Taliban attack teenage Pakistani girl activist

MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) ? A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in Pakistan's volatile Swat Valley Tuesday and shot and wounded a 14-year-old activist known for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban, officials said.

The attack in the city of Mingora targeted 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who is widely respected for her work to promote the schooling of girls ? something that the Taliban strongly opposes. She was nominated last year for the International Children's Peace Prize.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, calling Malala's work "obscenity."

"This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter," said Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan . "We have carried out this attack."

Malala and her family had been threatened by the Taliban before for her activism.

The school bus was about to leave the school grounds in Mingora when a bearded man approached it and asked which one of the girls was Malala, said Rasool Shah, the police chief in the town. Another girl pointed to Malala, but the activist denied it was her and the gunmen then shot both of the girls, the police chief said.

Malala was shot twice ? once in the head and once in the neck ? but her wounds were not life-threatening, said Tariq Mohammad, a doctor at the main hospital in Mingora. The second girl shot was in stable condition, the doctor said.

The attack displayed the viciousness of Islamic militants in Swat Valley, where the military conducted a major operation in 2009 to clear out insurgents. It was a reminder of the challenges of keeping the area free of militant influence.

The problems of young women in Pakistan were also the focus of a separate case before the high court, which ordered a probe into an alleged barter of seven girls to settle a blood feud in a remote southwestern district.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry began proceedings into the allegations, which were first reported in the local media. The alleged trade happened in the Dera Bugti district of Baluchistan province between two groups within the Bugti tribe, one of the more prominent tribes in the province.

A tribal council ordered the barter in early September, the district deputy commissioner, Saeed Faisal, told the court. He did not know the girls' ages but local media reported they were between 4 and 13 years old.

However, the Advocate General for the province could not confirm the incident.

Chaudhry, the chief justice, ordered Faisal to make sure that all members of the tribal council appear in court on Wednesday, as well as a local lawmaker who belongs to one of the two sub-tribes believed involved in the incident.

The tradition of families exchanging unmarried girls to settle feuds is banned under Pakistani law but still practiced in the country's more conservative, tribal areas.

__

Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar in Quetta contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-attack-teenage-pakistani-girl-activist-121958307.html

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Police: More than 20 girls may be Savile victims

LONDON (AP) ? British police say the late children's television host Jimmy Savile may have sexually assaulted more than 20 girls over a 40-year period.

Commander Peter Spindler said Tuesday that London's Metropolitan Police has received eight criminal allegations against Savile, including two of rape and six of indecent assault, primarily against girls aged 13 to 16. He said the force believes it will "come up with between 20 to 25 victims."

Spindler said police were working with broadcasters BBC and ITV to investigate Savile, who was one of Britain's best-known TV personalities.

Savile, who died last year aged 84, hosted "Top of the Pops" and children's program "Jim'll Fix It" and was well known as a charity fundraiser.

Since his death several women have come forward to say he sexually assaulted them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-09-Britain-Jimmy%20Savile/id-79e24350826943879fe9506a17f86b51

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Little Caesars Pizza Guy Customer Service Story - Business Insider

Here's a fantastic customer service story from a reader who writes in to Laura Northrup at the Consumerist.

The customer stopped by a Little Caesars while waiting at a bus stop, but there was another customer there who had just ordered a ton of pizzas for an event.?The employees told him that there would be a pizza ready in four minutes, and his bus was leaving in 10.

Alas, they still didn't manage to get him a pizza in time, so he abandoned his pizza acquisition attempt and walked back over to the bus stop.

We'll let him explain the rest. From the Consumerist:

"Just when I could see the bus coming down the street, I heard ?delivery? from behind me, and I turned around to see the guy from Caesars with a pizza. I tried to pay, but he said he didn?t have change, and not to worry about the cost for the pizza. I?m still kind of floored by the initiative on the part of that person.

So, in summary, I got a free pizza for the inconvenience of waiting for no pizza, and Caesar?s got a customer who is more likely to stop by after work, and a fat tip on the next time I stop in."

