Russia, France say Syria must not be allowed to break up

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was briefly hospitalized due to her bipolar disorder, the actress' spokeswoman said on Tuesday after video emerged of Fisher giving an unusual stage performance. The video came from a show Fisher gave aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean last week, according to celebrity website TMZ, which posted the clip. The clip shows Fisher, 56, singing "Skylark" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," at times appearing to struggle to remember the lyrics. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-france-syria-must-not-allowed-break-140415472.html

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Indonesia: Religious Minorities Targets Of Rising Violence | Albany ...

A session of the People's Representative Council in Jakarta, Indonesia

By Albany Tribune -- (February 27, 2013)

The Indonesian government is failing to protect the country?s religious minorities from growing religious intolerance and violence, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should respond much more decisively and adopt a ?zero tolerance? policy for attacks on religious minority communities.

The 107-page report, ?In Religion?s Name: Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia,? documents the government?s failure to confront militant groups whose thuggish harassment and assaults on houses of worship and members of religious minorities has become increasingly aggressive. Those targeted include Ahmadiyahs, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Indonesian monitoring groups have noted a steady increase in such attacks, one group finding 264 violent incidents over the past year.

?The Indonesian government?s failure to take decisive action to protect religious minorities from threats and violence is undermining its claims to being a rights-respecting democracy,? said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. ?National leadership is essential. Yudhoyono needs to insist that national laws be enforced, announce that every violent attack will be prosecuted, and map out a comprehensive strategy to combat rising religious intolerance.?

Human Rights Watch conducted research in 10 provinces on the Indonesian islands of Java, Madura, Sumatra, and Timor, and interviewed more than 115 people of various religious beliefs. These included 71 victims of violence and abuses, as well as religious leaders, police officers, militant group leaders, lawyers, and civil society activists.

Local officials too often have responded to acts of arson and other violence by blaming the victims, Human Rights Watch said. Most perpetrators have received little or no punishment. In two cases, local officials refused to implement Supreme Court decisions granting minority groups the right to build houses of worship. While some national officials have spoken out in defense of religious minorities, others ? including the minister of religion, Suryadharma Ali ? have themselves made discriminatory statements.

Yudhoyono has failed to use powers at his disposal to defend religious minority communities and has not effectively disciplined cabinet members when they have encouraged abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Ali made discriminatory remarks about the Ahmadiyah and Shia in a March 2011 speech at a political convention, claiming: ?We have to ban the Ahmadiyah. It is obvious that Ahmadiyah is against Islam.?In September 2012, he proposed that Shia convert to Sunni Islam. Ali was not sanctioned for either comment.

?The government has shown a deadly indifference to the growing plight of Indonesia?s religious minorities, who reasonably expect their government?s protection,? Adams said.

Islamist militant groups, such as the Islamic People?s Forum (Forum Umat Islam) and the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam), have been implicated in attacks and arson on houses of worship and homes of members of minority religions. Such groups seek to justify violence by espousing an interpretation of Sunni Islam that labels most non-Muslims as ?infidels,? and Muslims who do not adhere to Sunni orthodoxy as ?blasphemers.?

Indonesian government officials and security forces have often facilitated harassment and intimidation of religious minorities by militant Islamist groups, Human Rights Watch said. That includes making blatantly discriminatory statements, refusing to issue building permits for religious minorities? houses of worship, and pressuring congregations to relocate.

Such actions are in part made possible by discriminatory laws and regulations, including a blasphemy law that officially recognizes only six religions, and house of worship decrees that give local majority populations significant leverage over religious minority communities. Sunni Muslim communities in areas of eastern Indonesia where Christians are a majority have also been victims of such regulations and in a few instances have had difficulty obtaining permission to build mosques.

Indonesian government institutions have also played a role in the violation of the rights and freedoms of the country?s religious minorities, Human Rights Watch said. Those institutions, which include the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) under the Attorney General?s Office, and the semi-official Indonesian Ulema Council, have eroded religious freedom by issuing decrees and fatwas (religious rulings) against members of religious minorities and using their position of authority to press for the prosecution of ?blasphemers.?

The increasing violence against religious minorities ? and the government?s failure to take decisive steps against it ? violates guarantees of religious freedom in the Indonesian constitution and international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005, provides that ?persons belonging to?minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion.?

The Jakarta-based Setara Institute, which monitors religious freedom in Indonesia, reported a rise in violent attacks on religious minorities, from 244 in 2011, to 264 in 2012. The Wahid Institute, another Jakarta-based rights monitoring group, documented 92 violations of religious freedom and 184 incidents of religious intolerance in 2011, up from 64 violations and 134 incidents of intolerance in 2010.

?Yudhoyono should endorse religious freedom as a fundamental principle of his administration and ensure that government officials are not promoting abuses against religious minorities,? Adams said. ?Indonesia?s donors should take up the failure to defend religious freedom as a matter of urgency.?

Source: http://www.albanytribune.com/27022013-indonesia-religious-minorities-targets-of-rising-violence/

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02/22/2013 - CSM Basketball vs. Gavilan College

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Source: http://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=8597

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Oscar Pistorius gets bail as murder trial looms

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, right, and his sister Aimee, left, are driven to a relatives home in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Pistorius was released on bail and will return to court June, 4, 2013 to face charge a charge of pre-meditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Nelius Rademan-FOTO24-Beeld) SOUTH AFRICA OUT NO SALES. NO ARCHIVE, ONLINE OUT MAGAZINES OUT INTERNET OUT TV OUT

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, right, and his sister Aimee, left, are driven to a relatives home in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Pistorius was released on bail and will return to court June, 4, 2013 to face charge a charge of pre-meditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Nelius Rademan-FOTO24-Beeld) SOUTH AFRICA OUT NO SALES. NO ARCHIVE, ONLINE OUT MAGAZINES OUT INTERNET OUT TV OUT

