept us all together, she made sure we all graduated college. She always believed in us no matter what we do. My older brother Joel became an art teacher; my brother Rip ultimately became a television producer and singer and actor himself.


For me, it was always, "Whatever you want to do, I'm there for you." I never stopped believing in us and I never felt like I was wanting for anything, except for my father, and that was not going to be. I describe in the book [that] I don't think I ever felt young again in that way. I never felt I had my 15, 16, 17 kind of years the way I maybe should have. It's a huge dent in you that it's hard to knock out and make it all smooth again.


On his early standup days opening for Sammy Davis Jr., who used to lie to the audience about their relationship


I have 40-something intros [that Davis Jr. did]; all are different, none of them happened. And it was hilarious. ... [He did it] because it was show business. Because I think he thought he was doing a good thing for me and for him. He created this whole wonderful fantasy world for the two of us that was part of the show. I was OK with it. I thought it was really fascinating.


I loved him. Every time I was with Sammy it was like going to the show business museum because the stories were so extraordinary, and I didn't care if they were true or not after a while. ... I don't know if he really got high with Humphrey Bogart or not. It didn't matter because he was painting these fantastic pictures.



On playing Jodie, one of the first openly gay characters on television, in the show Soap in the late '70s and early '80s


We were in front of a live audience and I would be acting with the man who was playing my lover, and we used those words, and the audience would titter and laugh, and make me uncomfortable doing the scenes. ... I wanted to sort of stop and yell at them, "What's so funny? What's the matter with you people? Grow up!" It made me very self-conscious at times.


I think back to what we did and the things we talked about, all these years ago, and I'm so proud of what we did. I think it was in the third season Jodie was confused about his sexuality and he has a one-night stand with a woman and she gets pregnant and has a baby. ... Now I have to raise this little girl and so we go to court [to determine] who is going to get custody of the child. ABC did a poll and the poll at that time said 3 to 1 that the country wanted Jodie to get the baby. And I thought, "OK, we did good here."


On hosting the Oscars



I love doing it because I love the danger of it and you have to come through and think on your feet. That's why that show, no matter who hosts it, it really should be a fast-thinking comedian who is really quick on their feet that can handle situations that happen, or somebody with that kind of mentality that can capitalize on something.


On his proudest Oscar moment


I was introducing [director and producer] Hal Roach — Mr. Roach was 100 years old, he was one of the fathers of early days in films, he put Laurel with Hardy, he created the Our Gang kids, and all these silent movies he did — he was a giant. I think it was his 100th birthday and he was just supposed to take a bow. So I'm at center stage and I say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the fathers of this industry, he's 100 years old, Mr. Hal Roach." Big hand, he stands up. And he starts talking and he has no microphone. ... And it's getting restless in the audience and they're all looking at me going, "What are you gonna say?" And I see the red light is right on me, and I looked at the audience and lines are flying through my head and one settled like a slot machine, three cherries, and I said, "Ladies and Gentleman, it's only fitting because he got his start in silent films." It took the pressure away, and that's one time I will pat myself on the back.



Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/17/234823373/billy-crystal-finds-fun-in-growing-old-but-still-cant-find-his-keys?ft=1&f=1032
Related Topics: dodgers   nbc news   Ozymandias   Colorado flooding   amanda bynes  

Dutch Cable Group Ziggo Rejects Bid by John Malone's Liberty Global



Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images


John Malone



COLOGNE, Germany – Dutch cable group Ziggo has rejected a takeover bid from John Malone's Liberty Global, calling it "inadequate."



Ziggo is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, reaching some 2.8 million homes, and has a market value of around $8.5 billion (€6.3 billion).


PHOTOS: THR's Power Business Managers Breakfast


Liberty already controls number two Dutch operator UPC (1.67 million homes) and has built up a 28.5 percent minority stake in Ziggo ahead of its takeover bid.


