viernes, mayo 31, 2013

Michigan woman, 33, killed in Syria fight, family says



A 33-year-old Michigan woman was killed in Syria while fighting for opposition forces, relatives said.
Nicole Lynn Mansfield, of Flint, and two other were fighters for a group opposed to Syria’s government and were killed during a confrontation in Idlib, according to a pro-Syrian government news agency. The circumstances of the deaths could not immediately be confirmed.
Mansfield’s cousin, David Speelman, of Flint, told The Associated Press that FBI agents visited family members Thursday and informed them of Mansfield's death. FBI Detroit spokesman Simon Shaykhet told the AP he can't comment on the matter.
Speelman's mother, Monica Mansfield Speelman, told the Detroit Free Press that her niece was a convert to Islam who married an Arab immigrant several years ago but later divorced him. The family was not happy about Mansfield's conversion to Islam, said Monica Speelman and Mansfield's grandmother, Carole Mansfield.
"She had a heart of gold, but she was weak-minded,” Carole Mansfield told the newspaper. "I think she could have been brain washed."
Nicole Mansfield was raised as a Baptist and her father was a General Motors production worker, relatives said. She quit high school after becoming pregnant but later earned her GED, attended community college and worked in home health care for 10 years, they said.
She told people “that the best way of life was to be a Muslim,” Carole Mansfield told the Detroit Free Press. “And that women should always cover their head.”
Mansfield, according to the Syrian government news agency report, was fighting with two other people from England and reportedly had rifles, clips of ammunition, grenades and the flag of al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda-related group.
“I’m sick over it,” Speelman told the Detroit Free Press of her niece’s death. “I didn’t think she was (a terrorist), but God only knows.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

El sacrificio de la generacion de los 60's en Cuba

hernandez01/ Por Andrés Pascual
Todas las generaciones nacidas bajo el castrismo han sufrido el efecto de esa tiranía desalmada y represora, sin embargo, ninguna fue tan maltratada como la que creció y se hizo adolescente durante la época que el mundo occidental llama “década prodigiosa”.
Mirando atrás, aquella juventud prometía más que todas las posteriores hasta hoy, porque nacieron durante los 50’s, mayormente a principios, que significa que alcanzaron la última etapa de educación formal en escuelas privadas o públicas, que la prepararía como “cubanos reyoyos”, capaces de enfrentar con éxito los avatares de la vida.
Yo pertenezco a aquella generación, que vimos al Llanero Solitario por televisión y escuchábamos a Jackie el Pecoso, a Leonardo Moncada o a los últimos Villalobos (Rolandito Barral, Salvador Levi y Jorge Félix), que podíamos ver en matiné 4 o 5 películas más cine-revista, muñequitos, avances, un clip de Garrido y Piñero incluso el noticiero, que Roberto Ortiz en persona le ofrecía un vaso de malta Hatuey en la escuela y que podían comprar en cualquier tienda 25 “papelitos de colores” para trabajo escolar por un medio o el último cómic de Red Ryder y Castorcito.
Esos detallitos, aparentemente insignificantes, hacen la diferencia con las que solo conocieron y les impusieron el mensaje comunista.
Pero mi generación vio y sufrió el nacimiento del espantoso experimento anti-cubano a través de la horda en las calles pidiendo paredón, en los cuarteles golpeando a ex militares como tortura inicial, muchos de los cuales no eran culpables de nada y aún soporta saber que aquella gente sin moral o visitan EUA o viven aquí como vecinos de sus víctimas.
Vimos nacer las Milicias, el CDR, la Federación de Mujeres Cubanas, la UJC, que evolucionó desde AJR (Asociación de Jóvenes Rebeldes, que le “aportó” al G-2 una más que generosa cantidad de genízaros y sicarios), cuyo objetivo inicial para desviar la atención fue sustituir con obligación-imposición revolucionaria el “concepto del enemigo imperialista boy scout”.
Sufrimos represalias por mantener el respeto hacia maestras normalistas que expulsaron de las aulas porque se negaron a ponerse el uniforme de milicianas.
Inauguramos la política de “escuela al campo” por una semana o quince días, pero no conocimos el de la “escuela en el campo”, verdaderos antros de corrupción o “fábricas iniciales de hombres nuevos”, al que accedían a regañadientes los padres para poder “alargar” la cuota racionada de comida.
No vivimos la era de desobediencia absoluta, como no informar a dónde iríamos esa noche ni la llegada al día siguiente sin dar explicaciones, pero llamábamos “señor, señora” a los mayores o desconocidos y le dábamos a una mujer el asiento que ocupábamos en un ómnibus y pedíamos permiso para pasar.
Tampoco practicábamos el amor libérrimo ni las fiestas con sexo, bebida y droga que estilan hoy por la pérdida de todos los valores sociales, objetivo cumplido de la tiranía, sino que íbamos a una fiesta de quince años de una joven conocida y nos comportábamos con el más absoluto respeto hacia todos.
Vimos el inicio de la degeneración del tronco familiar por oportunismo para que “mi hijo pueda estudiar” o para mantener un trabajo a veces indecoroso.
Mi generación se frustró en medio del “apartheid” natural a que obligaba la diferencia de opinión desde el hogar: los hijos de revolucionarios que rechazaban a los hijos de desafectos o gusanos y estos a su vez consumiéndose en una coraza defensiva contra la fuerza del mal, que tenía como objetivo separar, dividir para identificar al enemigo, neutralizarlo y liquidarlo criminalmente: los buenos, ellos; los malos, el resto
Conocimos de sanciones carcelarias enormes, por circunstancias políticas, a jóvenes que apreciábamos, o del fusilamientos de gente decente y honrada por la más despreciable lacra que produjera Cuba, que “salieron del closet” cuando se identificaron con esas bestias por el alto grado de envidia y bajas pasiones que los consumía en silencio hasta 1959.
Todo eso influyó muchísimo en los problemas que nos generaron conductas disfuncionales y bajo rendimiento académico por diversión y maltrato sicosocial.
Mi generación no vivió la niñez ni la adolescencia, se perdió de los estadios obligados del desarrollo natural entre lemas y compromisos impuestos por quienes nunca han tenido el mínimo interés en formar ciudadanos, sino máquinas para manejarlas de acuerdo a sus intereses.
Vivimos la implantación de la libreta “como salvación de la revolución”, que en el fondo significó el asesinato del alma cubana, porque, al racionar la comida, obligaba al padre a desviar la atención del compromiso patriótico y cercenaba la necesidad de unirse y luchar contra el monstruoso crimen convertido en gobierno, cambiándola a obligación en la búsqueda del sustento diario.
Vivimos el gulap UMAP, prisión política de carácter especial contra la juventud cuya familia no era castrista o eran afectados por el robo de la propiedad comercial personal, que encubrieron en medidas de saneamiento social, preferentemente contra los homosexuales.
Toda mi generación ha quedado con heridas que nunca se han podido curar: el paso del tiempo las ha mantenido abiertas por los diferentes acontecimientos crueles que han ido apareciendo en el camino.
La foto que ilustra este material es de una fiesta de 15 años de mediados de los 60’s en San Cristóbal, de la señorita Guillermina Pérez, tercera de izquierda a derecha, bella aún en su madurez, como su hermana Inés (segunda en el orden), decentes, de buena familia, como todos esos jóvenes tan bien vestidos como atractivos, acaso ese sea el recuerdo, el último, de lo que fue Cuba, a través de una generación a la que convirtieron en sándwich, que prometía mucho más de lo que la condenó el castro-comunismo. 

