India and Pakistan in disaster with Kashmir Floods | #KashmirFloods | #KashmirFloodspictures

Jammu and Kashmir is battling one of the worst floods in decades 

More than 360 people have been killed during the floods, including 231 in Pakistan. 

More than 300,000 military personnel and 300 jets, choppers and boats have swarmed the northern state, rescuing more than 77,500 residents after a week of rain caused riverbanks to burst. 

Armies in both countries scramble to help the victims, while officials warn of more flooding to come. 

“The army will not move back to the barracks till the last man is brought to safety,” army chief Dalbir Singh said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Five days of heavy rain abated over the weekend, but flood waters in Srinagar rose dramatically overnight Saturday to Sunday.

Many people were caught unawares by the flood waters.

"Miranda Fugate" hit in head with shovel in viral fight video | "Miranda Fugate"| ‘Shovel Fight Girl’ Death Hoax: Fake Story of 'Miranda Fugate Dies of Head Injuries' Goes Viral [VIDEO]

A SCRAPPY fight between two teenage girls turned dirty when one of the brawlers clobbered the other with a shovel. A video of the fight, shared online on Monday, has already become a viral sensation, inspiring scores of remixes and even a fake death report. But the foul-mouthed 16-year-old who was hit in the head with the shovel took to Twitter on Tuesday to declare she was in fact alive and well. “I’M THE GIRL that got hit in the head with the shovel lol … I’m not dead.. Idk why there’s rumors saying I am,” wrote Miranda Fugate, whose profile said she “smokes weed for a living”. The original eight-minute clip, which is available on YouTube but contains strong language, shows a fist fight between Miranda and another girl, identified as Emily Powers, escalating to the point where the shovel is thrown. Once struck, Miranda falls to the ground and immediately starts to cry. She is later heard saying she had lost her hearing.

Read more :http://www.news.com.au/world/miranda-fugate-hit-in-head-with-shovel-in-viral-fight-video/story-fndir2ev-1226909647227

Flappy Bird :The mysterious takedown of the Flappy Bird app Read

Video games developer Nguyen Ha Dong.

It was created in two or three days by an independent game developer, then quietly released in May last year. Now, the free Flappy Bird mobile app has been taken down after accusations it gamed app store rankings to become an overnight sensation and copied graphics from another game.

It all appeared to come to a head at the weekend, when the app creator, Nguyen Ha Dong, announced the grounding of the addictive game in a series of tweets on Saturday. He also apologised to Flappy Bird players.

Its chart success defies logic, it has captivated the world with its gameplay, and Dong is becoming an inspiring legend to indie app developers around the world 

Earlier, Dong called Flappy Bird a success of his but said it had ruined his "simple" life.

A screenshot from Flappy Bird.

"So now I hate it," he wrote.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/the-mysterious-takedown-of-the-flappy-bird-app-20140210-32bje.html#ixzz2sukV8o1r

Britain to give 'most vulnerable' "Syrian refugees" temporary residence

Britain has announced it will give temporary residence to hundreds of vulnerable Syrian refugees, targeting those most traumatised by the three-year civil war.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg says refuge will be provided for female victims of sexual violence, the disabled, the elderly and torture victims.

Though there is no set quota, his office says the overall number is likely to be in the hundreds.

Britain will work with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on a case-by-case basis to identify those most in need.

"I am pleased to be able to announce today that the UK will be providing refuge to some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees," Mr Clegg said in a statement.

Read more @http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-29/britain-to-take-in-vulnerable-syrian-refugees/5224810

EVAN ROSS AND ASHLE SIMPSON ENGAGED

Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson started dating in June 2013 but things have moved quickly for both of them, Evan Proposed to her while on a Hawaiian Holiday and Ashlee took to Twitter on Monday to share the happy news and a picture of the huge engagement ring.

She captioned an unsmiling snap of the duo, where her rock is clearly visible, 'My baby love and I are ENGAGED!!! Hallelujah Hawaii !!!!! (sic).'

Ashlee Simpson ‏@ashleesimpson7h

My baby love and I are ENGAGED!!! Hallelujah Hawaii !!!!! pic.twitter.com/KVwoltverE

Diplomatic storm : arrest diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York

Although India has taken a tough stand against the U.S. over the arrest of its diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York, the government’s muted response to other provocations such as spying shows that it is keen to remain America’s “global strategic partner”. By JOHN CHERIAN

THE arrest and strip-search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by the New York Police on December 12 has expectedly evoked strong reactions in India. The political parties were united in defending the honour of Devyani, who is accused of committing a “visa fraud” and of making a false declaration in connection with the employment of her Indian housemaid, Sangeeta Richard. Under the United States’ law, the charges against the Deputy Consul General at the Indian Consulate in New York could lead to a jail term of more than 10 years.

