Indian rape victim's condition deteriorates

NEW DELHI (AP) ? The victim of a gang-rape in New Delhi fought for her life at a Singapore hospital Friday as officials in the Indian state of Punjab fired and suspended police officers accused of ignoring the rape of another woman, who then committed suicide.

Indian authorities have been accused of belittling rape victims and refusing to file cases against their attackers, further deterring victims ? already under societal pressure to keep the assaults quiet ? from reporting the crimes.

However, the gang-rape of the 23-year-old student on a moving bus in the capital two weeks ago has brought new focus on police and community attitudes toward woman in India. Demonstrators in New Delhi have demanded stronger protections for women and stronger punishment for rapists.

After 10 days at a New Delhi hospital, the victim was flown to Singapore on Thursday for treatment at the Mount Elizabeth hospital, which specializes in multi-organ transplant. Media reports have said that her assailants beat her and inserted an iron rod into her body during the assault, resulting in severe organ damage.

But by late Friday, the young woman's condition had "taken a turn for the worse" and her vital signs had deteriorated with indications of severe organ failure, said Dr. Kelvin Loh, the chief executive officer of Singapore's Mount Elizabeth hospital.

"This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximize her body's capability to fight infections," he said, adding that family members are by her side.

She had earlier suffered a heart attack, a lung and abdominal infection and "significant" brain injury, according to the hospital.

"The patient is currently struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life," Dr. Loh said.

Police have arrested six people in connection with the attack, which left the victim with severe internal injuries. She was traveling in the virtually empty bus with a male friend when they were attacked. The assailants stripped them both after the assault and threw them out on the road.

"We wish she recovers and comes back to us and that no time is lost in bringing the perpetrators of such a barbaric act to justice," said Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress Party.

Other politicians have come under fire for comments insulting the protesters and diminishing the crime.

On Friday, Abhijit Mukherjee, a national lawmaker and the son of India's president, apologized for calling the protesters "highly dented and painted" women, who go from discos to demonstrations.

"I tender my unconditional apology to all the people whose sentiments got hurt," he told NDTV news.

Separately, authorities in Punjab took action Thursday when an 18-year-old woman killed herself by drinking poison a month after she told police she was gang-raped.

State authorities suspended one police officer and fired two others on accusations they delayed investigating and taking action in the case. The three accused in the rape were only arrested Thursday night, a month after the crime was reported.

"This is a very sensitive crime, I have taken it very seriously," said Paramjit Singh Gill, a top police officer in the city of Patiala.

The Press Trust of India reported that the woman was raped Nov. 13 and reported the attack to police Nov. 27. But police harassed the girl, asked her embarrassing questions and took no action against the accused, PTI reported, citing police sources.

Authorities in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh also suspended a police officer on accusations he refused to register a rape complaint from a woman who said she had been attacked by a driver.

___

Tan reported from Singapore.

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Follow Ravi Nessman at twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ravinessman

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indian-rape-victims-condition-deteriorates-154238880.html

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China requires real names for internet and phone sign-ups, handovers for illegal posts

It's no secret that China keeps a tight lid on internet freedoms, and it's not about to lighten up today. The government has passed regulations requiring that locals use their real names whenever they sign up for internet- and phone-based services; while those were already common practices, there's now the real threat of punishment behind them. Anyone who clears those hurdles also has to be more mindful of what they write. If a page or post is deemed "illegal information," service hosts now have to delete its public presence, archive it and pass the content along to authorities. The state unsurprisingly argues that those who already stay on the sunny side of the law have nothing to fear from the new measures (where have we heard that before?), but the reassurances won't be much help to privacy advocates or those challenging corruption.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Source: Bloomberg, Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/china-clears-rules-requiring-real-names-for-internet-sign-ups/

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Deal or no deal? (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273805932?client_source=feed&format=rss

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New Android apps worth downloading: Instagram update, Pitfall!, Dueling Blades

If you?re still a fan of Instagram despite its policy change fallout, you?ll want to grab its latest update, which also serves as today?s leading fresh app and adds a new photo filter. Following that, we?ve got Pitfall!, an endless runner that reinterprets the Activision classic, and Dueling Blades, a hybrid strategy game with multiplayer capabilities.

What?s it about? A new filter and new languages have come to one of the most popular photography apps on Android.