State Department: Havana Provides Safe Haven to US Fugitives

By Juan O. Tamayo, jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuba is harboring and supporting U.S. fugitives but may be trying to distance itself from two dozen members of a Basque terrorist group who live on the island, according to the State Department’s annual Country Report on Terrorism released Thursday.
The report for 2012 is totally separate from the department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, which now includes Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan and subjects those nations to a special set of U.S. economic and other sanctions.
Advocates of keeping or removing Cuba from the list awaited the 2012 report with special interest because of media reports earlier this year, flatly denied by the State Department, that Secretary of State John Kerry would take Havana off the list.
The Cuba section of the 2012 report appeared to be similar to the section in 2011, with both noting that Havana authorities are continuing to harbor fugitives wanted in the United States and supporting them with housing, ration books and medical care.
One such fugitive is Joanne Chesimard, on the FBI’s “most wanted terrorist” list since 2005. A Black Panther who was convicted in the 1973 murder of New Jersey State Trooper, she escaped from prison in 1979 and turned up in Havana in 1984. The FBI hiked the reward offered for her capture to $2 million in April.
“There was no indication that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups,” the 2012 report said, in wording almost exactly the same as in the 2011 report.
Both reports also noted “suggestions” that Havana has tried to distance itself from members of Spain’s Basque Homeland and Liberty (ETA), classified by Washington as a terrorist group, who live in Cuba by “not providing services, including travel documents, to some of them.”
The 2012 version adds that two dozen ETA members are living in Cuba.
Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also classified as a terror group, received refuge in Cuba in past years, according to the latest version. The 2011 report noted that FARC members had received medical assistance. The FARC and Colombian government are currently holding peace talks in Havana.
Both reports also noted that the U.S. Financial Actions Task Force has identified Cuba as having “strategic … deficiencies” in the fight against terrorism financing and money laundering. The latest report adds that Cuba has now joined a regional body designed for that purpose.
Cuba has been on the separate U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982. Havana also is on a separate U.S. government list, with Venezuela and others, of countries that are not “cooperating fully with United States antiterrorism efforts.”
To remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors, the White House is required to notify the U.S. Congress that Cuba has not engaged in terrorism for some time and promised not to do so again.

Yoani Sánchez regresa a Cuba sin contratiempos

La bloguera cubana, Yoani Sánchez, acaba de arribar a Cuba procedente de Madrid, España, después de visitar más de una decena de países desde que comenzó su viaje el 17 de febrero.

