Stalingrad gets name back on days marking battle

FILE - In this May 1, 2012 file photo, Communist Party supporters march with their flags during a rally to mark May Day in Moscow, Russia. The southern Russian city where the Red Army decisively turned back Nazi forces in a key World War II battle will once again be known as Stalingrad, at least on the days commemorating the victory.The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union's rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin's personality cult. But the name Stalingrad is inseparable with the battle, in which at least 1.25 million people died. Russia on Saturday plans extensive ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle's end. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)

FILE - In this May 1, 2012 file photo, Communist Party supporters march with their flags during a rally to mark May Day in Moscow, Russia. The southern Russian city where the Red Army decisively turned back Nazi forces in a key World War II battle will once again be known as Stalingrad, at least on the days commemorating the victory.The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union's rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin's personality cult. But the name Stalingrad is inseparable with the battle, in which at least 1.25 million people died. Russia on Saturday plans extensive ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle's end. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)

MOSCOW (AP) ? The southern Russian city where the Red Army decisively turned back Nazi forces in a key World War II battle will once again be known as Stalingrad, at least on the days commemorating the victory, the regional legislature declared Thursday.

The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union's rejection of dictator Joseph Stalin's personality cult. But the name Stalingrad is inseparable with the historic battle, which was among the bloodiest in history with combined losses of nearly 2 million people.

Regional lawmakers' decision to use the historic name in city statements on Feb. 2, the day of the Nazi defeat, as well as several other war-related dates each year, has angered many in Russia where Stalin's name and legacy continues to cause fiery disputes nearly 60 years after his death.

Russia's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin sharply criticized the move, saying it should be declared void by court.

"This is an insult of the memory of those who died," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Nikolai Levichev, a senior federal lawmaker with the leftist Just Russia party, condemned the restoration of the old city name, saying "it's blasphemous to rename the great Russian city after a bloody tyrant who killed millions of his fellow citizens." Levichev added that the country won the war "despite rather than thanks to" Stalin's leadership, whose errors multiplied the Soviet losses.

Stalin led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Communists and other hardliners credit him with leading the country to victory in World War II and making it a nuclear superpower, while others condemn his brutal purges that killed millions of people.

President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, has avoided open public praise or criticism of Stalin, but he has restored Soviet-era symbols and tried to soften public perceptions of the dictator. Kremlin critics have seen attempts to whitewash Stalin's image as part of Putin's rollback on democracy.

In recent years, many in Russia were outraged by government-sponsored school textbooks that painted Stalin in a largely positive light and the reconstruction of a Moscow subway station that restored old Soviet national anthem lyrics praising Stalin as part of its interior decoration.

In addition to the Volgograd legislature's move to restore the old name of the city, authorities in Volgograd, St. Petersburg and the Siberian city of Chita ordered images of Stalin to be put on city buses on Feb. 2 to commemorate the historic battle.

Yan Raczynski of Memorial, a leading Russia's human rights group, was quoted as saying by Interfax that the authorities' moves highlighted the nation's failure to "legally and politically recognize the crimes committed by the Bolshevik regime, particularly Stalin and his inner circle."

In turn, communists said the decision to restore the name of Stalingrad for just a few days each year is just a half-step. Communist lawmakers met with World War II veterans and sent a letter to Putin urging the government to fully rename the city, the party said in a statement.

But Sergei Zheleznyak, a top lawmaker with United Russia, the main Kremlin party dominating parliament, said there were no plans to fully restore the old name.

On Saturday, Russia plans extensive ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle, which raged for half a year in 1942-43 with the Red Army resisting the Nazi onslaught in fierce street fighting and then encircling and capturing more than 100,000 Nazi soldiers.

___

Jim Heintz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-31-Russia-Stalingrad/id-9359bd5898ec47eea12c657d03f2796e

john elway john elway i have a dream speech fox news debate school closures mlk mlk

How To Futureproof Your Job with a Career Insurance Policy

Jobs come and go, but hopefully your career is bit more solid. If it's not, your skills, goals, and personal career plan can guide you, but it's never a bad time to prepare for a future layoff, job change, or even promotion. They can be tricky to handle, but a strong career "insurance policy" can give you the confidence to make the right choice no matter what life throws at you. Here's how to build one.

What Is a Career Insurance Policy?

We first heard the phrase when career expert Hannah Morgan described it last year, and in this post we'll walk you through building your own. Hannah describes it as a way to financially and professionally protect yourself against the possibility of losing your job. In other words, doing all the things required to make sure that if fate pulls the rug out from under you tomorrow, you'll land safely. We're taking the original idea and piggybacking on it to include some ways to prep you for any career or job shift, not just the unexpected kind.

Whether you've been laid off, thinking about a new job, or you're comfortable in the job you have, a career insurance policy can help take some of the weight from your shoulders. You'll have the basics?money, your professional network, your skills, and an escape plan, all taken care of, so you can focus on deciding what you should do next.

Step One: Protect Yourself Financially with an Emergency Fund

Insurance policies work because, by chipping in periodically, you have a pool of resources to tap into if disaster strikes. This is no different: layoffs can happen even at the strongest companies, and job situations can change drastically (a new boss, a transfer to a different department, terrible managers, etc) and leave you wondering if you can survive another day at work. Whatever happens, the first thing most of us agonize over when considering changing jobs, quitting, or what to do when we're laid off is how we'll pay the bills. Photo by Danielle Elder.

Alleviate that worry right now by starting an emergency fund. How much you should put into an emegency fund depends on your needs. Most people say you should stash enough cash away for three to six months of regular bills, expenses, and purchases that you would normally make. Start with the basics, then move up to incidentals. Don't try to plan for everything, and keep your money somewhere it'll work for you. At the end of the day, if you can make your emergency fund grow on its own, you'll be better prepared for an emergency like a job loss or illness.

Your emergency fund isn't just in case you lose your job, though. If your work environment gets so terrible that you want to leave badly, or just can't take another day there, having that fund on-hand makes it easy to walk away without having to wait and be miserable while you search for and land a new job. It also gives you the head-space to leave a terrible job and pick a new job carefully so you don't take the first thing that's available, or make the same mistakes at a new job just because you were in a hurry to get out of the last one.

