Conn. governor set to sign gun control law

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as gun rights advocates enter the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A Capitol security officer enters a revolving door at the legislative office building, with a sign warning not to bring weapons on to the grounds at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Gun rights advocates fill the hallways of the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as he stands with other gun rights advocates outside the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who four months ago broke the news to shocked parents that their children had been slaughtered in a Connecticut elementary school, was expected to sign into law Thursday sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines similar to the ones used by the gunman.

Malloy's office said he would sign the bill at a state Capitol ceremony at noon, only hours after the General Assembly approved the measure early Thursday morning to give the state some of the toughest gun laws in the country.

In the hours after the shooting Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as anxious family members gathered inside a firehouse and waited for news, Malloy told them their loved ones were not coming home. He said later that he didn't think it was right for the families to wait for the victims ? 20 first-graders and six educators ? to be formally identified.

"I made the decision that ? to have that go on any longer ? was wrong," he said.

Now, Connecticut will join states including California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in having the country's strongest gun control laws, said Brian Malte, director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.

"This would put Connecticut right at the top or near the top of the states with the strongest gun laws," Malte said.

The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition. Some parts of the bill would take effect immediately after Malloy's signature, including background checks for all firearms sales.

Following a total of more than 13 hours of respectful and at times somber debate, the House of Representatives and the Senate voted in favor of the 139-page bill crafted by leaders from both major parties in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Both were bipartisan votes.

"I pray today's bill ? the most far-reaching gun safety legislation in the country ? will prevent other families from ever experiencing the dreadful loss that the 26 Sandy Hook families have felt," said House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz.

Colorado and New York also passed new gun control requirements in the wake of the Newtown shooting, in which a 20-year-old gunman used a military-style semi-automatic rifle.

Compared with Connecticut's legislation, which, for example, bans the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, New York restricted magazines to seven bullets and gave owners of higher-capacity magazines a year to sell them elsewhere. Colorado banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

But some lawmakers said they felt the legislation did not do enough to address mental health issues.

Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Newtown, acknowledged the legislation "is not perfect" and he hoped would be "a beginning in addressing critical mental health needs."

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, whose district includes Newtown, said he felt he was representing the interests of the Sandy Hook victims as he cast his vote.

"I stand here as their voice, as their elected representative," he said, reciting the names of the 26 victims.

Lawmakers appeared to still be stunned by the enormity of the massacre.

"When a child is sent to school, their parents expect them to be safe. The Sandy Hook shooting rampage was a parent's, a school system's, a community's and the nation's worst nightmare," said Republican state Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton.

Gun rights advocates who greatly outnumbered gun control supporters in demonstrations held earlier in the day at the Capitol railed against the proposals as misguided and unconstitutional, occasionally chanting "No! No! No!" and "Read the bill!"

"We want them to write laws that are sensible," said Ron Pariseau, of Pomfret, who was angry he'll be made a felon if he doesn't register his weapons that will no longer be sold in Connecticut. "What they're proposing will not stop anything."

By the time the Senate voted around 6:30 p.m., many of the gun rights advocates had gone home, leaving behind proponents of the bill who applauded when the tally in the Senate was read. The halls were mostly empty by the time the House voted at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

In the legislature, leaders waited to unveil gun legislation until they struck a bipartisan deal that they say shows how the parties can work together in Connecticut and elsewhere. They touted the package as a comprehensive response to Newtown that also addresses mental health and school security measures, including the creation of a new council to establish school safety standards and the expansion of circumstances when someone's mental history disqualifies him or her from obtaining a gun permit or other gun credentials.

"We did our job. We did it together," said House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr. "We did the best we could and I think we did a good thing."

Among the gun control advocates who turned out to witness the vote were Dan and Lauren Garrett, of Hamden, wearing green shirts in honor of the Sandy Hook victims. The Garretts traveled to Hartford with their 10-month-old son, Robert, to watch the bill's passage. They said they hope lawmakers will build on the proposal.

"It's just the beginning of this bill. In six months from now, it's going to get stronger and stronger," Dan Garrett said. "I think they're watching us all over the country."

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Kalin and Michael Melia in Hartford and John Christoffersen in New Haven contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-04-US-XGR-Gun-Control-Conn/id-80f973a0c8bb44f187c35176040eb80b

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Shocked: Anti-gay rant was misunderstood

Getty Images file

For much of Michelle Shocked's career, she was considered (willingly or not) an icon in the gay community. After standing up before a San Francisco crowd and going on what appeared to be an anti-gay rant, you'd think there would be little she could do to recover from the confounding display. Nevertheless, Shocked would like to explain what she said, and she seems to have done so in an open letter printed by the Texas Observer Wednesday.

During Sunday's show Shocked was quoted as saying, "When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilization and Jesus will come back." She told the crowd later, "You are going to leave here and tell people 'Michelle Shocked said God hates f------s.'"

In her letter -- which the Observer notes was given to them by a close friend of the singer, who does not use a publicist -- Shocked refutes the statements and claims aimed at her, claiming that her dismissal of Proposition 8 (a California ballot proposition and state constitutional amendment that restricted recognition of marriage to opposite sex couples passed in 2008 but overturned in 2010 as unconstitutional; a further ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court is expected in June) was not actually meant to be in her own voice, but in the voices of those who are anti-gay rights.

"To those fans who are disappointed by what they've heard or think I said, I'm very sorry: I don't always express myself as clearly as I should.?But don?t believe everything you read on Facebook or Twitter. My view of homosexuality has changed not one iota. I judge not. And my statement equating repeal of Prop 8 with the coming of the End Times was neither literal nor ironic: it was a description of how some folks -- not me -- ?feel about gay marriage," she wrote.

