http://ivanmladek.ru/ ru News portal for more than five world languages DataLife Engine http://ivanmladek.ru/arts-and-culture/92-sanduskys-wife-calls-accusations-absolutely-untrue.html http://ivanmladek.ru/arts-and-culture/92-sanduskys-wife-calls-accusations-absolutely-untrue.html
"No child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there," she said. "We would never do anything to hurt them."

Her husband faces more than 50 charges surrounding a child sex abuse scandal that allegedly spanned more than 15 years.

"We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue," she added.

An alleged victim testified that he made overnight visits to Sandusky's home as a boy and stayed in a basement bedroom. While there, he described a pattern of sexual assaults over a period of several years, according to the grand jury report.

"The victim testified that on at least one occasion he screamed for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him," the report states.

Responding to the allegations, Dottie Sandusky said she was "shocked and dismayed" by the alleged victim's testimony, calling his accusations false.

"I continue to believe in Jerry's innocence and all the good things he has done," she added.
]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:22:08 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/91-pipeline-showdown-escalates-payroll-tax-cut-fight.html http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/91-pipeline-showdown-escalates-payroll-tax-cut-fight.html
Senate Democrats bristled at the inclusion of the controversial pipeline -- which would eventually run from Canada though the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico -- and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised it would not pass in the Senate.

"Now is not the time to be debating unrelated measures like an oil pipeline," Reid said in a statement Friday. "If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate."

The House GOP measure extends the payroll tax cut for one year and renews aid for the unemployed, while cutting back the maximum length of jobless benefits from the current 99 weeks to 59. The bill also allows states more flexibility in distributing unemployment assistance, permitting states to require those applying to submit to drug tests or show they are pursuing a high school degree if they don't have one. The bill would also avoid a scheduled cut in pay for Medicare physicians for two years, the so-called "doc fix."

But as a way to bring on reluctant conservative Republicans, who voiced concerns about the impact of the payroll tax cut on Social Security, GOP leaders insist on keeping the provision aimed at moving toward approving the pipeline project within 60 days, something House Speaker John Boehner argued Thursday "would create tens of thousands of jobs immediately."

Earlier this fall, the Obama administration put off the decision on the project until after the 2012 presidential election after environmentalists raised concerns about the impact on some areas in the Midwest.

To pay for the bill, GOP leaders use a series of spending cuts, including freezing pay for federal employees and members of Congress, eliminating a child tax credit for those in the U.S. illegally, and increasing Medicare premiums for those who earn more than $80,000 annually.

"This package does not include everything Republicans would like, nor does it have all that Democrats have called for; but it is a win for the American people and worthy of the president's signature," Boehner said in a written statement.]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:20:51 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/90-gingrich-romney-spar-at-gop-debate.html http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/90-gingrich-romney-spar-at-gop-debate.html
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has lost the top spot in national polls, was quick to point out where he and the former House speaker differ on the issues.

"We could start with this idea to have a lunar colony that would mine minerals from the moon," said Romney, referring to a Gingrich proposal to mine for precious minerals on the moon.

Romney also highlighted his differences with Gingrich over altering child labor laws and lowering the capital gains tax for most Americans. Romney, as he has in the past, characterized Gingrich as a career politician.

Gingrich calmly responded, saying "the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994. It's a bit much. You'd have been a 17-year career politician by now if you'd won."

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who also has criticized Gingrich over the past few weeks, said that the former House speaker is "taking positions that are not conservative."

The debate, hosted by ABC News, the Des Moines Register and the Republican Party of Iowa, is being held at Drake University in Des Moines.

A lot's changed for the former House speaker since the last GOP debate, a CNN showdown in Washington just before Thanksgiving.

Since then, Gingrich's numbers have soared. He's the front-runner in latest national polling and in new CNN/Time ORC International surveys in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida, three of first four states that kick off the presidential primary and caucus calendar. The CNN poll also indicates that he's closing the gap with Romney in New Hampshire, which holds the second contest.

Gingrich's campaign was left for dead by many in May and June, after a number of controversies spurred some of his top advisers and staffers to quit, and that left the campaign coffers in the red.

But the former House speaker has performed well in the 11 major GOP presidential debates this year, often acting as the elder statesman while many of his rivals for the nomination attacked each other. He also won over the audiences by repeatedly criticizing the moderators' questions.