What?s cool? Instagram has suffered from its share of public relations missteps lately, with lots of users deleting the app because of changes to its terms of service. If you?re still with the app, though, you?ll at least get something for your loyalty ? specifically, a new filter added in the app?s most recent update called Mayfair. There?s also support for 25 more languages with the update, and the ability to share Instagram photos to Facebook pages. As always, the app is filled with easy-to-apply photo filters and sharing capabilities, as well as its own social networking tools like the ability to view, comment on and ?favorite? other people?s photos.

Who?s it for? If you like vintage photography and social photos (and you?re not angry over the change to ToS that has the Internet in an uproar), Instagram is for you.

What?s it like? The recently updated Twitter app also contains photo filters of its own, and alternatively, there?s Paper Camera for other cool effects.

What?s it about? Activision?s gaming classic has been reimagined as a third-person endless runner, much like Temple Run and similar titles.

What?s cool? Taking a page from the popular Temple Run, Pitfall! is mostly about running through the jungle and avoiding obstacles by jumping, sliding, and juking back and forth. But Activision has added a lot of other features, like animals you have to fight off with Harry?s whip, sections of the game that have you riding a moped scooter or running through a village, and more.

Who?s it for? Like other runners, Pitfall! is a fun and addictive way to waste a few minutes, so if you like games like that, check out this one.

What?s it like? Temple Run is an obvious comparison, as is Temple Run: Brave.

What?s it about? A mix of role-playing, fighting and turn-based strategy genres, Dueling Blades is a multiplayer fantasy game with an interesting way of depicting its battles.

What?s cool? As mentioned, Dueling Blades mixes elements of a number of genres to create its unique gameplay. It combines both real-time and turn-based strategy elements, meaning you and your opponents enter your moves for each turn at the same time, and they?re executed simultaneously. You?ll need to anticipate what your opponent is going to do, while they try to do the same with you. The game includes multiple classes of fighters from which to choose, and you can improve them over time as you play through either the story mode or Dueling Blade?s multiplayer mode.

Who?s it for? If you like strategy titles and taking down real opponents in online multiplayer, Dueling Blades is worth your attention.

What?s it like? Battle Fury and Great Big War Game will also please strategy game fanatics.

Download the Appolicious Android app

Source: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/13084-new-android-apps-worth-downloading-instagram-update-pitfall-dueling-blades

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Who Are Jen & Justin Traveling with in Cabo?

Jennifer Aniston's recent Cabo vacation with fiance Justin Theroux turned into a real-life Couple's Retreat when they were joined by two other celebrity couples.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/jennifer-aniston-justin-theroux-vacation-star-pals/1-a-511547?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajennifer-aniston-justin-theroux-vacation-star-pals-511547

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The Thrifty Homesteader: Should you give up coffee or tea?

With 2013 just a few days away, some people are probably starting to think about resolutions for the new year. I write about food quite a bit, but what you drink can be equally important. If you've been thinking about reducing or eliminating your coffee or tea drinking, you might find today's post helpful.

Coffee?

Various studies have found that coffee drinkers have lower rates of some cancers, heart disease, Altzheimer?s, Parkinson?s, gallstones, diabetes, liver disease, and gout. You may have heard that there is a correlation between drinking coffee and increased risk of some cancers, gastrointestinal diseases, sleep problems, increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, anemia, and problems with pregnancy. Why the disparity?

In many cases, the negative side effects were found in people who consumed large amounts of coffee, which simply confirms the admonition that all good things should be consumed in moderation, but it is more complex than that.

?Often people think of coffee just as a vehicle for caffeine. But it's actually a very complex beverage with hundreds and hundreds of different compounds in it. Since coffee contains so many different compounds, drinking coffee can lead to very diverse health outcomes. It can be good for some things and bad for some things, and that's not necessarily flip-flopping or inconsistent,? said Dr. Rob van Dam, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health.

Statistically, many people who drink coffee also smoke and are less likely to eat a healthy diet or exercise, so in earlier studies, coffee was often blamed for negative health outcomes that have now been linked to other lifestyle choices. More current studies, such as the one Dr. van Dam conducted with 130,000 volunteers, control for other lifestyle choices when looking at the data. There is still not definitive evidence on whether or not coffee is harmful to an unborn baby whose mother drinks coffee, so pregnant women should limit coffee drinking to one cup a day or less.

Another point to consider when consuming coffee is that the usual process for decaffeinating uses chemicals. There is a decaffeinating process that uses water, but unless the label claims that process has been used, the chemical process was probably the method employed.