Read More @http://www.frontline.in/world-affairs/diplomatic-storm/article5538613.ece

The US Media has been scathing about New Delhi's response. "India is responding with investigations and administrative actions directed by the government for political ends — a tactic common in authoritarian states such as Russia or China but unworthy of a democracy," Washington Post said in an editorial on Wednesday. 

"Its bullying measures have ranged from the petty — withdrawing the US embassy's permit to import alcohol — to the irresponsible — removing security barricades from the street in front of the facility," it further said

Read More @http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Devyani-Khobragade-row-set-to-go-all-the-way-to-the-White-House/articleshow/28566955.cms?imageid=27731855#slide8

Western Sydney gang Brothers for Life in Police Sights

Police have vowed to go after other members of violent western Sydney gang Brothers for Life after the arrest of three key members, including alleged leader Farhad Qaumi.

Read more @http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=940571

Newtown shooting: Final report reveals 'painful' details

US police have released thousands of documents related to their investigation into the killing of 26 people at a school in Connecticut.

Officials described as "painful" some of the details in the report , which includes photos and transcripts.

It reveals new facts about the life of gunman Adam Lanza, 20, said to have suffered from mental health issues.

Lanza turned a gun on himself after opening fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in December 2012.

Before killing 20 children and six adults with a semi-automatic rifle, he shot dead his own mother at the family home. She had bought him the weapons used in the rampage.

Read more @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-2553116

For "Olympic Games", "London dreams" of a "Cloud castle"

In this artist’s conception of the Cloud, visitors walk – and cyclists ride – up spiral ramps. Real-time information about the 2012 Games will be projected onto the spheres – if the project gets off the ground.

Courtesy of The Cloud Project

Called simply “the Cloud,” the monument would consist of two slender towers rising hundreds of feet into the air. Atop the twin spires float digital displays and viewing platforms for the public, who would climb up by foot or bicycle using spiral ramps wrapped around one of the towers. The summit would also feature giant inflated plastic spheres, some of which visitors could enter. Real-time information about the Games and the surroundings would be displayed by Google.
In an emerging century with more and more online experience, the Cloud aims to form a connection from the virtual world to the real world, “from the world of bits to the physical world, the world of atoms,” says Carlo Ratti, head of the SENSEable Cities Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., and a member of the international team working on the project. Other players include Arup, the architectural firm that designed the Sydney Opera House. Umberto Eco, the Italian philosopher and popular novelist, is serving as an adviser.
The Cloud team wants both the finished product, and the way it is conceived and financed, to be revolutionary. While traditional monuments emphasize their grandeur and permanence by expressing a sense of mass and weight, the Cloud “upturns the monumental tradition” with its airy, almost ephemeral design, says Sarah Goldhagen, architecture critic for The New Republic.
“I think the idea is incredibly cool,” she says. Ms. Goldhagen, who also edits an academic journal on modern architecture, is one of three experts the Monitor asked to look at the plans for the Cloud, which are posted online at raisingthecloud
.com.
The Cloud is designed to be “carbon neutral,” creating the energy it needs to operate from the use of regenerative brakes (similar to those used on hybrid cars). While visitors put in the initial effort by climbing the monument, the Cloud scheme then produces electricity as an elevator lowers visitors back to the ground. Solar panels will also generate electricity.
An Internet-based effort
The design team, which has met only once, last summer, includes members in Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia, and the United States. It mostly works over the Internet with little formal structure, though Professor Ratti at MIT is acting as a coordinator.
The project is among a handful being considered by London Mayor Boris Johnson to become an official part of the London Games.
But even if the Cloud isn’t chosen by the mayor, its designers plan to find an appropriate venue in London in which to build it in time for the Games. “We can build our CLOUD with £5 million [$8 million] or £50 million,” says Ratti on the group’s website. “The flexibility of the structural system will allow us to tune the size of the CLOUD to the level of funding that is reached.”
The group will raise funds via the Internet using social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“We would like the Cloud to become a symbol of global ownership built through a bottom-up fundraising effort,” Ratti says on the website, akin to the effort used by President Obama’s campaign to collect a large number of small donations online.
The idea of a cloud also evokes “cloud computing,” the concept of storing, manipulating, and sharing data online rather than in an individual computer. Ratti also uses the high-tech buzzword “crowdsourcing” to indicate how he expects a wide number of people to contribute thinking and funding to the effort.
Google says it will supply content for the Cloud’s digital displays, using Google Trends, Google Maps, and its social-networking feature Google Latitude. “For instance, we could provide a custom feed of (aggregated and anonymous) searches made by Londoners during the Olympics to give a real time ‘barometer’ of the city’s interests and mood,” reads a statement from the search-engine giant. In addition, Google promises free advertising for the project through its website and YouTube, including fundraising efforts.