Thanks to his debate performances and the fading poll numbers of contenders such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Bachmann and businessman Herman Cain, who suspended his campaign last weekend, Gingrich's numbers have skyrocketed.]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:19:50 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/technology/89-whats-so-addictive-about-words-with-friends.html http://ivanmladek.ru/technology/89-whats-so-addictive-about-words-with-friends.html
Non-gamers have been asking that question since actor Alec Baldwin was booted from an American Airlines flight Tuesday in Los Angeles for refusing to turn off his phone. His reason? The "30 Rock" star was in the middle of playing "Words with Friends."

For the uninitiated, "Words with Friends" is a multiplayer word game that people play online, usually on their phones or via Facebook. Like Scrabble, players receive a random assortment of letters on tiles and must use them to form words on a crossword puzzle-like grid. Words with rare letters such as Q or Z are worth more points.

Players take turns forming words, with their phones pinging them when it's their turn. Games can go on for days or even weeks, and some WWF addicts simultaneously juggle multiple games against friends or random opponents.

"I'm down to about seven games at the moment, but I've been up to 20 games at one time before," said Matt McCalley, 24, of Charleston, South Carolina. Before his buddy Keith beat him last week, McCalley said he hadn't lost a game since last summer.
Alec Baldwin kicked off plane for game
Alec Baldwin kicked off plane for game

"I'm very competitive," he said. "I just really hate losing."

"Words with Friends" has 12.5 million active monthly users, according to tracking service AppData. Baldwin isn't the only celebrity who plays it -- John Mayer, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Phelps and Ludacris are also fans. Humor site Cracked.com has called it "the crystal meth of language games."

Sarah and Jonathan Elmer play the game on their iPad nearly every night before bed. The Kennesaw, Georgia, couple team up to play against their friends and usually have several games going at once.

"It's super fun," said Sarah Elmer in an interview. "It's not like 'Angry Birds,' where there's no point to it. You're actually educating yourself while you're playing."

She also likes the ease and portability of playing the game on mobile devices.]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:18:11 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/news-business/88-buffett-successor-plan-still-a-mystery.html http://ivanmladek.ru/news-business/88-buffett-successor-plan-still-a-mystery.html
The plan, Buffett told CNNMoney on Friday, is for Howard to become "non-executive chairman" upon his father's death. This would be an unpaid position in which Howard would serve as "a custodian of the values" of Berkshire Hathaway, the elder Buffett said, and would not be involved in strategy or day-to-day decisions.

"It doesn't mean having an office here" at Berkshire's Omaha headquarters, Buffett told CNNMoney.

Buffett's comments Friday came following a story on the CBS website ahead of the 60 Minutes broadcast that characterized the 56-year-old Howard as his "successor," though the Berkshire head said this wasn't quite accurate.

"It is certainly my hope that Howie succeeds me as Chairman, but the CEO job he has never had any interest in having," Warren Buffett said, adding: "When people think of my successor, they are thinking of who will be CEO. No [family] member has ever wanted to be or has been considered for that."

The idea for Howard's role is one Warren has been mulling for some time, and was discussed at Berkshire's (BRKA, Fortune 500) last annual meeting.]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:17:06 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/news/87-youtube-video-shows-syrian-boy.html http://ivanmladek.ru/news/87-youtube-video-shows-syrian-boy.html
The 10-year-old boy, however, is not asleep.

The turn of his gauze-wrapped head reveals a mass of blood. Maher al-Husseini is dead, reportedly from a sniper bullet.

He bled to death.

In his own home.

"What is the fault of this child?" asks a man, whose voice rises in anger on a video posted Friday on YouTube. He kneels down and gestures to the boy, whose hands and ankles are tied.

"What did this child do that they hit him inside his house? This is unacceptable."

Friday was a day of protest, pain and sorrow in Homs, a center of demonstrations and death in Syria. At least 17 people were reported slain in the city, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an activist group.

Women, children and dissident soldiers were among those killed Friday in Syria, the group said.

The United Nations said last week that more than 4,000 people have died in Syria since a brutal government crackdown against protesters erupted in mid-March.

The unidentified narrator of the video starts the tour of the home upstairs, pointing to a bullet hole on a window frame, then blood on the chair beneath it.

He leads the cameraman down blood-spattered stairs to the body of Maher, lying in the family sitting room.

The boy wears a maroon sweatshirt featuring a comic character.

"We could not aid the child, we did not know where to take him because of the firing in the neighborhood," the agitated man said. "He kept bleeding for half an hour and we could not aid him."

The speaker blamed Maher's death on "thugs" who fired upon the home in the Mreiji neighborhood.

Another man sits in a chair, his head in his hands.

"We are not safe, this government is murderous," the narrator says. "It is killing people, it is killing its own people."