"I do not, nor have I ever, said or believed that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else)," she added.

She claimed her "support for the LGBT community ... has never wavered," and suggested this was no publicity stunt, as "I'm really not that clever."

Shocked also noted that she was sorry, and "if I could repeat the evening, I would make a clearer distinction between a set of beliefs I abhor, and my human sympathy for the folks who hold them. I say this not because I want to look better. I have no wish to hide my faults and -- clearly -- I couldn't if I tried."

Meanwhile, the audio of her statements from the stage on Sunday has surfaced (listen below; warning that some sensitive language is used).

The full letter and follow-up statement??is here. Meanwhile, Shocked was back on Twitter on Thursday, indicating she would be appearing on Nicole Sandler's internet radio show that day. Stay tuned.

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Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/21/17399491-michelle-shocked-apologizes-says-anti-gay-statements-were-misunderstood?lite

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Hate mail flies in battle over King Richard III

The bones of Richard III have been discovered in Leicester. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

The fight over the final disposition of King Richard III's 528-year-old remains has escalated to the point that people are sending hate mail to York's cathedral, the police are being called in to investigate, and a member of Parliament is pleading with the rivals to avoid sparking another "War of the Roses."

On strictly legal grounds, the matter was resolved even before the remains were unearthed?in a parking lot near Leicester Cathedral last year. Britain's Justice Ministry granted researchers from the University of Leicester a license to conduct the excavation there and to determine the disposition of any human remains found there.

Last month, the researchers announced that a skeleton found at the site belonged to Richard III, based on DNA tests. The discovery resolved a longstanding mystery over what happened to Richard's remains after his death in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. That battle marked a turning point in the Wars of the Roses, a decades-long contest between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne.?

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Richard III has gotten a bad rap through the centuries ??in part because William Shakespeare's play about the monarch cast him as a hunchbacked villain. But historians say he wasn't that terrible of a guy, and since last month's announcement, Richard III's fans have been arguing over whether he should be reburied in Leicester, where he was found; in York, where he had family ties; or in London's Westminster Abbey, the resting place for many of England's kings.

The University of Leicester is already working to arrange a burial at Leicester Cathedral next year, but some of the opponents of that plan?? including nine descendants of Richard III's siblings?? have taken up York's case. The arguments are apparently getting uglier: Hugh Bayley, a member of Parliament representing York Central, said that York Minster's dean, Vivienne Faull, has received some letters "so extreme that she has referred the correspondence to the police."

Faull was dean of Leicester Cathedral before coming to York, and she has shied away from contesting Leicester's claim to the remains. "It has been suggested that opponents have accused her of bias because of her previous links to Leicester Cathedral," The Telegraph reported.

The Yorkshire Post quoted a spokesman for the Dean and Chapter of York as confirming that "a small number" of the letters relating to the fuss over Richard III's remains have been abusive. "These have been passed to the Minster Police, and they continue to monitor the situation closely," the spokesman was quoted as saying.

The British government's current view is that Richard III's final disposition is up to the University of Leicester, but during Tuesday's speech in the House of Commons, Bayley urged the government to establish an independent commission to decide the matter. In the meantime, he called for what Shakespeare might have termed "some little pause" in the battle.?

?I would say to everybody ??calm down," Bayley said. "Let us all respect the memory of a former king of our country, and let us discuss, in a dignified and sober way, where his remains should finally be put to rest. We do not want to reignite the Wars of the Roses.?

More about Richard III:

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Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17288251-police-investigating-hate-mail-sent-to-york-in-battle-over-king-richard-iii?lite

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Holly Madison: My Daughter Won?t Be Traumatized By Her Name

"I want my daughter to be proud of who she is and learn to speak up and stand up for herself at a young age," Madison explains.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/BMTbmc3sWKw/

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"Argo" extends winning streak with BAFTA for best film

LONDON (Reuters) - Ben Affleck's "Argo" was crowned best film at the BAFTAs on Sunday while Daniel Day-Lewis bagged yet another leading actor award for the title role in "Lincoln" as an increasingly familiar awards season script unfolded in London.

Affleck also won the best director trophy for "Argo", about the rescue of American hostages in Iran during the 1979 revolution, and the movie is now in pole position to win the biggest movie award of all on Oscar night.

"You are remarkable at what you do. You're smart and you know what you want but more importantly you love what you're doing," George Clooney, one of the film's producers, told Affleck on stage as they accepted the best film award.

Steven Spielberg's biopic of Abraham Lincoln was nominated in 10 categories but went away with just one award for Day-Lewis, following a pattern seen at the Golden Globes and at other prestigious U.S. award nights.

The reclusive Day-Lewis, a method actor well-known for staying in character during the entire filming period of his movies, began his victory speech by satirising his own working habits.

"Just on the chance that I might one day have to speak on an evening such as this, I've actually stayed in character as myself for the last 55 years," he said to laughs from the audience at the Royal Opera House.

"Every time I rise from a chair it spontaneously unleashes a soundtrack of thunderous applause, with a few boos and some drunken hecklers."

Emmanuelle Riva, an 85-year-old French actress, won the BAFTA for leading actress for her part as a retired music teacher struggling to cope with the aftermath of a stroke, in Austrian director Michael Haneke's "Amour".

The award finally brings a win for Riva who was nominated for a BAFTA in the foreign actress category in 1961 for "Hiroshima, Mon Amour", but lost out to Shirley MacLaine.

