If you want to be happy, healthy, and powerful, you might consider packing your bags and moving to a picturesque country on the other side of the Atlantic. According to a new report, Sweden tops out as the #1 place for women to live. Is it the year-long maternity leave? The chance to date four men at once? The unisex public bathrooms? (Ewww!)
Her radiant, larger-than-life image is everywhere: on snow-fringed billboards in Stockholm's chic shopping district, on stately buildings in the capital's picturesque Old Town, on the side of city buses. Ebba von Sydow, 25, is Sweden's current it girl: the face of Swedish fashion brand MQ's antismoking campaign and editor-in-chief of the nation's largest magazine for young women, Vecko Revyn ("Weekly Review"). "Every girl in Sweden wants to be Ebba," says a 28-year-old female office worker from Stockholm. "She is the woman with everything — success, power, brains, and beauty."
In other words, Ebba is the perfect example of what the latest research shows: that Sweden is a country in which women truly thrive. In fact, a 2005 report by the World Economic Forum found this Scandinavian nation to be the world's "most advanced country" for women, with greater levels of equality, power, health, and well-being among women than anywhere else. (The survey ranked the U.S. an abysmal 17th place — one above Costa Rica.)
Relaxing with coworkers at an exclusive spa to celebrate her 25th birthday, Ebba sips champagne while explaining that Sweden's pro-female culture has helped her achieve her dreams. "I have a fantastic life and a job I love. Women here are judged on their talents, not their gender," she says. "If you're good at what you do, you can get to the top very fast."
Sweden, which has a population of 9 million — around the same as the state of New Jersey — has a long history of female-friendly policies. The government gave women equal rights to inherit property way back in 1845; in 1901, it introduced the world's first formalized maternity-leave program. In 1958, the Swedish Lutheran church changed its doctrine to permit women to become priests. And today, female politicians make up around half of the Swedish parliament.
The goal of equality starts young: "Anti-Sexism Awareness Training" begins in kindergarten, where male toddlers are encouraged to play with dolls, and females with toy tractors. In school, classes in cooking, sewing, metalworking, and woodworking are compulsory for both sexes. All education, including college, is free, and girls routinely outperform boys; in 2005, women made up more than 60 percent of all Swedish college students. All this adds up to more flexible gender roles later: As one Swedish website puts it, "In our country, women drive the buses and men push the baby buggies."
For Ebba, freedom from traditional roles means she has never experienced the turmoil of choosing between her high-profile job and a happy home life. "Few Swedish men expect women to be domestic or subservient," she says. "My boyfriend accepts that my job involves constant meetings and traveling, and he's happy that I enjoy it." Ebba's live-in boyfriend, who works 9-to-5 for a leather company, also does the household chores. According to one study, Swedish men do more housework than men anywhere else — an average of 24 hours per week!
While her boyfriend cleans house, Ebba focuses on being a role model for the 250,000 young female readers of her magazine. The glossy is a classic mix of style and beauty tips, but Ebba refuses to run articles about dieting or fads that might endanger women's health. "I try to convey that beauty is about self-respect, not about impossible ideals," she says. Nevertheless, she's a firm believer that Swedish women don't have to give up their femininity. "I love makeup, I wear pink, and I'm obsessed with handbags," she confesses. "I'm proof that you can be both smart and womanly. I get thousands of letters from girls saying that I inspire them."
In fact, most women in Sweden find it easy to meld femininity with feminist ideals. Carin Gablad, 49, is Stockholm's chief of police, in charge of fighting crime in the capital with a force of 4600 officers. "My approach is the opposite of macho," says the tall, blonde police boss. "I use psychology and negotiation in most cases, but I'm not afraid to use brute force."
Chief Gablad owes her high position to one simple fact: She gets results. Crime has dropped by 9 percent under her leadership, and shortly after taking office in 2003, she won acclaim by capturing a top politician's murderer. "Women make excellent police officers because we're less ego-driven and confrontational than men," she says. Nearly one in three police officers in Stockholm is a woman, and female recruits now outnumber men at some police training academies. "I think women are increasingly keen to join professions like the police because they are no longer told to act like men," she says. "They are rewarded for being themselves."