Step Two: Make Yourself More Valuable by Diversifying Your Skills and Experience

One of the best things I ever did for my career was make a move from one part of my field (systems administration and support) to another (technical project management.) The result, after a few years and keeping up with both ends of the industry, was that I found myself capable of moving in either direction if I had to?I could look at opportunities and think "well, if this all goes down the tubes, I can always go back to being a sysadmin, I'm still good at that!" Granted, I had a job that let me keep my old skills honed while working at the new ones (translation: We were shorthanded and encouraged to jump in and help out instead of standing back and saying "that's not my job,") but if you're facing a career change, a possible promotion, or a layoff, don't let yourself get caught knowing how to do only one thing or work with any one tool. The best time to learn something new is when you don't need the skill. Photo by Elvert Barnes.

We've explained that being good at one thing just isn't enough anymore, but it can be worse when that one thing you're good at is suddenly no longer in high demand. There are plenty of ways to pick up new skills without much risk. Take night classes, go back to school for an advanced degree, take up an apprenticeship, or pick up a part time job. Your skill doesn't have to be a something as big as a degree or certification either: pick up a new language, or learn a new programming language or tool, or explore a side-passion or hobby. Consider an internship or doing some volunteer work to pick up those desirable skills. In any case, you get the skills, the non-profit gets the job done or a helping hand, and everyone wins.

Whatever you do, make a commitment to keep learning and regularly pick up new skills that interest you and can benefit you professionally. You may even be able to turn those side passions or skills into a paying thing?a way to diversify your income streams so you're not so heavily reliant on the job you have.

Step Three: Protect Yourself Professionally by Beefing Up Your Network

These days, getting a great job has just as much to do with who you know as it does what you know and what you can bring to the table. Companies everywhere get thousands of applicants each day, and the best way to get a leg up on the competition is to have a friends in the right places who are willing to lend you a hand?and in turn, who you can help when they need it. We mentioned using the "Layoff Test" to beef up your network, or thinking about the ten people you would reach out to for advice or support if you got laid off tomorrow. If you can't think of ten people, your professional network probably sucks, but you can do something about it. Here are a few ways to improve your professional network now, while you're gainfully employed and not necessarily looking for a new opportunity. Photo by Warren Goldswain.

• Reconnect with old coworkers or managers you haven't spoken to in a while. Offer your help to them, see what they have going on professionally. The first rule of professional networking is to stop thinking of it as professional networking: all you're doing is making friends and extending your help to people who may need it. What goes around comes around. Ask those old contacts out for coffee in the morning or for lunch and catch up. You should never need to IM or call an old coworker because you're interviewing and need a reference from an old job.
• Get involved in industry groups or trade associations. Most of us incorrectly assume that the only people we can and should network with are previous coworkers or managers?people who know how we work and can vouch for us. That's all well and good, but if a company lays off your entire department, your friends will need help as much as you do. Join a professional organization (for example, even though I haven't been a full time project manager, I'm still a member of the Project Management Institute) or trade group dedicated to your craft?or your desired craft. Go to meetings, seminars, or dinners and meet people. Listen to presentations. Learn something new, and meet people who have something to teach you.
• Make personal, one-on-one connections with people you admire. If the idea of huge industry gatherings or busy coffee shops is too much, this piece on networking for introverts might help. You probably already know a few people in your field?or your preferred field?whose work you admire. Reach out to them personally to get to know them. Let them know you're interested in their work, and would love to talk to them about it. Meet them, talk, and make a personal connection. Offer your help if they can use it.

Remember, "professional network" is really code for "friends who help each other professionally when they can." That's all?there's no magic or secret handshake. Be sincere, willing to help other people, and in general a nice person, and others will do the same for you.

Step Four: Keep Your R?sum? and Social Networks Updated, and Learn How to Promote Yourself

The first thing that many of us do as soon as we think about leaving a job or have lost a job is update our r?sum?s and our profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and job boards where we have our r?sum?s saved. It's an unfortunate necessity, but if you've waited until you're leaving (or have been let go!) to add your most recent job to your r?sum?s, you're doing it wrong.

Set aside an hour one night to make sure your r?sum?s is up to date?everything from your contact information to your current job title and responsibilities. Then make it a recurring thing, every few months, sooner if things tend to move quickly at your job. This way, you'll never be in the position of thinking back two years to remember your accomplishments or responsibilities just because that's the last time you updated your r?sum?s or LinkedIn profile. If you have a professional nameplate site, or a personal site where you host your r?sum?s or portfolio, update that as well. It's worth the effort of doing now, while everything is fine, so you can devote more energy towards deciding what to do when the time comes to send those links to a potential employer, or after you've been laid off. Photo by CharlotWest.

At the same time, learn how to promote yourself without being sleazy about it. You have desirable skills and experience that any employer would want, so flaunt it. Give anyone looking for more information about you something great to look at and find when they search for you online, or reach out to their colleagues about you.

Step Five: Turn Your Hobbies, Passions, or Extra Skills Into a Second Income Stream

A single income stream is risky, and the fact that most of us are entirely dependent on our one jobs is one of the biggest reasons job uncertainty stresses us out. Pending layoffs, reorganizations, any small change can very literally take our livelihoods away. Back when getting a job meant you'd have it until you retired, that wasn't a big deal, but now, getting laid off can lead to financial ruin, and unemployment insurance is no substitute for a full paycheck. Instead of leaving it up to fate, diversify your income streams. Photo by Koshyk.

We're not saying work multiple jobs just because you can, but you should definitely consider finding ways to take some of your interest areas, hobbies, or passions that you may want to turn into careers someday and turning them into a second income stream. If you like to write, consider freelance writing or starting your own blog. If you're technically inclined, consider offering to repair friends' and neighbors' computers for a fee, or to help them with the things you know how to do, like backing up their data or accessing their systems remotely. It's not easy, but it's a great way to fill your emergency fund a little faster, and to make yourself a little less reliant on the whims of one employer. Then you can think more clearly about whether a layoff is coming your way, or whether a promotion or change in primary jobs is best for you.