But in an official statement, Ziggo said Liberty's offer was “considered inadequate and there is no certainty that Ziggo will receive any revised offer.” Financial details of the bid were not disclosed, but at current prices, a takeover would have cost Liberty at least $6 billion (€4.5 billion).


Malone's cable group is looking to consolidate operations across Europe. Early this year, Liberty acquired Britain's Virgin Media in a stock-and-deal worth around $15.8 billion. The group controls Germany's second-largest cable operator, UnityMedia, and tried to buy number one cabler, Kabel Deutschland (KDG), but was recently outbid by U.K. mobile group Vodafone, which paid $10 billion for KDG.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/television/~3/cSZswPPYDjM/story01.htm
Category: nobel peace prize   TSLA   Cameron Douglas   aaliyah   Lisa Robin Kelly  

Lady Gaga Unveils Cheeky Cover Art for "Do What U Want" featuring R. Kelly

Ready to reveal more than just her new music, Lady Gaga unveiled the cover art for her upcoming single, "Do What U Want" featuring R. Kelly.


Announcing the news via Twitter, the "Applause" singer tweeted, "OFFICIAL DO WHAT U WANT FEAT @RKelly COVER ART. Song Available this Monday 12:01am!"


In the cover, we see only the backside of the 27-year-old pop star with her platinum blonde hair hanging down her back while she sports a blue floral thong.


She'll likely have to cover up next month, however, when she stars in "Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular" on Thanksgiving Day.


Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/lady-gaga/lady-gaga-unveils-cheeky-cover-art-do-what-u-want-featuring-r-kelly-946179
Tags: Avril Lavigne   Why Did The Government Shut Down   Ken Norton   harry potter   beyonce  

After Shutdown Dust Clears, Where Does Boehner Stand?


Weeks after vowing that House Republicans would not capitulate to President Obama's demands for "clean" bills reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling, Speaker John Boehner led his caucus in doing exactly that. Only about a third of Republicans voted "yes" on the bill with Boehner, but Boehner's standing among Tea Party conservatives in his caucus may have actually improved.


Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/18/236697001/after-shutdown-dust-clears-where-does-boehner-stand?ft=1&f=1006
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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Britney Spears Gets Giddy With Some Serious PDA From Her Boyfriend!





britney spears pda boyfriend soccer game


Gurlfriend is in LUV!


And who can blame Britney Spears?? We'd be in love with anyone giving us a rub down! LOLz!


The pop princess was spotted looking like she was in total ecstasy while David Lucado gave her shoulders a little squeeze.


While we do see these two out and about on the regular, it's unusual to see such sweet PDA between them!


Maybe David is laying on the sugar so that he isn't her next whipping victim! Although…maybe he's into that kind of kink!


[Image via IXOLA/AKM-GSI.]



Tags: , , , , , , , ,






Source: http://perezhilton.com/2013-10-20-britney-spears-pda-with-boyfriend-david-lucado-soccer-game
Category: kate upton   LC Greenwood   Agents of SHIELD   Apple.com   heidi klum  

The Kos Kids Learn About Obamacare (Powerlineblog)

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HTC launches trio of One-like Desire smartphones in China, one for each carrier

HTC is doing all it can to maximize its efforts in order to continue growing as a smartphone maker. And, although the newly announced Desire series may not exactly fit the company's flagship type, the 709d (China Telecom), 7060 (China Unicom) and 7088 (China Mobile) are part of HTC's promise to ...


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/aKE1gGE59TE/
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U.K. TV Icon Terry Wogan to Host 'Ed Sullivan Show' Special




Elvis on "The Ed Sullivan Show"



LONDON – Irish-born British TV and radio talk show legend Terry Wogan is to host a special compilation episode of The Ed Sullivan Show, which launches on Turner Classic Movies in the U.K. on Nov. 10.



Wogan will host the special, providing running commentary and behind-the-scenes insight into the show's famous artists and its legendary presenter, Sullivan.