Source: www.marieclaire.com
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
US Airways Plane Goes Down in Hudson River
Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 with nearly 150 passengers on board, appeared to make a controlled landing in the water shortly after takeoff from New York bound for Charlotte, N.C.
Television news footage showed the aircraft resting apparently intact in the frigid water as ferries and rescue vessels surrounded it and helicopters flew overhead.
Inflatable boats were deployed to carry passengers from the plane to the nearby vessels.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, Laura Brown, said, "My understanding is that everyone is alive. I don't know if there are any serious injuries or not."
Rescued passengers told reporters they did not know of any serious injuries.
Brown said the plane appeared to have hit one or more birds on takeoff. Initial accounts indicated the airliner lost both engines.
"We understand there were eyewitness reports that the plane might have flown into a flock of birds," Brown said.
But Ellen Howe, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, confirmed only that there was "no known nexus to terrorism" in the downing.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Laura Keehner said, "There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident. We continue to closely monitor the situation, which at present is focused on search and rescue."
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Alberto Panero, a passenger on the plane, told CNN in a telephone interview that everyone on the plane was "pretty much okay" after the impact.
"This was a near-death experience that thankfully did not turn out that way," he said.
Panero said, "Thank the Lord, and thank the pilot. I can't believe that somehow he managed to land that plane safely."
He said the pilot told the passengers, "Prepare for impact," just before the splash landing. For a moment afterward there was pandemonium, he said. Then, "a couple of people took charge" and calmed people down as they made their way to the exits.
A witness, Ben Vonklemperer, told CNN he saw the plane "making what appeared to be a very gradual landing" in the Hudson. "It appeared not to have any landing gear engaged," he said. "It basically just hit the water."
The incident occurred on a cold winter's day, with the air temperature at about 21 degrees and the water temperature just above freezing. In those temperatures, passengers would have faced hypothermia in minutes if they gone into the water.
As the passengers were taken off the plane, it appeared to be gradually sinking in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan. The tail section was partly submerged.
Officials said the plane took off from LaGuardia at 3:26 p.m. Eastern time with 148 passengers on board and five or six crew members. It crash landed into the Hudson less than three minutes later.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team of investigators from Reagan National Airport this evening.
Brown, the FAA spokeswoman, said air traffic at LaGuardia was operating normally within about an hour after the incident. Immediately after the plane went down, authorities ordered a "ground stop" at the airport, halting plane traffic into it and delaying departures.
US Airways issued a statement saying airline officials were in direct contact with local, state and national authorities and were cooperating fully with emergency response efforts.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
Television news footage showed the aircraft resting apparently intact in the frigid water as ferries and rescue vessels surrounded it and helicopters flew overhead.
Inflatable boats were deployed to carry passengers from the plane to the nearby vessels.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, Laura Brown, said, "My understanding is that everyone is alive. I don't know if there are any serious injuries or not."
Rescued passengers told reporters they did not know of any serious injuries.
Brown said the plane appeared to have hit one or more birds on takeoff. Initial accounts indicated the airliner lost both engines.
"We understand there were eyewitness reports that the plane might have flown into a flock of birds," Brown said.
But Ellen Howe, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, confirmed only that there was "no known nexus to terrorism" in the downing.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Laura Keehner said, "There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident. We continue to closely monitor the situation, which at present is focused on search and rescue."
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Alberto Panero, a passenger on the plane, told CNN in a telephone interview that everyone on the plane was "pretty much okay" after the impact.
"This was a near-death experience that thankfully did not turn out that way," he said.
Panero said, "Thank the Lord, and thank the pilot. I can't believe that somehow he managed to land that plane safely."
He said the pilot told the passengers, "Prepare for impact," just before the splash landing. For a moment afterward there was pandemonium, he said. Then, "a couple of people took charge" and calmed people down as they made their way to the exits.
A witness, Ben Vonklemperer, told CNN he saw the plane "making what appeared to be a very gradual landing" in the Hudson. "It appeared not to have any landing gear engaged," he said. "It basically just hit the water."
The incident occurred on a cold winter's day, with the air temperature at about 21 degrees and the water temperature just above freezing. In those temperatures, passengers would have faced hypothermia in minutes if they gone into the water.
As the passengers were taken off the plane, it appeared to be gradually sinking in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan. The tail section was partly submerged.