Ideally, all of these suggestions will help you build a kind of bulletproof "career armor" that will help protect you from sudden changes and make difficult decisions a little easier. You'll have the basics covered and you'll be prepared for most common eventualities. More importantly, you'll be ready to tackle whatever comes your way with confidence, knowing you're ready for it. That's the best thing insurance can possibly offer.

Title image by huhu (Shutterstock).

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/w_bFAuOIepc/futureproof-your-job-with-a-career-insurance-policy

mario williams vcu unlv sam young ncaa bracket ramon sessions portland trail blazers

Gmail ActiveSync gets 6 month reprieve for Windows Phone?but not Windows 8

Microsoft announced Google will continue to provide Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support to Windows Phone users for another six months.

Google announced in December it was turning off EAS on free Gmail accounts at the end of this month. Google wants to use a combination of IMAP, CardDAV, and CalDAV instead of EAS. After the cut-off, existing sync relationships would have continued to work, but any new phones (or reset old phones) would have to go without.

That caused a big problem for Windows Phone users, as Microsoft's smartphone platform depends on EAS for both push mail and syncing of calendars and contacts.

Today's announcement provides a two-pronged solution to this problem. First, Google is extending the EAS window for six months. Users will have until July 31 to establish new sync pairings on their Windows Phone devices. Second, Microsoft is adding CalDAV and CardDAV support to Windows Phone, and will have an update available before July 31 to turn this on.

Google's decision to remove EAS from free accounts still has implications for other Microsoft products. The Windows 8 Mail app, for example, uses EAS, and it doesn't appear to be covered by the reprieve. Microsoft's guidance for Gmail users is to stick with IMAP?which means disabling calendar and contact sync entirely?or switch to Outlook.com e-mail.

Neither option is a good one, but there's no indication so far that Redmond intends to provide CalDAV or CardDAV support for its desktop platform.

Source: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/WRP-9tclT-k/

2012 oscar winners channel 3 news j lo j lo sacha baron cohen ryan seacrest octavia spencer meryl streep oscars

Rats, like humans, return to drinking once punishment is removed

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Once heavy drinking impairs function, a variety of punishment-related threats may motivate people to stop drinking: spouses may threaten divorce, employers may threaten job loss, and courts threaten drunk drivers with losing their driver's license or incarceration. In the face of these threats, many alcohol abusers refrain from drinking, but relapse is very common when the threats of punishment fade, particularly when exposed to alcohol-associated environments (contexts).

A new study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that rats may behave in the same way. This is important because a significant amount of addiction research is performed in animals, using models of addiction, before it is translated to work in humans.

"The better our animal models fit human alcoholism, the more our animal research will help us to understand the complexity of the human disorder and to develop new treatments," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Currently, the most commonly employed techniques to achieve alcohol abstinence in animal work are forced abstinence and/or extinction training, where a lever press that used to consistently deliver alcohol no longer does so. These models of relapse are limited because they do not incorporate behaviors that mimic a human's desire to avoid negative consequences of drinking.

To address this divergence between animal models and the human condition, Nathan Marchant and colleagues developed a rat relapse model in which voluntary alcohol intake is suppressed by punishment in an environment that is different from the original alcohol intake environment.

They showed that when rats were re-exposed to the original alcohol self-administration environment, after suppression of alcohol intake in a different environment by punishment, they immediately relapsed to alcohol seeking.

"A potential clinical implication of this preclinical finding is that abstinence induced by introducing adverse consequences on alcohol intake in inpatient treatment clinics would have a limited effect on subsequent alcohol use in the home environment after completion of treatment," commented Marchant.

As with nearly all such scientific work, the findings themselves are interesting, but they also lead to many more questions. What is the potential influence of medication or other manipulations on this model? Would the model hold up when other drugs of abuse or even food were studied? Does the passage of time have any effect on this model? More work will be undertaken to answer these and other related questions.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Nathan J. Marchant, Thi N. Khuc, Charles L. Pickens, Antonello Bonci, Yavin Shaham. Context-Induced Relapse to Alcohol Seeking After Punishment in a Rat Model. Biological Psychiatry, 2013; 73 (3): 256 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.07.007

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/jCfCS-bdWfI/130130082449.htm

kim richards robert hegyes mary louise parker mary louise parker cher morgellons nhl all star draft

Arrests along US borders up in last year (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/280142111?client_source=feed&format=rss

mumford and sons packers Dancing With The Stars All Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt space shuttle Torrey Smith Brother fiona apple

Davos 2013 Closes With Warning To Global Economy: 'Do Not Relax'

DAVOS, Switzerland -- The crisis mood is gone, but that doesn't mean you can slip back into your old ways ? that's the message from top international finance officials wrapping up the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

They warned governments Saturday against letting their relief over an improved economic climate turn into complacency over reforms many want to see in order to sustain a still-uncertain recovery.

"Do not relax," International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde urged at a closing panel on the economic outlook.

She said the IMF outlook for a "fragile and timid" recovery depended on officials in the powerhouse economies of Europe, the U.S. and Japan making "the right decisions."

Her comments came at the end of the gathering of 2,500 business, financial and political leaders that took place in a more upbeat atmosphere than last year.

Fears over the breakup the euro currency union have abated, while the U.S. has avoided the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that threatened to push the world's largest economy back into recession.

With those bullets dodged, there are fears that governments may ease up on the measures to improve growth and reduce debt that many institutions such as the IMF are calling for.

The IMF estimates that the world economy will grow about 3.5 percent this year, modestly better than last year's 3.2 percent. Yet the improvement is uneven. The eurozone and Japan are in recession, but the U.S. is growing, and emerging economies such as China are expanding much more quickly.

The developed world is still recovering from the shock of the financial crisis, which began in 2007 when U.S. banks revealed heavy losses related to mortgages handed out to people with shaky credit. With banks around the world teetering, the world economy slid into deepest recession since World War II and the recovery since has been unspectacular.

Like last year, Europe and specifically the debt problems of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, was a key focus in Davos.

Lagarde said officials in Europe have to see through reforms to prevent failed banks from adding to government debt through bailouts. Progress towards a "banking union" that would impose tougher, centralized supervision of banks to ward off failures and bailouts has been slow.