Haneke's harrowing French-language "Amour" also won the BAFTA for best film not in the English language.

Anne Hathaway won the BAFTA for best supporting actress for her singing role as the tragic Fantine in "Les Miserables", the movie version of a global hit stage musical.

"What am I thinking? I almost walked past George Clooney without hugging him. That's just stupid," she said after being presented with her statuette by the Hollywood heart-throb.

"I'm so relieved I'm coming down with laryngitis because the location, the giddiness, this could be a recipe for disaster," she said before launching into a breathless thank you speech.

Christoph Waltz won the supporting actor award for his performance in Quentin Tarantino's slavery-era Western "Django Unchained", which also won the best original screenplay BAFTA.

JOY FOR BOND FANS

The James Bond movie "Skyfall" beat "Les Miserables" to win the BAFTA award for outstanding British film, a rare joy for 007 fans who feel the Martini-loving spy has been long overdue for a major trophy.

Judi Dench, who plays spymaster M in "Skyfall", leapt out of her seat with a cry of surprise when the award was announced at the start of the night.

"We all had very high expectations for the film and I think it's fair to say all of them have been exceeded, and this really is the icing on the cake," said Sam Mendes, the film's director.

"Skyfall" has become the most successful film in British box office history, but ahead of the ceremony the odds had been on "Les Miserables" to win. The Bond franchise has a long history of awards disappointments.

"Skyfall" also took the award for original music, while "Les Miserables" took four BAFTAs. As well as Hathaway's prize, the musical won best production design, sound, and make-up and hair.

"Les Mis", as it is popularly known in Britain, has been a huge box office hit and fans sang songs from the film at Hugh Jackman, one of its stars, as he walked the red carpet in the rain just before the ceremony.

Ang Lee's "Life of Pi", about a man and a tiger lost at sea, won two BAFTAs, one for best cinematography and another for visual effects. The tiger, a central character, was entirely conjured out of special effects.

Versatile British director Alan Parker, whose body of work ranges from musical gangster film "Bugsy Malone" to Turkish-set prison thriller "Midnight Express" and civil rights drama "Mississippi Burning", received a BAFTA fellowship.

"It's a sign I'm getting old. Next it's a memorial service," Parker told Reuters on the red carpet.

(Additional reporting by Clare Hutchison, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argo-extends-winning-streak-bafta-best-film-015106087.html

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The military suicide epidemic

By TBO.COM | Staff
Published: February 11, 2013 Updated: February 11, 2013 - 12:00 AM

Simply stated, it is a stunning and distressing statistic that should alarm all Americans: There were more suicides in the United States military in 2012 than there were military deaths caused by combat in Afghanistan. There were 295 combat deaths last year but 349 suicides.

Even so, there is some modestly encouraging news. The overall percentage of suicides by veterans has declined, if only slightly, over the years. Researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs suggest this downward trend proves their efforts to reduce suicide may be having an effect. Yet the numbers are still alarming.

The Pentagon began closely tracking suicides in 2001, which is when the fighting in Afghanistan began, and the situation is now so grim that departing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has labeled it an epidemic. He's not alone by any means.

"This is an epidemic that cannot be ignored," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., declared when the latest statistics were made public. "As our newest generation of service members and veterans face unprecedented challenges, today's news shows we must be doing more to ensure they are not slipping through the cracks."

But what exactly should "doing more" look like? When most epidemics occur ? for example, the recent flu scare that swept the United States ? urgent measures are swiftly taken to address the problem. How should the government respond to this particularly disheartening epidemic? After all, this is not a typical health issue. But it is just as urgent.

Last year Panetta announced a four-track suicide prevention plan that called for increased responsibility by military leaders, especially junior officers and NCOs; improved quality and access to health care; elevated mental fitness; and increased research into suicide prevention.

It is too soon to judge its impacts, but as the numbers show, suicides continue.

"The problem reflects severe strains on military personnel burdened with more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, complicated by anxiety over the prospect of being forced out of a shrinking force," The Associated Press report noted.

Military suicides began rising in 2006, and there were 310 in 2009 before they tapered off for two years. The data suggest the problem is worse among older veterans. Most veterans who commit suicide are older than age 50.

The Army had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182, but of course the Army is by far the largest branch among America's military services. Expressed as a percentage, however, the largest increase was in the Marine Corps. Its suicide numbers had dipped for the two previous years but rose 50 percent (to 48) last year, or just short of the worst year of 52 Marine suicides three years ago. There were 59 Air Force suicides, up 16 percent from the previous year, and 60 among Navy personnel, up 15 percent.

"Now that we're decreasing our troops and they're coming back home, that's when they're really in the danger zone, when they're transitioning back to their families, back to their communities and really finding a sense of purpose for themselves," warned Kim Ruocco, whose husband killed himself between Iraq deployments in 2005. She's in charge of the suicide prevention program for a group called Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS. However, suicide prevention isn't easy, as Ruocco acknowledged.

"If you have a perfect storm of events on the day with somebody who has high risk factors, it's very difficult to be there every moment, fill every crack, and we just have to continue to be aware of what the risk factors are," she said. But that's easier said than done.

Americans understand it is inevitable that lives will be lost in combat, and as sad as that is, it's at least a price they absolutely must be willing to pay, however reluctantly, if we are to preserve our country's freedom.

But suicide? That's a different issue altogether, and the Pentagon must take every possible step to confront this dreadful epidemic. Our military men and women deserve no less.