PHOTOS: Elvis Before He Was King


The landmark U.S. variety show, presented by New York entertainment columnist Sullivan, originally ran in the U.S. for more than two decades and is famous for propelling the careers of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and The Supremes to new heights.


The Ed Sullivan Show featured more than 10,000 acts in its time on air between 1948 and 1971, a mix of rock n’ roll stars, opera singers, popular artists, songwriters, comedians, dancers, actors and circus acts.


The show is scheduled to make its U.K. premiere on TCM with Terry Wogan Presents the Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show, a 90-minute compilation of some of the stand-out highlights from the show throughout its time span, including early appearances from The Beatles, The Jackson 5, Barbra Streisand, The Doors, Buddy Holly, Stevie Wonder and comedienne Joan Rivers.


Wogan described Sullivan's show as "the pre-eminent variety show of its time, which hosted all of the greatest names in American show business."


He added: "The Beatles, The Supremes, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Liza Minnelli and Julie Andrews, to name but a few. This show introduced the very best musical, comedy and specialty acts of the day -- and when Ed Sullivan talked, America listened. Such legendary acts are timeless. I’m very much looking forward to seeing it all play out afresh on TCM for U.K. audiences."


TCM is a 24-hour cable and satellite film and general entertainment channel, which launched in the U.K. and across EMEA in 1999.


The Ed Sullivan Show launches on TCM U.K. on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. GMT, with new episodes rolling out every Saturday and Sunday at that time.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/television/~3/ckBDQGdEc-s/story01.htm
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Saturday, October 19, 2013

'Dry ice' restroom explosion halts flights at LAX; FBI investigating

By Andrew Blankstein, Richard Esposito and Jonathan Dienst, NBC News

An apparent dry ice bomb explosion in a Los Angeles International Airport employee restroom caused flights to be halted from one terminal for several hours Sunday night, officials said. 

There were no injuries or damage in the blast, which happened at about 9.30 p.m. local time (6.30 p.m. ET) near Terminal 2, Gate 27.

“In a restricted area of the terminal (not accessible to the general public), responders found evidence of a plastic bottle containing dry ice,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a written statement. “A chemical reaction caused the explosion.”

The Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad attended the scene.



Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC news the incident appeared to be a prank, but stressed the investigation was in its early stages.

They say a Swissport employee heard a loud explosion, walked to a men’s bathroom and saw an exploded 20oz plastic bottle. 

The Transportation Security Agency halted the screening of passengers at the terminal for several hours, the FBI said, delaying departing flights. It has since fully reopened.

Three arriving flights were also affected by the suspension, which halted the transfer of baggage, according to LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles.

“The FBI and partners with LAPD, LAX PD, LA Fire, CBP, TSA and other officials will investigate the incident to determine the individual or group responsible,” Eimiller said.

The incident bears some similarities to the commotion caused by a dry ice bomb left in a trash can at Disneyland's Toon Town earlier this year, Brandon Lowrey of NBCLosAngeles.com reported. In that case, part of the park was evacuated. No injuries were reported and a Disneyland employee was arrested for allegedly placing the object.

NBC News' Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/326ce67d/sc/3/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C10A0C140C20A95620A80Edry0Eice0Erestroom0Eexplosion0Ehalts0Eflights0Eat0Elax0Efbi0Einvestigating0Dlite/story01.htm
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HRW: Ethiopian Government Uses Torture as Political Tool (Voice Of America)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/334860702?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Everybody Probably Has These Dumb Pictures on Their Phone


The best camera is the one you have with you, they say. What they don't tell you is that if that camera is your phone, it also doubles as the worst camera because of all the stupid pictures you have saved and forgot about in your camera roll.


You know those photos. Accidental screenshots, once useful screenshots that you don't remember why they're useful, blurry drunk pictures, blurry sober pictures, a million shots of the same stupid rainbow, pictures of your finger covering the camera lens and so on. We can't help it, we all have our mistakes captured in our phones and we're all too lazy to delete them.