2009 SENIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL CHAMPIONS PICTUERS

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (CHN) Photo: AP/Shizuo Kambayashi

Role reversal as Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott line up

KEVIN Rudd has a reputation for donning hard hats on construction sites, while Tony Abbott's staunch Catholicism has earned him the nickname of "Mad Monk".

But yesterday, in the first open hostilities between the two, it was Mr Abbott who visited a coalmine in the NSW Hunter Valley vowing to save thousands of jobs threatened by an emissions trading scheme, while the Prime Minister returned fire from the forecourt of St John's Anglican Church in Canberra.

In a direct appeal to Labor's working-class constituency, the newly elected Opposition Leader selected the Bloomfield open-cut coalmine at East Maitland as a backdrop to warn that 16,000 jobs could be lost in the Hunter should the ETS come into effect.

"You only have to listen to the coalmining unions to understand there's a lot of unhappiness among Labor people with Mr Rudd's rushed emissions tax, which is going to put tens of thousands of jobs at risk around Australia and about 16,000 jobs at risk here in the Hunter," Mr Abbott warned.

"The last thing we want to do is jeopardise the competitiveness of Australia's export industries, on which all of us ultimately depend."

With Mr Rudd shelving plans to fly early to the Copenhagen summit next week after US President Barack Obama indicated he would not arrive until later in the talks, Mr Abbott challenged the Prime Minister to a series of debates on climate change. "The problem is, Mr Rudd has explained his emissions tax more to Barack Obama than he has to the Australian people," he said.

In what promises to be an increasingly bitter contest between the two men, the Liberal leader

took aim at critics who seek to define him by his Catholicism, and swiped at Kevin Rudd's new prime ministerial tradition of holding "press sermons" outside church most Sundays.

Describing Mr Rudd as sounding "more like a public servant in a seminar than a retail politician", Mr Abbott said his personal faith was a private matter, and asked why journalists did not grill Mr Rudd on his religious beliefs.

Responding to a pointed question from the Nine Network's Laurie Oakes about whether or not he believed in evolution, Mr Abbott said his faith was "not out there in the political marketplace".

"I don't do doorsteps in front of church, Laurie," Mr Abbott said.

"I mean, if there's one person who's put religion front and centre in the public square, to use his phrase, it's Kevin Rudd.

"So please, next time Kevin's here, grill him on evolution and all these other subjects."

As if to prove the point, down in Canberra, Mr Rudd emerged from morning service at St John's Anglican Church in Reid to issue a rebuke to Mr Abbott on climate change policy.

"Despite our differences, Mr Howard had a policy on climate change, as did Mr Turnbull. It was called an emissions trading scheme. I have a policy on climate change. It's called an emissions trading scheme," Mr Rudd said.

"I'd suggest the current Leader of the Opposition calms down, puts in the hard yards and actually develops a policy on climate change."

Mr Abbott has vowed that he will take neither an ETS nor a carbon tax to the next election.

And that policy, raw as it is, found plenty of support with the manager of the Bloomfield mine, John Richards. Mr Richards said the miners who would be most affected by an ETS would be those in "gassy underground mines".

"Open-cut miners will also be hurt, but to a lesser extent," he said. "If the ETS goes ahead, it will impose a direct increase of $1.40 to $2 per tonne dependent on our production costs."