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is driven to a relatives home in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Pistorius was released on bail and will return to court June, 4, 2013 to face charge a charge of pre-meditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Nelius Rademan-FOTO24-Beeld) SOUTH AFRICA OUT NO SALES. NO ARCHIVE, ONLINE OUT MAGAZINES OUT INTERNET OUT TV OUT

Photographers take photos of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius as he stands in the dock during his bail hearing at the magistrates court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. The fourth and likely final day of Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing opened on Friday, with the magistrate then to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he has to remain in custody over the shooting death of his girlfriend. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, silhoetted in front vehicle, center, arrives at a relatives home in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb 22, 2013. Pistorius was released on bail and will return to court June, 4, 2013 to face a charge of pre-meditated murder in the shooting deth of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (AP Photo/Waldo Swiegers)

Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The defense and prosecution both completed their arguments with the magistrate soon to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he must stay behind bars pending trial) (AP Photo)

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? Oscar Pistorius walked out of a South African court Friday a free man ? for now ? after a magistrate agreed to release him on bail ahead of his premeditated murder trial over the shooting death of his girlfriend.

But even as he was driven away from court and chased by videographers and photographers, questions continued to hound the Paralympian about what actually happened when he opened fire on Valentine's Day inside his home and killed Reeva Steenkamp.

Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair, who agreed to bail with harsh restrictions for the athlete, expressed his own doubts about Pistorius' story. Those questions, highlighted at a four-day bail hearing that at times foreshadowed his coming trial, come from Pistorius' account that he felt threatened and mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired the four shots at her in his bathroom.

"Why would (Pistorius) venture further into danger?" Nair asked.

Pistorius' supporters shouted "Yes!" when Nair made his decision after a nearly two hour explanation of his ruling to a packed courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa's capital. Yet when prosecutors and the defense said they agreed to bail terms, Nair more than doubled those conditions for the 26-year-old runner to be free ahead of trial.

Nair set the bail at 1 million rand ($113,000), with $11,300 in cash up front and proof that the rest is available. The magistrate said Pistorius must hand over his passports and also turn in any other guns that he owns. Pistorius also cannot leave the district of Pretoria without the permission of his probation officer, Nair said, nor can he take drugs or drink alcohol.

Pistorius' family members hugged each other after the decision was read, with tears in their eyes.

"We are relieved at the fact that Oscar got bail today but at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva with her family," said Pistorius' uncle, Arnold Pistorius. "As a family, we know Oscar's version of what happened on that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case."

Sharon Steenkamp, Reeva's cousin, had said earlier that the family wouldn't be watching the bail decision and hadn't been following the hearing in Pretoria.

"It doesn't make any difference to the fact that we are without Reeva," she told The Associated Press.

Nair set Pistorius' next court appearance for June 4. The Olympian left the courthouse in a silver Land Rover, sitting in the rear, just more than an hour after the magistrate imposed the bail conditions. The vehicle, tailed by motorcycles carrying television cameramen aboard, later pulled into the home of Pistorius' uncle.

Pistorius left behind more than a dozen international and local television crews at the red-brick courthouse. It's a sign of the growing global fascination with a case involving an inspirational athlete and his beautiful, law-school graduate girlfriend, who was a model and reality TV show contestant.

During Friday's long session in Pretoria Magistrate's Court, Pistorius alternately wept and appeared solemn and more composed, especially toward the end as Nair criticized police procedures in the case and as a judgment in Pistorius' favor appeared imminent. He showed no reaction as he was granted bail.

Before the hearing, Pistorius' longtime coach Ampie Louw said he hoped to put his runner back into his morning and afternoon training routine if he got bail.

"The sooner he can start working the better," said Louw, who was the person who convinced the double-amputee to take up track as a teenager a decade ago. But he acknowledged Pistorius could be "heartbroken" and unwilling to immediately pull on his carbon-fiber running blades, the reason behind his "Blade Runner" nickname.

There is one place, however, where Nair ordered that Pistorius cannot go: His upscale home in a gated community in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria, where he killed Steenkamp in the predawn hours of Feb. 14.

Pistorius said in a sworn statement to the court that he shot his girlfriend accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house. He described "a sense of terror rushing over" him and feeling vulnerable because he stood only on his stumps before opening fire.

Prosecutors, however, say he intended to kill Steenkamp, saying the shooting followed a loud argument between the two. Yet despite poking holes in Pistorius' statement ? they questioned why he didn't notice his girlfriend missing despite walking past the bed and brought up incidents that they said highlighted his temper ? their case unraveled through testimony by the police's lead investigator in the case, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha.

Botha, who faces seven charges of attempted murder in an unrelated incident, was removed from the case Thursday. His replacement, the nation's top detective Vinesh Moonoo, stopped briefly by the hearing Friday. Prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said later Friday: "We're still confident in our case."

While Nair leveled harsh criticism at Botha for "errors" and "blunders," he said one man does not represent an investigation and that the state could not be expected to put all "the pieces of the puzzle" together in such a short time. The magistrate questioned whether Pistorius would be a flight risk and be prepared to go "ducking and diving" around the world when he stood to lose a fortune in cash, cars, property and other assets.

Pistorius faced the sternest bail requirements in South Africa because of the seriousness of the charge. His defense lawyers had to prove that he would not flee the country, would not interfere with witnesses or the case and his release would not cause public unrest. They also had to show "exceptional" circumstances for his release as well, something Nair said could be found in the "weak" case offered by prosecutors.

Yet the magistrate still anticipated the shape of the state's case at trial. Nair said he had serious questions about Pistorius' account: Why didn't he try to locate his girlfriend on fearing an intruder was in the house? Why didn't he try to determine who was in the bathroom? And why would he venture into perceived "danger" ? the bathroom area ? when he could have taken other steps to ensure his safety?

Touching those unanswered questions, Nair said: "There are improbabilities which need to be explored."