Near the end of the video, the man leans down and kisses the boy.

Watch the YouTube video. WARNING: Graphic content.

A longer version of the video shows a woman crying over the boy. Others can be heard in background wailing. The boy is wrapped in a white sheet and carried by men in street towards a cemetery. Some of the men chant "The martyrs blood will not be lost in vain," as the lifeless boy is carried.

As the men walk towards the cemetery gunfire can be heard.
]]> 1 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:13:45 +0100 http://ivanmladek.ru/arts-and-culture/59-animal-rights-group-rescues-800-dogs-from-china-meat-trade.html http://ivanmladek.ru/arts-and-culture/59-animal-rights-group-rescues-800-dogs-from-china-meat-trade.html
The Qiming Center, an animal-rights protection group in Sichuan, pulled off the rescue. Last Friday night, a volunteer tipped off the group that hundreds of caged dogs were being loaded onto trucks in Zigong and headed to various restaurants in Southern Guangxi province. The group dispatched a team of five to block the dog-trader while they posted microblogs online calling for help from animal-loving citizens.

After a standoff and negotiation, the group agreed to pay the dog trader 83,000 yuan ($13,000) to secure the caged dog's freedom, said Qiming president Qiao Wei.

"It's a compromise we took in an effort to let the dogs free—they are visibly suffering for being packed in small cages with very limited space. We spent hours negotiating with the trader," Qiao told CNN in a phone interview. "Finally with the help of local government he was willing to hand over the dogs in exchange for 83,000 yuan—60,000 for personal compensation, another 20,000 for cages that we lack."

Qiming volunteers are now helping settle down the dogs, according to state-run media.

Dog meat has long been a popular dish in certain regions of China. But over time this cultural and culinary tradition is getting more and more unpopular, as international and Chinese animal protection organizations increase pressure against the dog meat trade.

China's attitudes on pets, palates change

Most dogs rescued Saturday were severely dehydrated. Rescuers photographed and registered the dogs before tending to their health. "It's a costly work but workers at the center are trying their best to take care of the dogs. Since their arrival, only one dog has died due to respiration system failure," Qiao told CNN

Ms Teng, a Qiming Center employee, said four full-time staff have been working round the clock. On the center's official blog, the group frequently updates the dogs' latest conditions and solicits donations or voluntary assistance from animal lovers.
]]> ax Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:14:17 +0200 http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/58-china-soul-searching-after-toddlers-death.html http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/58-china-soul-searching-after-toddlers-death.html
The toddler, nicknamed Yueyue, had been cared for in a hospital in Guangdong province since she was injured a week ago.

She succumbed to severe injuries Friday morning.

Two hit-and-run drivers ran over Yueyue, one after another, after she wandered into the alley outside her father's hardware store. Both fled the scene but are now under arrest.


But there was one thing more shocking than the double hit-and-run: the seeming apathy by pedestrians, cyclists and drivers—18 of them—who did not stop to help.

Yueyue laid motionless in the street for 10 minutes until Chen Xianmei, a 58-year-old woman who collects trash for a living, passed by. She moved her to safety and called for help.

A security camera captured the incident on tape. After the video was posted online, Yueyue's plight prompted sympathy, outrage and debate in and outside China. How could 18 people pass by the critically injured child and do nothing? The incident has also prompted widespread soul-searching in China about the state of the nation's morality and civic-consciousness.

Why is it so difficult for Chinese nowadays to be a Good Samaritan? There are many possible explanations and many possible culprits.

Some blame it on the lack of laws and regulations. Others argue it's caused by the failure of China's education system to inculcate respect for human life and dignity.

Still others blame it on what some call "jingshen kongxu", or spiritual vacuum. As the country's 1.3 billion people compete to make money and climb the economic and social ladder, experts say, many people find themselves spiritually adrift.

Reynard Hing, an astute China-watcher, cautions against making sweeping conclusions. "It's funny how many people read into this, to the point that anti-Chinese sentiment arises," he wrote me. "This situation is not unique to China."

He cites the case of Kitty Genovese. In 1964, the woman in Queens, N.Y. was chased and stabbed to death by an assailant over the course of half an hour while 38 of her neighbors watched from their windows and did nothing to help.

Psychologists, Hing tells me, have dubbed this phenomenon the 'bystander problem'—the one factor that would predict Good Samaritan behavior was how many witnesses there were to a tragic event: The more bystanders, the less likely someone will step up to help.