ICC Cricket Team Ratings & Rankings 2009 |ICC World Rankings

ICC Cricket Team Ratings & Rankings

ICC Cricket Rankings - Test Teams
Sno	ICC Cricket Teams	ICC Matches	ICC Points	ICC Cricket Rating
1	ICC Cricket India Team	32	3957	124
2	ICC Cricket South Africa Team	30	3672	122
3	ICC Cricket Australia Team	31	3600	116
4	ICC Cricket Sri Lanka Team	31	3574	115
5	ICC Cricket England Team	39	4102	105
6	ICC Cricket Pakistan Team	17	1424	84
7	ICC Cricket New Zealand Team	25	2001	80
8	ICC Cricket West Indies Team	25	1910	76
9	ICC Cricket Bangladesh Team	19	255	13

via;http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Sports/icc-cricket-team-rankings.html

Reliance Mobile ODI Championship ICC ODI Cricket Teams Rankings and Ratings
Rankings	Cricket Teams	Matches	Points	Rating
1	ICC Cricket Australia Team	38	4907	129
2	ICC Cricket India Team	36	4443	123
3	ICC Cricket South Africa Team	21	2550	121
4	ICC Cricket New Zealand Team	24	2630	110
5	ICC Cricket Pakistan Team	27	2952	109
6	ICC Cricket England Team	30	3193	106
7	ICC Cricket Sri Lanka Team	31	3298	106
8	ICC Cricket West Indies Team	21	1589	76
9	ICC Cricket Bangladesh Team	28	1548	55
10	ICC Cricket Zimbabwe Team	30	791	26
11	ICC Cricket Ireland Team	6	152	25
12	ICC Cricket Kenya Team	14	28	2

ICC Twenty20 Rankings, Twenty20 Ratings, Twenty20 Team Rankings 2009
Ranking	ICC Twenty20 Cricket Teams	Twenty20 Matches	ICC (20 20) Points	ICC Twenty20 Cricket Ratings
1	ICC Cricket South Africa Team	19	3866	220
2	ICC Cricket Pakistan Team	17	3630	218
3	ICC Cricket India Team	13	2603	214
4	ICC Cricket Sri Lanka Team	13	2738	207
5	ICC Cricket West Indies Team	11	1969	206
6	ICC Cricket Australia Team	22	4780	206
7	ICC Cricket England Team	17	3102	205
8	ICC Cricket New Zealand Team	23	4275	194
9	ICC Cricket Bangladesh Team	12	2078	148
10	ICC Cricket Zimbabwe Team	6	1106	138
11	ICC Cricket Canada Team	4	590	74
12	ICC Cricket Kenya Team	4	421	53
13	ICC Cricket Netherlands Team	2	350	44
14	ICC Cricket Scotland Team	3	310	39
15	ICC Cricket Ireland Team	1	227	28

The Reliance Mobile ICC Cricket Rankings are the authorized guide to the qualified merit of cricket batsmen, cricket bowlers and cricket all rounders in Test cricket matches and one day international cricket.

The Reliance Mobile ICC one day international Women’s cricket Rankings give a chance to platform the foremost stars in the women’s international cricket matches.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has connected with Reliance Mobile to generate and endorse the ICC Test Championship Rankings, the ICC One Day International Championship Rankings and the ICC Player Rankings.

The ICC cricket Player Rankings are a broadly followed method of rankings for international cricket players based on their latest show in cricket matches. The present sponsor is Reliance Mobile who has signed a agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC) that will end until 2015.

ICC cricket ratings were developed at the proposal of Ted Dexter in 1987. The purpose was to generate an enhanced signal of cricket players' present rank in the cricket sport than is endowing with by comparing cricket players averages. Cricket players Career averages are stand on a player's entire cricket career and do not build any stipend for cricket match circumstances or the power of the opponent, whereas the cricket ratings are biased in the direction of current form and relation for cricket match environment and the worth of the opponent using numerical dealings.

Originally the ICC cricket rankings or ratings were for Test cricket only, but separate One Day International cricket ratings or rankings were established in 1998. Together sets of cricket rankings of cricket ratings have not been determined back to the begin of those forms of the cricket game.

International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Ranking and Cricket Ratings, Cricket Team Rankings and Ratings, Cricket Player Rankings and Ratings.

Related ICC Cricket Rankings and Cricket Ratings are: icc cricket ranking, icc cricket, cricket ranking, icc world ranking, icc ranking test, odi ranking, icc team ranking, world cricket ranking, India icc ranking.

via:http://cricket-matches.blogspot.com/2009/01/icc-cricket-teams-rankings-and-ratings.html

Denmark’s Joachim Fisher Nielsen (L) and Christinna Pedersen celebrates after winning the final match against India’s V. Diju (R) and Jwala Gutta duri

Denmark’s Joachim Fisher Nielsen (L) and Christinna Pedersen celebrates after winning the final match against India’s V. Diju (R) and Jwala Gutta during World Super Series badminton tournament in Johor Baru, December 6, 2009.