Lagarde said the eurozone was still in "a very fragile situation" that was made more risky through a slow decision-making process and occasional backtracking on initiatives.

In addition, she said U.S. has to sort out its budget dispute between Congress and President Barack Obama. Up against a New Year's deadline, the two sides put off much of their dispute for a few months.

"Good decisions have been made," she said. "Sometimes at the last minute, as in the United States, sometimes laborious and confusingly as in the eurozone," she said. "In 2013 they have to keep up the momentum.

Angel Gurria, the secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, echoed Lagarde, saying "let's fight complacency with everything we've got, let's continue with the reform process so we can consolidate this hesitant recovery."

Akira Amari, Japan's minister of economic and fiscal policy, underlined the determination of the newly elected government of Prime Minister Shenzo Abe to jolt the country's economy out of its stagnation.

And the head of Canada's central bank, Mark Carney, said the world's major economies, so far supported by central bank stimulus such as low interest rates, needed to "achieve escape velocity" in which growth becomes self-sustaining. Carney, who is due to become governor of the Bank of England in June, said the eurozone had been stabilized by an offer by the European Central Bank to buy government bonds of indebted countries and lower their borrowing costs.

Yet Carney said the ECB move was "crucial but not decisive" without progress on banking union and reforms to increase growth.

He said policy makers "have to finish the job they have started."

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/davos-2013-economists-war_n_2559186.html

winter solstice Jabari Parker 2012 australia Brothers Grimm Tate Stevens Miss Universe 2012

Anonymous hijacks federal website to avenge activist's death

1 day

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON???The hacker-activist group Anonymous says it hijacked the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The FBI is investigating.

The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch (http://www.ussc.gov), was taken over early Saturday and replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed."

The hackers say they've infiltrated several government computer systems and copied secret information that they now threaten to make public.

Family and friends of Swartz, who helped create Reddit and RSS, say he killed himself after he was hounded by federal prosecutors. Officials say he helped post millions of court documents for free online, and that he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles from an online clearinghouse.

The FBI's Richard McFeely, executive assistant director of the agency's?Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, said in a statement that "we were aware as soon as it happened and are handling it as a criminal investigation. We are always concerned when someone illegally accesses another person's or government agency's network."

Hours after the hijacking, pages on the USSC.gov website were available only sporadically.

This report was updated by NBC News.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/anonymous-hijacks-federal-website-protest-activist-aaron-swartzs-death-1C8125283

Carlton Morgan Freeman Dead Stand Up to Cancer Azarenka NFL fantasy football Chris Kluwe Jennifer Granholm

1 officer killed, 2 wounded near La. casino

A sheriff's deputy rides in a police vehicles as he leaves the scene of a shooting, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after setting a deadly fire at a mobile home near a south Louisiana casino. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

A sheriff's deputy rides in a police vehicles as he leaves the scene of a shooting, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after setting a deadly fire at a mobile home near a south Louisiana casino. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

Louisiana State Trooper Stephen Hammons gives information about the shootings Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after setting a deadly fire at a mobile home near a south Louisiana casino. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

A fire set by a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies is extinguished, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

An Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office command post is driven to the scene of a shooting Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after setting a deadly fire at a mobile home near a south Louisiana casino. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

Louisiana State Trooper Stephen Hammons gives information about the shootings Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Charenton, La. Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after setting a deadly fire at a mobile home near a south Louisiana casino. (AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Lee Ball)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer and critically wounding two sheriff's deputies after allegedly setting fire to a mobile home in south Louisiana, where an elderly man's body was found.

A Chitimacha tribal officer was pronounced dead at the scene of the shootings in Charenton, while two St. Mary Parish sheriff's deputies were critically wounded and taken to local hospitals, said Louisiana State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons.

Hammons said the officers were responding to a report of an armed man walking down a road near the Cypress Bayou Casino when Wilbert Thibodeaux, 48, of Charenton allegedly shot them.

"Thibodeaux fired at the Chitimacha Officer, fatally wounding him," state police said in a news release. "As two St. Mary Deputies, who were in the same car, arrived at the scene Thibodeaux fired multiple shots hitting the deputies. During the encounter, Thibodeaux was shot."

Investigators found the burned remains of a man after extinguishing a fire at a mobile home that Thibodeaux is suspected of setting before the officers confronted him, Hammons said.

Police identified the deceased man in the mobile home as Eddie Lyons, 78, of Charenton. "Detectives suspect Lyons was shot by Thibodeaux before the fire," state police said in a news release.

Thibodeaux was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound that wasn't considered life-threatening and released, according to Hammons, who said investigators were questioning him Saturday evening. Charges against him are pending.

The state Fire Marshal's office is investigating the fire.

"Today is a difficult day for our partners in St. Mary Parish," Col. Mike Edmonson, the State Police superintendent, said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with the deputies and the officer's families tonight. I know the coming days and weeks will be difficult ones for the men and women of the Chitimacha Police Department and the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office. We will assist their agencies in any way we can during these trying times."

The casino is run by the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana and is less than a quarter-mile from the scene of the shootings. Hammons said the shootings occurred near but not on tribal land.

"Everybody is just in shock. It's small-town America," said Jacqueline Junca, the tribe's secretary and treasurer.

Police didn't immediately release the names of the officers. Authorities said they will do so at a Monday news conference.

Tribe councilman Toby Darden said the slain officer was married and had two grown children, but he declined to give his name.

"He's a real great guy. Extremely dedicated to his job. Very brave," Darden said.

He was one of seven full-time officers who patrol a 260-acre reservation that has roughly 150 homes, a grocery store, a small school and government offices.

"Everybody knows the officers personally," Darden said. "It's devastating."

Junca said the tribe has around 1,200 members, roughly half of whom live on the reservation.

Access to and from the casino was restricted for roughly 90 minutes as a precautionary measure while police responded to the shooting, said casino spokeswoman Nancy Herrington. Charenton is located about 45 miles southeast of Lafayette.

"We are very much in business and have been," Herrington said later Saturday. "We have events tonight. All of those are taking place."