Source: http://www2.tbo.com/news/opinion/2013/feb/11/naopino1-the-military-suicide-epidemic-ar-630052/

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Bleach: Dawn Of A New Discord

It's been a year since Aizen's defeat and the some of the arrancar still want to destroy/take over the Soul Society. How will the war unfold as unfamiliar enemies appear?

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G-20? How About G-0?

A woman holds her grandson, near their small shack in Juba, South Sudan. Though the developing world is growing at a faster pace than the developed world, inequality is still a major problem.

Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

The World Economic Forum?s annual meeting in Davos has lost some of its pre-crisis panache. After all, before the meltdown in 2008, the captains of finance and industry could trumpet the virtues of globalization, technology, and financial liberalization, which supposedly heralded a new era of relentless growth. The benefits would be shared by all, if only they would do ?the right thing.?

Those days are gone. But Davos remains a good place to get a sense of the global zeitgeist.

It goes without saying that developing and emerging-market countries no longer look at the advanced countries as they once did. But a remark by one mining company executive from a developing country caught the spirit of change. In response to one development expert?s heartfelt despair that unfair trade treaties and unfulfilled promises of aid have cost the developed countries their moral authority, he retorted: ?The West never had any moral authority.? Colonialism, slavery, the splintering of Africa into small countries, and a long history of resource exploitation may be matters of the distant past to the perpetrators, but not so to those who suffered as a result.

If there is a single topic that concerned the assembled leaders the most, it is economic inequality. The shift in the debate from just a year ago seems dramatic: No one even mentions the notion of trickle-down economics anymore, and few are willing to argue that there is a close congruence between social contributions and private rewards.

While the realization that America is not the land of opportunity that it has long claimed to be is as disconcerting to others as it is to Americans, inequality of opportunity at the global scale is even greater. One cannot really claim that the world is ?flat? when a typical African receives investment in his or her human capital of a few hundred dollars, while rich Americans get a gift from their parents and society in excess of $500,000 dollars.

A high point of the meeting was the speech by Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund?s managing director, who stressed the marked change in her institution, at least at the top: deep concern about women?s rights, renewed emphasis on the link between inequality and instability, and recognition that collective bargaining and minimum wages could play an important role in reducing inequality. If only the IMF programs in Greece and elsewhere fully reflected these sentiments!

The Associated Press organized a sobering session on technology and unemployment: Can countries (particularly in the developed world) create new jobs?especially good jobs?in the face of modern technology that has replaced workers with robots and other machines in any task that can be routinized?

Overall, the private sector in Europe and America has been unable to create many good jobs since the beginning of the current century. Even in China and other parts of the world with growing manufacturing sectors, productivity improvements?often related to job-killing automated processes?account for most of the growth in output. Those suffering the most are the young, whose life prospects will be badly hurt by the extended periods of unemployment that they face today.

But most of those in Davos put aside these problems to celebrate the euro?s survival. The dominant note was one of complacency?or even optimism. The ?Draghi put? ?the notion that the European Central Bank, with its deep pockets, would and could do whatever necessary to save the euro and each of the crisis countries?seemed to have worked, at least for a while. The temporary calm provided some support for those who claimed that what was required, above all, was a restoration of confidence. The hope was that Draghi?s promises would be a costless way of providing that confidence, because they would never have to be fulfilled.

Critics repeatedly pointed out that the fundamental contradictions had not been resolved, and that if the euro was to survive in the long run, there would have to be a fiscal and banking union, which would require more political unification than most Europeans are willing to accept.

IMF growth forecasts released during the Davos meeting highlight the extent to which the world has become decoupled: GDP growth in the advanced industrial countries is expected to be 1.4 percent this year, while developing countries continue to grow at a robust 5.5 percent annual rate.

While Western leaders talked about a new emphasis on growth and employment, they offered no concrete policies backing these aspirations. In Europe, there was continued emphasis on austerity, with self-congratulations on the progress made so far, and a reaffirmation of resolve to continue along a course that has now plunged Europe as a whole into recession?and the United Kingdom into a triple-dip downturn.

Perhaps the most optimistic note came from the emerging markets: While the risk of globalization was that it implied a new interdependence, so that flawed economic policies in the U.S. and Europe could torpedo developing countries? economies, the more successful emerging markets have managed globalization well enough to sustain growth in the face of failures in the West.

In the last 25 years, we have moved from a world dominated by two superpowers to one dominated by one, and now to a leaderless, multipolar world. While we may talk about the G-7, or G-8, or G-20, the more apt description is G-0. We will have to learn how to live, and thrive, in this new world.

This article was originally published by?Project Syndicate.?For more from?Project Syndicate,?visit their Web site and follow them on?Twitter?or?Facebook.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=2798dfd5bbfbc6e6e050b8d82bdb69ec

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Tunisia: scattered violence , pro-government rally

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) ? Several thousand supporters of Tunisia's governing moderate Islamist party held a pro-government demonstration in the capital on Saturday, a day after the funeral of an assassinated opposition politician.

But outside Tunis, groups of youths threw stones at offices of the governing party and attacked police stations in several cities.

The Interior Ministry said 230 people, aged 16 to 25, have been arrested since Friday, the day Chokri Belaid was buried. The slaying of the respected opposition figure unleashed anger, and his funeral drew hundreds of thousands of mourners chanting anti-government slogans in Tunis.

Saturday was the third straight day of reports of unrest in this North African country, which overthrew its long-ruling president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in January 2011, kicking off the Arab Spring revolutions.

In the two years since, Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party, has won elections and governed in a coalition with two secular parties. However, there are growing signs of divisions within the party, made more visible after Belaid's killing.

