Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali who played Latika is offered for sale by dad Rafiq Qureshi to the News of the World's Fake Sheikh | News | News Of The World

Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali who played Latika is offered for sale by dad Rafiq Qureshi to the News of the World's Fake Sheikh | News | News Of The World: "Father tries to cash in on daughter's fame

By Mazher Mahmood, 19/04/2009
THE poverty-stricken father of Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali plans to become a millionaire himself-by SELLING his nine-year-old daughter. .... demanding millions of rupees worth £200,000.

As he offered the shocking deal to the News of the World's undercover fake sheik this week, Rafiq declared: 'I have to consider what's best for me, my family and Rubina's future.'
...........................
As he tried to fix the illegal adoption deal, real-life slum dweller Rafiq declared: 'We've got nothing out of this film.'

Father denies Slumdog child sale

By Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Mumbai

Claims he was scammed.

Americans' Tax Burden Near Historic Low - washingtonpost.com

Americans' Tax Burden Near Historic Low - washingtonpost.com: "new data showed that the federal income tax burden is already hovering near its lowest level in three decades for all but the wealthiest Americans."

Second Law of Thermodynamics Overturned, Perpetualy?

Science News / Nanoclusters Seem To Skirt Physics Law: "Nobody’s above the law. But tiny clusters of colliding atoms may duck below the second law of thermodynamics. In simulations, researchers in Japan found that in rare cases, tiny clusters of atoms ricochet off each other faster than their approaching speeds. The results, which appeared in the March Physical Review E, seem to violate the second law’s requirement that any work squanders a little bit of energy in the form of waste heat, leaving the system a little more disheveled, with higher entropy."

Kurd in Turkey

DTP likely to win stronghold: "The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, is expected to win local elections in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır but the result is not foregone. National politics have often crowded the quality of municipal services out of the debates. Most observers believe that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, will make a strong showing in the local elections this Sunday, but not strong enough to topple the DTP’s Osman Baydemir as mayor of Diyarbakır.

'This local election is, at the moment, between the DTP and the AKP,' said Hülya Çetin, the chair of the Diyarbakır Businesswomen’s Association. 'It is not certain the DTP will sweep these elections. Anything is possible.'

Noting that 'the DTP has won the past two local elections in the region despite the fact that local services are seriously deficient,' Çetin said that though the AKP may not win the Diyarbakır mayoral post, it will see gains in junior municipalities."

How many Jews would there be if not for the Holocaust? - Haaretz - Israel News

How many Jews would there be if not for the Holocaust? - Haaretz - Israel News: "If not for the Holocaust, there would be as many as 32 million Jews worldwide, instead of the current 13 million, demographer Professor Sergio Della Pergola has written in a soon-to-be published article."

The World .. from Algae to Infiniti!

International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "Algae Could 'Supply Entire World with Aviation Fuel'

Although oil prices have fallen rapidly, the airline industry is still clamouring for alternative fuel sources. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, chief Boeing environmental strategist Billy Glover explains how a giant mass of algae may fuel jets in the future. more..."

INFINITE PHOTOGRAPHY

Brandenburger Gate:: $12 for Instant Digital Pix with Stasi!

International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "Fake Soldiers Turning Brandenburg Gate Into 'Disneyland'

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, now a symbol of German unification, is being defaced by the presence of performers in Cold War uniforms, say Berlin politicians. The fake soldiers argue that they're making the area more attractive to tourists. more..."

Syrian Intrigue

International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "DAMASCENE PERVERSION
Syria's Underwear Sellers Peddle Sex and Seduction

Maid's costumes, musicial negligee and remote-controlled underpants: You'd be surprised what you can find in a Damascus market. Syrian underwear is now so famous that it is exported throughout the Middle East -- and Palestinian women, reportedly, have the wildest taste. By Ulrike Putz in Damascus more..."

Obama Red

International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "French Vintner Creates 'Obama Cuvée'

While Germany opted for creating the dubious Obama Fingers, France has gone a more tasteful route. A female vintner, originally from Africa, has created an Obama wine -- and is donating all the profits to an NGO in Darfur. more..."

Big Boston Cuts Underscore National Transit Crisis | Autopia from Wired.com

Big Boston Cuts Underscore National Transit Crisis | Autopia from Wired.com: "The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, known as the T, announced that without a big cash infusion, it will make severe cuts to its network while also raising fares. Similar scenarios are being played out across the country, where cities and states are trying desperately to close giant budget gaps while maintaining essential services like police and fire. Transit systems are taking a hit despite the fact that in 2008 systems in the US carried 10.7 billion passengers, their busiest year since 1956."