'Anarkali' actress Bina Rai dies

Legendary actress Bina Rai, who charmed Indian audiences with her performances in 'Anarkali' and 'Taj Mahal' and won a Filmfare award for 'Ghunghat', died of a heart attack in her Mumbai home Sunday. She was 78.

Bina was married to actor Prem Nath, who was well-known filmmaker Raj Kapoor's brother-in-law. She is survived by two sons - Prem Kishan and Kailash Nath.

'Her funeral will take place in Banganga (in South Mumbai) Monday at around 4 p.m. We are waiting for my brother Prem Kishen. He is on his way back from abroad,' Kailash, also known as Monty, told IANS.

Bina, who went on a hunger strike to convince her parents to allow her to act in movies, entered Bollywood with director Kishore Sahu's film 'Kali Ghata' in 1951. Later she featured in movies like 'Vallah Kya Baat Hai' (1962), 'Bandi' (1957), 'Changez Khan' (1957), 'Durgesh Nandini' (1956), 'Marine Drive' (1955) and 'Aurat' (1953).

But she is still remembered for her roles in 'Anarkali' (1953) and Taj Mahal' (1963). Her last film was L.V. Prasad's 'Daadi Maa' that was released in 1966.

Her son Prem Krishen, who had tried his luck in Hindi films with 'Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye', is a successful TV producer and has made hit serials like 'Gul Gulshan Gulfam' and 'Junoon'.

Bina's granddaughter Akanksha too entered films with 'Yeh Mohabbat Hai', but the film didn;t work at the box office and she decided to bow out.

Her grandson Sidharth, however, is a successful TV director. He wielded the megaphone for the hit TV serial 'Sanjivani'.

Jade Goody died

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British reality TV celebrity Jade Goody died early Sunday morning following a public battle with cervical cancer, her publicist has announced.

Jade Goody married her fiance Jack Tweed weeks before her death.

Goody, 27, died in her sleep at home in Essex, east of London, just before 4 a.m. (midnight Eastern Daylight Time), a spokeswoman for Max Clifford Associates said.

Goody's husband, Jack Tweed, who she married last month in a lavish wedding ceremony, was at her bedside when she died, Clifford said.

Her mother, Jackiey Budden, who was also at the house, said: "My beautiful daughter is at peace."

Goody leaves behind two sons, Bobby, 5, and Freddie, 4, by former boyfriend and TV host Jeff Brazier.

"She died knowing that she had touched a lot of hearts and minds across the world," Clifford told CNN by phone from Portugal.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "deeply saddened" by Goody's death.

"Her family can be extremely proud of the work she has done to raise awareness of cervical cancer which will benefit thousands of women across the U.K. Every death from cancer is a tragedy and my thoughts go out to her two sons, husband and family at this time," Brown said in a statement.

The British media has reported a rise in the number of screenings for cervical cancer since Goody announced she had the disease, a phenomenon some have dubbed the "Jade Goody effect."

Goody's death marks the tragic end to a very modern tale. Images of her shrinking frame and bald head have dominated the pages of British media since she announced she had just weeks to live.

However, she has openly courted the attention since bursting into the spotlight courtesy of the British version of "Big Brother" in 2002.

At first the former dental nurse was a hate figure for Britain's vociferous tabloid newspapers, who attacked her for being ignorant and stupid.

The public, however, warmed to her loud, honest streak.

She did not win the series, but was able to parlay her popularity into a series of reality television and business deals.

Her face was soon regularly boldly looking out from the cover of gossip magazines and you could buy the fragrance Shh... Jade Goody, fitness DVDs or pick up a copy of her autobiography.

In 2007, with her fame starting to dip, she agreed to return for the celebrity edition of "Big Brother," with her mother and then boyfriend, Jack Tweed, joining her in the house.

It was to prove an ill-fated decision.

Goody was soon accused of making racist comments and bullying her housemate -- the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. More than 50,000 complaints were received.

When she was voted out of the house the show's producers took the unusual step of banning the public from attending her eviction.

Goody was tearful and apologetic but British PR guru Clifford summed up the general opinion at the time by saying: "It looks like she has ruined a very lucrative career."

Ever resilient, Goody had a Christmas cookbook out at the end of 2007 and in 2008 signed up for India's version of "Big Brother."

Two days into the show her cancer diagnosis was revealed on air. She flew home immediately to begin treatment.

Last month Goody revealed her cancer was terminal and that she only had weeks to live.

