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newstest2014.tok.en 0000644 0015515 0013560 00001341453 12703143515 013353 0 ustar jawaid ufal a black box in your car ?
as america 's road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system , many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car .
the devices , which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats , are at the center of a controversial attempt in washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding america 's major roads .
the usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances .
libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive , and possibly where you drive them - then use the information to draw up a tax bill .
the tea party is aghast .
the american civil liberties union is deeply concerned , too , raising a variety of privacy issues .
and while congress can 't agree on whether to proceed , several states are not waiting .
they are exploring how , over the next decade , they can move to a system in which drivers pay per mile of road they roll over .
thousands of motorists have already taken the black boxes , some of which have gps monitoring , for a test drive .
this really is a must for our nation .
" it is not a matter of something we might choose to do , " said hasan ikhrata , executive director of the southern california assn. of governments , which is planning for the state to start tracking miles driven by every california motorist by 2025 .
there is going to be a change in how we pay these taxes .
the technology is there to do it .
the push comes as the country 's highway trust fund , financed with taxes americans pay at the gas pump , is broke .
americans don 't buy as much gas as they used to .
cars get many more miles to the gallon .
the federal tax itself , 18.4 cents per gallon , hasn 't gone up in 20 years .
politicians are loath to raise the tax even one penny when gas prices are high .
" the gas tax is just not sustainable , " said lee munnich , a transportation policy expert at the university of minnesota .
his state recently put tracking devices on 500 cars to test out a pay-by-mile system .
" this works out as the most logical alternative over the long term , " he said .
wonks call it a mileage-based user fee .
it is no surprise that the idea appeals to urban liberals , as the taxes could be rigged to change driving patterns in ways that could help reduce congestion and greenhouse gases , for example .
california planners are looking to the system as they devise strategies to meet the goals laid out in the state 's ambitious global warming laws .
but rep. bill shuster ( r-pa . ) , chairman of the house transportation committee , has said he , too , sees it as the most viable long-term alternative .
the free marketeers at the reason foundation are also fond of having drivers pay per mile .
" this is not just a tax going into a black hole , " said adrian moore , vice president of policy at reason .
people are paying more directly into what they are getting .
the movement is also bolstered by two former u.s. transportation secretaries , who in a 2011 report urged congress to move in the pay-per-mile direction .
the u.s. senate approved a $ 90-million pilot project last year that would have involved about 10,000 cars .
but the house leadership killed the proposal , acting on concerns of rural lawmakers representing constituents whose daily lives often involve logging lots of miles to get to work or into town .
several states and cities are nonetheless moving ahead on their own .
the most eager is oregon , which is enlisting 5,000 drivers in the country 's biggest experiment .
those drivers will soon pay the mileage fees instead of gas taxes to the state .
nevada has already completed a pilot .
new york city is looking into one .
illinois is trying it on a limited basis with trucks .
and the i-95 coalition , which includes 17 state transportation departments along the eastern seaboard ( including maryland , pennsylvania , virginia and florida ) , is studying how they could go about implementing the change .
the concept is not a universal hit .
in nevada , where about 50 volunteers ' cars were equipped with the devices not long ago , drivers were uneasy about the government being able to monitor their every move .
" concerns about big brother and those sorts of things were a major problem , " said alauddin khan , who directs strategic and performance management at the nevada department of transportation .
it was not something people wanted .
as the trial got underway , the aclu of nevada warned on its website : " it would be fairly easy to turn these devices into full-fledged tracking devices . "
there is no need to build an enormous , unwieldy technological infrastructure that will inevitably be expanded to keep records of individuals ' everyday comings and goings .
nevada is among several states now scrambling to find affordable technology that would allow the state to keep track of how many miles a car is being driven , but not exactly where and at what time .
if you can do that , khan said , the public gets more comfortable .
the hunt for that technology has led some state agencies to a small california startup called true mileage .
the firm was not originally in the business of helping states tax drivers .
it was seeking to break into an emerging market in auto insurance , in which drivers would pay based on their mileage .
but the devices it is testing appeal to highway planners because they don 't use gps and deliver a limited amount of information , uploaded periodically by modem .
" people will be more willing to do this if you do not track their speed and you do not track their location , " said ryan morrison , chief executive of true mileage .
there have been some big mistakes in some of these state pilot programs .
there are a lot less expensive and less intrusive ways to do this .
in oregon , planners are experimenting with giving drivers different choices .
they can choose a device with or without gps .
or they can choose not to have a device at all , opting instead to pay a flat fee based on the average number of miles driven by all state residents .
other places are hoping to sell the concept to a wary public by having the devices do more , not less .
in new york city , transportation officials are seeking to develop a taxing device that would also be equipped to pay parking meter fees , provide " pay-as-you-drive " insurance , and create a pool of real-time speed data from other drivers that motorists could use to avoid traffic .
" motorists would be attracted to participate because of the value of the benefits it offers to them , " says a city planning document .
some transportation planners , though , wonder if all the talk about paying by the mile is just a giant distraction .
at the metropolitan transportation commission in the san francisco bay area , officials say congress could very simply deal with the bankrupt highway trust fund by raising gas taxes .
an extra one-time or annual levy could be imposed on drivers of hybrids and others whose vehicles don 't use much gas , so they pay their fair share .
" there is no need for radical surgery when all you need to do is take an aspirin , " said randy rentschler , the commission 's director of legislation and public affairs .
if we do this , hundreds of millions of drivers will be concerned about their privacy and a host of other things .
sobotka negotiating for čssd .
social democracy is crumbling ; the christian democrats and babiš ’ s ano are holding talks and planning a common approach .
if the social democrats can pull themselves together in several weeks , they will sit at the negotiating table with perfectly well coordinated partners , who will bring to the table a completed list of demands including ministerial posts .
the čssd envoys will then either eat up the sour coalition grapes or give a nod to an unstable minority government .
after four days being carried on a wave of sympathy , bohuslav sobotka got into hot water for the first time .
he failed yesterday to gain control over the political board and most importantly to persuade the confirmed liars to resign .
so far he is the only confirmed negotiator for the party ; the other members of the team will only be allowed after the key meeting of the central executive committee ( cec ) .
i have apologised to members of the board and now to the citizens as well .
we shouldn ’ t lie , in our private lives or in public .
" it was a mistake , " said michal hašek after a meeting of the social democrats ’ senior leadership .
he added that he would not be clinging to the first deputy chairman post .
" i ’ ll announce my decision on 10 november at the central executive committee , " said hašek .
deputy chairman of čssd zdeněk škromach and head of the parliamentary club jeroným tejc said something similar .
he did point out , however , that he had only been elected two days earlier .
both mps then declared that they would do everything so that the 50-member čssd club would speak in one voice .
michal hašek crowned this absurd theatre with the sentence : " i have been a member of čssd for 15 years . i have always been loyal to the brand and respected the decisions of party authorities . "
in other words , another lie broadcast live .
or perhaps with the call for sobotka ’ s resignation and his exclusion from the negotiating team he forgot that the august cec , with 57 per cent majority , agreed to bohuslav sobotka being the party ’ s candidate for prime minister ?
the čssd head has however made himself a powerful army of enemies by only convening the cec for the next sunday .
his opponents have ten days to flood with emails the 192 members of this body and the media with a whole load of gossip and rumours , or to remind them of the real mistakes in sobotka ’ s political career .
dirty laundry will be washed strongly , with the dark signs of the alliance appearing between the coal baron zdeňek bakala and sobotka ’ s wing .
the friendly relationship between bohuslav sobotka and the influential lawyer radek pokorný will be discussed .
disputes will bubble up in the south moravian and moravian-silesian organisation of čssd .
the ostrava mayor and sobotka 's ally petr kajnar issued these words of warning : " i 've signed charter 77 so that the country wouldn ’ t be ruled by idiots . "
if the cec were to meet this weekend , the liars would probably be forced to sacrifice ritually their posts .
the traitors will put on their sackcloth and ashes and remain. put
and then the currently winning head of čssd will end up with the nickname bohuslav pyrrha .
martin doktor on the problems with the olympic games in sochi : communication with the russians is challenging
the corners of his mouth indicate a small smile and then he just takes a deep breath : " it ’ s challenging . "
cooperation with the organising team for the sochi 2014 olympics is a little more complicated according to martin doktor .
we can forget about how it was in the last olympics .
" nothing works the same way , " says the head of the czech olympic mission .
what exactly is happening ?
a lot of things work more slowly and not so precisely .
it is kind of confusing .
in terms of invoices , they are relatively quick , in terms of supplying information on essential things , they are not so good .
for instance , we ’ ve spent three months trying to get them to tell us how they will officially identify the separate villages , so we can do all sorts of things in accordance with that .
we ’ re still waiting and they keep saying that they ’ ll let us know .
in many ways , they are always communicating .
is the olympic village built at least ?
but it ’ s no longer a catastrophic situation .
a month ago we were walking around empty rooms .
the houses are standing fortunately .
what does it mean , they are empty ?
are the floors done , for example ?
just the basic concrete floors , at least that is what it was like a month ago .
but they still have time .
even though there is a danger that when we turn up on 26 january as the vanguard , we will still be able to smell the glue .
and if they don ’ t manage it , what will there be ?
do you think president putin would bring in the army ?
that 's exactly what will probably happen .
as long as the olympic villages are not potemkin villages .
it ’ s more likely that they won ’ t be able to fix the roads , for example , they won ’ t get the details finished .
maybe the roads will be in such a state that we ’ ll have to take our wellies from the london games .
but i believe they ’ ll get it together somehow .
how many czech athletes could be going to sochi ?
at the moment there are about 78 of them , although depending on nomination criteria , that number varies .
say , the figure skaters will probably go in the trio they ended up in .
there is no doubt about the skater martina sáblíková , but otherwise it is still in development stages .
have you got another trip to sochi planned ?
no , as long as nothing happens , i won ’ t be flying out until 26 january .
we know what the houses in the olympic village will look like .
we ’ ve even measured certain things ourselves , so we don ’ t just put our faith in the sketches .
we are also planning a whole range of other things , including transport .
and what is the head of the mission doing 100 days before the olympic games ?
i ’ m preparing for the annual assessment of individual olympic sports plus i ’ m working on my normal agenda in the sense of communicating with the organising committee in sochi .
putin promises green olympics , his plan scuppered by huge , secret landfills
fans of winter sports are already counting down the days to the start of the olympic games in sochi , but others are watching their preparation with growing concern .
the russian olympics , although they do not start until february , are facing another scandal .
apparently the russians are not managing to fulfil promises that the preparations and holding of the games will in no way disturb nature in the krasnodar region at the foot of the caucasus mountains , where thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of visitors will be heading in four months ’ time .
indeed , after the vancouver olympics , the russians had the bar set very high ; the canadian games went down in olympic history as the most environmentally friendly .
it seems , however , that russian president vladimir putin ’ s commitment to organise games with " zero waste " ended a long time ago .
ap reporters last week discovered a giant landfill of construction materials in the village of akhshtyr , not far from sochi .
back in august , ecologists found and immediately reported a landfill full of construction materials , tyres , canisters and insulation foam .
the russian authorities apologised and the landfill disappeared .
but not for long .
last week , reporters were presented with a view of a landfill the size of three football pitches .
it was not the only one – several such sites have surfaced in the area , according to british newspaper the times .
russian railways , a state monopoly , which is building approximately a sixty-kilometre track between the airport in sochi and the sports resort , is working on the site .
the company , which has already swallowed up 280 billion roubles , is headed by one of putin ’ s close associates , vladimir yakunin .
in august the railways defended themselves , saying the landfill was started by one of the subcontractors .
but local residents are desperate .
according to the residents of akhshtyr , trucks have been driving around the village filled with waste materials day and night for three months .
according to experts , there is a risk that the waste is contaminating the local river mzymta , other streams and the black sea .