___

AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-22-Pistorius-Shooting/id-802b45eeeafd4a5bb19e3e921ea9075d

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Romney to address conservative conference in March (The Arizona Republic)

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Kurdish militia signs ceasefire with Syrian rebels

(Reuters) - Syrian rebels and a Kurdish militia that have fought each other for months in a town near the Turkish border have signed a ceasefire, averting the prospect of an Arab-Kurd conflict.

Syria's Kurds have exploited the civil war between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to oust him by asserting control in parts of the northeast, which have been spared the worst of the violence.

But the relative calm was shattered last November when mainly Sunni Muslim Arab rebels overran the ethnically mixed Syrian town of Ras al-Ain and Assad's airforce bombed it in the days that followed.

Until a deal was struck earlier this week, Kurdish fighters known as Popular Protection Units (YPG) had been battling to drive out insurgents from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), opening another front in Syria's near two year civil war.

Previous efforts to broker a truce repeatedly fell through.

"They were forced to sign an agreement to withdraw from the town," said YPG spokesman Khabat Ibrahim, who was present at the ceasefire signing ceremony.

"If the FSA respects us, we can join with them to liberate towns still under Assad's control".

Kurds in Syria see the war as an opportunity to win rights long-denied them by Assad and his father before him, but are wary of the Arab-dominated opposition, which they see as inherently hostile to their interests.

Those suspicions are fuelled by Turkish support for the rebels. Turkey has a fraught relationship with its own Kurdish population and has fought for years against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Ibrahim blamed Turkey for inciting the FSA to attack Kurdish fighters and warned they would not accept another incursion. "If they want to take Turkish orders, we will fight them again," he said.

The YPG says it has no political affiliations, but analysts say it has close ties to the PKK.

Rebels accuse Syrian Kurdish parties aligned with the PKK of colluding with Assad in return for him leaving them to their own devices and keeping out the FSA. That also serves Assad's interests by unnerving Turkey.

(Reporting by Isabel Coles in Arbil, Iraq; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kurdish-militia-signs-ceasefire-syrian-rebels-164232860.html

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Ke$ha's 'My Beautiful Crazy Life': She Did WHAT With A Canoli?

Singer's MTV show premieres on April 23 at 11 p.m.
By MTV News Staff

Ke$ha in "Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life"
Photo: MTV

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702244/kesha-my-crazy-beautiful-life-series.jhtml

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Safety Council: Traffic deaths surged in 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Traffic fatalities rose 5 percent last year, according to an analysis of preliminary state data, reversing a seven-year decline in which the number of annual traffic deaths reached their lowest level in more than six decades.

An estimated 36,200 people died motor vehicle accidents in 2012, the National Safety Council said Tuesday. That's up from 34,600 deaths the previous year. It's the first increase since 2004 to 2005.

Crash injuries requiring medical care also rose 5 percent last year to 3.9 million, the council said. The estimates are based on monthly fatality data the council receives from every state and the District of Columbia.

The council and other safety advocates attributed the increase in part to more driving due to an improved economy and a mild winter last year.

While that may explain some of the increase, the rate of deaths also increased 4 percent to 1.23 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The estimated annual population death rate was 11.49 deaths per 100,000 people, also an increase of 4 percent.

One explanation is that not only are people driving more as the economy improves, but they're also driving differently, said Michael Sivak, a professor at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

During the economic downturn, people tended to drive slower to conserve gas; there was less driving on rural roads, which are more risky than urban roads, and there were fewer freight shipments and thus fewer heavy trucks on the road, he said.

"Improvements in road safety that are based on economic factors are transient," Sivak said. "We should not be surprised that a part of the recent gain in road safety is beginning to disappear."

Increases in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths ? a reflection of more people walking and biking in urban areas ? may also be a factor, said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices.

Distracted driving is also suspected to be a factor, "but the distraction data is very, very difficult to get," she said.

Cars are safer than ever, with an array of new high-tech safety systems beginning to permeate the new car market. But many of the causes of highway deaths remain unchanged: Drivers not wearing seatbelts, drunk driving, inexperienced teen drivers, unsafe trucks and motorcyclists not wearing helmets, said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

"I don't buy this theory that, 'Oh, we have safer cars, what else can we do?'" Gillan said. "There are many more things we can do. It's not rocket science. We know what the cure is."

The estimated cost of motor vehicle deaths, injuries and property damage in 2012 was $276.6 billion, the council said. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs, and property damage.

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

___

Online:

National Safety Council http://www.nsc.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-19-Traffic%20Deaths/id-8cd857378d1546309c65153a56b09d9c

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HTC One software hands-on: Sense 5, BlinkFeed, Sense TV and new Sync Manager

Now that you're done drooling over the HTC One's shiny body, let's take a look at the phone's generous bundle of software features. Sense 5 on Android 4.1.2 is quite possibly the boldest step HTC's ever taken in terms of Android interface, in the hopes of offering a radically simple experience out of the box. First off, the phone comes with just two soft keys: Back and Home. You can still access the app-switching page by double-tapping the Home key, but instead of the old 3D interface with dozens of app cards, you'll now only get a grid of nine app cards to keep things simple. And like before, simply flick the cards up to dismiss the corresponding apps. Read on for more, and keep an eye out for our upcoming hands-on video.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, HTC

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2JebE_XtGgM/

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British author attacks "plastic" princess Kate

LONDON (Reuters) - One of Britain's most celebrated authors has launched a withering attack on the Duchess of Cambridge, the pregnant wife of Prince William, branding her a "shop-window mannequin" with a plastic smile whose only role in life is to breed.

Prime Minister David Cameron described award-winning writer Hilary Mantel as "misguided" after she likened the former Kate Middleton to a "machine made" doll, devoid of personality.

Her comments about the 31-year-old wife of William, second-in-line to the British throne, divided public opinion, with newspapers condemning Mantel as "venomous", "cruel" and "staggeringly rude".

Supporters said her words had been taken out of context from a long analysis of society's centuries-old obsession with the appearance and fertility of royal wives that ended with a plea to "back off and not be brutes" to them.