With typical bravado she, with Clifford's help, organized her wedding to Tweed, who had only just been released from prison after serving a sentence for assault, selling the exclusive rights to OK! magazine for a reported $970,000. It was also filmed for her reality TV show.

The British government even stepped in to extend Tweed's 7 p.m. curfew, a condition of his release from jail, so the couple could spend their wedding night together.

Despite her weakening state Goody continued to open her door to the media, saying she needed to keep selling her story to help secure the future of her sons.

In the days leading up to her death there were newspaper stories on a hammer-wielding woman getting into her room, the baptism of her sons, her last view of "sun-kissed" fields and final farewells with family.

There was also controversy when OK! published a memorial issue nearly a week before she died. The issue, with a coverline announcing "Jady Goody, 1981-2009," went on sale Tuesday.

Clifford said Goody had loved her time in the spotlight.

"I think they've (she and the media) exploited each other. Both have benefited. In Jade's own words, she's loved the last 7 years. They've been wonderful. All the people's she's met, all the things she's done."


via:http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/03/22/jade.goody.dies.obituary/index.html

UK reality TV star Jade Goody dies

UK reality TV star Jade Goody dies
March 22, 2009, 8:16 pm
Controversial British reality TV star Jade Goody has died after a battle with cervical cancer.

Her agent Max Clifford confirmed the 27-year-old mother of two had died in her sleep early on Sunday morning - Mother's Day in Britain - at her home in Upshire, Essex.

Clifford said Goody's mother Jackiey Budden had telephoned him shortly after 3am (1400 AEDT) to tell him: "My beautiful girl has gone."

"It's just very sad," Clifford told Sky News, his voice shaking with emotion.

"We got very close and I've got a lot of respect and admiration for the girl. She was a 27-year-old girl facing up to cervical cancer."

Goody's distraught mother appeared briefly outside Goody's home with family friend Kevin Adams to tell reporters her daughter had died.

"Jade died at 3.55 this morning and family and friends would like this privacy, at last, for this morning. Thank you," Budden, who was still dressed in long, striped pyjama bottoms, said.

Budden, Adams and Goody's husband, 21-year-old model Jack Tweed, had been at the star's side when she died.

Her two sons Freddie, four, and Bobby, five, had been staying with their father, Jeff Brazier.

A funeral is expected to be held in about 10 days' time.

Goody was told by doctors in February her cancer had spread and was terminal.

She had returned to her home from hospital last week so she could spend her final days surrounded by family and friends.

It was just five weeks ago that Goody tied the knot with Tweed amid a blaze of publicity, describing the event as the happiest day of her life.

Goody sold the media rights to her wedding to a celebrity magazine and TV program in an attempt to raise as much money as possible to provide for her sons after her death.

There was also intense media interest when the star and her sons were christened on March 7 during a 20-minute ceremony at the Royal Marsden Hospital, where she was being treated.

"She died as she lived, in the public eye," Clifford said.

"This was her way of doing things for her children."

Goody has reportedly organised all the details for her funeral, requesting she be buried in her STG3500 ($A7,400) ivory silk wedding dress.

Siegfried and Roy are back from that tiger attack|siegfried and roy tiger attack

Siegfried and Roy are back from that tiger attack

It’s hard to believe, but not only are illusionists Siegfried and Roy back on stage again, but the white Bengal tiger that bit into Roy Horn’s neck in 2003 is with them.

Roy, as most of us remember, suffered at least one stroke in the Oct. 3, 2003, mauling. Montecore, the then 7-year-old tiger, bit into Roy, puncturing his neck and causing a massive loss of blood during their act at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas.

Before he passed out, Roy reportedly said, “Don’t shoot the cat.”

Partial paralysis. Roy was rushed to a hospital, where he appeared to be dead. Part of his skull was removed to relieve pressure on his brain. As he began his difficult recovery, even the experts doubted he’d talk, walk or even stand up again.

But Roy began walking with a cane two years ago, and he also learned again how to talk. His right eye is blind and his left side is paralyzed, but he continues to improve.

One week ago, Siegfried Fischbacher, 69, and Roy, 64, appeared in a Vegas fundraiser at the Bellagio Hotel for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. Siegfried and Roy billed it as their last show. Last night, on ABC TV’s “20/20,” the public saw the German-American duo together again in that fundraiser.

With them, sharing the same cage, was Montecore.

Frank Warner

via:http://frankwarner.typepad.com

Comedian Nick Swardson

Nicholas Roger Swardson (born October 9, 1976) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. He is best known for his recurring role of Terry Bernardino in the Comedy Central series Reno 911!, and for his numerous guest appearances in Adam Sandler movies.