A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office and a tribal police dispatcher referred questions about the shootings to the State Police.

"We've got a lot of unanswered questions," State Police Capt. Doug Cain said.

One of the injured deputies was taken to a hospital in New Orleans and the other was taken to a Lafayette hospital. Both were listed in critical but stable condition Saturday evening, Hammons said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-26-Louisiana-Officers%20Shot/id-3640a314a60f423d93b6abdeebfa431e

the replacements how to hard boil eggs new nfl uniforms easter derbyshire the matrix oceans 11

9/11 remains dominant political theme for US

By Tom Curry, National Affairs Writer, NBC News

The attack of Sept. 11, 2001, has been so pervasive a theme in American politics in the years since that at times we scarcely notice its influence even though it explains so much of what came after that day.

Gary Cameron / Reuters

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) questions Senator John Kerry (Not Pictured) during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Kerry's nomination to be secretary of state, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 24, 2013.

Sometimes almost forgotten, 9/11 is an experience some Americans may recall only when they travel and must undergo screening from a select few of the army of 45,000 screeners that was created by the actions of 19 suicidal hijackers.

So it was remarkable that three times in the space of two Senate hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, the 9/11 attack percolated through the discussion.

Testifying Thursday morning at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be secretary of state, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., voiced his regret that one effect of that fateful day has been to make people abroad see American policy simply in terms of killing individual al Qaida leaders and pre-empting terrorist threats.

America?s foreign policy must not be ?defined by drones and deployments alone,? Kerry warned. ?We cannot allow the extraordinary good we do to save and change lives to be eclipsed entirely by the (counterterrorism) role we have had to play since September 11th, a role that was thrust upon us.?

A day before, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her testimony about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, used the 2001 attack to make the case for continued robust American involvement in North Africa.

She warned of the risks of a 9/11-style attack from the group Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

?People say to me all the time, well, AQIM hasn't attacked the United States. Well, before 9/11, 2001, we hadn't been attacked on our homeland since, I guess, the War of 1812 and Pearl Harbor. So you can't say, well, because they haven't done something they're not going to do it,? she said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Mali's "progress on democracy" was disrupted by the Kaddafi-supported militant and al-Qaeda loyalists, warning that we must not let the region become a haven for terrorists.

But a bit later Clinton came under assault from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who used 9/11 as his rhetorical theme.

?Ultimately with your leaving (the State Department), you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11, and I really mean that,? Paul told Clinton. Democrats on the committee recoiled in anger at what they saw as a cheap exploitation of 9/11.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Clinton, ?I think if some people on this committee want to call the tragedy in Benghazi the worst since 9/11, it misunderstands the nature of 4,000 Americans-plus lost over 10 years of war in Iraq, fought under false pretenses. It was fought under false pretenses, but it was also fought, I think, because we had a misunderstanding of what we could do and what we could manage in that region for what was under our control.?

Murphy, first elected to the House in 2006 as part of the voter backlash against the Iraq war, didn?t mention that Clinton herself, serving in the Senate in 2002, voted for the congressional resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to invade Iraq.

Her vote was one liability during her bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination ? a liability which Barack Obama, a state senator when Congress voted on the Iraq invasion, didn?t have.

The 9/11 attack created the political environment which made possible, and perhaps even inevitable, the congressional vote authorizing Bush to use military force against Iraq.

In his Oct. 7, 2002, speech making the case for using force, Bush repeatedly invoked 9/11. To those American who wondered ?why do we need to confront it (the threat of Saddam Hussein) now?? Bush said, ?There?s a reason. We have experienced the horror of Sept. 11. We have seen that those who hate America are willing to crash airplanes into buildings full of innocent people.? And America?s enemies would be eager ?to use a biological or chemical, or a nuclear weapon.?

Four days later, the Senate voted for the Iraq war authorization, with Kerry, Clinton and then-Sen. Joe Biden among the 77 voting for it.

Just as Murphy had argued at Wednesday?s Senate hearing that Iraq was ?fought under false pretenses,? so, too, Democrats back in 2004 argued that Kerry, Clinton, Biden, then-Sen. Chuck Hagel and the other members of Congress who?d voted for the Iraq war resolution had been deceived.

But some antiwar Democrats argued that ? deception or not ? their party could never beat Bush in 2004 with a candidate who was compromised by having voted for the Iraq war resolution.

It?s impossible to know the answer to that question ? would Howard Dean or Sen. Bob Graham (who voted ?no? on the Iraq war resolution) have defeated Bush in 2004?

We do know that Bush held his party?s 2004 convention in New York City, a target of the 9/11 attack and defeated Kerry in the election.

His second term was an unhappy one for many reasons, but it was Bush ? not Kerry ? who got to the fill the next two vacancies on the Supreme Court.

And 9/11?s effect is also still directly felt in the current wrestling over fiscal policy. As Obama and congressional leaders try to figure out how to pay for ever-growing entitlement programs and reduce budget deficits, Republicans in Congress, but many Democrats, too, are reluctant to significantly reduce a $630 billion Defense Department budget that grew massively in the years after Sept. 11, 2001.

Source: http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/26/16698169-kerry-clinton-paul-remind-americans-why-911-remains-dominant-political-theme?lite

new york philharmonic marines urinating on taliban critics choice awards super pac dre kirkpatrick mls superdraft school cancellations

The Darkness within Ever After

Your Favorite Fairytales, gone bad, only the chosen one can save them from their own destruction.

Owner:

Game Masters:

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

---

---

I am more than interested. Did you want the same characters, we applied for originally, or what were you planning?