It is not known who killed Belaid, but the assassination unleashed pockets of pillaging and unrest on Saturday, including an attack by some 80 youths armed with stones and clubs on a police station and a second security post in Zaghouan, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Tunis, the official TAP news agency reported. To the south, in the town of Kebili, some 60 people, mainly youths, attacked the governing Ennahda party offices. The extent of that damage was not immediately known.

Meanwhile, several thousand supporters of Ennahda held a pro-government demonstration in the capital on Saturday. The protesters also insulted France, accusing the former colonial ruler of interfering in the North African country's politics.

The Ennahda party had called for the show of support for the constitutional assembly, whose work on a new constitution suffered a severe setback after the killing of Belaid on Wednesday when the opposition withdrew its participation.

The Ennahda party said Saturday's rally also was meant to protest "French interference," a reference to French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who this week denounced Belaid's killing as an attack on "the values of Tunisia's Jasmine revolution."

The protesters denounced Valls' remarks, claiming they showed France is interfering in Tunisia's internal affairs. The demonstrators gathered in front of the National Theater, waving flags of the Ennahda party and shouting "Get out, France!"

The main thoroughfare was bustling, with cafes full and shops reopened after a general strike Friday. Police in riot armor and plainclothes officers patrolled, but the protest was peaceful ? in contrast to the aftermath of Friday's funeral when police fired tear gas amid running street battles in Tunis.

Valls said on Europe 1 radio Thursday that Belaid was "one of the democrats and we must support these democrats so that the values of the Jasmine Revolution are not betrayed. There is an Islamic fascism rising everywhere, but this obscurantism must, of course, be condemned because it denies the democracy for which the Libyan, Tunisian and Egyptian people have fought."

Valls was clearly referring to Salafists, with their strict interpretation of Islam, who have come to the fore and smeared Ennahda's moderate image. At least one black Salafi flag was spotted in the sea of white Ennahda flags at Saturday's demonstration, which took place near the well-guarded French Embassy.

Fathi Rhayem, a teacher, said the demonstration "shows the Tunisian peoples' desire to show that it is sovereign, it is independent and is no longer under French protection." He said, "We want to show that we want to live on equal terms with France, as friends with reciprocal interests but not like a dominant and a dominated. The policy of submission ... is finished now."

The events have added to the growing turmoil in Tunisia, where the transition from dictatorship to democracy has been shaken by religious divides, political wrangling and economic struggles. It's been a perilous stretch for a country many hoped would be a model for other post-revolutionary Arab states.

Belaid was shot to death in his car outside his home. Hours later, Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said he would form a new, technocratic government to guide the country to elections ? but Ennahda, his own party, rejected that idea soon afterward.

Late Friday, Jebali renewed his proposal for a new government, which would be a key concession to the country's opposition. "I am convinced this is the best solution for the current situation in Tunisia," he said, offering to resign if the elected assembly did not accept his proposed Cabinet.

Jebali said he was confident he could get Ennahda's support, but his party's rejection of the proposal exposed its own divisions between moderates and hardliners, and it remained unclear how the prime minister planned to win enough support.

The coalition's failure to stem the country's economic crisis and stop the often-violent rise of hardline Salafi Muslims has drawn fierce criticism, especially from staunch secularists such as the late Belaid.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tunisia-scattered-violence-pro-government-rally-172828669.html

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Behemoth storm drops 2 feet of snow on Northeast

BOSTON (AP) ? A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast on Saturday, dumping more than 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 customers in the region.

More than 28 inches of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 2 feet or more of snow ? with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travelers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the sidewalks.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain canceled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of disabled motorists remained early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

In Manhattan, streets normally bustling after midnight, were quiet Saturday but for the hum of snow blowers, the scrape of shovels and the laughter from late night revelers who braved the snow.

Bill Tavonallo, 39, said he walked home on purpose from a Manhattan bar to enjoy the snow falling.

"With Sandy, we were scared. But this is wonderful," he said, his glasses crusted with ice. "It's nice to have a reason to slow down."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of '78, a ferocious storm that dropped 27 inches of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.

In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.

For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared for the weather was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.

"They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We're hoping that they're right," he said.

Said his wife, Michelle: "It adds an element of excitement."

___

Associated Press writers John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., Samantha Critchell and Colleen Long in New York and Sylvia Wingfield in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/behemoth-storm-drops-2-feet-snow-northeast-102158903.html

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Sandboxr lets us easily make custom-posed, 3D-printed figurines (video)

Where was Sandboxr when we were kids? Instead of dragging our parents around on a hunt for the perfect figurine, we could have used the company's new web app to easily manipulate a virtual model and get a 3D printed statuette in the exact pose we wanted. There's compensation for the lost opportunities of our childhood, however. The creation tool allows for customized accessories, scenes and sizing, and it's expected to have reasonable prices of about $12 for a 2.5-inch character and over $20 for a 3.5-inch version. The best news may simply be the likelihood of a figurine existing in the first place -- Sandboxr sees itself as a platform for everyone from 3D animators through to game developers and dedicated toy companies, many of which can use existing 3D models to start a collectible line. The printing service is currently invitation-only and plans a Kickstarter fundraising drive to scale larger, but it's easy to see an end to the days of limited edition figurines -- much to the delight of our inner child.

Filed under: Misc, Household

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Via: Wired

Source: Sandboxr

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/08/sandboxr-lets-us-easily-make-custom-posed-3d-printed-figurines/

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Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (SLW) Goes for the Gold by Investing ...