Officials said the plane took off from LaGuardia at 3:26 p.m. Eastern time with 148 passengers on board and five or six crew members. It crash landed into the Hudson less than three minutes later.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team of investigators from Reagan National Airport this evening.
Brown, the FAA spokeswoman, said air traffic at LaGuardia was operating normally within about an hour after the incident. Immediately after the plane went down, authorities ordered a "ground stop" at the airport, halting plane traffic into it and delaying departures.
US Airways issued a statement saying airline officials were in direct contact with local, state and national authorities and were cooperating fully with emergency response efforts.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Patrick McGoohan, TV's 'Secret Agent' and 'Prisoner,' dies
The British actor, 80, often played villains on TV and in movies. But he gained his greatest fame as the TV spy John Drake. He also won two Emmys for 'Columbo.'
Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy Award-winning actor who starred as a British spy in the 1960s TV series "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" and was known for playing various villainous roles in films and on television, has died. He was 80.
McGoohan died peacefully Tuesday in St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica after a short illness, said Cleve Landsberg, McGoohan's son-in-law. The family did not provide further details.
It was the height of James Bond mania in 1965 when McGoohan showed up on American TV screens in "Secret Agent," a British-produced series in which he played John Drake, a special security agent working as a spy for the British government.
The hour-long series, which ran on CBS until 1966, was an expanded version of “Danger Man,” a short-lived, half-hour series on CBS in 1961 in which McGoohan played the same character.
But it was McGoohan's next British-produced series, “The Prisoner,” on CBS in 1968 and 1969, that became a cult classic.
Once described in The Times as an "espionage tale as crafted by Kafka," "The Prisoner" starred McGoohan as a British agent who, after resigning his post, is abducted and held captive by unknown powers in a mysterious village, where he known only as No. 6.
McGoohan created and executive-produced the series, which ran for only 17 episodes. He also wrote and directed several episodes.
Among the memorable villains he played on screen was England's sadistic King Edward I in Mel Gibson's 1995 film "Braveheart."
As a guest star on TV's "Columbo, McGoohan won Emmys in 1975 and 1990.
Source: www.latimes.com
Patrick McGoohan, an Emmy Award-winning actor who starred as a British spy in the 1960s TV series "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" and was known for playing various villainous roles in films and on television, has died. He was 80.
McGoohan died peacefully Tuesday in St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica after a short illness, said Cleve Landsberg, McGoohan's son-in-law. The family did not provide further details.
It was the height of James Bond mania in 1965 when McGoohan showed up on American TV screens in "Secret Agent," a British-produced series in which he played John Drake, a special security agent working as a spy for the British government.
The hour-long series, which ran on CBS until 1966, was an expanded version of “Danger Man,” a short-lived, half-hour series on CBS in 1961 in which McGoohan played the same character.
But it was McGoohan's next British-produced series, “The Prisoner,” on CBS in 1968 and 1969, that became a cult classic.
Once described in The Times as an "espionage tale as crafted by Kafka," "The Prisoner" starred McGoohan as a British agent who, after resigning his post, is abducted and held captive by unknown powers in a mysterious village, where he known only as No. 6.
McGoohan created and executive-produced the series, which ran for only 17 episodes. He also wrote and directed several episodes.
Among the memorable villains he played on screen was England's sadistic King Edward I in Mel Gibson's 1995 film "Braveheart."
As a guest star on TV's "Columbo, McGoohan won Emmys in 1975 and 1990.
Source: www.latimes.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Shark Attacks Terrorize Australia
SYDNEY, Australia - A snorkeler was bitten in the leg by a shark Monday, a day after two surfers were attacked by sharks in separate incidents across Australia.
Steven Fogarty, 24, said he was floating Monday in waters off Windang, in southern New South Wales state, when he felt something tugging on his right leg.
"I just saw the blood all over both feet and had a quick look to make sure both legs were there and they were there," Fogarty said.
He said he then punched what appeared to be a bull shark until it let go.
Fogarty flagged down a nearby boat and was taken to a hospital for treatment of about 50 puncture wounds to his calf and cuts on his fist. He was released from the hospital later Monday.
Teen girl, man injured in other attacks
On Sunday, a teenage girl and a man were injured in separate shark attacks.