Tea?

Although humans have only been drinking coffee for a few hundred years, the history of tea goes back for thousands. Any herb or plant that has been soaked in hot water is called tea, and every one of those plants has different health benefits and risks. Black tea, which comes from the same plant as green, oolong, and white tea, has been used medicinally for millenia.

Today, studies have documented a long list of health benefits from tea drinking, including reduced risk of cancer, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, and even depression. It also helps the immune system to function better and reduces the body?s production of stress hormones.

Because coffee and black tea must be transported a long distance to reach North America, they are not as ecothrifty as drinking tap water. However, drinking tea and coffee are better for the environment than drinking soft drinks or bottled water because the amount of waste is minimal ? the box or can in which the dry tea or coffee was purchased, which is small compared to the amount of tea or coffee that can be prepared from the dry tea leaves or coffee beans. If you have a habit of buying a cup of coffee or tea at a shop in the morning, you can buy a travel mug and make it at home. If you only want one cup, you can buy a coffeemaker that brews coffee in single servings.

Bottom line

I really don't think there are any magic bullet type of foods that will guarantee you'll live to be a hundred, and conversely, I don't think that any natural foods should be completely eliminated from everyone's diet. If you're drinking a pot or two every day, you might want to cut back, but there isn't any compelling reason to completely eliminate coffee or tea.

Source: http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2012/12/should-you-give-up-coffee-or-tea.html

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Report: Millionaire Richard Stephenson Funneled Millions To ...

Eric Lach December 27, 2012, 11:03 AM

The Washington Post?s story of former House Majority Leader Dick Armey?s attempted coup of the tea party group FreedomWorks had the political press buzzing on Wednesday. But in the background, behind the dramatic account of a high-stakes D.C. power struggle, Amy Gardner?s story also supplied some answers to one of the abiding money mysteries of 2012 election.

In early November, several news outlets ran stories about a Knoxville, Tenn. man named William S. Rose III. Over six weeks that began in late September, using two newly formed companies with no other apparent purpose, Rose gave more than $12 million to FreedomWorks. The donations made Rose?s companies among the biggest corporate donors of the election cycle. In response to the press interest over his motivations, Rose released a six-page statement, denying that he or his companies were ?shadowy? but insisting that the business of one of the companies, Specialty Group, was a ?family secret? that would be kept secret ?as allowed by applicable law ? for at least another 50 years.?

The Post?s story this week reported that the money given by Rose?s companies actually came from Richard Stephenson, a ?reclusive Illinois millionaire? and the founder and chairman of the board of the for-profit Cancer Treatment Centers of America. From the Post:

Rose, who could not be reached for comment, has said publicly he would not answer questions about the donations. But according to three current and former FreedomWorks employees with knowledge of the donations, the money originated with Stephenson and his family, who arranged for the contributions from the Tennessee firms to the super PAC.

[Adam] Brandon, FreedomWorks? executive vice president, told colleagues starting in August that Stephenson would be giving between $10 million and $12 million, these sources said. Brandon also met repeatedly with members of Stephenson?s family who were involved in arranging the donations, the sources said.

Stephenson attended a FreedomWorks retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in August at which a budget was being prepared in anticipation of a large influx of money, according to several employees who attended the retreat. At the retreat, Stephenson dictated some of the terms of how the money would be spent, the employees said.

?There is no doubt that Dick Stephenson arranged for that money to come to the super PAC,? said one person who attended the retreat. ?I can assure you that everyone around the office knew about it.?

What?s not yet clear: why Stephenson, a member of FreedomWorks? board, used Rose to mask his donations. Rose?s affiliation with FreedomWorks goes way back. According to the Post, Stephenson was an early supporter of Citizens for a Sound Economy, the conservative lobbying group founded in 1984 by the Koch brothers, which in 2004 split into FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity. To resolve the recent Armey struggle with FreedomWorks, Stephenson agreed to pay $400,000 per year over 20 years in exchange for Armey leaving the group.

Just last week, two watchdog groups, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice over the $12 million that came from Rose?s companies.

?The circumstances surrounding more than $12 million in contributions made to Freedom Works for America raise serious questions about whether this was an illegal scheme to launder money into the 2012 elections and hide from the public the true identity of the sources of the money,? Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said in a statement.

Campaign Finance, FreedomWorks

Eric Lach

Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website?s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com

Source: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/richard_stephenson_freedomworks.php

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