Such a simple and relatively inexpensive (a pizza at Caesars costs five bucks) gesture to right a wrong earned that Little Caesars location a customer who's going to keep coming back.

Have a really good (or really bad) retail or restaurant customer service story? Shoot an email to kbhasin@businessinsider.com.

NOW SEE: 15 Crazy Starbucks Customers Who Will Make You Never Want To Be A Barista >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/little-caesars-pizza-guy-customer-service-2012-10

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Seth MacFarlane hosts the Oscars: Excited? Maybe.

Seth MacFarlane was an offbeat choice when he was announced as the host for the 2013 Oscars. He'll just need to reach out to people beyond his 'Family Guy' audience.

By Molly Driscoll,?Staff Writer / October 8, 2012

Seth MacFarlane will host the Oscars on Feb. 24, 2013.

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On Oct. 1, Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced that they?d found their host for the 2013 Oscars. Seth MacFarlane, creator of long-running animated show ?Family Guy? and star of the summer movie hit ?Ted,? will lead the ceremony on Feb. 24.

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I?m a huge MacFarlane fan ? and yet, I said ?Hmmm.?

It?s no secret that the Oscars have been trying to rejuvenate the show for the past ? well, as many years as anyone?s been keeping track. In an age of audiences going to see what?s on cable rather than the broadcast networks and more independent films dominating at the Oscars, rather than box office hits TV viewers would be familiar with, the minds behind the Oscars have been trying to draw eyeballs with all sorts of tactics. Two years ago, it was the semi-disastrous pairing of Anne Hathaway and James Franco as hosts, who seemed to have the appeal of a younger demographic beforehand, but never really found their comfort zone during the ceremony.

It?s a hard game for the Oscar producers to win. When they tried for the new with Hathaway and Franco, the reviews were negative. When they went for the classic last year and chose multiple-time Oscar host Billy Crystal, some said the choice was too expected and the ceremony needed something new.

So now they have MacFarlane, who strikes a tone in his movies and on his TV shows that?s a little different than that which you might identify with the Oscars. I?m an avid ?Family Guy? watcher, but even I don?t like the scene in one episode where three characters vomit for two straight minutes.

Of course, Ricky Gervais, creator of the British version of ?The Office,? made viewers sit up and pay attention when he hosted the Golden Globes for the first time in 2010. Awards show hosts will typically gently poke fun at some celebrities in attendance, and the camera will cut to the star in question laughing good-naturedly. Gervais went a little more for the throat. ?I like a drink as much as the next man,? he commented at one point. ?Unless the next man is Mel Gibson.? When he returned in 2011, he took aim at a movie starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. ?It was a big year for 3-D movies,? he noted. ?It seems like everything this year was three-dimensional. Except the characters in ?The Tourist.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/L5ZSF-exQ8U/Seth-MacFarlane-hosts-the-Oscars-Excited-Maybe

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Jeanne Kelley's Fall Fig Salad Recipe | Eat & Drink | Hometown ...

Photo by Ryan Robert Miller

Figs are in. Now. Right this minute.

Author and food writer Jeanne Kelley has wonderfully, incredibly, marvelously (are those enough superlatives?) offered to share a Fall salad recipe with Hometown Pasadena readers. She reports though that this is a time-sensitive recipe. Figs are currently in season and it appears this window doesn?t last long. Our suggestion: head to your farmers markets and stock up so you can make this perfect salad before the window is slammed shut.

And, many thanks, Jeanne.

Fig, Fennel and Barley Salad with B?cheron, Speck, and Honey-Spice Walnuts
This salad is pure Fall bliss when figs are ripe and abundant. Speck is similar to proscuitto, but is slightly smoked. B?cheron is an aged goat cheese with a soft-ripening rind. Sold in rounds, it gets gooey on the edges and very flavorful as it ages. If you can?t find B?cheron, you can substitute any soft fresh goat cheese. Fig balsamic vinegar (which is used in the dressing) is a fig-infused, slightly thick balsamic that really enhances the figs in the salad?it?s usually available at specialty food stores, but any good-quality balsamic will do the trick.