Swardson was born in Compton, California, the son of Pamela and Roger Swardson. He has worked closely with Adam Sandler and Sandler's Happy Madison Productions. Swardson performs regularly as a stand-up comedian throughout Los Angeles. He has been featured in two of his own Comedy Central Presents stand-up specials.

In 2006, Swardson started work on a television pilot called Gay Robot about a gay robot that was built by a university professor. He also began a feud with Hollywood Bitchslap film critics Chris Parry and David Cornelius. The arguments started when Swardson wrote to them complaining of their poor reviews. Parry and Cornelius rebutted, as the debate continued; the feud eventually ceased.[1]

As of July 2008, his debut album, Party, has sold more than 100,000 copies.[citation needed]

Film

Almost Famous (2000) as Insane Bowie Fan
The Det. Kent Stryker One-Man Film (2001) as Porn Star
The Girls Guitar Club (2001) as Hipster Customer
Pretty When You Cry (2001) as Shaun
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003) as Mocha
Grandma's Boy (2006) as Jeff
The Benchwarmers (2006) as Howie Goodman
Art School Confidential (2006) as Matthew
Click (2006) as Bed, Bath & Beyond guy
Reno 911!: Miami (2007) as Terry Bernardino, the rollerskating homosexual prostitute
Blades of Glory (2007) as Hector the stalker
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) as Kevin "Butterfly" McDonough
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) as Michael
House Bunny (2008) as Photographer
Bolt (2008) as Blake (voice)
Bedtime Stories (2008) as Engineer
Born to Be a Star (2010) as Pornstar

Television

Spring Break Lawyer (2001) (TV) as Jack the Pee Boy
Comedy Central Presents (2001) performed stand-up special which debuted on January 9, 2001
Reno 911! (2003-Present) as Terry Bernardino, the rollerskating homosexual prostitute
Cheap Seats (2004) as Bruce Jenner's nephew
The Showbiz Show with David Spade (2005-2007) as Scotty Kangaroojus
Gay Robot (2006) as Gay Robot (pilot only)
Human Giant (2007) featured in "Eats Diarrhea on Wednesdays" (one sketch only)
Cavemen (2007) as furniture store trainee Ray
Talkshow with Spike Feresten (2008) as Guest
Paris Hilton's My New BFF (2008) as himself. (Inner Circle post-finale special)
Seriously, Who Farted? (2009) as himself

Writing

Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)
Grandma's Boy (2006)
The Benchwarmers (2006)
Gay Robot Pilot (2006)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)
Gay Robot (2009)
Seriously, Who Farted? (2009)
Born to Be a Star (2010)

Music

Gay Robot by Adam Sandler (2004)
Secret" by Adam Sandler (2004)
Party (2007)
Untitled Nick Swardson Album (2009)


via:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Swardson

Jesse Logan

Her teen committed suicide over ‘sexting’
Cynthia Logan’s daughter was taunted about photo she sent to boyfriend

The image was blurred and the voice distorted, but the words spoken by a young Ohio woman are haunting. She had sent nude pictures of herself to a boyfriend. When they broke up, he sent them to other high school girls. The girls were harassing her, calling her a slut and a whore. She was miserable and depressed, afraid even to go to school.

And now Jesse Logan was going on a Cincinnati television station to tell her story. Her purpose was simple: “I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this again.”

The interview was in May 2008. Two months later, Jessica Logan hanged herself in her bedroom. She was 18.

(March 6: 18-year-old Jesse Logan took her own life after a nude picture of her was passed around by e-mail. TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to her mom, Cynthia Logan, and Internet safety expert Parry Aftab about the dangers of “sexting.”)


Conveying the message
“She was vivacious. She was fun. She was artistic. She was compassionate. She was a good kid,” the young woman’s mother, Cynthia Logan, told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Friday in New York. Still grieving over the loss of her daughter, she said she is taking her story public to warn kids about the dangers of sending sexually charged pictures and messages to boyfriends and girlfriends.

“It’s very, very difficult. She’s my only child,” Logan told Lauer. “I’m trying my best to get the message out there.”

It is a growing problem that has resulted in child pornography charges being filed against some teens across the nation. But for Cynthia Logan, “sexting” is about more than possibly criminal activity: It’s about life and death.

Last fall, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed teens and young adults about sexting — sending sexually charged material via cell phone text messages — or posting such materials online. The results revealed that 39 percent of teens are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages, and 48 percent reported receiving such messages.