From: Insider Monkey - Free Hedge Fund and Insider Trading Data - 9:34pm - February 8, 2013

In a recent interview with CNBC, Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (NYSE:SLW) CEO Randy Smallwood said that as long as central banks continue to pursue a course of quantitative easing, he sees the prices of both silver and gold rising. In the same interview he discussed a recent move by his company to become more involved [...]

Continue reading this article ?

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Source: http://ewallstreeter.com/silver-wheaton-corp-usa-slw-goes-for-the-gold-by-investing-5372/

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TSX may open lower, jobs and trade data eyed

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors charged a 12-year-old boy on Thursday with making a false emergency call that sent police swarming to the home of actor Ashton Kutcher in a "swatting" prank. The name of the boy, who was arrested by Los Angeles police in December, was withheld due to his age. He was scheduled to be arraigned in a juvenile court in Los Angeles on Friday. The trend toward placing false emergency calls is known as "swatting" because SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) officers often are sent to the purported crime scenes. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-may-open-lower-jobs-trade-data-eyed-133357380--finance.html

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Hunt for ex-cop goes on amid Calif. snowstorm

A San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT team returns to the command post at Bear Mountain near Big Bear Lake, Calif. after searching for Christopher Jordan Dorner on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Search conditions have been hampered by a heavy winter storm in the area. Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer, is accused of carrying out a killing spree?because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job. (AP Photo/Pool, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Will Lester)

A San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT team returns to the command post at Bear Mountain near Big Bear Lake, Calif. after searching for Christopher Jordan Dorner on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Search conditions have been hampered by a heavy winter storm in the area. Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer, is accused of carrying out a killing spree?because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job. (AP Photo/Pool, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Will Lester)

A San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT team returns to the command post at Bear Mountain near Big Bear Lake, Calif. after searching for Christopher Jordan Dorner on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Search conditions have been hampered by a heavy winter storm in the area. Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer, is accused of carrying out a killing spree?because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job. (AP Photo/Pool, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Will Lester)

This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer. Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements, is linked to a weekend killing in which one of the victims was the daughter of a former police captain who had represented him during the disciplinary hearing. Authorities believe Dorner opened fire early Thursday on police in cities east of Los Angeles, killing an officer and wounding another. Police issued a statewide "officer safety warning" and police were sent to protect people named in the posting that was believed to be written by Dorner. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)

A San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT team returns to the command post at Bear Mountain near Big Bear Lake, Calif. after searching for Christopher Jordan Dorner on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Search conditions have been hampered by a heavy winter storm in the area. Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer, is accused of carrying out a killing spree?because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job. (AP Photo/Pool, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Will Lester)

Members on the California Highway Patrol search a truck for Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer accused of carrying out a killing spree because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Big Bear Lake, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) ? All that was left were footprints leading away from Christopher Dorner's burned-out pickup truck, and an enormous, snow-covered mountain where he could be hiding among the skiers, hundreds of cabins and dense woods.

More than 100 officers, including SWAT teams, were driven in glass-enclosed snow machines and armored personnel carriers to hunt for the former Los Angeles police officer suspected of going on a deadly rampage to get back at those he blamed for ending his police career.

With bloodhounds in tow, officers went door to door as snow fell, aware to the reality they could be walking into a trap set by the well-trained former Navy reservist who knows their tactics and strategies as well as they do.

"The bad guy is out there, he has a certain time on you, and a distance. How do you close that?" asked T. Gregory Hall, a retired tactical supervisor for a special emergency response team for the Pennsylvania State Police.

"The bottom line is, when he decides that he is going to make a stand, the operators are in great jeopardy," Hall said.

As authorities weathered heavy snow and freezing temperatures in the mountains, thousands of heavily armed police remained on the lookout throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and northern Mexico.

Police said officers still were guarding more than 40 people mentioned as targets in a rant they said Dorner posted on Facebook. He vowed to use "every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordinance and survival training I've been given" to bring "warfare" to the LAPD and its families.

At noon, police and U.S. Marshals accompanied by computer forensics specialists served a search warrant on his mother's house in the Orange County city of La Palma. Dorner's mother and sister were there at the time, and a police spokesman said they were cooperating.

The manhunt had Southern California residents on edge. Unconfirmed sightings were reported near Barstow, about 60 miles north of the mountain search, at Point Loma base near San Diego and in downtown Los Angeles.

Some law enforcement officials speculated that he appeared to be everywhere and nowhere, and that he was trying to spread out their resources.

For the time being, their focus was on the mountains 80 miles east of Los Angeles ? a snowy wilderness, filled with deep canyons, thick forests and jagged peaks, that creates peril as much for Dorner as the officers hunting him. Bad weather grounded helicopters with heat-sensing technology.

After the discovery of his truck Thursday afternoon, SWAT teams in camouflage started scouring the mountains.

As officers worked through the night, a storm blew in, possibly covering the trail of tracks that had led them away from his truck but offering the possibility of new trails to follow.

"The snow is great for tracking folks as well as looking at each individual cabin to see if there's any signs of forced entry," said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.

The small army has the advantage of strength in numbers and access to resources, such as special weapons, to bring him in.

"We're prepared to use our expertise in terms of special weapons and tactics to address any threat that he poses," LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said. "We're working with other agencies ... to make sure we take the advantage of our side as much as we can."

In his online rant, Dorner sprinkled in military and police parlance, seemingly baiting authorities.

"Any threat assessments you generate will be useless," it read. "This is simple. I know your TTP's (techniques, tactics, and procedures) and PPR's (pre-planned response). I will mitigate any of your attempts at preservation."