The next big smartphone camera feature should be a limit that prevents ourselves from using it. [BuzzFeed via PetaPixel]


Source: http://gizmodo.com/everybody-probably-has-these-dumb-pictures-on-their-pho-1446855031
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'12 Years A Slave' Cast Explain Why That Dancing Scene Is So Twisted


Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson talk to MTV News about the 'brutality' of their characters.


By Tami Katzoff








Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715863/12-years-a-slave-brutal-characters.jhtml

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OK! Movie Mania: See Zac Efron Naked In The New Trailer for That Awkward Moment



By Haley Longman

Into all boy bands, past and present, and will watch anything on TV about teens or pregnancy (so clearly Teen Mom is her favorite).




#ThatAwkwardMomentWhen…Zac Efron is naked in a movie? Can’t believe it took this long! Just last night, the world got to see the trailer for the new film That Awkward Moment, a bromance movie starring Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan as bros who vow to all stay single. It looks hilarious and it’s cool to see Zac in a starring role in a raunchy rom-com for once because in the past he’s done mostly musicals and intense dramas. But the best part about this movie? Zac Efron is naked. Naked in a bed with a lady, naked on a toilet. Naked so many times.


Photos: 14 Hot Dudes Zac Efron Has Played in Movies


Watch the trailer above, and be sure to see That Awkward Moment when it gets released by Focus Features in January 2014! Are you excited for this movie? What was your favorite line from the trailer (because mine was “it’s a cocktail!”). Tell us on Twitter @OKMagazine!



Source: http://okmagazine.com/videos/ok-movie-mania-see-zac-efron-naked-in-the-new-trailer-for-that-awkward-moment/
Category: Mexico vs Panama   Susan Bennett   chrissy teigen  

Afghans prepare for meeting on US security deal


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A national meeting to discuss the fate of a future security deal with the United States will be held in the third week of November, officials said Saturday. The key gathering will decide if America and its allies will keep troops in Afghanistan after 2014 or pack up and leave.

Sadeq Mudaber, a member of the convening commission, said that the consultative assembly of tribal elders, or Loya Jirga, will start at some point between Nov. 19 and 21 and could last as long as a week. He expected up to 3,000 people may attend.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and President Hamid Karzai a week ago reached an agreement in principle on the major elements of a deal that would allow American troops to stay after combat troops serving with a NATO-led international military coalition depart at the end of 2014.

But in making the dal, Karzai said a potentially deal-breaking issue of jurisdiction over those forces must be debated by the Loya Jirga before he makes a decision.

"In our recent negotiations with the U.S., we also discussed another important topic, and it was the topic of immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan," Karzai said Friday in his weekly radio address. "The decision in this respect is beyond the capacity of Afghan government, and only the Afghan people maintain the authority to decide on it, and the Loya Jirga reflects the will of the Afghan people."

If the Loya Jirga decides to tell Karzai that it is against American demands that U.S. military courts and not Afghan ones have jurisdiction over any crimes committed by its forces serving here, then it is extremely unlikely that Karzai will sign the deal. If they agree, then the bilateral security agreement will be sent to parliament for approval.

The U.S. wants to keep as many as 10,000 troops in the country to train and mentor the Afghan national security forces and go after the remnants of al-Qaida, but if no agreement is signed, all U.S. troops would have to leave by the end of next year. President Barack Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press he would be comfortable with a full pullout of U.S. troops.

Many American allies have also indicated they will not keep troops here if there is no U.S. presence. Billions of dollars in funding for Afghan forces and development will also likely be at stake.

In Iraq, a similar deal fell apart after U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on the same issue that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain there. The United States completely pulled out of Iraq after the deal collapsed.

Although they are holding their own against the Taliban, the Afghan security forces are generally considered to be not yet fully prepared to go at it without further foreign training and international funding. Violence has already escalated following the steady withdrawal of foreign troops. An insurgent suicide bomb attack Friday against a foreign military convoy in Kabul killed two civilians.