I asked Xia Xueluan, a socio-psychology professor at Peking University, about the seeming callousness of the 18 passersby. One factor is the district where it occurred, which has a concentration of hardware stores like the one Yueyue's father owns. "(They) are owners of hardware stores originally from different parts of China who hardly know each other. Together they comprise a 'strangers' society', instead of one made up of real friends and acquaintances, or the "acquaintances' society'."
]]> ax Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:13:21 +0200 http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/57-gadhafis-demise-and-the-arab-spring.html http://ivanmladek.ru/other-news/57-gadhafis-demise-and-the-arab-spring.html
Moammar Gadhafi's demise, after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, means that three rulers in power collectively for 95 years are gone. Scholar and author Fouad Ajami, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, says that 2011 "is to the Arabs what 1989 was to the communist world. The Arabs are now coming into ownership of their own history and we have to celebrate."

Protesters in Yemen and Syria may be re-energized by the pictures from Sirte, Libya, showing the almost pathetic end of a ruler whose flowing robes and uniforms had long given him an aura of invincibility. Demonstrators in Syrian cities celebrated Gadhafi's death and warned President Bashar al-Assad that he would be next. As one Syrian activist told CNN: "The clear fate of all who kill his people is to end up under the feet of the nation."

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (no friend of the Syria regime) said: "Any Arab citizen, watching the course of events in Libya, cannot but think of the popular revolutionary movement that is taking place in Syria."

There has been one refrain common across the Arab world this year -- from the dusty streets of Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia, where it all began, to the barricades that litter Homs in Syria today: "The fear is gone, the people have put away their fear." Those words, spoken by Tunisian activist Sana Ben Achour in January, have echoed across the region ever since. It was quickly followed by a chant: "The people want the downfall of the regime.
Even so, it took U.N. resolutions and thousands of NATO sorties to degrade Gadhafi's forces. And that's unlikely elsewhere. The United States and Western Europe are applying economic sanctions against the Syrian regime but have persistently discounted military intervention. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen seems impervious to outside pressure and even his own injuries as he maneuvers back into the game. And in a majority of Arab countries, the power of the state remains formidable if not overwhelming.

In 1989, the people of Eastern Europe shared a continent with developed democracies; they had a model to copy -- and considerable help in shaking off the legacy of communism.

The Arab states, which did not even draw their own borders, each have different dynamics. Explosive sectarian and regional divides have enabled authoritarian rule in Syria, Yemen and Libya. Like the Gulf states, Jordan and Morocco are monarchies and their kings at least have the legitimacy of succession. Egypt and Tunisia have by Arab standards a large and capable middle class; Yemen does not. The Gulf states are enriched by massive oil and gas reserves; countries such as Jordan have little or none. The attitude toward women's rights varies widely; Islamists are stronger in some countries than others.

Perhaps most importantly, security forces are in some places loyal to the flag, in others bound to the regime, or split down the middle. The military in Tunisia and Egypt would not defend leaders who became liabilities; the military in Syria has remained cohesive and loyal to al-Assad.]]> ax Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:11:46 +0200 http://ivanmladek.ru/news/56-tunisians-vote-in-first-election-following-arab-spring.html http://ivanmladek.ru/news/56-tunisians-vote-in-first-election-following-arab-spring.html
On Sunday, long lines of voters snaked around schools-turned-polling-stations in Tunis's upscale Menzah neighborhood, some waiting for hours to cast a vote in the nation's first national elections since the country's independence in 1956.

"It's a wonderful day. It's the first time we can choose our own representatives," said Walid Marrakchi, a civil engineer who waited more than two hours, and who brought along his 3-year-old son Ahmed so he could "get used to freedom and democracy."

Tunisia's election is the first since a popular uprising in January overthrew long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered a wave of revolutions -- referred to as the Arab Spring -- across the region.

More than 60 political parties and thousands of independent candidates competed for 218 seats in a new Constitutional Assembly, which will be charged with writing a new constitution and laying the framework for a government system.

Voters appeared jubilant on Sunday, taking photos of each other outside polling stations, some holding Tunisian flags.

"It's a holiday," said housewife Maha Haubi, who had just taken her position at the end of the long line of more than 1,000 voters waiting outside an elementary school in Menzah.

"Before we never even had the right to say 'yes' or 'no.'"

Nearby, banker Aid Naghmaichi said she didn't mind the long wait to vote.

"We have waited years for this," Naghmaichi said.

Ali Bergaoui burst out of a classroom waving a Tunisian flag and smiling broadly moments after he voted.

He said he and his wife, Miriam, had a sleepless night in anticipation of the vote. They showed up at 7 a.m. when polls officially opened and waited for three hours.]]> ax Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:10:39 +0200