Without the numbers that authorities have, Dorner will likely rely on the element of surprise, experts said.

"He doesn't even have to stand and fight," Hall said. "He makes his shot of opportunity and flees."

It's an advantage that Dorner is well aware of. In his posting, he wrote: "I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving. Do not waste your time with briefs and tabletops.

"Whatever pre-planned responses you have established for a scenario like me, shelve it," he said.

Authorities said they do not know how long Dorner has been planning the rampage. It's not clear if he is familiar with the area, or has provisions, clothing or weapons stockpiled in the area. Even with training, days of cold and snow can be punishing.

"Unless he is an expert in living in the California mountains in this time of year, he is going to be hurting," said former Navy SEAL Clint Sparks, who now works in tactical training and security. "Cold is a huge stress factor.

"If he is not prepared to wait that out, or he hasn't done it before, not everybody is survivor-man," Sparks said.

Jamie Usera, an attorney in Salem, Ore., who befriended Dorner when they were students and football teammates at Southern Utah University, said he introduced him to the outdoors. Originally from Alaska, Usera said, he taught Dorner about hunting and other outdoor activities.

"Of all the people I hung out with in college, he is the last guy I would have expected to be in this kind of situation," Usera, who had lost touch with Dorner is recent years, told the Los Angeles Times.

Others saw Dorner differently. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press on Friday show an ex-girlfriend of Dorner's called him "severely emotionally and mentally disturbed" after the two split in 2006.

Dorner served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. He took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

Last Friday was his last day with the Navy and also the day CNN's Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note on it that read, in part, "I never lied." A coin typically given out as a souvenir by the LAPD police chief was also in the package, riddled with bullet holes.

Police believe that indicates some level of pre planning.

On Sunday, police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage at their condominium in Irvine. The woman was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his firing.

Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he believed the retired captain had represented the interests of the department over his.

Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an officer in Corona and then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers early Thursday, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

The incident led police to believe he was armed with multiple weapons, including an assault-type rifle. That detail concerned officers whose bullet-proof vests can be penetrated by such high-powered weapons, Albanese said.

As a result, all LAPD officers have been required to work in pairs to ensure "a greater likelihood of coming out on top if there is an ambush," Albanese said. "We have no officers alone right now."

In Big Bear Lake on Friday, residents were buzzing about the manhunt but went about their usual routine. Jackie Holohan, who runs a vacation rental company, said visitors weren't dissuaded from coming to the mountain resort despite the intensive manhunt.

"The only ones who have called want to make sure if they can get up the mountain," Holohan said.

Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, said they will continue to search for Dorner through the weekend in Big Bear. They were also inspecting his truck for clues and were following up on multiple theories, including whether he intentionally left it there.

"Here's the bottom line, we don't know," Albanese said.

___

Associated Press writers contributing to this report include Jeff Wilson, Bob Jablon, Michael Blood, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Linda Deutsch and John Antczak in Los Angeles, Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, and Elliot Spagat and Julie Watson in San Diego.

Risling reported from Big Bear Lake and Abdollah reported from Los Angeles. She can be reached on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LATams

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-08-LA%20Police%20Shootings/id-bc0f65641bd140b99f27cddd111182b8

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England to mandate dog microchips by 2016

Thinking about injecting an identification chip in your pooch? If you live in the southern part of the UK, you won't have a choice. Come 2016, English authorities will require all of the country's pups to have embedded microchips, so they can be returned to their owners if ever they run astray. The United Kingdom's Environment Department says some 60 percent of the country's 8 million dogs already have the tags, but beginning in three years, owners who don't spring for the device could be forced to pay fines of up to £500 (about $780). Cat microchipping will remain optional, since felines are less likely to wander outdoors. And "World's Cutest Dog" fans need not worry about their precious Boo getting the forced implant -- the famed Pomeranian (pictured above) is based in San Francisco, some 5,000 miles from the Queen's needle.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: AP (Huffington Post)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/MkHGkauZHfQ/

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3 Internet Home Based Businesses Anyone Can Do | All For You

by: Kent Thompson Copyright 2005 Kent Thompson
If you?re serious about having a home based business, then you need to prepare. The leading reason for a failing home based business is the lack of preparation people commit after they?ve made a decision to start a home based business.
So what kind of home based business opportunity should you take on? Do you want to have an internet-based home business? Millions have done it, are doing it and are earning good livings doing so.
Here are three different kinds of Internet based business models you can try:
1) Be an online retailer for reputable companies. Your home based internet business can give reviews about all the products and services of these companies. Your customers will browse around your website, and then click on to the link. The link will send the customer to the company?s customer service website, which takes care of processing and shipping their order.
Your home based online business website does the marketing, promoting and advertising aspects for these companies. Your commission comes from the proceeds of the sale. You don?t even have to spend money for expensive e-commerce software.
2) You may not be able to bear the pain of separating from your oldest possessions, but how about auctioning these things off? For a minimal entry fee and closing fee, you can put your prized possessions on auction at Ebay or other spin-offs found on the net. This is a virtually free home based business since you don?t pay for web presence. You?ll get traffic since Ebay receives as many as 4 million visitors a day, and you won?t need to worry about your e-commerce software. Plus your small home based internet business stays open even when you go fishing!
3) Sell information. You can start your home based internet business by writing on a subject that you enjoy or are knowledgeable about. If you can do this, then this small home based internet business is for you. Write your e-book and sell it on sites like Ebay.com, ebookAd.com, or Clickbank.com.
These home based internet business are all simple and easy enough to do. You can earn a living on these ideas if you view this small home based business with passion and commitment.
Just remember these home based internet tip:Constantly fine-tune your marketing strategy and always test new ad copies to see what brings you the most sales!
About the author:Find out how you can make $1000 per sale in one of the hottest home based businesses! Check out http://RunAdsForCash.com