The Loya Jirga, however, will also take a close look at the entire 32-page deal, Modaber said, with each section being examined by separate committees.

The commission that will organize the Loya Jirga is headed by former Afghan President Sebghatullah Mujadidi, who told reporters he initially disagreed with holding one because the basic points had already been covered by a Strategic Partnership Agreement that Karzai signed with President Barack Obama last year. He was convinced to go through with the meeting, however, because of the importance of the deal.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghans-prepare-meeting-us-security-deal-095847735.html
Tags: tom hanks   dallas cowboys   Manny Diaz   Dedication 5   Julie Harris  

Director Bay attacked on 'Transformers' set in HK

HONG KONG (AP) — Hollywood director Michael Bay was attacked and slightly injured on the set of the fourth installment of the "Transformers" movie series filming in Hong Kong, police said.


A police spokeswoman said two brothers surnamed Mak who own a shop near the movie set approached Bay and demanded 100,000 Hong Kong dollars ($13,000) on Thursday.


When Bay refused to pay, they assaulted him, she said. The brothers also allegedly assaulted three police officers who were called to the set.


The spokeswoman said Bay suffered a minor injury to his face but declined medical treatment. She spoke on customary condition of anonymity.


The two men, aged 27 and 28, were arrested and face charges of blackmail, assault and assaulting police officers, she said.


Paramount Pictures gave a somewhat different account of the incident, which it said occurred on the film's first day of production in Hong Kong after months of filming on U.S. locations.


It said in a statement that a man rushed onto the set wielding an air conditioning unit and swung it at Bay's head. It said Bay ducked and wrestled the air conditioning unit away from the man.


Police arrested the man and two companions, and no one on the set was injured, Paramount said.


On his own website, Bay said "drugged up" assailants had been belligerent toward the film crew and one rolled metal carts toward actors on the set while trying to "shake us down." His statement said security subdued one man and that four were arrested for assaulting officers who responded.


Non-violent attempts at extortion involving location filming have been an occasional problem in Hollywood over the years, where residents would intentionally disrupt filming by making noise or other means in an effort to prompt a payoff. In recent years, studios have been more diligent with compensation to residents in neighborhoods where location shooting is occurring.


Bay has directed the three previous "Transformers" films, in addition to such action flicks as "Bad Boys" and "Armageddon."


"Transformers 4: Age of Extinction" is partly set in Hong Kong. It stars Mark Wahlberg and is to be released next June.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/director-bay-attacked-transformers-set-hk-165148976.html
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Friday, October 18, 2013

Co-Op: The Best Gaming Keyboard, Top 6 Nominations - Kotaku

500 comments and more than 50 different keyboard nominations later, we have our contenders. In a surprising twist, there was a tie for 6th place, so we actually have six nominees rather than the usual five going into the voting round.


Rules are pretty simple: read about each keyboard if you like, and then cast your vote in the poll. We also encourage you to make your case for your keyboard of choice in the comments section (or your case against someone else's choice).


Head over here for today's regular deals roundup.




The mechanical CM Storm Quickfire Rapid comes with a variety of switch options, and is not backlit. Many iterations of the CM Storm line are available, all the way up to the Ultimate. The Rapid's price varies depending on the keys, but can be had for as low as $70 as of this writing. [Amazon]





The mechanical G710 Plus is Logitech's flagship and comes with all the trimmings. Personally, I am a big fan of the aesthetics of the G710 as well. Cherry MX Browns. Currently sitting at $120. [Amazon]





Like the CM Storm Quickfire, the mechanical Black Widow comes in a variety of permutations which can be a bit confusing if you're not familiar with the line. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate is sitting at around $140, and is #1 on Amazon's best selling PC gaming keyboards list. [Amazon]