"I saw Kate becoming a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung," Mantel said in a lecture at the British Museum in London earlier this month in which she spoke about her changing view of the princess.

"She was a shop-window mannequin, with no personality of her own, entirely defined by what she wore. These days she is a mother-to-be, and draped in another set of threadbare attributions."

Speaking during a visit to India, Cameron said Mantel was wrong and that people should do more to encourage a young royal who is a "fantastic ambassador for Britain".

"She writes great books, but I think what she's said about Kate Middleton is completely misguided and completely wrong," Cameron told Sky News.

Mantel, who last year became the first Briton to twice win the Man Booker prize for fiction, referred to the princess's severe morning sickness during the early stage of her pregnancy and said her role was to provide an heir.

"Once she gets over being sick, the press will find that she is radiant. They will find that this young woman's life until now was nothing, her only point and purpose being to give birth," Mantel said in the lecture organized by the London Review of Books on February 4. The literary magazine reprinted the lecture on its website this week.

'UNCALLED FOR'

A smiling Duchess of Cambridge showed no sign of being affected by the row when she visited an addiction charity in London. Wearing a grey wrap dress, she crossed her hands over her small baby bump as she chatted to charity workers.

Well-wishers who waited in the late winter sunshine for a glimpse of her expressed sympathy.

"It's totally uncalled for," said Morag Hamilton, 36, from London. "It's a shame - that's what her life is going to become now.".

Mantel, 60, is best known for her historical novel "Wolf Hall", about the rise of blacksmith's son Thomas Cromwell to the pinnacle of power in King Henry VIII's court. Her follow-up "Bring Up the Bodies" recounted Anne Boleyn's fall from grace after failing to give Henry a male heir.

In her lecture, Mantel said the Duchess of Cambridge was "selected for her role ... because she was irreproachable", contrasting her with the "emotional incontinence" of William's late mother, Princess Diana.

"As painfully thin as anyone could wish, without quirks, without oddities, without the risk of the emergence of character. She appears precision-made, machine-made, so different from Diana," Mantel said. The author's agent and a royal spokeswoman declined to comment.

Reaction on Twitter suggested Mantel had split public opinion. Royal commentator Robert Jobson said the "venomous attack" was "unfair and publicity-seeking". Others agreed with Mantel, saying she had elegantly articulated what many people had long thought about the royals.

The lecture looked at the public fascination with the "regal body", examining the lives of royal women and the importance of providing an heir. Mantel compared their fate to caged pandas in captivity.

"Our current royal family doesn't have the difficulties in breeding that pandas do, but pandas and royal persons alike are expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment," Mantel said. "But aren't they interesting? Aren't they nice to look at?"

(Additional reporting by Andrew Osborn in New Delhi; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-author-attacks-plastic-princess-kate-102414261.html

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Florida College Professor Who Forced Students To Sign Pro-Obama Pledge Facing Termination

Posted: February 18, 2013

Sharon Sweet, the Brevard Community College (Florida) math professor who forced her students to sign a pledge promising to vote for President Barack Obama and ?Democrats up and down the ticket,? may be losing her job.

After a three-month investigation, BCC President Jim Richey announced that he will recommend to the school?s Board of Trustees that she be dismissed.? Dr. Richey explained in a written statement that BCC policy prohibits electioneering during regular work hours or on BCC property. Sweet?s actions also allegedly created a hostile academic environment, according to Dr. Richey?s announcement, as well as unfairly imposing her personal political beliefs on the students.

The school interviewed many of her students in her five classes who felt intimidated into signing the pledge cards because otherwise they felt their grade would suffer. Sweet also allegedly misrepresented the purpose of the pledge cards in that she alternately claimed that she was registering voters, that the pledge cards were non-partisan in nature, or that she conducting a statistical analysis using the pledge cards.

Sweet still has a sweet deal going because she is continuing to collect paycheck without doing any work. As of result of tenure protection, Sweet has been serving a paid suspension. There are several administrative steps yet to occur ? including a hearing before the Board ? before any just-cause termination becomes final.

It would be one thing perhaps if she was teaching political science but why in the world would a math professor attempt to politicize her classroom in the first place? Evidently they weren?t running Electoral College calculations either.

It is no secret, however, that academia is overwhelmingly left-liberal, and gave massive support to Obama in various ways, including in the form of campaign donations. Moreover, it is often very difficult for those qualified scholars who are acknowledged conservatives or libertarians to obtain tenure or even get hired in the first place. Despite notions of academic freedom, students who don?t go along with the dominant ideology on campus also often face challenges.

Do you think termination is the appropriate disciplinary action in this case?

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/530795/florida-college-professor-who-forced-students-to-sign-pro-obama-pledge-facing-termination/

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Karzai bans Afghan forces from seeking airstrikes

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 file photo, an Afghan military officer poses a question to President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan. Karzai issued an order Monday, Feb. 18, arring Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes during operations in residential areas. Critics expressed worries Monday that the order could hobble government troops even as they prepare to take over full responsibility for security in the country from international forces. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 file photo, an Afghan military officer poses a question to President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan. Karzai issued an order Monday, Feb. 18, arring Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes during operations in residential areas. Critics expressed worries Monday that the order could hobble government troops even as they prepare to take over full responsibility for security in the country from international forces. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 file photo, Afghan President Hamid Karzai addresses military officers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Karzai issued an order Monday, Feb. 18, barring Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes during operations in residential areas. Critics expressed worries Monday that the order could hobble government troops even as they prepare to take over full responsibility for security in the country from international forces. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid, File)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Critics expressed worries Monday that a presidential order barring Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes during operations in residential areas could hobble government troops even as they prepare to take over full responsibility for security in the country from international forces.

Underscoring the troops' dependence on warplanes and helicopters, the U.S.-led coalition said Monday that an airstrike last week killed an Afghan soldier-turned-insurgent who was feted by the Taliban for killing an American soldier during an insider attack last year.