JEDH3

Member for 2 years

---

---

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: 0neTailedf0x*, AngelBell, Arceius*, Areomancer*, Arik223*, Armageddon*, Armourning, AugustaBlaze*, Avelyne, AzricanRepublic*, bandgeek*, bellelaine, Binsetsu*, birthstone_spirits, bizarre1*, Blackbird26*, blacksky, bladewolf175, BleachFan95*, BleedingLover*, blueluckster, BumbleDrop*, Canibelle, cha-kun*, chaoticcarrot*, ChaoticMarin*, Chari*, CharlotteV*, Cheyenne Hikaru, Child of the Winged, ChristyLovesYou*, cirrus_sd*, cmpuncle, Comrade*, CookieCupcake, CptxMorgan*, CrashQueen, create_something, Curtsive, D.Angel*, Daakukage*, Dalmar*, Daxion*, Deallo*, deathrisesagain, demented-tiger*, desire99600*, Digital_Muse*, DreamerOnTheStars*, Dude, duramon*, Eddy V. Sovorov, Elrith Eldwind*, ElvenEllis*, emogirlrockz11*, EverFidelis*, Exabot [Bot], Ezarael*, fate0013*, Fearful-lover*, Finalhazard3*, Flame1819, flying monkey child, Fox in a Lab Coat, Fredalice, Game Master Zero, Geekly*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, Guilty Carrion, Gypsy123, Harlequin Smile, HereMeNow, holothewisewolf, Hoofprintsonmyheart_*, hxcdreamer*, Hydrall, Igari*, Insomniatic*, Izzyvamp*, jackrules158, Jadebud98*, Jadeling Hawkins, JayZeroSnake, JEDH3, JGamer502, John_234, Just Sayin'*, Kaire23*, Karu*, Khorudan*, KiraArsenic, Kohananinja, KonamiCode*, Kura Ravengade*, Kuroe, Kurokiku*, Lady Inali, Lady.Yuuka, LadyNightshade*, Lainpinky131, laxnchill20, Leopard90*, Life-Owner, Lifecharacter, Linnea*, listentothetimpani*, littleblueclover*, lostamongtrees, LuckyNumber24, Mahmoud Schahed*, Maitros, Malfunction*, MaliceInWonderland, Marionette*, Mat_z6*, megadonkey30, Merusagon*, Midnightclub, miz_reichul, MSN [Bot], MSNbot Media, MusaMe*, Nannyhap*, nariko11*, NasiaWords, Nebrae*, nicolbaka*, Nikolai*, Once-Ler_Fangirl, Ookami500, Ottoman*, Patcharoo*, pepperx3*, PixieCP*, ponerj, Porecomesis*, Princess Awinita*, PsychicBastard*, PulseTrick*, punkwithflute*, Pure Excellence*, Qaida*, qbsuperstar03*, RacoonMoon()*, rariszoo, Ravenesque, RedWolfe, Rein_13, Rem?us*, reveries*, RichterGotz*, Rougeshadow*, RydeDawg, Saarai, sabrinalove3001, Sage Akia*, Sapphire Tears*, SarcasticIrony*, Sathandra*, Savader*, Scarlet Loup*, Seveneleven*, shadereen*, shadow_raiken, shadowflame777*, ShadtheWerepire*, Shiki29*, Shiva, Shpleem*, silver0lilly, SilverStar89, SkullsandSlippers*, slcam*, smrtazz13*, Sneakyrio*, SolidSnacks*, Sonata*, Sovereign, Spica, SRincarnate*, Stark Contrast*, Stilts*, StitchSaysHi*, supertoastgirl, SylphofSpace*, Sylwyn, Tainted Twinkee, TaniaSoulEater*, TemplarWarden, TheMadBlackRabbit, TheNoremac42, Thundergod1020*, Tiko*, TommyGirl, Travis_black, TrueNarnian, twi-twi*, UCTigerette, UltimateTurtleShell, usernamesareadrag*, Verum Umbra, vilevixen*, Vinn*, viper45*, Vizcious*, Wake, WaltJRimmer, warthog*, WhatsUpWazza*, whymymothergoose, WinterWhisperz, Wssl, xoxMissClairexox, XShishioX, XxEvil1xX*, xXRawrDarkWolfXx, Yveine, zeno3111*, Zentose*, Ziddie*, Zman2010

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/Pgng7kJMqwM/viewtopic.php

tax refund calculator huntington disease west memphis three taxes game of thrones season 2 trailer sag award winners girl scout cookies

Midsummer classless

We learned yesterday that, in all likelihood, the Reds were going to get the 2015 All-Star Game. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald notes it?s quite possible that the Marlins would have gotten the Midsummer Classic that year had Jeff Loria not called for the Marlins? latest fire sale.

He cites team president David Samson?s comments to MLB.com last year in which he said that the Marlins were ?excited to host it,? and speculates that?the Marlins may have fallen out of favor with the Commissioner?s office following this offseason?s payroll slashing, fan-alienating trades. If so,?Spencer notes,this wouldn?t be the first time:

The Marlins, who have been around since 1993, have never hosted one. MLB had selected the Marlins to host the 2000 All-Star Game at Sun Life Stadum but took it away from them in 1998 due to uncertainty over the future of the franchise after the ?97 World Series team was dismantled.

Doin? a heckuva a job there, Jeffy.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/22/fire-sales-have-cost-the-marlins-two-all-star-games/

Geno Smith ny giants brandon marshall ryder cup Kate Middleton Bottomless the Pirate Bay Hotel Transylvania

Alarmists Change the Data to Support Global Warming Claims (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/278830136?client_source=feed&format=rss

andrew luck pro day josh johnson kim kardashian flour matt forte jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland

frog conjugation: Cricket returns to Northern Recreation Ground ...

19 January, 2013 05:58:00

January 19, 2013: ? The Sports Company of Trinidad & Tobago are pleased to announce the completion of Phase I in refurbishment works at Northern Regional Recreation Ground in Diego Martin. The large and lush field has been utilised as a central area for sport (cricket and football) as well as recreation for this populous Western community. ? In recognition of this significant event, a cricket match is carded for Saturday 19 January 2013 from 12noon at the Ground between hometown team Merry Boys and Diamond United. One of the leading clubs in the country, Merry Boys has produced several national players, including current T&T opener Lendl Simmons who played for the club in the 2012 season. ? Creating the foundation of an ideal cricket venue, the San Juan-based Monteco Creations Ltd. was the main contractor on this first Phase of the upgrade project with works completed, in just over a year, in site clearance, drainage, outfield construction and installation of cricket turf pitch. Phase I works at Northern Regional Recreation Ground began in November 2011 and is one of more than 60 projects to upgrade and refurbish regional and community grounds across Trinidad in order to assist in the process of engendering community spirit while nurturing sporting talent at this level. ? -END- ? Natasha Nunez-St. Clair Communications Officer The Sports Company of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd. Tel: 1-868-623-1954 / 2448 ext 291 Fax: 1-868-624-7184 Mobile: 1-868-337-5471 Email: nnunez@sportt-tt.com Web: www.sportt-tt.com