" water from here will contaminate sochi ’ s water sources for the next ten to fifteen years , " vladimir kimayev from the non-profit environmental organisation ewnc told the british paper .
illegal landfills are not the only problem for the russian organising committee and the government .
the most expensive olympics in history , they are just one long tunnel according to the opposition .
to compare : the sochi games will cost 51 billion dollars , while the 2008 summer olympics in beijing came to 43 billion .
last year ’ s games in london cost just 19 billion and the vancouver games nine billion .
aside from the corruption scandals , project delays and fear of whether there will eventually be enough snow , reports have also appeared that when working on construction of the sports venues and infrastructure , the human rights have not been observed .
last month , one of the workers sewed his mouth shut in protest at not being paid for two months .
many people are also concerned about how the russian organisers will cope with the new law banning the promotion of homosexuality .
some visitors are planning to support russian gays at the olympics .
young couple take advantage of living with parents , the new house offers privacy to both generations
japanese studio tai and associates was given the task of designing a house on a plot lying on the corner of two streets , where the ground itself is slightly sloping .
the request also said that there would be two generations living in the house who wanted to live together but at the same time each should have their own clearly separate space .
the young couple also needed a small office .
the house stands on the corner of two streets and on slightly sloping land .
architects therefore decided to put each household on one floor of the house .
" in creating the design we respected the family ties , history and memories associated with the site . "
" three separate functions of the house are connected with several paths through the exterior of the object , so they are all aware of the presence of the others , but they still have their privacy , " explain the designers .
the parents ’ household is on the garden level with an old pine tree , to which family traditions and memories are linked .
the separate parts of the house are easily recognisable from outside ; they differ with the varied final finish of the façades .
while the main segment of the building is made of concrete , the surface was made using panels of planks ; the part where the office is , is whitewashed , and the remaining elements remained pure concrete with no further modifications .
many walls of the house are completely glazed , thanks to which the interior of the house is strongly connected with the exterior .
the parents ’ household , more precisely the kitchen , dining room and living room , is surrounded by a small garden with tree , which has great significance for the family .
the connection of the interior with the exterior is highlighted with a side wall which starts in the garden and continues all the way to the living room .
the kitchen space in the young couple ’ s household .
the young couple enter the house by the main entrance to the hall and from there they go up the stairs to their space .
the stairs are actually a dominant feature of the interior of the house .
their construction allows plenty of natural light to fall through them in cascades .
this is how the architects tried to differentiate the house from others and impart something unique to it .
the household of the young couple is treated as a single open space with a kitchen section , dining room and living room together .
it is separated from the terrace by a glass wall with sliding doors .
the living zone with the dining room and kitchen section in the household of the young couple .
the second floor is composed as one large , open space , which freely goes to the terrace , from which there is a lovely view of tokyo bay .
the separate office on the top floor is designed in a clean combination of white and black .
the staircase is a dominant feature of the house ’ s interior .
the young couple enter the house by the main entrance , find themselves in the entrance hall , and from there climb up the stairs .
defend academic freedom , it applies to zeman and the ods .
in recent months , through open letters , i have repeatedly urged students , educators and heads of secondary schools and universities in several regions to defend academic freedom against the election campaign carried out at schools by president miloš zeman .
i met with varying degrees of success .
in return , the rector of masaryk university in brno , who declined a lecture from the honorary chairman of spoz – zeman ’ s people in the pre-election period , was not invited to the celebration of the national day of the czech republic .
here is a list of school representatives who were not so brave and allowed miloš zeman to visit : brno university of technology , hladnov grammar school in ostrava , business school ostrava , kolín business academy , jan evangelista purkyně university in ústí nad labem .
now in pardubice we are encountering the continuation of promoting the policy at universities .
the newly elected ods mp , dean of the faculty of electrical engineering and computer science at the university of pardubice , simeon karamazov , is refusing to step down from his academic post and he thinks this is normal .
professor karamazov , it really is not the same thing as you were staying , for example , in the post of mayor of a small town .
do you want to join the ranks of čssd governors who are holding the posts of mp and governor at the same time and just like them degrade both occupations ?
in this way you are telling people that handling both these challenging posts is a piece of cake .
i know , we have the example of michal hašek here , who can actually handle several dozen posts at once .
that is not exactly the example of a person you should follow , however .
we can also find a contrasting and positive example of doctor štěpánka fraňková , who preferred to leave her post as mp so she could devote herself fully to leading the city of pardubice .
the main reason for my recommendation to leave the post of dean , however , is that holding the concurrent posts , you are breaching the apolitical nature of the academic environment of the university of pardubice .
the leadership of the pardubice ods see your current work in both posts as an advantage for the university .
however , you will be able to help " your " school even without remaining dean .
i think your students will also have a similar opinion as i have and rector miroslav ludwig .
consider your resignation therefore again , and save face .
otherwise it may happen that your days will be numbered in the next election .
and it might not take that long .
cabbage bubbling in kunovice , with no chemicals being added
slovácká fruta kunovice , which is a part of the food processing group hamé , wants to produce over one thousand tonnes of sauerkraut in the following months .
the season began here in october and will last for around six months .
they have been making healthy snacks here since 1925 , still using the traditional method of treading directly in large tanks .
in the modern industrial age it is a rarity .
our staff tread a route of almost ten kilometres per shift .
in each of the ten tanks you can fit fifteen to thirty tonnes of cabbage , filling one takes three shifts , " says director of the slovácká fruta factory david kladroba .
the cabbage is brought to the factory directly from the company 's fields by farmers mainly from ostrožsko and břeclavsko regions .
fruta staff then clean the vegetables , remove the stalks and throw them into the cutting machine .
from there , the cut cabbage falls into six-metre deep pools , in which our treaders work tirelessly , dressed in white clothes and boots .
this displaces the unwanted air .
the last trodden layer of cabbage is covered with a tarpaulin and weighed down with water .
" the cut cabbage is then matured for six to eight weeks undergoing spontaneous lactic fermentation with no added substances to support the fermentation , " emphasises kladroba .
the natural process matches production process at home , with staff sprinkling salt and caraway seeds on the individual layers .
after fermentation , the cabbage goes to the filling line .
it is packaged in a sweet and sour pickling liquid in bags or jars and undergoes sterilisation .
hamé group supplies sauerkraut mainly to the domestic and slovak markets .
there is also interest registered in several other countries , such as the united kingdom , ireland and canada .
snowden ready to " cooperate " with germany over us surveillance
edward snowden , the us intelligence whistleblower , has declared that he is willing to travel to berlin to give evidence to the german parliament if the us national security agency and its director keith alexander fail to provide answers about its activities .
german mp hans-christian ströbele on thursday met mr snowden in russia , where he has been granted asylum , to discuss him testifying in germany .
a letter from mr snowden , presented to the media in berlin on friday by the mp , said : " though the outcome of my efforts has been demonstrably positive , my government continues to treat dissent as defection , and seeks to criminalise political speech with felony charges that provide no defence . "
however , speaking the truth is not a crime .
in the letter , mr snowden said he believed the support of the international community could persuade the us government to abandon criminal charges against him .
the charges filed by the us justice department include espionage and theft of government property .
hans-peter friedrich , german interior minister , told zeit online : " if mr snowden is ready to speak to german officials , we will find ways to make this possible . "
relations between the us and germany have come under strain following claims that the nsa bugged chancellor angela 's merkel 's phone .
thomas oppermann , the mp who heads the parliamentary panel that oversees intelligence , said that if there were an opportunity to hear mr snowden as a witness " without bringing him into danger and completely ruining relations with the us , " it should be taken .
mr ströbele , an mp for germany 's green party , published a picture of himself with mr snowden on his twitter feed .
he was accompanied on his visit to russia by two german journalists .
mr ströbele said that , according to the former nsa contractor 's lawyer , mr snowden would not be able to return to russia if he left .
if mr snowden testified in germany he would need assurances that he would be " safe " there , the mp said .
mr snowden said in his letter that he had faced a " severe and sustained " campaign of persecution that forced him from his home .
however he said that he was heartened by the worldwide response to " my act of political expression . "
citizens around the world as well as high officials - including in the united states - have judged the revelation of an unaccountable system of pervasive surveillance to be a public service .
the letter extends an offer to cooperate with german authorities " when the difficulties of this humanitarian situation have been resolved . "
we are sorry about the killing , but we are innocent , say representatives of khmer rouge
nuon chea was number two in the hierarchy of the khmer rouge and khieu samphan is the former head of state .
during the government of the khmer rouge , which in the years from 1975 to 1979 was based on a mixture of maoism and nationalism , more than three million cambodians lost their lives as a result of exhaustion , hunger , disease , torture and executions , at least a quarter of the population at the time .
the international criminal tribunal for cambodia sentenced this commander of the notorious s-21 prison to life in 2010 .
nuon chea and khieu samphan are accused of genocide and crimes against humanity , including torture , enslavement and murder .
nuon chea and khieu samphan claimed that they believed they were acting in the best interest of the nation and they had no idea what the real extent of the killing was .
" it ’ s easy to say that i should have known everything , understood everything and intervened and fixed the situation , " said khieu samphan on thursday before the court .
do you really think i wanted this to happen to my people ?
the fact is that i had no power , " he added .
nuon chea said that he never ordered khmer rouge cadres to " mistreat or kill people , to deny them food or commit genocide . "
he did , however , admit " moral responsibility " for the dead .
" i would like to sincerely apologise to the public , the victims , their families , all the cambodian people , " he said .
fifty-five year old bin sivla , who lost eleven relatives in the khmer rouge regime , told the afp that she cannot accept nuon chea ’ s apology . "
" he lied to us . "
" he just wants to be acquitted . "
" he doesn ’ t care about others , " she declared .
" if he hadn ’ t issued orders , his subordinates would not have killed , " she added , saying that the leaders of khmer rouge are " worse than monsters . "
the " foreign minister " of the khmer rouge , ieng sary , was to have stood before the court too , but he died this march .
his wife ieng thirith , then minister of social affairs , was found unfit to stand trial due to dementia by the court in september 2012 .
the leader of the khmer rouge , pol pot , died in 1998 .
frontier airlines to charge for carry-on baggage
frontier airlines plans to charge up to $ 100 for passengers to store carry-on luggage on board their flight .
frontier airlines plans to start charging up to $ 100 for a carry-on bag and $ 2 for coffee or soda , although its announcement on wednesday did say that passengers will get to keep the whole can .
the new carry-on fee is for bags in the overhead bin , so small bags under the seat will still be free .
frontier said it will charge $ 25 if the fee is paid in advance , $ 100 if travelers wait to pay until they 're at the gate .
frontier spokeswoman kate o 'malley said the $ 100 fee is to get travelers to take care of the charge in advance .