President Hamid Karzai officially issued the order on Monday, two days after promising to do so amid anger over a NATO airstrike requested by the national intelligence service that local officials said killed at least 10 civilians and four insurgents.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, said he believes the American-led NATO coalition can operate effectively despite the ban.

Afghans currently lead about 90 percent of military operations nationwide and will fully take charge in the spring, a key step in the plan to withdraw U.S. and other foreign combat forces by the end of 2014. However, they remain heavily dependent on the coalition for air support and medical evacuations in areas where the Taliban and other militants live among the population and often enjoy local support.

The ban also runs counter to Afghan requests for NATO to supply their security forces with aircraft capable of carrying out airstrikes. The Afghan military has repeatedly implored the United States for jet fighters, such as F-16s, tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons.

Some analysts said the ban on airstrikes against residential areas would limit the Afghan forces' effectiveness and could prompt the savvy Taliban to use it by increasingly taking shelter among civilians in cities and villages.

"We don't have the ability to support our forces on the ground," said former Afghan Gen. Amrullah Aman.

"These insurgents are using Afghan houses as bunkers and innocent children are being killed," he added. "The insurgents will hear that the decree has been issued and feel safe."

The death of civilians during military operations, particularly in airstrikes, has been among a major source of acrimony between Karzai's government and foreign forces.

The presidential order was directed at the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the National Directorate of Security.

"During your operations, don't call for air support from international forces during operations on residential areas," the decree said. It did not provide more details.

The U.S.-led military coalition said last June that it would only use airstrikes as a self-defense weapon of last resort for troops and would avoid hitting structures that could house civilians. That followed a bombardment that killed 18 civilians celebrating a wedding in eastern Logar province, which drew an apology from the American commander.

Tensions rose again earlier this month when an airstrike hit two neighboring houses, killing five children, four women and one man in one and four insurgents in another in northeastern Kunar province, according to local officials.

Dunford met with Karzai and expressed "his personal condolences for any civilians who may have died or been injured as a result of the operation."

But the Afghan leader, who is serving his last term and is due to step down after elections in 2014, said he was outraged when the US commander told him that the NDS, Afghanistan's intelligence agency, had requested last week's strike in Kunar.

On Sunday, Dunford told reporters that Karzai's decision was in line with a tactical directive issued last year by his predecessor, Marine Gen. John Allen. The coalition can still carry out airstrikes on its own accord.

"There are other ways we can support our Afghan partners other than air ordnance," Dunford said without elaborating.

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said 83 civilians were killed and 46 wounded in aerial attacks by international military forces in the first half of 2012. That figure was down 23 percent from the same period of 2011 ? the deadliest year on record for civilians in the Afghan war. It said two-thirds of the casualties last year were women and children and insurgents were responsible for the overwhelming majority of the deaths.

Former Gen. Sayed Hussain Anwari said the airstrike successes aren't worth the deaths of innocent Afghans.

"Unfortunately there's no clear front line in the fight against the Taliban. It's a guerrilla war," said Anwari, also an ex-governor of Kabul and Herat provinces. "But also civilian casualties are unacceptable for everybody."

Earlier Monday, the U.S.-led coalition said that a former Afghan soldier and an accomplice blamed in the death of an American soldier had been killed last Wednesday in an airstrike in Kunar province's Ghaziabad district.

The man identified as Mahmood was thought responsible for the May 11 insider killing in Kunar of U.S. Army 1st Lt. Alejo Thompson, a 30-year-old father of two from Yuma, Arizona. He was based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Mahmood, in his early 20's and who went only by one name later fled. The coalition said he had an associate named Rashid who was "a former Afghan National Army soldier who facilitated and assisted with insider attack planning and execution."

A man named Mahmood was highlighted in a Taliban video that showed him being welcomed as a hero with flowers around his neck while entering an insurgent camp. The Taliban claimed he had defected to their side.

Killings by uniformed Afghans of foreign soldiers and civilians rose dramatically last year. According to NATO, so-called insider attacks killed 61 coalition personnel in 45 incidents last year, compared to 35 killed in 21 attacks a year earlier.

So far this year, there has been only one insider attack. That was the Jan. 7 killing of a British soldier in southern Helmand province by a man in an Afghan army uniform.

___

Associated Press writers Amir Shah and Patrick Quinn contributed to this report.

___

Follow Kim Gamel at http://twitter.com/kimgamel

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-18-Afghanistan/id-4046519c40ce4a9595c8c85fcc3ca25e

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Protesters Call On Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

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  Reverand Lennox Yearwood, Jr., addresses a crowd of up to 40,000 people at the Forward on Climate Rally in Washington, D.C. on February 17, 2013.

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Protestors chant "Shift the Power" during the Forward on Climate Rally

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Actress Rosario Dawson addresses the crowd at the Forward on Climate Rally, before marching in solidarity with activists from the Indigenous Environmental Network

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  The march started on Constituion Ave, south of the White House, and circled around the north side before returning to the starting point, with a crowd filled the streets and stretched over a mile long.

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Marchers filled Pennsylvania Avenue directly in front of the White House, with many participants stopping to chant slogans and take pictures beside the fence.

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Dr. J. William Hirzy, a chemistry professor at American Universiy, rests outside the rally route with a graph he uses to teach his students about the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature.

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Carl Gibson, from Madison, WI, joined the protest in support of friends who had previously been arrested at anti-Keystone demonstrations in Texas. He values how the Climate movement unites a diverse group of political, environmental and social groups, saying, "It's the thing that ties everyone together...we have a common enemy."

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  The Grim Reaper was a common theme, ranging from a costumed group to a cutout on a sign that read, "The only steady job on a dying planet will be mine"

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

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  Marchers brought a variety of musical instruments to the Forward on Climate Rally, from harmonicas, trumpets and guitars to a communal drum pushed on a homemade dolly

  Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on the National Mall Sunday to encourage President Obama to make good on his commitment to act on climate change.