Hannah Mighall, 13, was twice dragged under water by a 16-foot white pointer shark while surfing in Tasmania state, Police Senior Sgt. Jason Elmer said.
Her adult cousin Syb Mundy punched the shark to make it release the girl before dragging her onto his surfboard and paddling to the beach, Elmer said.
Jono Beard, 31, paddled his board to shore after a shark bit his left thigh Sunday while he was surfing off a remote beach in New South Wales, lifeguard coordinator Stephen Leahy said.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that Beard lost a chunk of flesh up to 16 inches wide and 4 inches deep.
Although sharks are often spotted off Australia's beaches, fatal attacks are rare.
The last was on Dec. 27, when a 51-year-old man was killed while snorkeling off Australia's west coast. He was one of only two people killed by sharks in Australia last year.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Steven Fogarty, 24, said he was floating Monday in waters off Windang, in southern New South Wales state, when he felt something tugging on his right leg.
"I just saw the blood all over both feet and had a quick look to make sure both legs were there and they were there," Fogarty said.
He said he then punched what appeared to be a bull shark until it let go.
Fogarty flagged down a nearby boat and was taken to a hospital for treatment of about 50 puncture wounds to his calf and cuts on his fist. He was released from the hospital later Monday.
Teen girl, man injured in other attacks
On Sunday, a teenage girl and a man were injured in separate shark attacks.
Hannah Mighall, 13, was twice dragged under water by a 16-foot white pointer shark while surfing in Tasmania state, Police Senior Sgt. Jason Elmer said.
Her adult cousin Syb Mundy punched the shark to make it release the girl before dragging her onto his surfboard and paddling to the beach, Elmer said.
Jono Beard, 31, paddled his board to shore after a shark bit his left thigh Sunday while he was surfing off a remote beach in New South Wales, lifeguard coordinator Stephen Leahy said.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that Beard lost a chunk of flesh up to 16 inches wide and 4 inches deep.
Although sharks are often spotted off Australia's beaches, fatal attacks are rare.
The last was on Dec. 27, when a 51-year-old man was killed while snorkeling off Australia's west coast. He was one of only two people killed by sharks in Australia last year.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Reflective Bush Warns Obama of Attacks Against Nation, Criticism Facing President
WASHINGTON -- The weight of the presidency will hit Barack Obama as soon as he enters the Oval Office, President Bush said Monday, warning the president-elect about attacks against America as well as attacks against him personally.
Speaking at his last press conference before leaving office, a reflective Bush urged Obama not to fall prey to critics and gave some rare insights into the job of the presidency and expectations for the next president.
He said that the criticism Obama will face is diminished in light of the "profound" nature of the job.
"He's going to have to do what he thinks is right. And if you don't, I don't see how you can live with yourself. I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics, to -- to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country," he said.
"On the other hand, the job is so exciting and the position so profound that the disappointments will be clearly a minority irritant," the president added.
As for threats to the nation, Bush said Obama faces serious enemies who "would like to inflict damage" on Americans and is confronted by an economy that began experiencing problems even before Bush's presidency.
"The most urgent threat that he'll have to deal with and other presidents after him will have to deal with is an attack on our homeland. You know, I wish I could report that's not the case ... and that'll be the major threat," he said.
"North Korea's still a problem. There is a debate in the intel community about how big a problem they are," Bush said, noting that he is also not certain democracy will endure in Iraq.
But Bush said he doesn't plan on sticking around and looking over Obama's shoulder to comment on how he's doing.
"When I get out of here, I am getting off the stage. I believe that there ought to be one person in the klieg lights at a time, and I've had my time in the klieg lights," he said. "I wish him all the best."
Bush said he Obama has not asked him to make a request for the second half of a $700 billion bailout package designed to shore up the financial markets. Obama is expected to make the request as early as Monday for the $350 billion needed to inject life into the foundering economy.
Bush said his administration took "extraordinary measures to deal with the frozen credit markets," and the thaw is the first step toward recovery.
"There's plenty of critics in this business. I understand that. And I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a record that I am going to continue to defend because I think it's a good, strong record," he said.
Discussing things he could have done differently or whether taking the "popular" route would have been the best course for the United States, the president said he has thought long and hard about whether he could have handled the response to Hurricane Katrina differently, but he took issue with widespread criticism about the federal response.
"Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,00 people pulled off stomrs right after the storm passed ... it's a pretty quick response," he said, adding that some things could have been done differently.
Bush also said he shouldn't have allowed a "Mission Accomplished" sign to go up on the aircraft carrier in May 2003 after major "combat operations" ended in Iraq. He said he was disappointed by the situation in Abu Ghraib and wishes that the war had borne out the intelligence claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
"I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were -- things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way," he said.
He added that if he had wanted to be popular in some corners of the world he could have chosen to sign on to the Kyoto global warming treaty or joined the International Criminal Court or condemned Israel for the condition of Palestinians in the Middle East. But he said that would have been antithetical to the aspirations and goals of the United States.
"I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged.
It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom; that America is a country that provides such great hope," he said.
Bush said that had he listened to critics who wanted to shut down the detention center on Guantanamo Bay, he would have risked the nation's safety.
"In terms of the decisions that I had made to protect the homeland, I wouldn't worry about popularity. What I would worry about is the Constitution of the United States and putting plans in place that makes it easier to find out what the enemy is thinking," he said. Because all these debates will matter naught if there's another attack on the homeland. The question won't be, you know, 'Were you critical of this plan or not?' The question's going to be, 'Why didn't you do something?'"
The president said that if he had listened to all the criticism he faced, he wouldn't have been able to do the job. He said he had worked well his opponents on several issues, including education reform, but in terms of criticism "the rhetoric got out of control." He advised Obama not to fall prone to excessive harshness.
"It's just pathetic isn't it? Self-pity. And I don't believe President Obama will be full of self-pity," he said, adding that he hopes the critics go easier on Obama. "We should all accept criticism, there will always be critics ... it is the great thing about democracy ... I just hope the tone is respectful."
Bush said he would like to see an end to the violence in Gaza between Israelis and Hamas by time he leaves office next week, but wants a "sustainable cease-fire" that starts with Hamas stopping its lobbing of rockets in Israel.
"I believe the choice is Hamas' to make," Bush said, adding that Egypt has to stop allowing the smuggling of weapons through tunnels at the border with Gaza. "There will not be a sustainable cease-fire if they continue firing rockets.
Asked if the latest violence will end by time he departs next Tuesday, Bush said, "I hope so."
The president repeated his argument that "Israel has a right to defend herself," but noted that the two-state solution for the Mideast, of which he was the first U.S. president to articulate, is the only way to go.
"Most Palestinians want their own state and most Israelis understand there needs to be a democracy on their boarder in order for there to be long-lasting peace," he said. The challenge, of course, has been to lay out the conditions so that a peaceful state can emerge.
In his last official question-and-answer session with the press, Bush thanked the White House press corps for their effort, even though he said they sometimes didn't give him the credit he deserved.
"Sometimes I didn't like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you 'misunderestimated' me.But always the relationship, I have felt, has been professional, and I appreciate it," he said, deliberately botching the word that he had mistakenly used early on in his presidency.
Bush leaves office at midday Jan. 20, when Obama takes the oath and moves into the Executive Mansion.
Source: www.foxnews.com
Speaking at his last press conference before leaving office, a reflective Bush urged Obama not to fall prey to critics and gave some rare insights into the job of the presidency and expectations for the next president.
He said that the criticism Obama will face is diminished in light of the "profound" nature of the job.
"He's going to have to do what he thinks is right. And if you don't, I don't see how you can live with yourself. I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics, to -- to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country," he said.
"On the other hand, the job is so exciting and the position so profound that the disappointments will be clearly a minority irritant," the president added.
As for threats to the nation, Bush said Obama faces serious enemies who "would like to inflict damage" on Americans and is confronted by an economy that began experiencing problems even before Bush's presidency.
"The most urgent threat that he'll have to deal with and other presidents after him will have to deal with is an attack on our homeland. You know, I wish I could report that's not the case ... and that'll be the major threat," he said.
"North Korea's still a problem. There is a debate in the intel community about how big a problem they are," Bush said, noting that he is also not certain democracy will endure in Iraq.
But Bush said he doesn't plan on sticking around and looking over Obama's shoulder to comment on how he's doing.
"When I get out of here, I am getting off the stage. I believe that there ought to be one person in the klieg lights at a time, and I've had my time in the klieg lights," he said. "I wish him all the best."