" we don 't want to charge that , " she said .
airlines began charging for the first and second checked bags in 2008 .
passengers trying to avoid those fees have been stuffing as much as they can into carry-on baggage stashed in overhead bins , meaning those bins often run out of space .
fees are one way to get passengers to bring less on board .
o 'malley said the new charge is not really about raising money .
it 's about frontier 's most loyal customers making it very clear that finding overhead bin space has become increasingly difficult .
passengers who buy their tickets on the airline 's website won 't have to pay .
that means one passenger in line at a frontier gate might get to bring a bag on for free , while the next person in line might owe $ 100 for a similar bag .
o 'malley said frontier 's website and check-in procedures are being changed to make sure passengers know about the fee before they get to the gate .
frontier 's new carry-on fee won 't start until summer , though a date hasn 't been set .
passengers often grumble about baggage charges and other fees , but airlines love them .
they argue that luggage costs money to handle , and passengers who want the service should pay for it .
many on wall street view the addition of baggage fees as a sign that airlines are charging enough money to cover the cost of air travel after years of losses .
most haven 't touched carry-on bag fees , though .
spirit airlines inc. started the first carry-on fee three years ago , and fellow discounter allegiant air later followed .
the only other airline with such a fee is hungary 's wizz air , said airline consultant jay sorensen , who closely tracks add-on fees .
he estimated in a december 2011 report that spirit 's carry-on fee brings in $ 50 million a year .
sorensen , a former executive with midwest airlines , flew spirit recently and wondered what he 'd find at the gate as passengers encountered spirit 's unusual carry-on bag fee .
" the boarding process was the smoothest i had seen in my airline career , " he said .
i was expecting to see gnashing of teeth and a fight breaking out at the gate .
the plane was full , he said , " and it boarded lickety-split . "
frontier is also following spirit 's $ 2 charge for coffee , tea , soda , or juice .
frontier said passengers who get soda or juice can keep the whole can , and it will give coffee refills for free .
it will still give away water .
us airways briefly tried charging for beverages in 2008 but backed down seven months later after passengers complained and no other major airline followed .
frontier 's move to charge the carry-on fee if passengers don 't buy direct from the airline is its latest effort to steer customers toward its own website .
airlines pay online travel sellers such as orbitz $ 10 to $ 25 for each ticket sold .
that has given all airlines an incentive to steer passengers to buy directly from them instead of going through an online travel agency .
frontier has gone the furthest in this area , though .
in september it began giving half as many frequent flier miles to customers who bought through an online travel agency .
on wednesday it slashed the mileage award to 25 percent of the miles of the trip .
so , a 1,000 mile frontier trip purchased from an online travel agency would earn 250 miles .
it also allows passengers to choose their seat in advance only if they buy directly from the frontier website .
frontier has a loyal base of customers in its home city of denver , but its business is shrinking and losing money .
revenue dropped 9 percent and its flying capacity shrank almost 13 percent in the first quarter , according to financial results released wednesday by corporate parent republic airways holdings inc .
republic has been trying to fix frontier 's finances as part of selling the airline .
nsa blames " internal error , " not hackers , for website crash
the shadowy national security agency said late friday that it was a glitch that brought down its public website for a few hours , not hackers as some claimed online .
" nsa.gov was not accessible for several hours tonight because of an internal error that occurred during a scheduled update , " the spy agency said in an emailed statement .
the issue will be resolved this evening .
claims that the outage was caused by a distributed denial of service [ ddos ] attack are not true .
earlier this evening online server trackers noted the nsa 's website had been down for at least six hours , and the site continues to be inaccessible for some users .
earlier an nsa spokesperson told abc news the agency 's internal , sensitive network was " not at all " compromised .
no classified information is in danger , the spokesperson said .
at least one hacktivist group online claimed that they were responsible for bringing down the nsa site with a ddos attack .
ddos attacks are designed to flood a target website with traffic until the servers are overloaded and the site collapses .
the cyber tactic is a relatively unsophisticated one and the attacks are not meant to penetrate the internal network of the target system .
the formerly super secretive nsa , once nicknamed no such agency , has found itself in very public light , and amid vicious criticism , in past months following a stream of revelations about is vast foreign and domestic surveillance programs - collectively the product of secret nsa files stolen from the agency and leaked by disenchanted former nsa contractor edward snowden .
such growing controversy surrounding the agency prompted early speculation that tonight 's incident was the result of a targeted cyber operation .
bombardier profit dips as plane deliveries , orders fall
canadian plane and train maker bombardier inc reported a 15 percent fall in net profit on thursday , pressured by fewer aircraft orders and deliveries in the third quarter and contract issues in its train unit .
montreal-based bombardier also did not release any flight test data for its brand-new cseries aircraft or offer an update on whether the plane will meet its ambitious schedule of going into commercial service by next september .
after the test plane 's inaugural flight about a month and a half ago , it has only flown three more times , raising questions over whether the testing phase is on track .
results fell short of forecasts and sent shares sliding more than 8 percent on the toronto stock exchange .
cameron doerksen , an analyst with national bank financial , lowered his rating to " sector perform " from " outperform " on thursday with the view that the stock has limited upside over the next one or two quarters .
" while the weaker aircraft deliveries were mostly anticipated , we are clearly disappointed by the margin performance in transportation , " doerksen said in a client note .
we believe that bombardier will receive new orders for the cseries as the flight test program progresses .
however , if no new orders are announced in the coming months , we suspect that the market will become more skeptical of the program .
bombardier hopes the cseries aircraft family can catapult it into the low end of a market now dominated by boeing and airbus .
the first test plane was unveiled in march and took flight for the first time in september after months of delays .
but firm orders for the cseries are moderate so far at 177 as potential buyers wait for flight test results to validate the company 's claims about the new jetliner 's fuel efficiency and cost savings potential .
there are currently 403 total orders and commitments with 15 customers and operators .
chief executive officer pierre beaudoin was confident bombardier would meet its 300 firm order target by the time the first jet is put into commercial use .
executives also reassured analysts and media on thursday the program was progressing according to schedule .
" the test plane didn 't stay on the ground longer than anticipated , " beaudoin said in a conference call , adding that ground tests and software updates were scheduled during the plane 's downtime .
every manufacturer schedules it in a different way .
we had decided to do a first flight and to do an update period and that 's what we have done .
that will happen all through the flight program .
the second of five test planes is expected to take flight in the coming weeks , with the remainder following shortly after , the company said .
still , analysts are skeptical the first customer can begin operating a cseries plane 12 months after its maiden flight .
bombardier said it was evaluating the entry-into-service ( eis ) schedule and will provide an update in the next few months .
" this slow pace of flight testing - although in line with bombardier 's internal schedule apparently - reinforces our view that entry-into-service will be pushed to q1 / 15 , " said doerksen .
for the third quarter ended september 30 , bombardier 's net profit fell to $ 147 million , or 8 cents per share , from $ 172 million , or 9 cents per share a year earlier .
adjusted earnings per share were unchanged at 9 cents .
revenue dipped marginally to $ 4.1 billion from $ 4.2 billion .
analysts had expected earnings of 10 cents per share and revenue of $ 4.56 billion , according to thomson reuters i / b / e / s.
the world 's fourth-largest planemaker said it delivered 45 aircraft during the quarter , down from 57 a year earlier .
net orders fell to 26 aircraft , from 83 .
the backlog in the aerospace division was $ 32.9 billion as of september 30 , unchanged from december 31 .
" in aerospace , results were in line with our guidance , but the low order intake and overall market conditions were a disappointment , " beaudoin said .
aerospace revenue fell 13 percent to $ 2 billion .
bombardier , the world 's largest trainmaker , said revenue in that division rose nearly 11 percent to $ 2.1 billion .
the order backlog in the transportation unit was $ 32.6 billion as of september 30 , up marginally from december 31 .
the transportation division 's margins were affected by execution issues in a few large contracts .
executives said new guidance would be provided in the fourth quarter .
shares of bombardier , which also announced that google inc chief financial officer patrick pichette would join the board , were down 8.5 percent at c $ 4.83 in mid afternoon trading on thursday .
brazil 's embraer sa , the world 's third-largest commercial planemaker and bombardier 's closest rival , reported a 10 percent fall in quarterly profit on thursday .
cocaine-addict lawyer who tipped off mr big about police investigation is jailed
basharat ditta , 42 , would feed information to crime lord neil scarbrough
the solicitor feared his secret drug addiction would be exposed
was given a three-year prison sentence at liverpool crown court
a top defence lawyer who told a drugs mr big about a major police investigation , because he feared his secret drug addiction would be exposed , has been jailed for three years .
basharat ditta , 42 , would feed sensitive intelligence to crime lord neil scarbrough about inquiries into his drug trafficking activities after he became compromised by his cocaine habit .
the solicitor , who was nicknamed " bash " and hailed by criminals as a " top brief , " was arrested at his home in 2011 following a police surveillance operation into scarborough , who he had represented in a previous narcotics trial .
officers spotted sarborough , 32 , dropping off three bags of cocaine at the lawyer 's home in blackburn , lancashire , while he was out at a law society dinner with colleagues .
inquiries revealed ditta was a " regular user " of the class a drug after tests found traces of cocaine in his hair , on his wallet and on his credit cards .
over an eight month period between january and august 2011 he sought to illicitly obtain information on the arrests of two men on behalf of scarborough as well as one of his associates .
all four suspects were being watched by police at the time as part of a major investigation into a heroin and cocaine racket operating across lancashire , cumbria , merseyside , berkshire and west yorkshire .
they and 32 other men were later jailed after police seized heroin and cocaine worth £ 1.5million along with more than £ 200,000 in cash during a series of raids .
ditta , 42 , fed information to criminals because of fears his cocaine addiction would be exposed
today at liverpool crown court ditta , who works at law firm forbes solicitors , based in blackburn , was facing disgrace after being found guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice following a three week trial at liverpool crown court .
he admitted cocaine possession at an earlier hearing .
the lawyer 's downfall came after police investigating scarborough discovered he had been in regular phone contact with ditta in february 2011 .
two detectives trailed the suspect and spotted him arriving at ditta 's house in and was seen to place the drugs which had a purity of 60 per cent under the lawyer 's bins in a black golf glove .
soon after the drop off , scarborough was in regular phone contact with ditta who had been out at the dinner at the blackburn rovers football stadium , ewood park .
the lawyer returned home to discover the drugs and there were nine communications between them .
the court heard ditta was a " regular user " of cocaine after tests found traces of the class a drug in his hair , wallet and on his credit cards
ditta was arrested later but denied using cocaine and and said he had been speaking to the suspected dealer because he was his client and argued their discussions were subject to " legal privilege . "
during his arrest ditta picked up his wallet and tried to remove several credit cards but they were all seized and a hair sample was taken fom him .
in a police interview he said he ran an office at his home address as well as work place and clients would call at his house on legal business .
but the court heard he would call major players in the drugs supply chain , some of whom he had previously represented , after key arrests to tell them what detectives knew about them .
prosecuting , anne whyte said : " if anyone should know not to the break the law , it is a criminal solicitor . "
mr ditta is accused of abusing his position as a criminal solicitor , having become too involved with specific clients .
the relationship we are talking about is not simply a drug dealer , but a drug dealer providing his own lawyer with drugs .
some of his communications will undoubtedly have been legitimate ones because he was their lawyer .
but this went way beyond the ordinary confines of a lawyer-client relationship .
he thwarted the police 's investigation as much as possible to enable them to continue in their criminal activities .
mr ditta was not honouring his profession , but dishonouring it .
he got too close to certain clients , in particular scarborough , and he allowed his independence to be compromised .