Editor?s Note: Roma Italian Deli on Lake and Mountain carry speck. The Cheese Store of Pasadena on South Lake sells B?cheron and proscuitto.?Porta Via in Pasadena and San Marino carry proscuitto (though not speck).

4 Servings

1/2 cup pearl barley

Dressing:
3 tablespoons fig balsamic vinegar, or good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons toasted walnut oil

Salad:
1 small head radicchio
5 cups mixed baby greens
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, very thinly sliced
3 ounces thinly slice speck or proscuitto, torn into strips
12 small ripe figs, cut in half
6 ounces B?cheron cheese or other soft fresh goat cheese
3/4 cup Honey-Spice Glazed Walnuts (see recipe below), or toasted walnuts

Rinse the barley and combine it with 2 cups of water in a heavy medium saucepan. Season the water generously with salt and boil until the barley is tender and the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. (Barley can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover barley and refrigerate.)

For the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, shallot, garlic, thyme, and salt. Whisk to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with pepper.

For the salad: Remove the outer leaves of the radicchio and combine them with the salad greens in a large bowl. Finely chop the remaining head radicchio (you have about a 1/2 cup). In a medium bowl, mix barely, fennel, and chopped radicchio with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Season the barley mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Add enough of the dressing to the salad greens and radicchio to season to taste and toss to coat. Scatter the speck over the greens and top with barley mixture. Garnish with the figs, cheese, and walnuts?and serve.

Honey-Spice Glazed Walnuts
A hint of honey, pepper, and allspice make these a wonderful addition to salads.
Makes 2 cups

1/4 cup (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups walnut halves and pieces

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Bring the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons water, the honey, salt, allspice, and pepper to a boil in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts and stir with a silicone spatula until the walnuts are lightly toasted and the syrup mixture begins to darken and caramelize, about 3 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to the prepared sheet pan, separating the walnuts with a fork. Let the walnuts cool completely. (Walnuts can be prepared up to one week ahead of time. Transfer them to an airtight container and store at room temperature.)

Jeanne Kelley is the author of three cookbooks: Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes, Holiday Baking, and Salad for Dinner. She is a long-time contributor to Bon Appetit magazine and Bon Appetit books, and writes frequently for Fine Cooking and Cooking Light. Her articles and recipes have also been featured in Prevention and Fitness. She is currently writing a cookbook for Williams-Sonoma. Around her house in Eagle Rock, Jeanne has built an urban homestead?complete with beehives, a chicken coop, and a vegetable garden.

Find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and visit her site at Jeanne Kelley Kitchen.

Jeanne Kelley by Sharon Suh; food pics by Ryan Robert Miller

Photography: Ryan Robert Miller at ryanrobertmiller.com

Source: http://hometown-pasadena.com/eat-drink/a-jeanne-kelley-fall-salad-perfect-fornow/50728

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Lesbian Mom Claims Shady Christian Fundamentalists Helped ...

It?s a tale of two mommys, and a lovely little girl who ended up in Nicaragua with one mommy who is wanted by Interpol.

10-year old Isabella Miller-Jenkins appears to have gotten caught up in the turmoil of bitter American culture wars. It all started with a civil union between Lisa A. Miller and Janet Jenkins, who decided to add to their family when the couple opted to have a child through in vitro using a donor egg. According to the New York Times , that union turned sour when Miller was converted to conservative Christianity and renounced her lesbianism. The women separated when Isabella was seventeen months old. The Times reports that Ms. Miller tried to prevent Ms. Jenkins from attending court-ordered visits until a Vermont judge threatened to transfer custody. By that time Miller had moved to Virginia and had gotten involved, according to Lisa Neff of the Wisconsin Gazette , with the Thomas Road Baptist Church, the Liberty Christian Academy elementary school and a number of anti-gay activists in Liberty influenced by the late evangelist and anti-gay leader Jerry Farwell Sr.

Enter the Amish Mennonites. Janet Jenkins claims that Miller took their daughter and fled under disguise to Nicaragua with the help of the Christian activists.