Bush said he Obama has not asked him to make a request for the second half of a $700 billion bailout package designed to shore up the financial markets. Obama is expected to make the request as early as Monday for the $350 billion needed to inject life into the foundering economy.
Bush said his administration took "extraordinary measures to deal with the frozen credit markets," and the thaw is the first step toward recovery.
"There's plenty of critics in this business. I understand that. And I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a record that I am going to continue to defend because I think it's a good, strong record," he said.
Discussing things he could have done differently or whether taking the "popular" route would have been the best course for the United States, the president said he has thought long and hard about whether he could have handled the response to Hurricane Katrina differently, but he took issue with widespread criticism about the federal response.
"Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,00 people pulled off stomrs right after the storm passed ... it's a pretty quick response," he said, adding that some things could have been done differently.
Bush also said he shouldn't have allowed a "Mission Accomplished" sign to go up on the aircraft carrier in May 2003 after major "combat operations" ended in Iraq. He said he was disappointed by the situation in Abu Ghraib and wishes that the war had borne out the intelligence claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
"I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were -- things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way," he said.
He added that if he had wanted to be popular in some corners of the world he could have chosen to sign on to the Kyoto global warming treaty or joined the International Criminal Court or condemned Israel for the condition of Palestinians in the Middle East. But he said that would have been antithetical to the aspirations and goals of the United States.
"I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged.
It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom; that America is a country that provides such great hope," he said.
Bush said that had he listened to critics who wanted to shut down the detention center on Guantanamo Bay, he would have risked the nation's safety.
"In terms of the decisions that I had made to protect the homeland, I wouldn't worry about popularity. What I would worry about is the Constitution of the United States and putting plans in place that makes it easier to find out what the enemy is thinking," he said. Because all these debates will matter naught if there's another attack on the homeland. The question won't be, you know, 'Were you critical of this plan or not?' The question's going to be, 'Why didn't you do something?'"
The president said that if he had listened to all the criticism he faced, he wouldn't have been able to do the job. He said he had worked well his opponents on several issues, including education reform, but in terms of criticism "the rhetoric got out of control." He advised Obama not to fall prone to excessive harshness.
"It's just pathetic isn't it? Self-pity. And I don't believe President Obama will be full of self-pity," he said, adding that he hopes the critics go easier on Obama. "We should all accept criticism, there will always be critics ... it is the great thing about democracy ... I just hope the tone is respectful."
Bush said he would like to see an end to the violence in Gaza between Israelis and Hamas by time he leaves office next week, but wants a "sustainable cease-fire" that starts with Hamas stopping its lobbing of rockets in Israel.
"I believe the choice is Hamas' to make," Bush said, adding that Egypt has to stop allowing the smuggling of weapons through tunnels at the border with Gaza. "There will not be a sustainable cease-fire if they continue firing rockets.
Asked if the latest violence will end by time he departs next Tuesday, Bush said, "I hope so."
The president repeated his argument that "Israel has a right to defend herself," but noted that the two-state solution for the Mideast, of which he was the first U.S. president to articulate, is the only way to go.
"Most Palestinians want their own state and most Israelis understand there needs to be a democracy on their boarder in order for there to be long-lasting peace," he said. The challenge, of course, has been to lay out the conditions so that a peaceful state can emerge.
In his last official question-and-answer session with the press, Bush thanked the White House press corps for their effort, even though he said they sometimes didn't give him the credit he deserved.
"Sometimes I didn't like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you 'misunderestimated' me.But always the relationship, I have felt, has been professional, and I appreciate it," he said, deliberately botching the word that he had mistakenly used early on in his presidency.
Bush leaves office at midday Jan. 20, when Obama takes the oath and moves into the Executive Mansion.
Source: www.foxnews.com
Monday, January 5, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
John Travolta's Son Jett Dead at 16
Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, has died during a family vacation.
The family's attorney, Michael Ossi, confirmed the tragic news, telling Reuters the young man suffered a seizure at the Travolta clan's getaway at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island.
A police spokeswoman said Jett apparently banged his head on a bathtub Friday morning. Efforts were made to revive Jett, but he was pronounced dead at Rand Memorial Hospital, police said.