ditta denied wrongdoing and claimed : " if i was a corrupt lawyer , which i am not , and i wanted to feed information to mr scarborough , i would not wait 15 hours , i would do it immediately . "
but after the hearing supt lee halstead from lancashire police said : " mr ditta turned from criminal solicitor to a criminal himself the moment he started obtaining drugs from organised criminals . "
his addiction to cocaine left him hopelessly compromised and vulnerable to the motives of leading members of organised crime groups who tasked him to obtain valuable information regarding police investigations .
solicitors should uphold the highest standards of integrity and should instil trust and confidence in the public .
mr ditta has betrayed this trust and attempted to hide behind the veneer of his profession .
lancashire 's serious and organised crime unit led the investigation into mr ditta which has also seen him convicted of three counts of possession of cocaine and now perverting the course of justice , demonstrating our commitment to bringing criminals to justice .
let this case serve as a warning to criminals that no one is beyond the reach of the law .
we will find you and put you before the courts .
scarborough himself was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin , cocaine and cannabis .
thirty five other men involved in the racket were jailed for a total of 153 years for drugs offences .
on his website ditta gave a question and answer session about himself in which he says his fantasy job would be a lawyer representing clients on death row in america , his ultimate dinner guest as being mohammed ali and inequality as his motivation for work .
he held talks about the government with klaus and špidla .
now the christian democrats have sent jan kasal against babiš .
the christian democrats won fourteen seats in the elections , only a third of the number of social democrats or ano representatives .
but they will enter negotiations concerning government with at least one advantage .
in the team , which has already started to guess the outlines of a possible coalition , they have jan kasal , a man who harmonised conditions for the christian democrats ’ participation in the government in 1992 , 1996 , 2002 and 2006 .
neither the social democrats nor andrej babiš have a matador like him on their side .
this time it will probably be like the first negotiations in 1992 , when ods was also a brand new party .
" we had minimal experience at the time , " reckons kasal , as to how this year ’ s talks will develop .
kenyan press outraged at controversial media law
" it is a frightening place , and it is valid to ask : what is there to prevent parliament from simply sweeping away the independence of the judiciary tomorrow ? " the paper said , challenging the bill as unconstitutional .
" this law is draconian and very punitive and we reject it , " said cyrus kamau , managing director for capital group - home to capitalfm , one of kenya 's most respected independent radio stations and news websites .
he said the new media tribunal " will always be biased because it 's an extension of the government , " and that restrictions on content and advertising would damage kenya 's place in the global economy .
" i hope the president will listen to us , and we appeal to him to reject this bill and return it to the mps , " he said .
according to the star newspaper , the new bill will effectively hand the government " a stranglehold over the media , " while the standard said democracy and free speech in kenya had been " dealt a major blow " and lambasted the bill as " draconian . "
the passing of the bill comes amid a string of measures to reinforce national security in the wake of the september 's attack by islamist gunmen on the westgate shopping mall .
kenya media drew the ire of authorities by broadcasting security camera footage of troops who were dispatched to the scene of the attack purportedly robbing the upmarket mall .
police chief david kimaiyo reacted by summoning two journalists and a media executive for questioning , although the summons was retracted following a media outcry .
under the new bill , media houses can be fined up to 20 million kenyan shillings and individual journalists up to one million with the additional risk of being " de-listed , " or barred from receiving official press accreditation .
the tribunal also has the power to seize the property of an offender if a fine is not paid .
according to the daily nation , " even one fine is enough to cripple most fm stations . "
it also said the measures could have a devastating effect on what it described as kenya 's " lively blogosphere . "
by silencing the media , politicians know they can do whatever they like with impunity .
" no one will ever know , " wrote nation journalist mutuma mathiu , describing the kenyan media as a key source of checks and balances in public life .
" left to themselves , politicians would bankrupt the country and take us back to hunting and gathering , " he wrote .
kenyan lawmakers have been the target of public anger in the past .
in may they voted to overturn cuts ordered by the national salaries commission and reinstate their hefty salaries of around 532,000 shillings a month tax-free - ranked among the highest in the world .
young czechs know they must save .
but most of them , do not know what is the interest
more and more czechs are putting money aside .
despite this , they will not reach the champion savings level in the region .
the most money is put aside by austrians who save on average 181 euros a month .
people in slovakia save a little more than the czechs .
this is according to a survey carried out by the erste group savings barometer in the countries of central and eastern europe .
it also showed that the mood of savers is improving and two thirds of those questioned plan to put more money aside .
while czechs are roughly in the middle of the table of savers , in romania and serbia people still use only very few savings products .
for example , according to the survey every other serb saves money at home " under the pillow . "
in this country the number of people who save a higher amount each month has risen this year , .
only last year 26 per cent of respondents put aside between 1,000 and 2,500 crowns each month in various types of saving accounts , ; this year it is 5 per cent more .
however the average monthly deposit in the year-on-year comparison fell slightly to 2078 crowns .
the biggest hit amongst saving products is the pension plan .
some 54 per cent of czechs prefer this , whereas three years ago it was the favourite method for the appreciation of savings for only 36 per cent of people .
in contrast , the popularity of the building savings is decreasing in popularity and compared with last year the interest in investment funds has also fallen significantly .
these are now used by only 16 per cent of respondents , whereas last year it was almost a quarter of people .
the survey also showed that although people consider saving money to be important , the majority of them do not know what the yield is on individual products .
primarily young people up to the age of 30 do not know what interest is paid on their money .
in contrast , the best knowledge of the yield on the money they save has the group of older respondents – 76 per cent of respondents aged over 50 know that .
in the international comparison by erste group , czechs lead in use of online banking , which is used regularly by 44 per cent of people .
they are followed by slovaks and austrians with 12 per cent less .
un hails new goals to tackle poverty
the united nations is to start work immediately on a new set of goals to replace the millennium development goals , which were put place 12 years ago to tackle global poverty .
australian diplomats played a key role in pushing for " sustainable development goals " to replace the mdgs , which expire in 2015 , ahead of the un sustainable development summit that began in rio de janeiro overnight .
they were included in the final draft of the document , which will be endorsed by world leaders including ms gillard during the summit .
un secretary-general ban ki-moon told the summit overnight that now is the time to " rise above national interests . "
" i am pleased that member states have agreed to launch and take ownership of a process to establish universal sustainable development goals - sdgs , " he said .
these sdgs will build on our advances under the millennium development goals , and they will be an integral part of the post-2015 development framework .
i will spare no effort to implement the mandate given to me by member states to realise our vision of sustainable development goals that build on the success of the mdgs .
mozambique security concerns mount as powerful personalities clash
with a statue of samora machel , mozambique 's founding president , staring down on them , thousands of people gathered in central maputo to chant peace slogans in a rare public demonstration .
" we want peace back ; we want stability , " said vanessa de sousa , chief executive of an investment company .
fearful about the future of her country , she swapped her corporate attire for a t-shirt emblazoned with " we demand security " in portuguese as she joined the crowds in the capital 's independence square on thursday .
for two weeks , there have been almost daily reports of clashes between government forces and renamo , some of the worst skirmishes since a peace deal more than 20 years ago .
renamo was once a notorious rebel movement , initially backed by white-ruled rhodesia and then south africa 's apartheid government as part of efforts to destabilise the country 's independent government .
after a 1992 peace deal , it became an opposition party .
analysts believe the country is unlikely to slide back into full-blown conflict , but recent events have unnerved foreign investors and locals .
the stakes are high for the fast-growing economy as the discovery of huge offshore gas reserves and coal deposits in the northwest could bring in more than $ 50bn of investment over the next few next years from companies including rio tinto , vale of brazil , eni of italy and anadarko of the us .
the ruling frelimo party , the dominant political force since 1975 , and renamo blame each other for the tension .
renamo says the government initiated the latest clashes by launching an attack on its members in sofala province , traditionally a renamo stronghold , on october 17 .
assaults on the former rebels then escalated as government forces attacked renamo bases and attempted to kill afonso dhlakama , the group 's leader , fernando mazanga , renamo 's spokesman , told the financial times .
the government blames renamo for triggering the clashes , accusing it of attacking soldiers .
president armando guebuza has sought to play down concerns about instability .
mr guebuza told afp , the french news agency , on wednesday that mr dhlakama saw himself as a " loser " who wanted to use " whatever remains of his forces to try to prove that he can impose on the government his own decisions . "
both frelimo and renamo insist they want to avoid war .
but concerns have grown after mr mazanga was quoted as saying renamo was abandoning the 1992 peace accord .
he told the ft that he meant the agreement was no longer being respected by frelimo .
" our vision is to come back to negotiations , but with seriousness , " mr mazanga said .
previous talks between the parties have done little to ease tensions fuelled by a series of clashes this year .
" it 's two big men ( guebuza and dhlakama ) butting heads together , " said joseph hanlon , a lecturer at the open university and mozambique expert .
neither of them are good negotiators and neither of them are prepared to make the kind of concessions that are necessary .
renamo , which has been pushing for electoral reforms , had already said that it would boycott municipal elections due in november .
presidential and parliamentary polls are scheduled for next year .
some commentators have interpreted its use of force as the attempt of an ailing movement to win concessions and financial spoils from the government .
renamo 's share of the vote has been declining since 1992 , while a newer party , the democratic movement of mozambique ( mdm ) which was formed by a former renamo member , is expected to improve its showing at the elections .
mr mazanga says mr guebuza - who is due to step down when his second term ends next year - wants to destroy the country 's democracy .
" he does not want multi-party democracy , he does not want transparent elections he does not want peace because he does not want to leave the presidency , " mr mazanga said .
it is unclear how much capacity renamo has , but it has carried out disruptive hit-and-run attacks on police stations and vehicles on a key north-south highway .
most of the skirmishes have taken place in sofala province , which is several hundred kilometres north of maputo , but hosts beira , the port that miners , including rio tinto and vale , rely on to export coal .
in june , rio suspended its use of the railway for about a week after renamo threatened to attack the line .
mr mazanga was coy when asked about whether renamo would repeat this threat .
renamo wanted to " warn the international community that things were not going well in mozambique , " mr mazanga said .
the instability has added to frustrations with the government , says fernando lima , head of mediacoop , an independent media company , with many people also concerned about corruption , the slow pace of development and a recent spate of kidnappings .
" people think the ones responsible for the future of the country are the government and the president , and he should be the one to find solutions for the problems , " he says .
omar sultuane , a demonstrator , said people just wanted stability .
" no one cares about renamo and frelimo , they just want peace again , they want free access to the roads , " he said .
children should be taught myths and legends as " models for a way of life " , author says .
tales of thor could show " brute strength is no match for subtle trickery , " while the arthurian legends reveal the importance of having a dream .
saying many of the myths would be " far too wild , far too scandalous and in some cases far too filthy to be taught in schools , " crossley-holland advocated a " careful selection " of age-appropriate works .
" i find it wonderful that in america , myth and folklore already has a part in education , " he said .
i have been advocating it as a plan for twenty years .
he added authors and teachers being " overtly didactic " is a " total switch-off " for children , with messages being " subliminated " in enjoyable stories .
crossley-holland , who has translated beowulf from anglo-saxon as well as writing the penguin book of norse myths and british folk tales , said : " you may well have intentions but you do better to keep them well out of sight . "
perhaps the big difference between an adult author writing for an adult and an adult author writing for a child is the necessity for some sense of hope .
not that everything has to be simplified or come to a happy ending , but that there is an innate sense of good and evil .
and that must be subliminated ; revealed through a story rather than stated .
the old basis of showing not telling .
brno observatory will take visitors into space in a new digitarium
at first glance it is clear that the hall of the large planetarium has changed in the last six months .
there is a new stage , visitors can sink into the new , comfortable seats and above their heads a projection area 17 metres in diameter has been added in the shape of a dome by the american company spitz .
in the middle of the hall is the most important part , the new projector from japan .
for perfect image , further smaller projectors are scattered about the hall .
another important part of the whole facility is hidden behind the walls of the hall .