In his Inaugural address from outside the U.S. Capitol, the president said: "We will respond to the threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."

Just a few weeks later, next to the Washington Monument, Paul Birkeland was one of a couple dozen people holding a long white tube above their heads.

"It's a backbone. It's a spine. The idea is to ask the president to have some spine and stand up to oil companies. And reject the Keystone Pipeline," Birkeland says.

The activists are focusing on the Keystone XL pipeline because it would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. To make this oil, companies use complex extraction and processing techniques that use a lot of energy. So it has a larger greenhouse gas footprint than conventional crude.

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island told the crowd that Congress is sleepwalking through the crisis on climate change. But he said protesters have an important ally.

"There's a man over there in the White House, he has found his voice on climate change. Are we going to have his back," Whitehouse asked.

Other speakers sounded less sure of the president's intentions.

Van Jones, a former adviser to President Obama, says that it would be disastrous if the project gets a green light.

"It would be like lighting a fuse on a carbon bomb ? that's what it would be like Mr. President," Jones says.

The Obama administration already let the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline go ahead. The State Department is expected to decide soon on the part that would cross the border from Canada and stretch to Oklahoma.

Organizers say it was the biggest climate rally ever in the United States. They claim about 35,000 people participated ? although there was no independent crowd count.

The crowd did stretch for several blocks as it made its way around the White House. Despite a cold wind and snow flurries, parents brought along young children.

Heather Clark wrapped her two toddlers in a sleeping bag and put them in their stroller.

"Events like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina and everything that I've been reading lately says it's happening. And if we don't do something really, really soon we're all going to be in a state where we don't recognize the planet where we live," Clark says.

Buses brought college students from many states to the National Mall.

Will Jones, was one of them, traveling overnight from Eastern Michigan University. He thinks the president is under a lot of pressure from oil companies.

"Now is the time for him to man up a little bit and make a decision. That's what he's in office to do," Jones says.

But some energy experts say environmentalists are focusing too much on Keystone. They argue that even if that pipeline isn't built, Canadian Tar sands oil will find another way to flow.

Retired Army Col. Dan Nolan represents a group of national security experts called Operation Free. He says there are clear national security benefits to getting more oil from Canada.

"We're putting America's sons and daughters at risk by having to protect oil production capability in the Middle East," Nolan says.

The real challenge he says is to shift the world off oil and other fossil fuels.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/18/172294244/protesters-call-on-obama-to-reject-keystone-xl-pipeline?ft=1&f=1007

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What a gun can do to you

There are as many reasons that people own guns as there are gun owners. Some people feel safer with them. Some feel more empowered. Others feel conflicted because of the way guns change the way they think and live.

By John Yemma,?Editor / February 17, 2013

Anne Davis fires her revolver at a Keene, N.H., shooting range.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Let me tell you about three people I know who own guns. (I hope you?ll understand why I won?t use their names.) One is a retired police officer. She straps on her holster anytime she goes outside the house. She?s a professional who doesn?t advocate others owning guns but has carried one for so long that it is part of who she is.

Skip to next paragraph John Yemma

Editor, The Christian Science Monitor

John Yemma is Editor of The Christian Science Monitor, which publishes international news and analysis at?CSMonitor.com, in the?Monitor Weekly?newsmagazine, and in an email-delivered?Daily News Briefing. He can be reached at editor@csmonitor.com.

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A second acquaintance is worried about the catastrophic breakdown of society. Though she is a ?prepper? and has laid in stores of food and amassed a small arsenal of weapons, she is lighthearted, pleasant, and makes her living as a therapist helping others overcome their troubles. She just believes what she believes.?

The third is most indicative of the modern Ameri-can gun owner. She recently separated from her husband of 31 years. Her brother, who works in law enforcement, encouraged her to buy a handgun since she is living in a small Vermont town. She had grown up around rifles and learned to shoot at a young age, but she never thought of using guns for self-defense.?

?I?m now alone and in my 50s in a small town,? she says. ?I hear things ? mostly about kids and drugs. I talked with my brother, and in December we went to a shop and bought a .38 Beretta. He made sure I practiced with it and was confident and comfortable enough to pull the gun out.? But the gun has changed her life, she says. ?I listen at night and am always thinking about what might happen. The gun is within reach and the magazine is full. I think it is horrible. It makes me feel out of control. It scares me even though I?m quite competent in its use.?

Many men and women keep secret their decision to own a weapon or simply don?t think it is important to talk about what they see as a practical necessity. Many others would never own a gun, consider the current arms race a baffling fad, and think gun owners are in much more danger of accidental or impulsive harm than likely to ward off an assailant.

Regardless of how you interpret the Second Amendment to the US Constitution ? whether broadly to include assault
?weapons, high-capacity magazines, and unfettered access to firearms or narrowly to include only hunting rifles and licensed handguns after a scrupulous background check ? the heart of the matter is the word ?self? in ?self-defense.? All of the polemics of the great gun debate now under way in the United States come down to that concept.

Self-defense has shifted in recent years as police forces ? once the go-to authority when someone felt threatened ? have scaled back in many communities and ?castle law? and ?stand your ground? doctrines have expanded. Even as crime rates have plunged, gun ownership has surged. In a Monitor special report, Patrik Jonsson and Clara Germani examine the mainstreaming of gun ownership in the US and how that is shaping the debate over rights and restrictions.?

Whether your mantra is that guns kill people or that people kill people, guns are not neutral objects. They are personal, powerful, and deadly. And they reshape thinking. Some people sleep sounder because of them. Some feel more powerful. Some, like my friend from small-town Vermont, are deeply conflicted.

?I feel I have to have one,? she says. ?It?s just that now there?s this constant feeling of impending danger. Once you let in the fear, you can?t get away from it.??