‘She was being tortured’
Jesse Logan’s mother said she never knew the full extent of her daughter’s anguish until it was too late. Cynthia Logan only learned there was a problem at all when she started getting daily letters from her daughter’s school reporting that the young woman was skipping school.

“I only had snapshots, bits and pieces, until the very last semester of school,” Logan told Lauer.

TODAY After her picture was disseminated electonically, formerly upbeat Jesse Logan began skipping classes.

She took away her daughter’s car and drove her to school herself, but Jesse still skipped classes. She told her mother there were pictures involved and that a group of younger girls who had received them were harassing her, calling her vicious names, even throwing objects at her. But she didn’t realize the full extent of her daughter’s despair.

“She was being attacked and tortured,” Logan said.

“When she would come to school, she would always hear, ‘Oh, that’s the girl who sent the picture. She’s just a whore,’ ” Jesse’s friend, Lauren Taylor, told NBC News.

Logan said that officials at Sycamore High School were aware of the harassment but did not take sufficient action to stop it. She said that a school official offered only to go to one of the girls who had the pictures and tell her to delete them from her phone and never speak to Jesse again. That girl was 16.

Logan suggested talking to the parents of the girls who were bullying Jesse, but her daughter said that would only open her to even more ridicule.

“She said, ‘No, I need to do something else. I’m going to go on the news,’ and that’s what she did,” Logan said.

Finding Jesse
When Cynthia Logan decided to go public with her story, she told Lauer that a school official told a local television station that he had given Jesse the option of prosecuting her tormentors. “That was not so. It’s absolutely not true,” she told Lauer. “And if he did, why didn’t I get a notice in the mail that he gave her that option?”

TODAY Cynthia Logan is still contending with her grief over her daughter Jesse’s suicide.

After her daughter’s death, Logan quit her job and was hospitalized for a time with what she described as a mental breakdown. When she spoke about finding her daughter in her bedroom last July, tears coursed down her cheeks.

Jesse had been talking about going to the University of Cincinnati to study graphic design. Her mother thought she was over the worst of the bullying. Then one of Jesse’s acquaintances committed suicide. Jesse went to the funeral. When she came home, she hanged herself.

“I just had a scan of the room, her closet doors were open,” Logan told NBC News. “And I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. The cell phone was in the middle of the floor.”

Quest for justice
Logan said she’s been through six lawyers in what has so far been an unsuccessful battle to hold school officials responsible for the bullying of her daughter.

She was joined on TODAY by Parry Aftab, an Internet security expert and activist in the battle to protect teens from the dangers that lurk in cyberspace. Aftab said that there are laws that apply.

“There absolutely is a law,” Aftab told Lauer. “It depends on the age of the child. If somebody’s under the age of 18, it’s child pornography, and even the girl that posted the pictures can be charged. They could be registered sex offenders at the end of all of this. Even at the age of 18, because it was sent to somebody under age, it’s disseminating pornography to a minor. There are criminal charges that could be made here.”

Aftab said that it is normal kids just like Jesse who fall victim to the perils of the Internet and the easy exchange of information on cell phones.

“We talked about her being a good kid, a normal kid. Those are most of the ones that are sending out those images,” she said. “Forty-four percent of the boys say that they’ve seen sexual images of girls in their school, and about 15 percent of them are disseminating those images when they break up with the girls.”

Aftab asked Logan to join her in her fight against the electronic exploitation of kids. “I’m going to get her involved in a huge campaign to allow kids to understand the consequences of this and allow schools to understand what they need to do to keep our kids alive,” she said.

Aftab turned to Logan to see if she would help.

“Absolutely,” she said.

VIA:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29546030/

Gradiano noida company CEO beaten to death

Noida, Sep 22 (PTI) The Chief Executive Officer of a company was today beaten to death by a group of dismissed employees inside office premises after a meeting, called to resolve dispute between them and management, failed. L K Chaudhury, the CEO of Gradiano in Udyog Vihar of Greater Noida, was killed when the agitating workers turned violent and beat him up, Senior Superintendent of Police (Noida) R K Chaturvedi told PTI. As the clash erupted, Chaturvedi said, a security guard opened fire in air. About 20 people were injured in the clashes. Chaudhury was rushed to Kailash hospital where he was declared brought dead. There were about 200 former employees inside the premises when the incident took place. They were dismissed two months back for some reasons and were since then protesting against it. PTI