" there are twenty-one computers which generate image , " said the director of the brno observatory , jiří dušek .
the computers ensure the image from several projectors does not overlap but gives a coherent impression .
" the computers are thirty to forty times more powerful than the classic pcs , " said tomáš hladík , the observatory technician .
the digitarium can conjure up an extremely realistic and three-dimensional model of the night sky , the human body or the bottom of the ocean .
viewers therefore feel to be right in the middle of space or a human brain .
the nearest similar facility is in warsaw and hamburg .
the observatory management plans to screen programmes it has bought and also its own work .
from saturday , there are two shows on the programme .
the first is called astronaut and is aimed at adults .
people will learn about training of cosmonauts , fly to space , spin on a centrifuge , and then see graphic examples of the challenging conditions that astronauts face in space .
the second programme is for children and is called kaluoka ’ hina – the enchanted reef .
it tells the story of a reef whose brightly coloured inhabitants lived a quiet life until a nearby volcano exploded .
the whole digitarium cost around fifty million crowns , which was mostly paid for by the ministry of education .
smaller amounts were contributed by the city of brno and the observatory from their budget .
the projection area cost ten million crowns and the projector twelve million .
the rest was swallowed up by the audio visual equipment and the computers , " explains dušek .
the installation of the digitarium followed the reconstruction of the whole building , which the observatory underwent two years ago .
according to the director dušek , 25,000 to 30,000 visitors could come by the end of the year .
we have studied 11,000 ads !
we know where they want you to work !
in november last year , analysis captured over 11,000 ads offering jobs , of which 4,300 were published in newspapers and 6,800 ( 62 per cent ) were on the internet .
the internet is thus becoming one of the most important media for publishing job offers .
back in 2005 , when the survey was conducted for the first time , it had a share of 26 per cent .
in the last two surveys ( 2007 and 2010 ) , it stabilised at around 60 per cent .
the advertising of job offers in itself according to the analysis reflects the current situation on the labour market to a considerable extent .
an example might be the simple comparison of the number of ads published in a period of economic prosperity and in a period of economic crisis .
for instance , in 2007 , in the same period monitored , almost 25,900 ads were published ; in 2012 , it was less than half .
job offers on the internet are aimed at a narrower , notably more qualified group of professions .
in comparison , job offers in the newspapers cover a broader spectrum of jobs , including blue collar ones , said the author of the analysis , pavlína šťastnová .
the level of representation for selected professional groups is varied in both media .
on the internet , the leading positions were taken by ads looking for managers and executives , sales representatives , programmers and financial experts .
the positions of programmers and managers of small businesses only appeared on the internet .
in newspapers , the share of these professional jobs was significantly lower ; in contrast high representation includes service and blue collar jobs in particular .
among the most frequently mentioned requirements the employers expressed via their ads is , of course , education .
other areas covered included knowledge of foreign languages , in particular english .
in newspapers , the requirement for knowledge of a foreign language was given in three per cent of ads , on the internet it was 37 per cent .
only in two per cent of ads did employers request an active knowledge of two foreign languages .
demands for " computer literacy " appeared in 40 per cent of ads ( in the newspapers in 11 per cent , on the internet in 57 per cent ) .
experience in the industry was required in 54 per cent of ads .
requirements for experience are largely linked to the qualified professions .
they refer particularly to production managers and other executives .
in blue-collar professions , it refers in particular to mechanics and repair jobs or manufacturers and processors of food products and people who repair electronics , added the author of the study jiří tillner .
in half of their ads , employers also list requirements for qualities and skills of potential applicants .
communication skills have long appeared in first place as the most commonly required skills in ads .
employers also require flexibility , adaptability and dynamism , independence , responsibility , organisational skills and reliability .
ben greenman : the tenth anniversary of the new york comedy festival : the new yorker
one could argue that new york city is the birthplace of standup comedy in america : nearly a hundred years ago , the vaudevillian frank fay , who served as the master of ceremonies at the palace theatre , on broadway , started telling jokes directly to the crowd , in a conversational manner .
fay 's innovation has been extended through the years , most recently by the new york comedy festival .
created and overseen by caroline hirsch , the founder of the standup institution carolines , the festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this year , with more than sixty shows at small clubs and large theatres .
" most of these headliners appeared at carolines , and went on to greater success , to the point where they 're too big to play a club , " hirsch said .
we built this festival as a way of continuing to work with them .
this year 's event includes appearances by wanda sykes , kathy griffin , and bill maher , as well as " stand up for heroes , " an annual music-and-comedy benefit for military veterans , at madison square garden , featuring , among others , bruce springsteen , jon stewart , roger waters , and bill cosby .
as the festival has expanded , so has the world of comedy .
several of the comedians participating in this year 's festival came up through nontraditional channels , such as shows on smaller networks , like comedy central , fx , and spike .
nick kroll rose to prominence on a deep-cable sitcom ( fxx 's gleefully raunchy fantasy-football-themed " the league " ) and now has his own comedy central sketch show .
jenny slate has been a cast member on both " saturday night live " and " parks and recreation , " though she is best known for her viral video series " marcel the shell with shoes on . "
both kroll and slate , as well as other young comedians with distinctive voices ( the surreally pessimistic anthony jeselnik , the wry , racially focussed w. kamau bell ) , are products of the decentralized world of american comedy .
one of the festival 's biggest draws will be an interview : david steinberg talking to larry david .
steinberg started as a standup comedian but has become an accomplished television and film director , as well as an unofficial comedy historian .
from 2005 to 2007 , he hosted a show on tv land called " sit down comedy with david steinberg . "
the meeting takes place at town hall , in the center of manhattan .
" the city is definitely in the comedy dna of all of larry 's work , " steinberg said .
he was telling me that , when he 's here , sometimes he 'll walk down an alley between two buildings and think to himself , hey , if i lose all my money , maybe i 'll live here .
oil extends drop toward $ 96 a barrel
the price of oil continued to fall on friday as concerns over high supplies offset a report showing china 's power-hungry manufacturing sector is strengthening .
benchmark u.s. crude for december delivery was down 14 cents at $ 96.24 a barrel by late morning in europe in electronic trading on the new york mercantile exchange .
the contract fell 39 cents on thursday , leaving it down 5.8 percent for the month of october .
ample supplies of crude have weighed on the price in recent weeks .
the energy department said wednesday that u.s. supplies increased 4.1 million barrels last week .
over five weeks , supplies have risen by more than 25 million barrels .
but a suggestion of stronger demand came friday from two reports on chinese manufacturing that showed an uptick in activity .
that suggests china 's economic recovery could continue to strengthen after growth rebounded to 7.8 percent in the third quarter from a two-decade low in the previous quarter .
brent crude , a benchmark for international crude also used by u.s. refineries , fell 26 cents to $ 108.58 a barrel on the ice exchange in london .
this is not the way , mr hašek .
we have a unique opportunity to tell politicians that this is not the way .
we need to develop the kind of pressure so that martin hašek is stripped of all his political posts and leaves the parliamentary mandate .
any other solution will reduce the level of political culture , which is already so negligible .
martin hašek is shielded by the promise he made , but everyone and especially a politician must be aware of the consequences of that promise and consider deeply what can be promised .
trust is the only capital a politician has ( mr babiš also has the tangible property , but the question here is whether he is a politician ) .
however good is the programme promoted by a liar , it is not trustworthy .
in politics you do not apologise , in politics you step down .
mr hašek , if you mean well with this country ( and your frequent declarations confirm this for me , that is if you weren ’ t lying – you can see here how complicated it is with lying ) , then leave the politics yourself , like a man .
people will then accept your apology as the expression of a man who made a mistake and is taking responsibility for it .
otherwise you will be viewed as a spineless wimp whose words and actions cannot be trusted .
either you want to be a proud albeit flawed man , or a coward for the rest of your life
perhaps it seems unfair that i am only addressing you , but you are a leader after all and they are just misguided sheep .
and the leader you are and have always wanted to be .
i understand that you are now trying to climb down , regain your strength , sit out the shame and then attack again , but that is the way partisans or con men behave .
you , i repeat , are a leader in your own eyes , the alpha male , so behave like that .
accept responsibility and leave politics .
court blocks ruling on nypd stop-and-frisk policy
a federal appeals court on thursday blocked a judge 's order requiring changes to the new york police department 's stop-and-frisk program and removed the judge from the case .
the 2nd u.s. circuit court of appeals said the decisions of judge shira scheindlin will be stayed pending the outcome of an appeal by the city .
the judge had ruled in august the city violated the constitution in the way it carried out its program of stopping and questioning people .
the city appealed her findings and her remedial orders , including a decision to assign a monitor to help the police department changes its policy and training program associated with it .
the appeals court heard arguments tuesday on the requested stay .
the appeals court said the judge needed to be removed from the case because she ran afoul of the code of conduct for u.s. judges by compromising the necessity for a judge to avoid the appearance of partiality in part because of a series of media interviews and public statements responding publicly to criticism of the court .
the judge had ruled that police officers violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of people by wrongly targeting black and hispanic men with its stop-and-frisk program .
she appointed an outside monitor to oversee major changes , including reforms in policies , training and supervision , and she ordered a pilot program to test body-worn cameras in some precincts where most stops occur .
in august , new york city agreed to end the practice of storing the names and addresses of people whose cases are dismissed after a police stop .
an oral argument on the city 's appeal is scheduled for sometime after march 14 , 2014 .
the stop-and-frisk tactic has been criticized by a number of civil rights advocates .
stop-and-frisk has been around for decades in some form , but recorded stops increased dramatically under the administration of independent mayor michael bloomberg to an all-time high in 2011 of 684,330 , mostly of black and hispanic men .
a lawsuit was filed in 2004 by four men , all minorities , and became a class action case .
supporters of changes to the nypd 's stop-and-frisk program say the changes will end unfair practices , will mold a more trusted and effective police force and can affect how other police departments use the policy .
opponents say the changes would lower police morale but not crime , waste money and not solve a broader problem of a police force under pressure after shrinking by thousands of officers during the last decade .
the judge noted she wasn 't putting an end to the stop-and-frisk practice , which is constitutional , but was reforming the way the nypd implemented its stops .
one fifth of shopping centres face low visitor numbers
this is according to data from real estate consultancy firms cushman & wakefield and jones lang lasalle .
in the bohnice area of prague , the krakov shopping centre is opening to the public ; it will be prague ’ s 19th shopping centre .
the czech republic now has a total of 90 large shopping centres .
the unsatisfactory performance concerns about 20 per cent of medium-sized and large centres .
the main problems are inadequately large centres for the location and poor layouts , meaning too many floors or complicated and confusing organisation of passages , or dead spots in the centres , " said michal soták from cushman & wakefield .
also , according to sylvie samadi , the head of the retail property department at jones lang lasalle , about one fifth of shopping centres are struggling with low visitor numbers .
the main reasons include poor accessibility , the low income category of local inhabitants , or an over saturated local market .
some projects opened almost fully occupied , but their results were mainly unsatisfactory at first .
customers today are somewhat conservative and do not like to change their shopping habits .
new shopping centres must try harder to " attract " their customers to new brands on the market , leisure , services and marketing events , " added samadi .
the occupancy of shopping centres is stable in general , according to soták , and in some centres it is even rising , because landlords were willing to reduce rental prices during the crisis and let out some units .