Citing privacy rules, a hospital official declined to release names, but told E! News, "We did have a young gentleman come in dead."
Meanwhile, Robert Gidel, president of Ginn Resorts, which owns Old Bahama Bay, said in a statement, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to John Travolta, Kelly Preston and their family on the tragic death of their son Jett."
"The Travolta family has become like family to us at Old Bahama Bay and we extend our deepest sympathies to them."
Jett had a history of seizures, according to Ossi. Preston had said her son suffered from Kawasaki disease, which can cause a variety of painful side effects, including seizures, and sometimes lead to heart problems.
Per Bahamian Chief Superintendent Basil Rahming, a team of officers from the Central Detective Unit were dispatched to investigate after receiving word at about 11:40 a.m. that Travolta's son had fallen ill.
Jett's body will remain at Rand Memorial pending an autopsy.
"It probably won't be until early next week that he's going to be shipped out of the country," said Glen Campbell, a mortician at the Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium, which is handling the transportation of the body.
Jett, named for his dad's love of flying, was the couple's oldest child. They also have a daughter, Ella Bleu, born in 2000.
Article Source: www.eonline.com
The family's attorney, Michael Ossi, confirmed the tragic news, telling Reuters the young man suffered a seizure at the Travolta clan's getaway at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island.
A police spokeswoman said Jett apparently banged his head on a bathtub Friday morning. Efforts were made to revive Jett, but he was pronounced dead at Rand Memorial Hospital, police said.
Citing privacy rules, a hospital official declined to release names, but told E! News, "We did have a young gentleman come in dead."
Meanwhile, Robert Gidel, president of Ginn Resorts, which owns Old Bahama Bay, said in a statement, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to John Travolta, Kelly Preston and their family on the tragic death of their son Jett."
"The Travolta family has become like family to us at Old Bahama Bay and we extend our deepest sympathies to them."
Jett had a history of seizures, according to Ossi. Preston had said her son suffered from Kawasaki disease, which can cause a variety of painful side effects, including seizures, and sometimes lead to heart problems.
Per Bahamian Chief Superintendent Basil Rahming, a team of officers from the Central Detective Unit were dispatched to investigate after receiving word at about 11:40 a.m. that Travolta's son had fallen ill.
Jett's body will remain at Rand Memorial pending an autopsy.
"It probably won't be until early next week that he's going to be shipped out of the country," said Glen Campbell, a mortician at the Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium, which is handling the transportation of the body.
Jett, named for his dad's love of flying, was the couple's oldest child. They also have a daughter, Ella Bleu, born in 2000.
Article Source: www.eonline.com
Santa gunman led 2 lives to plot killings
Roxanne Jauregui, a close friend of Sylvia Pardo, comments on Bruce Padro's character, during a television interview at her home in Pomona, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. Sylvia Pardo and eight of her immediate family members died late Christmas Eve when Pardo's ex-husband, Bruce, donned a Santa Claus suit, burst into a holiday party on a shooting rampage and then torched his former in-laws' home.
9:36 p.m. ET, 12/30/08
MONTROSE, Calif. - Before donning the Santa Claus suit that would disarm his first victim, Bruce Pardo spent months plotting his Christmas Eve massacre behind a mask of friendliness that fooled his neighbors, lawyer and the ex-wife he killed along with eight of her kin.
As early as last summer, Bruce Pardo was purchasing ammunition and guns and ordering supplies to build a device to torch his former in-laws' home. In early fall, the unemployed electrical engineer ordered a custom-made, extra-large Santa Claus suit from a seamstress.
By December — as his divorce became final — Pardo put the final touches on his horrific plan by renting two getaway cars and booking a flight to Illinois.
Yet by all accounts, the 45-year-old man moved through life during those crucial six months as if nothing were amiss. His divorce attorney said he was always upbeat and even his wife's attorney said he was civil throughout the nine-month proceedings.
"He was planning that for months," said Henry Baeza, owner of Montrose Home Bakery where Pardo dined the day of the killings. "And the other 45 years he was a totally normal man. It doesn't make no sense."
In July, Pardo began purchasing guns and hundreds of rounds of heavy ammunition, and started building a device to spray highly flammable racing fuel in his in-laws' home, police said.
