December 26, 2009
Remembering Michael Jackson in the holiday spirit: We are the world/Heal the World
children
death
earth
December 26, 2009
Mind Soup wishes all its readers a Merry Christmas!
Christians
Christmas
greetings
December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noël. Buon Natale. Sretan Božić. Feliz Navidad. Frohe Weihnachten. С Рождеством. 圣诞快乐. メリークリスマス. عيد ميلاد مجيد
Christians
Christmas
holiday
December 25, 2009
Trouble is, they aren’t really presents. They’re his own belongings meticulously wrapped by friends as a prank while he was out of town.
Louie Saunders’ packages contain everything from couch cushions to the beer in his refrigerator.
His friend Adal Rifai masterminded the scheme after Saunders gave him a spare key. It took 16 people, 35 rolls of wrapping paper and eight hours to finish the job.
Saunders tells the Chicago Sun-Times he’s only been able to unwrap about 10 per cent of the packages.
He jokes that the upside is that, with each package he unwraps, he finds something inside that’s just what he needs.
Man finds entire apartment wrapped
CHICAGO — A Chicago man could be unwrapping the hundreds of Christmas gifts spread around his apartment for days, even weeks. Trouble is, they aren’t really presents. They’re his …
CHICAGO — A Chicago man could be unwrapping the hundreds of Christmas gifts spread around his apartment for days, even weeks.Trouble is, they aren’t really presents. They’re his own belongings meticulously wrapped by friends as a prank while he was out of town.
Louie Saunders’ packages contain everything from couch cushions to the beer in his refrigerator.
His friend Adal Rifai masterminded the scheme after Saunders gave him a spare key. It took 16 people, 35 rolls of wrapping paper and eight hours to finish the job.
Saunders tells the Chicago Sun-Times he’s only been able to unwrap about 10 per cent of the packages.
He jokes that the upside is that, with each package he unwraps, he finds something inside that’s just what he needs.
Chicago
Christmas
gifts
December 25, 2009
Police spokesman Officer Joe Zanoli said Monday the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights.
Two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother.
Zanoli says the mother’s 911 call over video game obsession “was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising — especially in today’s day and age when these kids play video games and computer games.”
The Boston Herald first reported the 911 call, saying the boy was playing the popular “Grand Theft Auto” game.
Mom calls 911 over son's video game habit
BOSTON (AP) — Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn’t get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep. Police spokesman Officer Joe…
BOSTON (AP) — Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn’t get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep.Police spokesman Officer Joe Zanoli said Monday the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights.
Two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother.
Zanoli says the mother’s 911 call over video game obsession “was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising — especially in today’s day and age when these kids play video games and computer games.”
The Boston Herald first reported the 911 call, saying the boy was playing the popular “Grand Theft Auto” game.
911
Boston
boys
December 25, 2009
In his acceptance speech, Obama told Nobel Committee members and guests in Oslo that achieving peace must begin with the recognition that the use of force is sometimes morally justified. "Make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms."
Obama also used the Nobel platform to exhort allies to help eradicate terrorist extremism in Afghanistan. "I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it," he said, while urging support for NATO and saying "peacekeeping responsibilities shouldn't be left to a few countries."
"War is justified in cases of self-defense, when civilians are being slaughtered by their own government, or a civil war threatens to engulf an entire region," continued Obama.
After spending much of the speech talking about the use of force, Obama told the crowd that the recipe for lasting peace should include the development of alternatives to conflict that are strong enough to force intransigent regimes to adhere to international law. Moreover, he said that Iran and North Korea must be held responsible for violations. "Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia," he said. "Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war."
The Nobel Peace Prize winner ended his speech by insisting that a faith in human progress "must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey."
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to be awarded the peace prize. Theodore Roosevelt claimed the award in 1906 for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war. Woodrow Wilson won in 1919 for his work as chief architect of the League of Nations. Former President Jimmy Carter received the prize more than two decades after leaving office in recognition of his continued work for international peace and human rights.
The Nobel committee had announced earlier in October that it would bestow the honor on Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" — giving an extra nod to Obama's goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Irony as Obama defends U.S. wars while accepting nobel peace prize
Also a while back, I wrote this article in AUB's student newspaper (Outlook) about Obama receiving the Noble Peace Prize. You can read it below. Surrounding a lot of controvers…
Also a while back, I wrote this article in AUB's student newspaper (Outlook) about Obama receiving the Noble Peace Prize. You can read it below.Surrounding a lot of controversy, American President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Prize for Peace during a ceremony on Thursday December 7, 2009 in Norway. The fact acknowledges the paradox of receiving this award as the U.S. is embroiled in two wars, while maintaining that instruments of war have a role in preserving peace.