Source: http://www.news.gov.tt/index.php?news=12326

university of texas UT Austin Lizzie Velasquez NFL Network att libya engadget

Source: http://frog-conjugation.blogspot.com/2013/01/cricket-returns-to-northern-recreation.html

hana taylor momsen xbox live update joan rivers gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world

Kardashian's LA home target of fake 911 call

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Los Angeles County sheriff's officials are looking for the person who called 911 and falsely reported an emergency at a former Malibu residence of the Kardashians.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Sunday that it's too soon to tell whether the reality TV stars are the latest victims of so-called "swatting," a hoax intended to get officers, including specialized SWAT teams, sent to a home.

Deputies responded to the call Friday at a house in Malibu where the Kardashians formerly lived, Whitmore said. After finding the house empty the deputies contacted the family and went to their new home about 20 miles away in Hidden Hills, he said. They found no crime had been committed. No arrests were made.

Kim Kardashian, who was not home at the time, decried the hoax on Twitter, calling it "dangerous" and "not a joke."

"These prank calls are NOT funny!," she wrote Friday. Kardashian said her mother called her after at least 15 officers arrived on their doorstep.

Whitmore said sheriff's officials and other California law enforcement agencies will lobby state lawmakers to make "swatting" a felony.

Authorities are investigating "scores" of similar cases across the state, he said. In some instances, the hoaxers use technology that makes it appear that the 911 calls were made inside the homes where police are sent, according to Whitmore.

"What we want to do is have the legislature turn up the heat on these people," he said. "This is a serious, serious crime."

Police last week responded to a false report of an armed robbery at Tom Cruise's Beverly Hills home. In December, a boy was arrested after police said he made calls that reported violence at the homes of Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher.

Kim Kardashian is the star of the E! Entertainment Television series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," the network's top-rated show. She also appears on other shows involving her family.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-20-Hoax%20Call-Kardashians/id-11b68637c82c4177a5eed3088dd6a026

dancing with the stars sean taylor Lisa Robin Kelly Nexus 4 Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels

Hundreds join pro-gun rallies in state capitals (Providence Journal)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/278167613?client_source=feed&format=rss

2012 oscar nominations kyle williams florida debate rand paul mark kirk florida gop debate freddie mac

Selena Gomez Finds Herself A Real Man!

Selena Gomez Finds Herself A Real Man!

Selena Gomez is reportedly dating her “Monte Carlo” co-star, Aussie actor Luke Bracey. The 20-year-old singer/actress, who recently ended her two-year off/on romance with singer Justin Bieber, was spotted cozying up to Luke at the Golden Globes after parties. An eyewitness that saw Selena, Luke, and pals Josh Hutcherson and Ashley Tisdale at the party ...

Selena Gomez Finds Herself A Real Man! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/01/selena-gomez-finds-herself-a-real-man/

stand your ground law dancing with the stars season 14 david garrard michael bay ninja turtles san antonio weather mike daisey nicollette sheridan

White veins of Mars: Curiosity hits 'a jackpot' in quest for wetter past

Curiosity rover has found mineral-filled fissures in the rocks of Gale Crater on Mars. Together with other evidence, the minerals suggest that the rocks were once 'saturated with water.'

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / January 15, 2013

An outcrop shows well-defined veins filled with whitish minerals, interpreted as calcium sulfate, in this photo taken by NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars.

MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA/REUTERS

Enlarge

White veins of minerals coursing through rocks on the floor of Mars's Gale Crater are providing some of the strongest evidence yet that the rover Curiosity's landing site once was a wetter, warmer place.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The details are still fuzzy. But the composition of the minerals indicate that they precipitated out of water flowing through fissures in the rock, while large grains within the rocks themselves are rounded, suggesting that water might have dulled their sharp edges.

Yellowknife Bay, the rocky expanse Curiosity currently inhabits, "is literally shot through with these fractures," says John Grotzinger, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena., Calif., and the mission's chief scientist.

It also features abundant, berry-shaped spherules that scientists say are sedimentary concretions formed in and worked over by water.?

All together, "basically these rocks were saturated with water," Dr. Grotzinger explained during a briefing Tuesday outlining the rover's latest exploits.

Yellowknife Bay represents "a jackpot unit," he added. Initially, researchers thought they might have to drive Curiosity up on the shoulders of Mt. Sharp, a towering summit in the middle of the crater, to find such a trove.

If Curiosity made these finds on Mt. Sharp, "we would have been absolutely thrilled," Grotzinger says.

Curiosity, a one-ton geochemistry lab on wheels, landed on Mars in August. Its goal is to see if the crater at one time could have been hospitable for simple forms of organic life. Curiosity has spent the last six months exercising its suite of 10 instruments and its seven-foot robotic arm in a series of tests aimed at ensuring all the hardware is working well before the rover heads for Mt. Sharp, its ultimate destination.

The rover probably won't begin to explore Mt. Sharp for another year.

Curiosity has traveled slightly more than a quarter of a mile, as the crow flies, since landing. Along the way, however, scientists have chosen targets for instrument tests that have already provided insights into the crater's geologic past ? including evidence for an ancient stream bed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/FD0hETBeykI/White-veins-of-Mars-Curiosity-hits-a-jackpot-in-quest-for-wetter-past

aspergers Richard Engel Daniel Inouye steelers scarlett johansson tim tebow survivor

Militants say hostages die in Algerian raid

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) ? Algerian forces launched a military assault Thursday at a natural gas plant in the Sahara Desert, trying to free dozens of foreign hostages held by militants who have ties to Mali's rebel Islamists, diplomats and an Algerian security official said.