" it ’ s true though that recently they have opened some projects which are not fully occupied and the average occupancy level is lower ( for example , breda & weinstein in opava , or šantovka in olomouc ) , " added soták .
shopping centres opened in the last two years are gaining market ground very slowly , according to sylvie samadi .
however , there is place on the market for new projects .
the number of places suitable for building a successful project is very limited .
for instance , in prague we see a space for the construction of a project which could serve residents of prague 6 .
there is definitely a room on the market to build smaller , local projects , so-called " convenience centres " , focused on shopping and services for everyday needs for people living in the immediate vicinity , " said samadi .
soták also says there is room for more shopping centres in the domestic market .
and that is for both small " service " centres and for large projects in prague , or medium-sized projects , or expansions in regional cities .
" towns and cities like kladno , české budějovice , brno and plzeň have room for further growth , " added soták .
in prague , he sees a space for a planned shopping centre at vítězné náměstí , and na příkopě street and wenceslas square also have clear potential .
" the expansions of retail parks are developing intensively , allowing traders to cover and expand to smaller and smaller towns for reasonable rent and operating costs ; there is also room in some locations for smaller local or neighbourhood shopping centres , or their reconstruction , such as , for instance , the reconstruction of the prior shopping centres , which benefit from a good location , " added dita kubánková from the company dtz .
in the czech republic there are currently 90 modern shopping centres with a total of over 2.2 million square metres of gross leasable area .
a quarter of all these shopping centres are in prague .
among the 20 biggest shopping centres by number of tenants , there are nine in prague , according to data from incoma gfk .
the czech republic is below the eu average for the number of shopping parks ; in comparison with values in britain and france , the czech republic is lagging behind by about 50 square metres per thousand inhabitants .
coulson used phone hacking to verify tip
former news of the world editor andy coulson allegedly used " phone hacking , surveillance and confrontation " in an attempt to confirm a bogus tip about an affair involving then-home secretary charles clarke .
prosecutor andrew edis qc told the old bailey that the news of the world heard a false rumour in may 2005 that clarke was seeing his " attractive special adviser , " hannah pawlby .
the newspaper tasked private investigator glenn mulcaire with hacking pawlby 's voicemails and " door-stepped " her , but coulson also called and left her voicemails , the court heard .
" the prosecution suggests that mr coulson , who is now the editor of the notw , he is not the man who stands outside people 's houses hoping to catch them out , he is the man who likes to put the story to people to see what they will say , " mr edis said .
he said the notw used three ways to investigate stories : phone hacking , surveillance , and confrontation .
the editor is personally involved in the third .
obviously he knows about the second , surveillance , he must do .
what about the first ?
does he know about phone hacking ?
he says he doesn 't , we say " oh yes , he did " .
rumours about an affair involving clarke were first picked up by the notw 's features desk when a source who was sexually interested in ms pawlby was told : " don 't bother wasting your time , she 's with charles . "
a tape of voicemails taken from her phone on at least three occasions was seized from mulcaire 's home in august 2006 .
investigators also found entries on the private investigator 's computer which had ms pawlby and her sister as " projects . "
during the period she was being investigated , ms pawlby 's grandparents received anonymous calls asking for information about her , mr edis said .
meanwhile , former chief reporter neville thurlbeck and former reporter james weatherup oversaw surveillance of ms pawlby 's movements .
leaving her a voicemail on june 18 2005 , coulson told her : " i 've got a story that we 're planning to run tomorrow that i really would like to speak to charles about . "
mr edis said coulson 's involvement in the story followed the same pattern as with other important men , such as former home secretary david blunkett .
the jury heard on thursday that coulson confronted mr blunkett over an affair with a married woman while he was himself seeing co-defendant rebekah brooks , who was married at the time .
coulson and brooks deny conspiring with others to hack phones between october 3 2000 and august 9 2006 .
mulcaire , thurlbeck and weatherup have admitted phone hacking .
nsa revelations boost corporate paranoia about state surveillance
on a mild day in late august a german police helicopter buzzed low over the us consulate in frankfurt , the financial capital of germany .
on the instruction of the office for the protection of the constitution ( bfv ) , germany 's domestic intelligence agency , its mission was to photograph the rooftop of the us outpost , which is located less than 5km from the european central bank and bundesbank .
german media say the bfv hoped to identify the presence of listening antennas and the action prompted an exchange between the us and the german foreign ministry in berlin .
james clapper , us director of national intelligence , insisted again in september that the us does not use foreign intelligence capabilities " to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of us companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line . "
but ever since edward snowden , the contractor turned whistleblower , began releasing his treasure trove of us surveillance secrets , european governments and business leaders are no longer sure whether to take the director at his word .
reports that the us national security agency spied on brazilian oil company petrobras and gained access to data held by us cloud providers including google and yahoo have ratcheted corporate paranoia about state surveillance to new highs .
the final straw came when it was revealed that chancellor angela merkel 's phone had been bugged , possibly for about a decade .
if europe 's most powerful person can be targeted , then surely business leaders are also potential targets .
snowden has made transparent the intensive collaboration between us intelligence services and companies .
i think it 's conceivable that these data are used for mutual benefit .
" germany must wake up , " says oliver grün , president of bitmi , which represents small and medium sized german it companies .
german companies believe the us now poses almost as big a risk as china when it comes to industrial espionage and data theft , according to a survey published in july by ey , the consultancy .
in all the documentation leaked by mr snowden , there has , however , been no evidence to date that the us has passed on foreign companies ' trade secrets to its own companies .
politicians have expressed concern that the eu lacks certain it and internet capabilities and should strive to reduce its dependence on the us .
business leaders are sceptical about this .
someone in the german parliament says we should build a german google .
i can only shut my eyes and slowly open them again ...
" that 's not the way , " hasso plattner , chairman of german business software company sap , says .
if one wanted a strong european it industry , then one shouldn 't have let it die out 20 years ago .
everything is subsidised in germany , from coal , to cars and farmers .
everything but the it industry .
still , the reach and technical sophistication of us spy agencies exposed by the snowden revelations have come as a shock to some companies who previously thought the biggest surveillance risk was posed by china .
a big shift is occurring in cloud computing where european executives have become more aware that data stored in the us is subject to that jurisdiction and therefore potentially vulnerable .
according to a survey carried out by the cloud security alliance , a trade body , some 10 per cent of non-us members cancelled plans to use a us-based cloud provider after revelations about the us prism data mining programme .
jim snabe , co-chief executive at sap , says : " we see a new question from customers that didn 't come up a year ago - which is where is my data stored and can you guarantee that it stays physically in that jurisdiction . "
many german executives argue that the latest reports are simply confirmation of what they already knew : that powerful states want to steal their most prized secrets and these data must therefore be guarded at all costs .
that economic spying takes place is not a surprise .
it has always taken place .
" this has been a topic for many years and hasn 't fundamentally changed through the current discussion , " says kurt bock , chief executive of chemical maker basf .
the americans spy on us on the commercial and industrial level as we spy on them too , because it is in the national interest to defend our businesses .
corporate leaders are not generally keen to boast about the countermeasures they have taken , in case this hands an advantage to an attacker .
for large companies , the message has long since been drummed home that picking up a free usb stick at a trade fair , or leaving a laptop unguarded in a hotel room are unwise , to say the least .
ulrich hackenberg , board member at carmaker audi , says it has been standard practice for years for mobile phones to be collected before board meetings so they cannot be used as remote listening devices .
germany 's bfv advises executives to consider using simple prepaid mobiles when on foreign trips because of the risk that smart phones are compromised .
the prepaid mobiles are then thrown away afterwards .
however , there is concern that small and medium-sized companies remain vulnerable to hacking and surveillance .
in germany , many of these companies are global market leaders in their particular niche .
" small and medium sized companies often lack the experience , personnel and financial resources to protect corporate secrets effectively against unauthorised access , " the bfv warns in a report .
the us warns its own companies about economic espionage by other countries .
the us national intelligence estimate in february named france alongside russia and israel in a second tier of offenders who engage in hacking for economic intelligence , behind china , according to the washington post .
a board member at a german blue-chip company concurred that when it comes to economic espionage , " the french are the worst . "
bernard squarcini , former head of the french internal intelligence agency dcri , was quoted in an interview this month as saying : " the services know perfectly well that all countries , even as they co-operate in the antiterrorist fight , spy on their allies . "
parents of georgia teen who died in ' freak accident ' believe son was murdered
the parents of a georgia teenager , whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat in his high school gym , believe their son was murdered , the family 's attorney said thursday .
kendrick johnson , of valdosta , ga . , was found jan. 11 stuck in an upright mat propped behind the bleachers inside his high school gym .
lowndes county sheriff 's investigators concluded johnson died in a freak accident , but the 17-year-old 's family disputes that .
" they absolutely think their son was murdered , " benjamin crump , an attorney representing kenneth and jacquelyn johnson , told foxnews.com.
they never believed he died the way the sheriff concluded .
" they believe that it defies logic , the laws of physics as well as common sense , " crump said .
they think this is a cover-up to protect the person or people responsible for their son 's death .
" they sent their son to school with a book-bag and he was returned to them in a body bag , " he said .
u.s. attorney michael moore said thursday he is conducting a formal investigation into johnson 's death , noting that several key questions remain unanswered .
what was the cause of death ?
was his death the result of a crime ?
moore said at a press conference thursday afternoon .
i will follow the facts wherever they lead .
my objective is to discovery the truth .
" i am of the opinion that a sufficient basis exists " for a formal investigation , he said .
moore told reporters that the initial autopsy indicated johnson died as a result of " positional asphyxia . "
a second autopsy , however , listed a different cause of death , according to moore .
" there are several questions that must be answered or confirmed , " he said .
moore added that if he uncovers sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal or civil rights investigation into the death of johnson he will ask the fbi to conduct it .
a representative from the lowndes county sheriff 's office was not immediately available for comment when contacted thursday .
a southern georgia judge on wednesday ordered authorities to release all surveillance video that investigators reviewed .
the teenager 's parents said they hope the video footage will contain clues to how he died .
cdc issues children 's allergy guidelines for schools
on wednesday , the centers for disease control and prevention released a set of guidelines to manage children 's food allergies at school .
this is the first set of such guidelines the u.s. government has put out , as the number of school-age children suffering from food allergies climbs .
one in 20 children in the united states now have food allergies .
the cdc found the prevalence of food allergies among children increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007 .
the guide contains information for schools on how to make faculty and staff aware of children 's food allergies , and how to handle them should an allergic reaction occur .
it also recommends schools have epinephrine stocked -- the epipen brand auto-injector being most commonly used -- to respond to potentially fatal anaphylaxis .
state legislatures have recently been updating rules to allow schools to stock epinephrine more easily .
the report also includes a list of typical symptoms communicated by children who are having an allergic reaction .
kids may say , " it feels like something is poking my tongue , " " my tongue feels like there is hair on it , " or " my tongue is tingling . "
parents of intersex kids can pick ' gender undetermined'
germany became the first european nation to recognize a third gender for babies born with ambiguous genitalia .
no longer will newborns be rigidly assigned to male or female .
the new law doesn 't require parents to declare any gender for such children , allowing parents to declare gender " undetermined " or " unspecified " on their birth certificates .
the aim of the law was to take the pressure off parents who might make hasty decisions on sex-assignment surgery for newborns , and to fight discrimination against those who are intersex .
one intersex person , according to the bbc , said years later , " i am neither a man nor a woman . "
i will remain the patchwork created by doctors , bruised and scarred .
an estimated one in 2,000 children born each year is neither boy nor girl .
they are intersex , part of a group of about 60 conditions that fall under the diagnosis of disorders of sexual development , an umbrella term for those with atypical chromosomes , gonads ( ovaries or testes ) , or unusually developed genitalia .
wallis simpson may have been intersex .
gender identification is still not well understood , but most experts in the united states say that when sex cannot be determined , it 's better to use the best available information to assign it then to wait and monitor the child 's psychological and physical development before undertaking surgery , if at all .
new york city psychiatrist dr. jack drescher , who specializes in issues of gender identification , said the new german law " sounds like a good thing . "
intersex children pose ethical dilemma .