At about that time, Pardo had lost his six-figure income at ITT Electronic Systems Radar Systems in Van Nuys and was desperately seeking work. His estranged wife, who had moved in with her sister and brother-in-law and was seeking a divorce, was awarded spousal support as his debts stacked up.
By fall, according to court papers, Pardo appeared to be increasingly desperate.
Divorce settled
In September, he custom-ordered an extra-large Santa Claus suit from costume maker Jeri Deiotte, whose shop is less than two miles from Pardo's home in this quiet Los Angeles suburb.
He told Deiotte the $300 suit — complete with boots, belt, glasses and a hat — was for a Nov. 8 holiday party. He said he needed it extra-large so he could be extra-jolly, a request that chills Deiotte in retrospect.
"He wanted it huge, bigger than he was," said Deiotte, who later called police. "That's what triggered it to me because I heard on the news that he carried some guns inside."
On Dec. 18, Pardo and ex-wife Sylvia Pardo reached a final divorce settlement: He kept the house and cars, but she got the diamond wedding ring, $10,000, most of the furniture and the couple's dog, Saki.
Pardo was supposed to deliver a $10,000 cashier's check to her attorney by Dec. 19, but he never showed up. He told his attorney he was still trying to come up with the cash.
Five days later, cafe owner Baeza chatted with Pardo as he stopped in for his usual raspberry cheese Danish and coffee. This time, he also ordered a turkey sandwich for lunch and ate it in a corner booth, looking out the window at the street bustling with Christmas shoppers.
Baeza still replays that last conversation in his mind, searching for a clue to what happened just 11 hours later.
"He shook hands with me and said 'Goodbye and merry Christmas to you and your family,'" said Baeza. "And I said 'You, too' and he just smiled a little."
At 10 p.m., Pardo's next-door neighbors saw him pulling out in a car they'd never seen before and wished him a merry Christmas. They now realize the car was probably one of the rented getaway vehicles and they shudder to think they may have been the last people to see him before his rampage.
"My dad was like 'Where are you going?'" recalled Arvin Garcia, 17. "And he said 'I'm going to a Christmas party,' and then he left."
Guns and fuel-spraying device
An hour and a half later, around 11:30 p.m., Pardo approached his former in-laws' house in Covina 20 miles away and knocked on the door. He had four guns and his fuel-spraying device, disguised as a present.
A little girl excited to see Santa opened the door and he shot her in the face. He entered the house firing, at first indiscriminately and then targeting his ex-wife's family. At one point, he may have knelt down to shoot a group of family members who dove under a table where they had been playing cards, according to police accounts and 911 calls.
During the shooting, Sylvia Pardo's sister Leticia frantically called 911 while hiding in a neighbor's house with her 8-year-old daughter, the girl who'd answered the door but was only wounded in the side of her face.
"I have a feeling I know who it is," the sister said, and identified the shooter as her former brother-in-law. "They're going through a divorce right now."
House explodes
When it was over, Pardo's ex-wife, her parents, her two brothers and their wives and her sister and her sister's 17-year-old son were dead — nine of the 25 guests at the annual holiday bash.
The teen was upstairs using a computer and perished in the fire after the house exploded from the fuel vapor.
Article Source: msnbc
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Rose Bowl Parade today
There are lots of New Year's Day traditions, and many of them involve food and football. Hoppin' John is a traditional dish eaten in the southern states, while my Italian heritage mandates lentils. Football was never my thing, but the century-old Tournament of Roses Parade is another story.
This year, the parade, which showcases floats made mostly from flowers and other grown items, has partnered with Pasadena television station KTLA to allow viewers to vote for their favorite float and award one of the 46 floral entries as winner of the first-ever Viewers' Choice Award. Of those 46, 43 are eligible for judging.
You can vote from 10 am - 6 pm PST (1 pm - 9 pm EST) by visiting www.ktla.com/roseparade, but the official judging still falls to the pros, Richard Koshalek, Sharon Loving and Beverly White, who will consider creative design, floral craftsmanship, artistic merit, computerized animation, thematic interpretation, floral and color presentation, and dramatic impact.
Check it out on NBC at 11 a.m. Then, for those of you who care (and I know I'm probably in the minority on this), the actual Rose Bowl, with Penn State vs. USC will be on ABC at 5 pm.
Article Source: www.newsday.com
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