50 Great Photographers You Should Know (with portfolios) | Inspiration

50 Great Photographers You Should Know (with portfolios) | Inspiration: "50 Great Photographers You Should Know (with portfolios)"

Phasers on destroy!

Danger Room - Wired Blogs: "On Monday, the Office of Naval Research awarded contracts to both Raytheon and Boeing worth an initial $6.9 million each for preliminary design work on a new free electron laser, or FEL. This model would be about seven times strong than any similar laser -- reaching up to 100 kilowatts, or weapons-grade. Eventually, that could pave the way for a directed-energy weapon that can replace the Navy's current system for close-in ship defense, the radar-guided Phalanx gun.

The Phalanx system -- which also protects against rocket and mortar attacks on land -- is limited by the range and magazine capacity of its 20mm autocannon. In theory, a laser-based system would offer greater range, and a potentially unlimited number of shots. Plus, it might be fast enough to defend against 'new, challenging threats, such as hyper-velocity cruise missiles,' as Boeing puts it. Directed energy is also an appealing option for countering rocket and mortar fire, because it could theoretically be used to defend populated areas."

DNA does it all

Science News: "Seemingly misplaced DNA acts as lenses Nocturnal animals orient DNA in retinal cells to focus light."

Moscow News

Moscow News: "Defence workers turning militant
By Anna Arutunyan
Trouble is brewing in the factories that supply Russia's defence industry, with previously loyal unions staging protests over months of unpaid wages."

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Mallika Chopra: 1,500 Farmers in India Commit Suicide: A Wake-Up Call for Humanity

Mallika Chopra: 1,500 Farmers in India Commit Suicide: A Wake-Up Call for Humanity: "Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.

'The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago,' Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine.

'Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well.' Mr Sahu lives in a district that recorded 206 farmer suicides last year. Police records for the district add that many deaths occur due to debt and economic distress."


Is this "death with dignity?"

Total Recall: The Woman Who Can't Forget

Total Recall: The Woman Who Can't Forget: "Total Recall: The Woman Who Can't Forget
By Gary Marcus"

Twins by Birth

50-Year-Old Has Spent $15,000 On Surgery To Look Like Her Daughter

UW to eliminate about 1,000 jobs by May 1

UW to eliminate about 1,000 jobs by May 1: "'In the best scenario I can come up with, we're going to have significant budget cuts,' Emmert said.

Emmert said he was 'offended' by the funding proposals coming out of Olympia. Across the nation -- including hard-off states such as California and Michigan -- no states are proposing such drastic cuts to higher education funding, he said.

Nationwide, Washington is ranked 30th in state funding for four-year institutions, Arkans said. After the proposed budget cuts -- using either the House's or Senate's budget proposals -- Washington would drop to a rank of 42nd.

'We're running out of adjectives and adverbs,' Emmert said. 'It's unprecedented in the state's history. What's happening in the Senate and the House may be unprecedented in the States -- the United States -- in the post-war era.'

The budget cut is estimated to take 10,000 students per year out of the state's four-year university system. That means, Emmert said, that Washington's major employers -- such as Boeing and Microsoft -- could end up recruiting more employees from other states.

'And our sons and daughters will be washing their cars,' he said.

The 100 or so people at the discussion nervously laughed.

'Now I'm not saying all of this to depress you,' Emmert told them later. 'I'm saying it -- maybe to make you mad.'"

Swiss Chocolate Takes over American Innovation Corporation

SmartZone Communications Center: Inbox (1993): "1. Genentech execs hit the door as Roche takes over
By John Carroll Comment | Forward

The game of musical chairs at the newly-acquired Genentech has begun. And it's starting at the top.

Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson (photo) has been handed the role of chairman of a new board of directors, which will be drawn from Roche's executive ranks and also include outside directors. And Susan Desmond-Hellmann (photo), the highly-lauded president of development at Genentech and a key player in the advancement of a slate of cancer blockbusters, will stay on until the middle of the year and then hand over the assignment to someone else. She will take an advisory role and join Genentech's scientific resource board.

Richard Scheller, now the executive vice president with Genentech Research, will lead an independent center that will pursue the biotech's research and early development activities. Roche had said at the time it forged the $47 billion deal to buy the outstanding shares of Genentech that it would keep that work separate from Roche's other development work.

Pascal Soriot has been named chief executive at Genentech North America, which will combine Roche Pharma North America and Genentech. Genentech CFO David Ebersman and Steve Juelsgaard, chief compliance officer, are leaving the company.

Investors have been paying close attention to Roche"

Lost Tribes

Vatican denies rejecting Caroline Kennedy as US envoy