The Logitech G510s is the only keyboard on the list with a screen, and like the Sidewinder, it isn't mechanical. [Amazon]





The mechanical Corsair K70 is a very attractive keyboard. Practically murdered out and packing lots of aluminum, the K70 won't look like a toy on your desk. Cherry Reds and a whole lot of backlighting options for $130. [Amazon]





The Sidewinder is the cheapest keyboard on the list, and doesn't include the mechanical keys found in 4 of the 5 other keyboards we're voting on. It's an attractive, muted keyboard with a slim profile and lots of lighting options. 55 bucks. [Amazon]




The Time To Vote Has Come




Follow Kotaku Deals on Twitter to never miss a deal. Get in touch with Shane Roberts on Twitter or by e-mailing Shane@Gawker


Every weekday the Commerce Team brings you Gizmodo's Dealzmodo, Kotaku's Moneysaver, and Lifehacker's Dealhacker, the very best coverage of deals on consumer technology, video games, apps, and everything else you care about. When you buy, we also make money. We want your feedback.

Source: http://kotaku.com/co-op-the-best-gaming-keyboard-top-6-nominations-1447953582
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In Libya, migrants face ordeals at sea and in jail

In this image made from Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 video, African migrants look through bars of a locked door at Sabratha migrant detention center for men in Sabratha, Libya. Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in dangerous sea voyages. (AP Photo/AP Video)







In this image made from Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 video, African migrants look through bars of a locked door at Sabratha migrant detention center for men in Sabratha, Libya. Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in dangerous sea voyages. (AP Photo/AP Video)







In this image made from Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 video, migrants look through bars at Sabratha migrant detention center for women in Sabratha, Libya. Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in dangerous sea voyages. (AP Photo/AP Video)







In this image made from Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 video, African migrants look through bars of a locked door at Sabratha migrant detention center for men in Sabratha, Libya. Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in dangerous sea voyages. (AP Photo/AP Video)







In this image made from Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 video, migrants rest at Sabratha migrant detention center for men in Sabratha, Libya. Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in dangerous sea voyages. (AP Photo/AP Video)







(AP) — The first time the young mother tried to flee to Europe on a rickety boat of fellow migrants from Africa, the overcrowded vessel quickly broke down and filled with water, forcing it to return to the Libyan coast. The second time, she was arrested and placed in a mosquito-infested Libyan detention center, where she has languished for months.

She says she lives on bread and water, with only milk for her 8-month-old girl, and is beaten by guards with a hose if she complains.

"They beat us like goats," said Beauty Osaha, 23, who headed north from her native Nigeria in hopes of a better life. She said the guards at the facility in the ancient city of Sabratha search migrants' bodies, including their private parts, looking for money or smuggled phones.

Libya's chaos in the two years following the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi has turned the country into a prime springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in rickety, crowded boats. With police and the military in disarray, human smuggling has reached the level of a mafia-style organized industry in which Libya's militias have gotten involved, according to activists and police.

The danger of the sea journey became particularly clear this month, with three deadly wrecks of migrant boats coming from Libya. At least 365 people, mostly Eritreans fleeing repression in their homeland, died on Oct. 3 when their boat from Libya sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa — one of the worst verified migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean.

Detention by Libyan militias is the migrants' other potential ordeal. Activists say militias hold migrants in stores, schools and abandoned buildings as well as detention centers, abusing them and holding them hostage until they receive money from the migrants' families. Then the migrants are freed, only to try again.

"In these prisons, the principles of the Feb. 17 Revolution are being toppled down. The Libyan authorities must put an end to those pirates," a Libyan rights group called Beladi, or My Nation, said on its website, referring to the "revolution" that led to Gadhafi's ouster and death in 2011.

But Libya's government is weak, virtually hostage to the militias, which originated as rebel brigades fighting Gadhafi but have grown in size and power.