Yet information on the Algerian operation varied wildly and the conflicting reports that emerged from the remote area were impossible to verify independently. What did leak out prompted governments around the world to express deep concerns about the way Algeria tried to rescue the hostages, who were from at least nine different countries.

News of the bloody Algerian operation caused oil prices to rise $1.08 to $95.32 on the New York Mercantile Exchange and prompted energy companies like BP PLC and Spain's Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA to try to relocate energy workers at other Algerian plants.

The Algerian government said it was forced to intervene due to the militants' stubbornness and their desire to escape with the hostages. The communications minister said there were casualties in the military operation Thursday, but gave no details.

"An important number of hostages were freed and an important number of terrorists were neutralized and we regret the few dead and wounded, but we don't have numbers," minister Mohand Said Oubelaid said on national radio. "The operation to free the rest of the hostages still inside (the plant) is ongoing."

Islamists from the Masked Brigade, who have been speaking through a Mauritanian news outlet, said Algerian helicopters opened fire as the militants tried to leave the vast Ain Amenas energy complex with their hostages. They claimed that 35 hostages and 15 militants died in the strafing and only seven hostages survived.

Algeria's official news service, meanwhile, earlier claimed that 600 local workers were freed in the raid and half of the foreigners being held were rescued. Many of those locals were reportedly released on Wednesday, however, by the militants themselves.

One Irish hostage was confirmed safe: supervising electrician Stephen McFaul, whose mother said he would not be returning to Algeria.

"He phoned me at 9 o'clock to say al-Qaida were holding him, kidnapped, and to contact the Irish government, for they wanted publicity. Nightmare, so it was. Never want to do it again. He'll not be back! He'll take a job here in Belfast like the rest of us," said his mother, Marie.

Dylan, McFaul's 13-year-old son, started crying as he talked to Ulster Television."I feel over the moon, just really excited. I just can't wait for him to get home," he said.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration was "concerned about reports of loss of life and are seeking clarity from the government of Algeria."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe protested the military raid as an act that "threatened the lives of the hostages," according to a spokesman.

Jean-Christophe Gray, a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, said Britain was not informed in advance of the raid but described the situation as "very grave and serious." French President Francois Hollande called it a "dramatic" situation involving dozens of hostages.

An unarmed American surveillance drone soared overhead as the Algerian forces closed in, U.S. officials said. The U.S. offered military assistance Wednesday to help rescue the hostages ? whose numbers varied wildly from dozens to hundreds ? but the Algerian government refused, a U.S. official said in Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the offer.

Algerian forces who had ringed the Ain Amenas complex in a tense standoff had vowed not to negotiate with the kidnappers, who reportedly were seeking safe passage. Security experts said the end of the two-day standoff was in keeping with the North African country's tough approach to terrorism.

The kidnapping is one of the largest ever attempted by a militant group in North Africa. The militants phoned a Mauritanian news outlet to demand that France end its intervention in neighboring Mali to ensure the safety of the hostages in the isolated plant, located 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the capital of Algiers.

Phone contacts with the militants were severed as government forces closed in, according to the Mauritanian agency, which often carries reports from al-Qaida-linked extremist groups in North Africa.

A 58-year-old Norwegian engineer who made it to the safety of a nearby Algerian military camp told his wife how militants attacked a bus Wednesday before being fended off by a military escort.

"Bullets were flying over their heads as they hid on the floor of the bus," Vigdis Sletten told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Bokn, on Norway's west coast.

Her husband and the other bus passengers climbed out of a window and were transported to a nearby military camp, she said.

"He is among the lucky ones, and he has confirmed he is not injured," she said, declining to give his name for security reasons.

It was then that the militants went after the living quarters of the plant instead of disappearing back into the desert.

Information about the 41 foreign hostages the militants claimed to have ? which allegedly included seven Americans ? was scarce and conflicting. All were reportedly workers at the plant.

A spokesman for the Masked Brigade said 35 of the hostages died in the Algerian strafing, and told the Nouakchott Information Agency in Mauritania that the seven surviving hostages included three Belgians, two Americans, a Briton and a Japanese citizen.

Algeria's national news service, however, said only four hostages were freed during the military operation Thursday, citing a local law enforcement source.

Earlier in the day before the raid, an Algerian security official said that 20 foreign hostages had escaped. He did not return phone calls after the raid.

The Norwegian energy company Statoil had said three Algerian employees who had been held hostage were safe but the fate of nine Norwegian workers was unclear. Japanese media reported at least 3 Japanese citizens among the hostages and Malaysia confirmed two.

Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould dismissed theories that the militants had come from Libya, 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, or from Mali, more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. He said the roughly 20 well-armed gunmen were from Algeria itself, operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, al-Qaida's strongman in the Sahara.

Yves Bonnet, the former head of France's spy service, also dismissed the idea that the operation was specifically linked to the French action in Mali due to the amount of organization it involved.

"It was an operation conceived well in advance ? spectacular and needing a lot of preparation ... It was not at all an improvised operation," he told the Europe 1 radio. "Simply getting all those people into the desert would take several days."

It is certainly the largest haul of hostages since 2003, when the radical group that later evolved into al-Qaida in North Africa snatched 32 Western tourists in southern Algeria. This is also the first time Americans have been involved.

BP, the Norwegian company Statoil and the Algerian state oil company Sonatrach, operate the gas field and a Japanese company, JGC Corp, provides services for the facility.

Mali and al-Qaida specialist Mathieu Guidere said Algeria's decisive response was in keeping with its usual response to terrorism.

"The message is 'We will terrorize the terrorists,'" he said, adding that the Algerian government had prioritized protecting its gas fields throughout the worst of a violent Islamist insurgency in the 1990s.

Guidere said Algeria's refusal to accept help was also normal.

"They never accept any military help," he said. "They want to do it their way."

___

Associated Press writers Karim Kabir in Algiers, Kimberly Dozier and Robert Burns in Washington, Lori Hinnant and Elaine Ganley in Paris, Bjoern H. Amland in Oslo, Norway, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Cassie Vinograd and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/militants-hostages-die-algerian-raid-181057417--finance.html

barry larkin jay z new song torrie wilson alabama lsu bcs national championship bcs national championship 2012 bcs championship