" some people have life-endangering conditions that require surgery , but most kids do not , " he said .
you can make a gender assignment without surgery , and then see how identity develops .
the science of knowing how a child will develop any gender identity is not very accurate .
nobody can answer the questions about why this happens .
it 's like the mystery of why people are gay .
a report filed to the european commission in 2011 described intersex people as different from transsexual or transgender people , as their status is not gender related but instead relates to their biological makeup , which is neither exclusively male nor exclusively female , but is typical of both at once or not clearly defined as either .
these features can manifest themselves in secondary sexual characteristics , such as muscle mass , hair distribution , breasts and stature ; primary sexual characteristics such as reproductive organs and genitalia ; or in chromosomal structures and hormones .
the report also gives an overview of the discrimination faced by intersex and transgender people in the realm of employment , as well as levels of harassment , violence and bias crimes .
gender nonconforming boys now have special camp .
already , australia and nepal allow adults to mark male , female or a " third gender " on their official documents .
in june , a 52-year-old australian , norrie may-welby , became the world 's first recognized " genderless " person after winning a legal appeal to keep an " unspecified " gender status for life .
german passports will have a third designation other than m or f -- x , for intersex , according to the interior ministry .
in neighboring france , gender issues are still controversial , according to a news report on france 24 .
in 2011 , dozens of french lawmakers from that strongly catholic country signed a petition for " gender theory " to be withdrawn from school textbooks .
the u.s. website catholic online has also opposed the german law , writing that " as the world is being dragged into a new state , where gender is a choice , but sexual activity is not , we reverse two more pillars of civilization . "
one maryland mother of a newborn also told the baby zone that she would rather see babies assigned gender at birth .
" parenting is stressful enough without extra limitations , especially if you don 't know the gender of your child , " she told the parenting website .
children need stability and certainty .
historically , children born with both male and female genitalia were called hermaphrodites , named for the handsome greek god who had dual sexuality .
and as little as a decade ago , the medical community thought of gender as a slate that could be erased and then redrawn .
but now , many are challenging the ethical basis of surgery , knowing that gender identity is complex , and doctors can sometimes get it wrong , not knowing how a child will feel about their gender assignment when they grow up .
" back in the middle of the 20th century , it was called a ' psychiatric emergency , ' " said drescher .
when these kids were born , you didn 't call the psychiatrist , you called a surgeon .
the prevailing theory on how to treat children with ambiguous genitalia was put forward by dr. john money at johns hopkins university , who held that gender was malleable .
he coined the term " gender identity " and argued that social and environmental cues -- how parents raised a child -- interacted with a child 's genes and hormones to shape whether the person identified as male or female .
but in one 1966 case , known as " john / joan , " his theories became controversial .
he advised the parents of a boy whose penis had been severed in a botched circumcision to have the child fully castrated , removing his testicles , as well , and to raise him as a girl .
" money presented the case as a successful case of transition , but it was not , " said drescher .
when the boy was around 15 , he transitioned back to a boy and married a woman .
but at 38 , he committed suicide .
drescher said that now some doctors are still " practicing that model . "
but in the 1990s , with the advent of the internet , survivors of these gender surgeries have come forward " not happy with the outcome . "
such was the case with jim bruce , a 36-year-old writer from montana , who was born with xy male chromosomes but ambiguous genitals .
doctors couldn 't be sure if he had a large clitoris or a small penis and were convinced he could never live a " satisfactory life " as a man .
so shortly after his birth in 1976 , bruce 's external organ and testes were surgically removed and he was raised as a girl .
he was given female hormones at age 12 .
" i knew that i wasn 't a girl , " he told abcnews.com.
i was unhappy , but it was really difficult to ask questions .
at 18 , he was set for a vaginoplasty .
but depressed and knowing something was wrong , he demanded medical records .
what he found out was horrifying .
i was sterilized at birth -- and no one ever told me .
bruce was born with a dsd that prevented his body from producing enough testosterone to properly develop his genitals .
after learning the truth , he changed back to a man , taking testosterone shots and having his breasts removed .
surgery rendered him infertile .
today , he advocates for others in an organization called the interface project , trying to normalize perceptions of those who are intersex .
but anne tamar-mattis , executive director for california-based legal group advocates for informed choice , worries that the german law " invites labeling and stigma . "
" a lot of activists are concerned that what the german rule will do is encourage parents to make quick decisions and give the child an ' undetermined , ' " she said .
we are afraid it will encourage intervention .
we think a better process is assigning male or female sex , then waiting .
but we haven 't seen how the law will play out , so all we can do is speculate .
tamar-mattis said that her organization supports the australian law because " it allows adults to choose to be recognized in a third gender . "
" adults should be able to make their own decisions about legal gender , " she said .
german law is about assigning it at birth .
that is not a battle young children should have to take up at this point .
when they are grown , they can make decisions about their own bodies .
but dr. arlene baratz , a pittsburgh breast radiologist who has a daughter with a disorder of sexual development and helps hundreds of others in a support group , said the german law will " empower " both parents and children .
baratz 's daughter katie was born with male chromosomes , but has a dsd called complete androgen insensitivity syndrome .
because her androgen receptors are faulty , katie developed female characteristics .
she has a vagina , but no uterus or ovaries .
now at 29 , katie is married and at the university of pennsylvania , a resident in child psychiatry .
though she is infertile , she hopes to become a parent through adoption or gestational surrogacy .
" the law gives parents some space not to have to rush into making decisions themselves , " said baratz .
it gives them the time to do some tests and figure it out and a period of time before they write ' male ' or ' female.'
this way , you are ok -- raise the child , love the child .
you have a wonderful baby and enjoy the fun .
we don 't have to rush into surgery that is irreversible .
" it brings the children into the decision and takes away the anxiety that motivates parents because they don 't feel they are doing the right thing , " she said .
ultimately , the child will decide which sex he or she feels more comfortable with -- and that 's a wonderful thing .
it empowers children to make the decision for themselves .
drunkard poured petrol all over house : threatened to set it and his own family on fire !
tension increased , fear escalated .
the man began threatening to burn the whole house down .
all available police patrols in the area came out , as well as firefighters from mladá boleslav and volunteer firefighters .
a police negotiator also arrived on the scene who tried to talk the man out of his irrational behaviour .
the man continued to threaten to burn the house down .
an intervention unit had to enter the house as a result , which restrained and handcuffed the man .
the aggressor then ended up being examined at the mladá boleslav hospital , from where he was transferred to a sobering-up station .
in the end , the firefighters spread sorbent on the petrol-soaked house , which they later cleaned up .
besides the people , all pets were rescued from the house .
the man did not surrender to the police negotiator , so a task force went after him .
report : obama campaign considered dumping biden for hillary clinton
president barack obama 's closest advisers secretly considered replacing vice president joe biden with hillary clinton on the 2012 ticket , according to the new york times .
the revelation is the most notable bombshell from mark halperin and john heilemann 's heavily anticipated 2012 campaign tome , " double down : game change 2012 . "
the times obtained a copy of the forthcoming book and reported thursday evening that the president 's top aides conducted " extensive group-sessions and polling in late 2011 " to gauge whether the dumping biden could help bolster obama 's waning re-election hopes .
according to the times ' national political correspondent jonathan martin , the book provides a thorough account of the effort by senior officials inside the campaign and the white house , namely former white house chief of staff bill daley , to measure what effect swapping former secretary of state clinton for the vice president would have in the polls .
the potential switch was a closely guarded secret within the chicago campaign infrastructure and inside the oval office .
only half a dozen of the president 's closest advisers -- including daley , former obama campaign chief jim messina , and former white house senior advisers david axelrod and david plouffe -- knew the change was under consideration .
" double down " claims daley spearheaded the effort to replace biden , despite their " close personal rapport , " before ultimately deciding against the move when their data showed adding clinton to the ticket wouldn 't " materially improve obama 's odds . "
in an interview with martin , daley confirmed that the administration did in fact consider replacing biden with clinton .
" i was vocal about looking into a whole bunch of things , and this was one of them , " daley told the paper .
you have to remember , at that point the president was in awful shape , so we were like , " holy christ , what do we do ? "
while daley characterized the research as " due diligence , " martin told cnn 's anderson cooper that the re-election campaign made a significant investment in finding out whether the move would pay dividends at the polls .
" campaigns don 't spend the kind of money on polling and focus groups unless they 're seriously considering something , " martin said on ac360 .
it 's unclear , however , whether obama knew his team was exploring the swap .
martin told cnn that he asked daley whether his then-boss knew about the potential shuffle .
while daley said he doesn 't think the president " was aware " of the potential change , the former chief of staff admitted that it 's " possible " obama knew .
martin added that " double down " does not definitively answer whether the political probing reached obama 's desk .
cooper asked martin whether he seriously thought obama did not know about the research into dumping biden from the ticket .