Source: http://robertrujan.blogspot.com/2013/02/3-internet-home-based-businesses-anyone.html

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Angry Birds Cartoons Will Launch In Spring But Probably Not On TV

Rovio's Angry Birds is a brand we all recognize, but the Finnish gaming company is finally moving past games and merchandise to push short animated cartoons to the masses. Rovio's CEO Mikael Hed said in an interview in Helsinki that Rovio will launch a series of short, cartoon-style episodes featuring everyone's favorite destructive birds (and probably a few piggies) in the spring.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uJG7kLW4FQw/

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'Zero Dark Thirty' writer Mark Boal says U.S. torture was 'dead wrong ...

Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

?Disruptive filmmaking.?

That?s a new term coined by Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal, who gave a speech this week about the criticism the Osama bin Laden takedown drama has endured from both sides of the political divide in America.

Conservatives complained long before the film was seen by anyone that it was a propaganda designed to highlight the anti-terror accomplishments of President Barack Obama, while some liberals were rankled by what they perceived to be an endorsement of torture interrogations (erroneously, as Michael Moore points out in this essay debunking those accusations.)

Director Kathryn Bigelow has already said numerous times that ?depiction is not endorsement,? and now Boal ? who is nominated in the Original Screenplay category at the Oscars, and won for penning 2009?s The Hurt Locker ? is speaking out about why he wanted Zero Dark Thirty to strike a nerve as a film, rather than as a piece of traditional reporting.

An excerpt from his remarks as keynote speaker at this year?s First Amendment Week at Loyola Marymount University:

For me, right now, the real power of filmmaking is found at the intersection of investigation and imagination. Where reporting and creativity combine to offer something new ? an ability to command attention and capture imagination that reaches further and pushes harder than traditional reporting or purely fictional storytelling on their own. ?

People talk about ?disruptive technology? ? innovations or developments that change the way the world works. Disruptive sounds like a bad thing, but disruptive technology isn?t good or bad; it?s what our society and our culture makes of it that matters. And from the wheel to the automobile, the signal fire to the iPhone, society has generally, if often slowly, found a way to bend disruptive innovation toward the greater good.

That?s really what we hoped to do with the disruptive filmmaking of Zero Dark Thirty. To use this relatively new blend of current events and creativity to make the news behind the news more accessible, more visceral, more real. We wanted to transform the firsthand accounts we gathered into a firsthand experience for viewers, and share this important, history-changing story in the most compelling way we knew how.

Unlike newspaper reports or books or paintings, movies have a special power to put audiences right there ? in the scene, in the center of the action, in interrogation cells, in the Pakistani hills. And by giving people a chance to virtually experience these events for themselves, we have a chance to do exactly what the First Amendment creates the space to do: to challenge people to be citizens, to understand and confront the issues of our day, in our hearts and in our minds.

He defended the film?s fusion of drama and journalism, saying:

Much has been made of the card at the beginning of the film that says, ?based on firsthand accounts of actual events.? To be honest, of all the controversy, that?s the one I get the least. That?s exactly what?Zero Dark Thirty?is ? a film that is?based?on firsthand accounts of actual events. I know ? I talked to the people who experienced those events. But the card didn?t say?Zero Dark Thirty?is an exact rendition (no pun intended) of actual events, and we certainly don?t pretend that it is. It?s not a videotaped transcription of a 6 volume Senate report ? that?s probably a good thing.

At the end of the day, merging film and news is a balancing act between fact-finding and storytelling. ?

Without the freedom of fiction, we couldn?t share this story with millions who deserve to understand it, question it, and debate it. Without the authority of fact, we wouldn?t have a story to share, issues to understand, questions to ask, or controversies to debate.

Now, as I?ve suggested, I believe any artist blending fact and fiction has a special responsibility to set expectations about that blend, to be open and honest about the mix, and stay true to the essential story being told.

As for the film?s depiction of torture, Boal made his feelings clear:

The United States tortured people as a matter of national policy, authorized by the White House, approved by the Department of Justice, and disclosed to the Congress. There was never a question of leaving these acts, as reprehensible as they are, out of the story of the hunt for bin Laden, or it wouldn?t be an honest story.

The brutality and inhumanity of rough interrogations are clear as day in the film. I don?t see how you can watch those scenes and not feel the suffering of the person being interrogated. At the same time, the scenes accurately depict the role that rough interrogations played in the hunt. Sometimes they produced bad information, sometimes they produced nothing, and sometimes they produced a useful scrap.

Torture is in the movie, because torture is part of the story. It is part of the history.

Was the torture effective? Was it necessary? Was it terrible? Was it wrong?

I have my view ? I think it was dead wrong. Some people I respect come to the opposite conclusion.??But in the end, you have to decide for yourself.

The film has earned about $78.6 million at the box office so far. It?s up for five Oscars on Feb. 24, including Best Picture (a nomination Boal shares with Bigelow) and Best Actress for Jessica Chastain.

Read more:
Special coverage: Oscars 2013
Oscars 2013: Get to Know the Nominees
Oscars 2013 Profiles: Best Picture

Source: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/02/07/zero-dark-thirty-writer-mark-boal-says-u-s-torture-was-dead-wrong/

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