The government has put some militias on the Interior and Defense Ministries' payrolls in an effort to control them, but the militias still do whatever they want. Militiamen this month even briefly kidnapped Prime Minister Ali Zidan, who has frequently spoken of the need to rein in the armed groups.

An official with one militia in Tripoli connected to the Interior Ministry that runs a migrant detention center acknowledged abuses take place but blamed them on lack of training for the young guards. "They only get about two months of training, this is not enough," said Abdel-Hakim al-Balazi, spokesman for the Anti-Crime Department, a militia umbrella group that keeps security in the capital.

He said that migrants detained by his group are sent to larger detention centers in cities in Libya's southern deserts, run by other militias. Soon after, "we just see them free again on the streets," he said. He added that the southern borders are "wide open" with no government control.

After the latest migrant deaths, Zidan said his government was "determined" to stem the migrant flow. He asked the European Union for training and equipment to help patrol Libya's coast and desert borders, including access to satellite imagery.

In the first six months of this year, 8,400 migrants reached Malta and Italy by sea, almost all from Libya, nearly twice the number in the first six months of 2012, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Smaller numbers come from Tunisia, and others from Egypt, often heading to Greece. But even with the ordeals, Libya's weakened enforcement makes it an attractive path for migrants.

Cities along Libya's 1,000-mile, largely unpatrolled Mediterranean coastline have become collection points where Africans mass, scrounging up the cash for boat to take them the 200 miles to Malta or Lampedusa. Sabratha, a coastal city of about 110,000 people, is now home to some 10,000 migrants, officials here say.

The true number of migrant deaths at sea is impossible to tell, given the secrecy of the boat journeys. A half hour drive into the desert by a garbage heap outside Sabratha is a makeshift graveyard, marked only with a few stones painted white — with no names — where migrant bodies found washed ashore have been buried.

"Bodies are not buried separately, just all next to each other with no marks to tell who is where," said activist Essam Karar, who documented the burials, taking pictures of the bodies.

Under Gadhafi, Libya's policies shifted depending on his whims. At times, illegal migration was encouraged as a tool to pressure European countries; at other times, security forces carried out wide-scale arrests of migrants.

Now officials and activists say trafficking became more organized and that militias collaborate in the profitable business.

"It's a multinational mafia," said Gamal al-Gharabili, head of Sabratha-based Association for Peace, Care and Relief. Boat owners are mostly Libyans connected with Sudanese smugglers bringing in migrants from Horn of Africa countries, he said.

Abdel-Salam al-Kerit, another Sabratha activist involved in aiding migrants, said the migrants used to have to pay multiple smugglers across the land route through Libya. "Now you pay once and for all," he said. "The network extends from the southern borders of Libya to the shores."

Bassem al-Gharabili, a police officer at the anti-trafficking body in the city, said smugglers have become more professional, using larger boats, and are expert at eluding security forces.

"Traffickers monitor us as much as we monitor them. They have spies in the sea. They could be fishermen," he said.

Ramadan, a 25-year-old Eritrean detained at the Sabratha facility, said he first tried to flee Africa along the Egyptian-Israeli border but was caught by smugglers who tortured him with electric shocks and chopped off some of his fingers.

He then tried crossing to Europe from Libya twice. The first time, he survived a rickety boat packed with 50 people that partially broke down after four hours at sea. Three people on board died. The second time, he was detained in Sabratha. There, he said, he was beaten by guards.

"Better to die. I have nothing," said Ramadan, who spoke on condition his full name not be used, fearing further trouble from officials.

In a dark cell at a detention center in the town of Sorman, near Sabratha, Israel Koja said he ran away from his hometown in Nigeria after militants from the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram stormed his house, tied him up and stabbed him.

Koja, 33, paid $1,200 for traffickers to cross the desert into Libya, but has spent more than a year in the jail.

"I escaped a hell to fall in another hell," Koja said.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-18-Libya-Illegal%20Migrants/id-ace24d6157464bf1a6a7476dc7f91a72
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