" possibly , " martin replied .
fancy a glow-in-the-dark ice cream ?
a british entrepreneur has created the world 's first glow-in-the-dark ice cream - using jellyfish .
charlie francis has harnessed the fluorescent properties of the marine animal to develop the luminescent snack .
he came up with the idea after reading a research paper on jellyfish and convinced scientists in china to chemically recreate the glowing protein .
the ice cream reacts with the eater 's tongue - raising the ph level in the protein and making it glow .
chris says because the ice cream lights up when it reacts with the heat of the mouth it means the more you lick , the brighter it becomes .
charlie , founder of the " lick me i 'm delicious " ice cream company , said : " it is incredible stuff but still at very early days in terms of production , so £ 200 gets you about 2g of the stuff . "
the protein we are using in the ice cream reacts with your tongue at neutral ph .
so as your mouth warms up the protein it will raise the ph level and the ice cream will glow .
we have been testing it out over the past few months and it seemed perfect to share it over halloween because it gives that wonderful glow effect .
it is probably the most expensive ice cream i have made because the jellyfish luminescence is four times more expensive than gold .
so each scoop costs me around £ 140 .
it tastes pretty good though .
charlie 's experimental company , based in bristol , is famed for its unusual flavours including beer , cheese , beef and gold leaf .
but his next creation is set to be even more ambitious .
he said : " i really want to develop an invisible ice cream . "
it is inherently impossible because of the refraction caused by the ice crystals which make up the ice cream , but i reckon we will find a way of doing it .
the ice cream harnesses the fluorescent properties of a jellyfish , synthesized by chinese scientists
halloween 2013 : by the numbers
when i was little , halloween was magical .
my sister and i were allowed to eat candy , stay up late and play dress-up for the neighborhood .
nowadays , i 've become more of a scrooge .
i haven 't signed up for the past two years to give out candy in my apartment and probably won 't this year .
but stats show that i 'm a black sheep when it comes to halloween .
the majority of americans - 158 million of them in fact - will be celebrating halloween this year , spending a total of $ 6.9 billion on candy , costumes and decorations , according to the national retail federation .
one thing i do look forward to every halloween are the trends .
costumes are expected to account for $ 1.2 billion dollars out of the $ 6.9 billion spent , according to the nrf .
this year , sexy inanimate objects are all the rage .
women don 't have to be sexy professionals anymore ; they can also be sexy foods like pizza , hamburgers and carrots .
as for men , i expect we will be seeing a lot of zombies , thanks to the walking dead and i 'll bet the daft punk space men will make it into our instagram feeds this year .
according to google , the highest searched costumes are zombies , batman , pirates and witches .
i guess there 's nothing wrong with going traditional .
we dressed our dogs up last year and to my amazement we were not alone .
in fact , americans will spend $ 330 million on pet costumes this year , according to the nrf .
that 's a lot of ironic hotdog dogs .
when it comes to candy , we don 't screw around .
americans will spend $ 1.9 billion on it this year , according to the nielsen company .
that 's around 600 million pounds worth of hershey bars , lollipops , milk duds , twizzlers and clark bars .
that 's great news for the 41 million trick-or-treaters set to take over our neighborhoods , according to the u.s. commerce department .
in fact , we will buy and , who are we kidding , consume 90 million pounds of chocolate during halloween .
the one thing we don 't want to consume , candy corn ; and yet nearly 35 million pounds of it are sold around halloween , according to the national confectioners association .
that 's about 9 billion individual kernels of corn .
it 's a mystery i have yet to solve .
nothing is more quintessentially halloween than haunted houses .
they have the best names , like " terror behind the walls " ( which , by the way is in an actual prison ) , " howl-o-scream " and " the house of shock . "
in fact , there are 1,200 officially sanctioned haunted houses in the united states generating about $ 500 million in revenue , according to america haunts , and that includes those awesome photos of you mid-peeing your pants that your friend puts on facebook and you can 't take down and then that guy you like sees the photo and leaves a comment like " nice face . "
finally , let 's talk pumpkins .
charlie brown introduced us to the great pumpkin when we were kids , and carving a jack-o-lantern is like decorating a christmas tree - it 's something we 've done since we were little .
lucky for us , the " baby in a pumpkin trend " started only last year thanks to pinterest , so most of us grew up carving these gourds not sitting in them .
this year , americans will spend around $ 106 million on pumpkins , according to the u.s. census bureau .
the jack-o-lantern slowly withering on your front porch probably came from illinois , which grew 542 million pounds of pumpkin this year .
if you 're looking for extra credit , call tim and susan mathisdon in napa , calif . , and try to carve up their 2,032 pound pumpkin .
land rover rally series announced
the interior has racing seats and six-point harness belts , as well as an intercom system .
options include upgraded brakes , a service package providing access to bowler works mechanics , logistic support , and vehicle storage between events .
drew bowler , the managing director of bowler motorsport , said : " rally customers coming to bowler have changed . "
they 're not all experienced racers , but people looking for excitement and adventure , and an achievable path towards world-class events .
we 're delighted to be offering this path in partnership with land rover and the msa , and believe the format offers a new way to experience different rally disciplines in the uk and overseas , and prepare entrants for the rigours and realities of rally raid .
we 've really enjoyed developing the defender challenge car - it 'll be a really fun championship .
additionally , the defender challenge will provide a training and test day in february , as well as the option to compete in desert events in north africa and the middle east .
schwarzenberg : within two years we will have an early election here
chairman of top 09 karel schwarzenberg is expecting another early election soon .
a week after the last election in an interview for aktuálně.cz he said that there is no other way and each government formed as a result of voting last friday and saturday is an impossible patchwork .
" it can ’ t last long , " said karel schwarzenberg , adding that he predicts the lifetime of the starting electoral period will be two years .
he disagrees with the objection that next time voters will make a completely different choice : " i think it will be a slightly more balanced decision . "
at the same time , the top 09 chairman will not admit that his party could lose more votes in another election than this year ( compared with 2010 when they lost about 300,000 votes ) .
schwarzenberg estimates that if it were to become clear within two months that there will be an early election , it will strengthen andrej babiš ’ s ano 2011 .
otherwise , schwarzenberg thinks babiš will lose .
schwarzenberg gives his own commentary on the turbulent situation in čssd , where the chairman , bohuslav sobotka , declared after the secret meeting of the part of the party leadership at lany , that either he or michal hašek would remain in the leadership of the social democrats :
" the leading officials of the democratic party are like little boys going after the head of state , to allow them make a change in the party . "
" i thought mr hašek was smarter and more intelligent . "
" because i have never seen anything done so impatiently and stupidly like that , " added the top 09 chairman .
and referring to president zeman ( with whom he clashed in the fight for the presidency ) , he said : " the role of head of state is clear : he wants to usurp the party . "
top 09 has already submitted the first laws .
what was the biggest surprise of the election for you ?
top 09 has already formally submitted its first bills in the chamber , including farský ’ s register of contracts , which was discussed by parliamentary committees prior to the election but with the early election it ended up under the table .
the top 09 chairman in the interview for aktuálně.cz says that this speed is because " these laws are necessary . "
at the same time , however , top 09 clearly wants to beat similar attempts by other parties .
for example , the electoral leader of ano , martin komárek accused top 09 in the pre-election battle that with the idea to introduce a register of contracts it was " stealing " the ano programme .
top 09 is now using its advantage – it just dusted off the bill it had that was already heading for the second parliamentary reading .
fire crews called to rescue lost puppy after she got stuck 50ft above the ground on precarious ledge in a quarry
cocker spaniel ruby had run off after she was in a minor road crash
she was spotted three days later by a dog walker trapped in the quarry
firefighters abseil down cliff face to pluck the dog from certain death
a puppy had a lucky escape after fire crews were called to lift her to safety when she somehow got herself stuck 50ft up on a precarious cliff ledge .
nine month-old cocker spaniel ruby had run off after being involved in a road crash on sunday afternoon and survived three days alone before being rescued from a quarry on wednesday .
her owners scott alderson , 25 , and his girlfriend becky hall , 20 , were at flappit quarry in denholme , west yorkshire , to be reunited with ruby and have thanked west yorkshire fire and rescue service .
they had searched frantically for their missing dog and posted appeals on social networking sites after she had ran into the quarry following the minor accident .
at around 2.15pm on wednesday , an eagle-eyed dog walker spotted ruby on the ledge in the quarry , stranded 50ft up .
a technical rescue team from cleckheaton fire station rushed to the scene and abseiled down to rescue ruby and used a pet tube to transport her up the cliff .
specialist technical rescue officer andy clayton said : ' she was in a precarious situation .
she was right in the middle of the cliff face - 50ft from the top and bottom .
she did not move a muscle during the rescue - she was frozen solid .
but she is fine now .
she was eating biscuits afterwards .
this was a very unusual call-out .
the fact that the dog was spotted is unbelievable .
specialist technical rescue officer peter lau said : " ruby had a very lucky escape . "
the potential was there that she could have been very seriously injured or worse .
ruby was taken to the vets for a check-up and was found to be fine other than exhaustion and dehydration .
miss hall , from halifax , west yorkshire , said : " watching the rescue was terrifying . "
i could not believe that she was up there in the first place .
it was amazing to get her back in our arms .
the vet said that if she became too exhausted and collapsed she would probably have fallen .
the firefighters were amazing .
it was really daring what they did .
we are just so grateful and every single one of them was absolutely tremendous .
mr alderson , from keighley , added : " we were scared that she might fall but she stayed there . "
the firefighters were brilliant .
i just can 't believe where she was .
mick jagger says he never hit on katy perry when she was 18 .
during an interview with an australian radio show this week , the pop star said she sang backing vocals for jagger 's 2004 song " old habits die hard . "
perry said she had dinner with the veteran rocker and that " he hit on me when i was 18 . "
she added , " that was a long time ago , and he 's been very kind . "
in a statement thursday , a representative for jagger , 70 , says he " categorically denies that he has ever made a pass at katy perry . "
the rep adds : " perhaps she is confusing him with someone else . "
perry was one of the singers to make a guest appearance on the rolling stones ' tour this year .
her new album , " prism , " debuted at no. 1 this week .
george kerevan : europe break-up gives scots choice
another day , another independence scare story .
this time we are warned that an independent scotland would be required to join the europe-wide free-travel zone as a condition of eu membership .
cue stories about passport controls at berwick and a barbed wire border along hadrian 's wall .
true , the strathclyde paper pointed out the possible economic benefits of freer movement with the rest of europe , though - predictably - that did not figure in the headlines .
nor did anyone point out that the eu member states spend much of their time bending their formal rules if it suits them .
since scotland isn 't in the schengen area now , continued non-compliance would be a cheap concession for brussels to offer up in return for whatever it really wanted out of the scots .
so , a non-story , then .
and one that is so long in the tooth it has become fossilised : i first heard the " independence means passport controls " canard at least 40 years ago .
yet there is an interesting point lost in this retelling of a whiskery old tale .
why should an independent scotland be expected to do europe 's bidding , anyway ?
why trade london 's yoke for that of brussels , especially now ?
here is the real european news : the great , post-war plan to unite europe has finally stalled .
with the euro crisis , project europe is officially dead .
across the eu , parties which are dedicated to opposing the eu , or to scrapping the euro as a common currency , are gaining ground .
even in germany , the eurosceptic alternative for germany party - founded only this year - came from nowhere to grab nearly five million votes in september 's federal elections , thus effectively knocking the free democrats ( equivalent to our own lib dems ) out of the bundestag .
there has always been domestic opposition to the plan to create a federal europe .
however , the current economic crisis has proved a watershed .
the austerity imposed by berlin and the european central bank , coupled with the straitjacket imposed on national economies through adherence to the common currency , has led many people to think project europe has gone too far .
the crisis of the euro has little to do with national governments running excessive budget deficits - that was true only of greece .
rather , the euro system locked in its members at exchange rates favourable to german exporters - something german politicians want to keep .
without the possibility of domestic currency devaluation , southern europe finds itself with a built-in productivity disadvantage vis-à-vis germany .
the only recourse is to slash wages and public spending - spurred on by berlin .
beyond the current budget and currency problems lies a deeper european productivity malaise .
as a result of " green " energy policies imposed by brussels - code for subsidising french and german energy firms at the consumer 's expense - european industry pays twice as much for electricity , and four times as much for gas , as in the united states .
that is a crippling cost disadvantage , as we 've already seen at grangemouth .
all the wage freezes in the world won 't stop the european petrochemicals industry being hammered by cheap us shale gas .
as a result , revolt is brewing , especially in france , once the eu 's main cheerleader .
after the war , the french political elite saw the eu as a vehicle to keep germany in check , and to give paris equal billing in the world with washington .
but berlin no longer needs paris as a passport to political legitimacy and has imposed its own economic policy on europe , leaving the battered french economy struggling .
result : marine le pen 's right-wing , anti-eu national front has just won a crucial by-election , knocking the ruling socialists into third place .
the front is now the most popular party in france with 24 per cent of the vote - a timely warning to british labour that they can 't assume a split on the right will automatically favour the left .