In his acceptance speech, Obama told Nobel Committee members and guests in Oslo that achieving peace must begin with the recognition that the use of force is sometimes morally justified. "Make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms."Obama also used the Nobel platform to exhort allies to help eradicate terrorist extremism in Afghanistan. "I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it," he said, while urging support for NATO and saying "peacekeeping responsibilities shouldn't be left to a few countries."
"War is justified in cases of self-defense, when civilians are being slaughtered by their own government, or a civil war threatens to engulf an entire region," continued Obama.
After spending much of the speech talking about the use of force, Obama told the crowd that the recipe for lasting peace should include the development of alternatives to conflict that are strong enough to force intransigent regimes to adhere to international law. Moreover, he said that Iran and North Korea must be held responsible for violations. "Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia," he said. "Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war."
The Nobel Peace Prize winner ended his speech by insisting that a faith in human progress "must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey."
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to be awarded the peace prize. Theodore Roosevelt claimed the award in 1906 for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war. Woodrow Wilson won in 1919 for his work as chief architect of the League of Nations. Former President Jimmy Carter received the prize more than two decades after leaving office in recognition of his continued work for international peace and human rights.
The Nobel committee had announced earlier in October that it would bestow the honor on Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" — giving an extra nod to Obama's goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Afghanistan
AUB
Iran
December 25, 2009
One of the newer bands on the music scene is Thriving Ivory. This American alternative/piano-rock band originates from Santa Barbara, California and relocated to San Francisco. Thriving Ivory reached instant fame with their first self-titled album, which was re-released on June 24, 2008. This album was originally released in 2003, but was not well publicized. The sound of the second release was inspired by bands such as U2 and Coldplay. The debut album hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart on the strength of the charting single "Angels on the Moon." After half a year, Angels on the Moon appeared on the US Pop 100 Chart, reaching at number 28.
This five-piece band challenges one of the 10 Commandments of Rock: "Thou shall not prefer pianos to guitars." But on Thriving Ivory, the group latches onto one soaring mid-tempo rocker after another, as their lead singer Clayton Stroope serenades his eternally broken heart over keyboards, bolstered by guitars and strings. While they share some similarities with the Coldplay modern-rock crowd, the band pulls off the tricky proposition of being sensitive without slipping into utter wimpiness.
Not surprisingly, much of the material on Thriving Ivory has to do with love – often, Stroope is either pining for a girl who dumped him or dealing with an unhappy relationship, about ready to go south. The album’s opener, "Runaway", sets the tone. Borrowing the searching tone of U2’s grand "Where the Streets Have No Name," Runaway finds Stroope counting stars and journaling his thoughts, hoping to find contentment after a series of disappointments. Scott Jason’s hopeful keyboards and Drew Cribley’s forceful guitars underscore the singer’s determination to find a fresh start and the song is just one of many on the album which tries to counteract sadness with swelling choruses.
"Twilight" is a quicker paced, less repetitive, and quite catchy tune. The best part of the song would be the simple, yet elegant piano that fits quite well with the tone of the song. This song can be seen being featured prominently in movies and television, if ever released as a single.
"Alien" is the most personal song in the album, according to Keyboard player Scott Jason. "That song is about my brother. And my brother, he's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant kid, a full scholarship to Berkeley, and he's gone through some pretty heavy stuff. So that song is really personal," he said.
Other great songs in this album include: "Hey Lady," "Long Hallway with a Broken Light," "For Heaven's Sake," and "Day of Rain." All of the songs on this album are amazing, and once you start listening to one of them, you cannot stop, and it will get you hooked on piano rock. Perhaps, however, the most ingenious of their songs is their 2009 single "Flowers for a Ghost," which captures tremendous emotion with Thriving Ivory's usual piano rock style.
All in all, this band has a great future heading their way, especially since piano-rock is not very common these days and there's a high chance of huge success for their upcoming album.
Band Review: Thriving Ivory
So I have been obsessing over this band lately. THRIVING IVORY. I even wrote about it in the AUB student newspaper (Outlook) a couple of weeks before. You can download their debut…
So I have been obsessing over this band lately. THRIVING IVORY. I even wrote about it in the AUB student newspaper (Outlook) a couple of weeks before.
You can download their debut self-titled album here. The album is mainly Piano Rock and Alternative. Below is the article I wrote.