John Yemma is editor of the Monitor. He can be reached at editor@csmonitor.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/M5rcfdNBIYI/What-a-gun-can-do-to-you

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India non-committal on chopper deal talks with British PM

New Delhi, Feb 18 , 2013 (IANS)

India Monday remained non-committal on whether the alleged corruption in the VVIP chopper deal would be on the agenda for talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron here.

"I have no idea. I have not looked at the agenda. I know what the agenda was a week ago but I don't know if there is a revised agenda," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

"I would think one prepared the agenda much in advance. You cannot take any visiting dignitary by surprise. There are many levels at which these investigations are taking place. It is only in due course that it reaches the highest level. I am not sure of the agenda," he said.

Cameron arrived in India Monday on a three-day visit.On the investigations into the alleged scam, Khurshid said: "Even now we are not being able to get concrete material from the Italians on where matter has proceeded and arrests have been made."

"They (Italian government) haven't indicated anything and according to their rules, they cannot share anything with us. It is a little premature to jump to conclusions on what we can get and from where," he added.

"We have sent teams to Italy. They will return with information which we can analyse and comment on," he said.

The CBI is probing allegations of kickbacks in the $750 million (Rs.3,600 crore) deal for 12 AgustaWestland AW101 choppers from Italy for the Indian Air Force's elite Communication Squadron, which ferries the president, the prime minister and other VVIPs.

The defence ministry Friday initiated action for cancellation of the contract. It also issued a formal show cause notice to AgustaWestland, a Britain-based subsidiary of Italian firm Finmeccanica.

AgustaWestland has been given a week to explain why the contract should not be cancelled.

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Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/313005/india-non-committal-chopper-deal.html

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Syst?me Android :: RE: probl?me r?ception MMS depuis ICS : 3G non automatique

Bonjour,

Je poss?de un Nexus 4 depuis environ une semaine et je me suis rendu compte que, contrairement ? mes anciens t?l?phones, je ne recois plus les MMS automatiquement si je n'ai pas la 3G activ?e.

Et comme j'ai un forfait free 2? +0.99? pour 20mo de data, j'active la 3G que occasionnellement...

Avant, j'avais un HTC Desire et HTC Desire X, et ca ne posait aucun soucis. Le t?l?phone activait automatiquement la 3G pour la r?ception ou l'envoi d'un MMS. (donc pas la peine de me r?pondre que c'est normal de ne pas recevoir les MMS si je n'active pas la 3G)

Mais d'apr?s mes essais et recherches sur le net, depuis la version ICS d'android, ce n'est plus le cas

Donc, ? moins d'?tre Mme Soleil, pour pr?voir l'arriv?e d'un MMS et activ? la 3G juste avant, on ne peut plus recevoir de MMS, car la 3G n'est pas activ?e.
Pourquoi je n'active pas continuellement la 3G? Pour gagner en batterie et ?viter du hors forfait.

Bref, est ce que quelqu'un aurait une solution pour que la 3G s'active automatiquement lors de la r?ception d'un MMS?

Merci ? vous,

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ForumSPF/~3/HkjgsnNmJPw/viewtopic.php

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Quarter-finalists decided as Australians continue to dominate 2013 ...

The third day of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 2-Star 2013 Burton Toyota Pro Junior saw the eight quarter-finalists get decided in the men?s field at the Surfest in Newcastle, Australia, on Saturday, February 16, 2013.

The Australian surfers continued to stamp their authority in the competition, allowing only two foreigners, Italy?s Leonardo Fioravanti and America?s Kanoa Igarashi, to go through into the quarter-finals

With the conditions continuing to put the patience and experience of the surfers in contention for the event title as well as the coveted ASP ranking points to test, it turned out to be a very interesting contest, featuring a lot of suspense.

Fioravanti managed to adapt to the conditions on hand and consequently managed to walk away a winner from a tough Round 5 (Round of 16) heat.

Pitted against the Australian surfers Jack Duggan and Soli Bailey, along with Japan?s Arashi Kato, the Italian surfer posted a 7.25 and 4.50 off his best-two waves on the score-board to register a decisive heat-total of 11.75 points.

The win took him through into the quarter-finals, where he is to face Australia?s Jack Sylvester in a man-on-man battle for the semi-final place.

?I?m really stoked to be in the Quarterfinals,? Fioravantu said. ?This is already a good result for me and hopefully I can keep it going and make the Final. Everyone in the Quarterfinals is capable of winning the event, so I will have to be on my game tomorrow. At home we have some good waves, but it?s not as consistent as here in Newcastle.?

Australia?s Cooper Chapman continued to display a formidable form on the third day of the competition again.

After comfortable making his way through into the fifth round, the local talent took on his fellow compatriots, Jesse Horner and Harry Bryant, and the Brazilian surfer Rafael Teixeira in a four-man battle for the quarter-final spot.

Scoring a 5.75 and a near-perfect 9.65 off his top-two waves, Chapman got to a heat-total of 15.40 points, which proved sufficient to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.

The winner of 2013 Burton Toyota Pro Junior will be determined in less than 24 hours, i.e. if the conditions remain decent.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Quarter-finalists-decided-as-Australians-continue-to-dominate-2013-Burton-Toyota-Pro-Junior-a213577

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Mac Makeup Artist Wellington, Wedding Makeup St. Louis, Coastal Scents Makeup In Singapo and 19 more joined Sudbury Life

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://sudburylife.ca/profile/MacMakeupArtistWellington?xg_source=activity

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Don't forget your tax credit for energy efficiency

Homeowners who purchased high-efficiency appliances and/or made energy-efficient home improvements to their homes in 2012 may qualify for Federal tax credits, and they should consider the steps needed to apply as they prepare their annual tax returns by April 15, 2013. The tax credits apply toward 10 percent of the cost, up to $500, for home improvement measures or $50 to $300 for new appliances. Measures/appliances include:

• high-efficiency heating equipment, including a natural gas furnace with an efficiency rating of at least 95 percent or a natural gas boiler with an efficiency rating of at least 95 percent;
• high-efficiency storage or tankless natural gas water heater with an energy factor of 0.82 or higher;
• high-efficiency air conditioners, heat pumps and advanced main air circulating fans;
• home insulation, which also includes weather-stripping, caulking and spray foam;
• energy-efficient roofing; and
• energy-efficient windows, doors and/or skylights.