Jenkins filed a lawsuit in August in the U.S. District Court for Vermont, which contains allegations ranging from, money-laundering to kidnapping to mail fraud and well as violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. As Lisa Neff explains , ?the act, commonly known as RICO, has been used to go after mobsters, motorcycle gangs, business magnates, anti-abortion activists and, most recently, a Texas health care provider.?

In August, a Vermont jury found Amish-Mennonite Kenneth Miller, pastor of the Beachy Amish-Mennonite sect, guilty of abetting an international kidnapping to remove a child from her lesbian parent. The pastor, a hero to many right-wing Christians who have been following the case, may spend three years in prison. In the suit, Jenkins claimed that a network of anti-gay Christians continue to help Miller and shield her in Nicaragua.

Gay activists are closely following the progress of the case as it stands to set precendents on issues of divorce, custody and, unfortunately, the terrible world of international child abduction.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/lesbian-mom-claims-shady-christian-fundamentalists-helped-abduct-her-child

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2012 physics Nobel recognizes experiments probing quantum world

Work could lead to revolutions in computing

Web edition : 6:31 am

Two scientists have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics for their pioneering work in quantum optics, a field that manipulates light and matter to measure very precise properties of single particles.

The Nobel committee awarded the prize October 9 to Serge Haroche, of the Ecole Normal Superieure in Paris, and David Wineland, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo.? The two were cited for related but independent work: Haroche bounces light particles between mirrors to probe their quantum states, and Wineland creates traps for charged atoms and shoots in laser light to control those particles.

Discoveries based on those experiments have already been used to develop ultra-accurate atomic clocks and could eventually lead to the development of quantum computers much faster and more secure than existing electron-based technology.

?The two of them together are the total pinnacle of the whole field,? says Jonathan Home, a physicist at ETH Zurich and former member of Wineland?s group. ?It?s a great achievement.?

Studying individual particles in the quantum realm is tough because the very act of measurement usually destroys the information being sought. To get around that problem, researchers have developed ways to trap and handle particles delicately while probing them for information about their quantum states.

In 1978, Wineland and his colleagues did some of the first experiments using trapped electrically charged particles, or ions. His team developed ways to cool the ions and extract quantum information from them. Such information, such as the orientation of the ions? magnetism, may one day be used as a bit of information in quantum computers much as 1s and 0s make up the stream of bits in a classical computer.

Trapped ions can also be used to improve atomic clocks, which rely on ultra-precise, natural fluctuations such as certain regular transitions within an ion. Wineland?s team has made atomic clocks so accurate that scientists can measure relativistic effects over extremely short distances or time periods. The most accurate clock in the world, which uses aluminum ions, sits in his lab in Boulder.

Haroche, for his part, uses mirrors to bounce light particles around and store them for a very long time, relatively speaking. Photons can bounce between the two mirrors for more than a tenth of a second before disappearing; during that time they might travel 40,000 kilometers before vanishing.

Like Wineland, Haroche has used his experimental setup to create quantum states inspired by the famous Schroedinger?s cat paradox. In this, a quantum system exists in a superposition of two states (such as the cat being both alive and dead at the same time) until a measurement is made and the system is resolved into one of the two possible states. In 2008, Haroche?s team described creating versions of these states and making a movie as they evolved from the quantum into the everyday world (SN Online: 9/24/08).?

The work of both laureates is an early step toward quantum computers, which are a long way from reality but could one day be a far faster and more secure method for certain types of computing. ?These are two great experimentalists and I?m really glad they won,? says Robert Garisto, a physicist and editor at the journal Physical Review Letters.

Haroche said he had been walking with his wife when he saw the Swedish calling prefix pop up on his phone this morning. ?I was in the streets passing near a bench, so I was able to sit down,? he said. ?We have champagne at home.?

Wineland, in Colorado, was awoken by the phone call from the Nobel committee. ?We probably won?t go back to sleep for a while,? he said a few minutes later in an audio interview posted at the Nobel web site.

This year?s physics prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million, and will be shared equally between the winners.

Found in: Matter & Energy and Physics

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/345652/title/2012_physics_Nobel_recognizes_experiments_probing_quantum_world

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