One of the newer bands on the music scene is Thriving Ivory. This American alternative/piano-rock band originates from Santa Barbara, California and relocated to San Francisco. Thriving Ivory reached instant fame with their first self-titled album, which was re-released on June 24, 2008. This album was originally released in 2003, but was not well publicized. The sound of the second release was inspired by bands such as U2 and Coldplay. The debut album hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart on the strength of the charting single "Angels on the Moon." After half a year, Angels on the Moon appeared on the US Pop 100 Chart, reaching at number 28.This five-piece band challenges one of the 10 Commandments of Rock: "Thou shall not prefer pianos to guitars." But on Thriving Ivory, the group latches onto one soaring mid-tempo rocker after another, as their lead singer Clayton Stroope serenades his eternally broken heart over keyboards, bolstered by guitars and strings. While they share some similarities with the Coldplay modern-rock crowd, the band pulls off the tricky proposition of being sensitive without slipping into utter wimpiness.
Not surprisingly, much of the material on Thriving Ivory has to do with love – often, Stroope is either pining for a girl who dumped him or dealing with an unhappy relationship, about ready to go south. The album’s opener, "Runaway", sets the tone. Borrowing the searching tone of U2’s grand "Where the Streets Have No Name," Runaway finds Stroope counting stars and journaling his thoughts, hoping to find contentment after a series of disappointments. Scott Jason’s hopeful keyboards and Drew Cribley’s forceful guitars underscore the singer’s determination to find a fresh start and the song is just one of many on the album which tries to counteract sadness with swelling choruses.
"Twilight" is a quicker paced, less repetitive, and quite catchy tune. The best part of the song would be the simple, yet elegant piano that fits quite well with the tone of the song. This song can be seen being featured prominently in movies and television, if ever released as a single.
"Alien" is the most personal song in the album, according to Keyboard player Scott Jason. "That song is about my brother. And my brother, he's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant kid, a full scholarship to Berkeley, and he's gone through some pretty heavy stuff. So that song is really personal," he said.
Other great songs in this album include: "Hey Lady," "Long Hallway with a Broken Light," "For Heaven's Sake," and "Day of Rain." All of the songs on this album are amazing, and once you start listening to one of them, you cannot stop, and it will get you hooked on piano rock. Perhaps, however, the most ingenious of their songs is their 2009 single "Flowers for a Ghost," which captures tremendous emotion with Thriving Ivory's usual piano rock style.All in all, this band has a great future heading their way, especially since piano-rock is not very common these days and there's a high chance of huge success for their upcoming album.
album
AUB
coldplay
December 25, 2009
VATICAN CITY — Papal bodyguards overpowered a woman who rushed at Pope Benedict XVI, yanking him to the ground Thursday as he entered St Peter's Basilica to celebrate Christmas Eve mass.
Several others fell over in the melee.
Prominent French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, broke a leg in the incident though he was "several metres (yards)" from the pope, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP, adding that the prelate was rushed to hospital.
The woman is in the custody of the Vatican police, the ANSA news agency reported, adding that she said she wanted to hug the pontiff.
Lombardi said she may have been the same woman who tried to approach Benedict on the same occasion a year ago without getting past the security barrier.
After the incident, Benedict quickly recovered, and bore a gold cross in a solemn procession to the altar as the mass began at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT).
Dressed in gold and white vestments and mitre, the pope showed no discomfort as he read out his Christmas Eve homily, decrying selfishness, which he said "makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another.
"Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world," the spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics said in Italian.
Thursday's incident occurred amid concern over the pope's health prompted by a Vatican decision to schedule the mass two hours early this year instead of the traditional midnight hour due to the pontiff's advanced age.
Lombardi insisted earlier that the change, a Vatican first, was only a "sensible precaution" for the octogenarian pontiff.
The decision was taken several weeks ago. Lombardi said the change was "no cause for alarm," adding that the German pontiff's condition was "absolutely normal" for a man of his age.
Lombardi said the move was aimed at making Christmas "a little less tiring for the pope, who has many engagements during this time".
On Friday, Pope Benedict is to deliver his traditional "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) message broadcast to dozens of countries at noon on Friday.
Benedict has had no notable health problems since his 2005 election apart from a fractured wrist from a fall in July while holidaying in northern Italy.
Four years before he became pope however, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spent nearly a month in hospital following a brain haemorrhage, according to the German daily Bild. It said he has suffered from fainting spells.
Pope Benedict's long-serving predecessor John Paul II insisted on observing the tradition of beginning the mass at midnight despite years of ill health, notably the ravages of Parkinson's disease, at the end of his life.
He died in April 2005 aged 84.