For products placed in service in 2012, customers will need to file the 2012 IRS Form 5695 and submit it with their 2012 taxes. On the 1040 form, the residential energy tax credit (from Form 5695) is claimed on line 52. Residents should save receipts and the Manufacturer's Certification Statement for their records. Forms and more information on qualifying products and measures can be found at www.energystar.gov/taxcredits. Additional tax credits are available on geothermal equipment, small wind turbines and solar energy systems.

To qualify, the homeowner must have installed the equipment or completed the home improvement in 2012. New construction, secondary residences and rentals may not qualify for some of the tax credits. Consult a certified tax professional for more information.

Vectren offers residential and small business rebates for high-efficiency appliances, including natural gas water heaters, boilers and furnaces and electric appliances, including air conditioners and heat pumps. Learn more about Vectren?s energy efficiency program, Conservation Connection, at www.vectren.com or call (866) 240-8476.

Source: http://spencer-perrycounty.14news.com/news/news/73541-dont-forget-your-tax-credit-energy-efficiency

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Ke$ha To Be Honored By Humane Society Of The United States

Global pop icon and committed animal advocate Ke$ha will receive the prestigious Wyler Award at The Humane Society of the United States? 2013 Genesis Awards Benefit Gala on Saturday, March 23, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

Ke$ha To Be Honored By HSUS
Credit/Copyright: Yu Tsai via HSUS

The HSUS? Wyler Award is one of the animal protection organization?s highest honors and is bestowed on a celebrity or public figure for increasing awareness of animal issues via the media.

Humane Society International's first Global Ambassador for animals, Ke$ha balances her hectic career as a platinum recording singer/songwriter and one of the world?s most dynamic performers with her outspoken stance on critical animal protection issues. Ke$ha has spread the word about street dogs, the trophy hunting of endangered lions, shark-finning, Canada?s commercial seal slaughter, dogfighting and cruelty-free cosmetics, among many other important animal welfare concerns, highlighting a different animal issue each month on her website and urging her massive fan base and social media following to take action for animals. By talking about her role with The HSUS? international arm, Humane Society International, and her commitment to helping animals in numerous media interviews, she has brought worldwide attention to the cause.

?It means so much to me to be recognized by The Humane Society of the United States because advocating for animals is second nature to me,? said Ke$ha.?My affinity with animals and the natural world inspires me and my music. I don?t understand how anyone can justify abusing or exploiting animals, and as long as it continues, I intend to keep talking about it.?

?The animals have a bold and passionate ambassador in Ke$ha, who is not known for holding back on what she thinks,? says Beverly Kaskey, senior director of The HSUS? Hollywood Outreach and executive producer of The HSUS? Genesis Awards Benefit Gala. ?The Humane Society of the United States is grateful to Ke$ha for informing her millions of fans worldwide about new and ongoing threats to our fellow creatures, while connecting them to resources that enable them to take action.?

Global superstar Ke$ha has taken the world by storm since the release of her debut album ?Animal? in 2010. That year she was declared Billboard?s Hot 100 Artist and her smash debut single, ?TiKToK,? was named Billboard?s #1 Hot 100 Song, was the most played song of that year and was the biggest-selling digital track in the world. Her debut album ?Animal? has sold over 2.5 million units worldwide, and Ke$ha has had seven consecutive Top 10 hits including four #1 singles in ?TiKToK,? ?Your Love Is My Drug,? ?We R Who We R,? and the latest, ?Die Young.? Ke$ha recently released the track ?C?Mon,? the second single from her critically acclaimed second album, Warrior. Ke$ha has toured the world, playing over 200 live shows in support of ?Animal? and its companion album, ?Cannibal.? She took home the MTV EMA for Best New Act in November, 2010 and was nominated for two American Music Awards, three MTV VMA Awards and six Billboard Awards. She has performed on dozens of television programs all over the world, including MTV Europe Music Awards, Much Music Awards (Canada), Echo Awards (Germany), X Factor (Australia), American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, American Idol, Saturday Night Live and The Today Show Summer Concert Series. She has over 22 million Facebook likes, over three million Twitter followers and over 330 million views on VEVO. She has sold over 27 million combined tracks and ringtones in the U.S alone and over 34.5 million worldwide to date. Ke$ha is an international powerhouse.?Animal? has been certified Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum in 15 markets (including Platinum in the United States) and was the biggest selling debut album from an international female in 2010 in the UK. In November, 2012, Ke$ha released her first book through Touchstone Publishing. The full-color photo journal/scrapbook entitled, ?My Crazy Beautiful Life,? sheds light on Ke$ha?s hectic, non-stop life on tour and provides an exclusive look into the creative process of her latest album, ?Warrior.? Also in late 2012,Ke$ha announced Ke$ha Rose by Charles Albert, a new jewelry line that reflects the singer?s distinctive personality throughout the collection.

The Wyler Award is named after former Broadway actress, animal advocate and founder of The Genesis Awards, Gretchen Wyler. Ke$ha joins Wyler Award alumni Sir Paul McCartney, Hayden Panettiere, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Kristin Davis and Ian Somerhalder.

Honoring the news and entertainment media for their role in raising awareness of animal issues, The HSUS? Genesis Awards Benefit Gala marks 27 years of inspiring change for animals, with this year?s event benefitting three of the organization?s top animal welfare priorities: Pets for Life, Chimps Deserve Better and Farm Animal Protection.

The HSUS? 2013 Genesis Awards Benefit Gala is sponsored in part by Misix, One Car One Difference, Market Development Group, Prai Beauty Group, Tenet, and Havas Edge.

Source: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/9722-ke-ha-to-be-honored-by-humane-society-of-the-united-states

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