Woman rushes at pope, pulls him down ahead of Christmas mass
VATICAN CITY — Papal bodyguards overpowered a woman who rushed at Pope Benedict XVI, yanking him to the ground Thursday as he entered St Peter's Basilica to celebrate Christma…
VATICAN CITY — Papal bodyguards overpowered a woman who rushed at Pope Benedict XVI, yanking him to the ground Thursday as he entered St Peter's Basilica to celebrate Christmas Eve mass.Video footage showed the woman, dressed in a red sweatshirt, jumping over a security barricade and rushing at the 82-year-old pope as he began leading the traditional procession of about 30 cardinals to the vast basilica's altar.
She was immediately tackled by a security guard, but succeeded in grabbing Benedict's vestments near the neck and yanking him to the ground, according to video footage taken by a pilgrim broadcast on Sky News.Several others fell over in the melee.
Prominent French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, broke a leg in the incident though he was "several metres (yards)" from the pope, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP, adding that the prelate was rushed to hospital.
The woman is in the custody of the Vatican police, the ANSA news agency reported, adding that she said she wanted to hug the pontiff.
Lombardi said she may have been the same woman who tried to approach Benedict on the same occasion a year ago without getting past the security barrier.
After the incident, Benedict quickly recovered, and bore a gold cross in a solemn procession to the altar as the mass began at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT).
Dressed in gold and white vestments and mitre, the pope showed no discomfort as he read out his Christmas Eve homily, decrying selfishness, which he said "makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another.
"Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world," the spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics said in Italian.
Thursday's incident occurred amid concern over the pope's health prompted by a Vatican decision to schedule the mass two hours early this year instead of the traditional midnight hour due to the pontiff's advanced age.
Lombardi insisted earlier that the change, a Vatican first, was only a "sensible precaution" for the octogenarian pontiff.
The decision was taken several weeks ago. Lombardi said the change was "no cause for alarm," adding that the German pontiff's condition was "absolutely normal" for a man of his age.
Lombardi said the move was aimed at making Christmas "a little less tiring for the pope, who has many engagements during this time".
On Friday, Pope Benedict is to deliver his traditional "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) message broadcast to dozens of countries at noon on Friday.
Benedict has had no notable health problems since his 2005 election apart from a fractured wrist from a fall in July while holidaying in northern Italy.
Four years before he became pope however, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spent nearly a month in hospital following a brain haemorrhage, according to the German daily Bild. It said he has suffered from fainting spells.
Pope Benedict's long-serving predecessor John Paul II insisted on observing the tradition of beginning the mass at midnight despite years of ill health, notably the ravages of Parkinson's disease, at the end of his life.
He died in April 2005 aged 84.
Related Articles
Pope Unhurt After Being Knocked Down at Mass - New York Times
Pope knocked over at Christmas mass - Aljazeera.net
The moment the Pope was attacked -BBC News
Woman knocks Pope down at Christmas Mass - BBC News
attack
Christians
Christmas
December 25, 2009
Yahoo Inc. is closing down for a week over the holidays to save money, but experts said the shutdown is par for the course in Silicon Valley.
Yahoo to shut down for a week to cut costs
Yahoo Inc. is closing down for a week over the holidays to save money, but experts said the shutdown is par for the course in Silicon Valley. The Internet company is mandating tha…
Yahoo Inc. is closing down for a week over the holidays to save money, but experts said the shutdown is par for the course in Silicon Valley. The Internet company is mandating that most of its employees worldwide, except for those responsible for “essential functions” such as customer service, take off work from Dec. 25 through Jan. 1.
In the U.S., employees can either use vacation time for nonholiday dates or take unpaid leave. Workers outside the country will be paid according to local standards, said spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo told its staff about the break in April, and has recommended employees to take the week off in the past, Lengkeek said.
“This is nothing new, just formalized a little more,” she said. “It’s fairly standard in the industry, closing down during a traditionally slow week and giving employees time to recharge. A lot of employees tend to take that week off anyway.”
In addition to reducing operations, Yahoo will be turning lights and computers off in all its facilities, though the company would not disclose how much it expects to save. Consumers will not see any difference on the website, which will continue to feature news, Lengkeek said.
Yahoo has been struggling to keep costs in check, laying off nearly 700 employees in the spring.
But several other Silicon Valley firms, including Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. also go the thrifty route during the holidays, shutting down for a week or more.
“It’s something that a lot of companies do in the tech world to control costs and to have more influence over when people are out of the office,” said Steve Weinstein, vice president and senior research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore. “Yahoo’s done something similar to this in the past.”
Christmas
computers
holiday