Antes de abordar el avión que la llevó de regreso, la autora del blog Generación Y, de 37 años, escribió en su cuenta de Twitter: “me espera mi Habana, bella y dolorosa, sublime, risueña y triste”.

Al llegar al aeropuerto José Martí de La Habana, la periodista independiente fue recibida sin contratiempos por una docena de familiares, blogueros y amigos que corearon "bienvenida a casa" pocos minutos después de abandonar el
control de la aduana. Así lo escribió también en un tuits: "Pasé la aduana sin problemas, afuera un gran grupo de amigos y familiares me esperaba. Muy emotivo".

En su viaje de más de tres meses, Yoani habló con líderes internacionales de derechos humanos, dio discursos en universidades de Estados Unidos y recorrió las oficinas de Google y Twitter en Nueva York. En Miami recibió ovaciones calurosas de exiliados cubanos y se maravilló de encontrarse con una "Cuba fuera de Cuba".

Sánchez regresó a Cuba con "muchos proyectos" tras un viaje que según dijo va a cambiar su vida "en muchos sentidos".
  
"El futuro se abre hacia adelante y necesito descansar un poco para poder proyectarlo, pero todo muy bien, estoy muy feliz", declaró la famosa bloguera a periodistas a su llegada a La Habana y luego del reencuentro con su esposo, Reinaldo Escobar, el hijo de ambos, Teo, así como con otros familiares y amigos que la esperaban en el aeropuerto.

"Es el viaje que me va a cambiar la vida en muchos sentidos, porque ha sido un viaje humano, periodístico, cívico, tecnológico y bueno pues estoy aquí con muchos proyectos, muy exhausta también por el itinerario que ha sido bien extenso", señaló la bloguera en unas breves declaraciones. 

Asteroid 1998 QE2 has a moon, radar shows

cosmiclog
When astronomers analyzed radar readings to create their first maps of 1998 QE2, the big asteroid that's due to sail past Earth on Friday, they were surprised to find that it has a moon twice as big as an ocean liner.
1998 QE2 itself is way bigger: The latest readings from NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, Calif., are consistent with earlier estimates that the asteroid is about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers wide). But the moon is hefty as well. Astronomers estimate its diameter at 2,000 feet (600 meters). That's big enough to wipe out an area of the size of Virginia if it were to strike land.
Fortunately, neither space rock will come any closer than 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers), or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon, during a flyby that reaches its climax at 4:59 p.m. ET Friday.
Even though Earth is in no danger, the close encounter is stirring up interest because it gives astronomers a rare opportunity to see an asteroid up close. Such observations could help NASA plan for efforts as the Osiris-Rex mission, which will bring back a sample from the asteroid Bennu in 2023; and an even more ambitious mission to corral an asteroid by the mid-2020s.
Goldstone's first radar observations of 1998 QE2 were made on Wednesday evening, producing images with a resolution of about 250 feet (75 meters) per pixel. The pictures show that QE2 has a rotation period of less than four hours, and is marked by several dark surface features that are suggestive of large craters. In an image advisory, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that the image resolution will get better as more radar readings become available, from Goldstone as well as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

jueves, mayo 30, 2013

Sweden Should Be Commended

By  Jay Nordlinger in National Review:

An Honor Roll

In today’s Impromptus, I report some good news out of Sweden. What, Muslim immigrants assimilating? No, no — but almost as good: A group of Cuban dissidents and democracy activists met in Stockholm for a “week of hope.” They were sponsored by a Cuban exile group, of course. But look: They were also sponsored by the Swedish government. And they met right in parliament.

As I put it, “Sweden has come a long way since Olof Palme, who so loved mass-murdering Communists in Hanoi and elsewhere.”

Here in the Corner, I wanted to add something about Sweden and Cuba. At the recent Oslo Freedom Forum, Roberto de Jesús Guerra spoke. He is an independent journalist in Cuba — that takes incredible bravery, including the willingness to be imprisoned repeatedly — and he was on his first trip outside of Cuba. I wrote about him here.

I did not mention this — that he named the embassies in Havana that allow dissidents and democrats to come in and use the Internet. Would you like the complete list? The embassies of the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Holland, and the U.S. interests section (which is housed in the Swiss embassy). That’s it. “The rest of the diplomatic corps in Cuba does not give us any type of help,” said Roberto.

The Czechs have been helping the Cubans for a long time. That is a special relationship. Václav Havel was a great supporter of the Cuban opposition. In 2005, I wrote a piece called “Solidarity, Exemplified: The amazing story of the Czechs and the Cubans.” I’m glad the U.S. interests section is still allowing people to come in, even under an administration bent on making nice with the Castros. Sweden? A marvelous development, and a surprise to me.

Holland? That too is a surprise. Completely stumps me. Am glad and admiring, though.

Just about every other country would rather smooch the Castros’ geriatric, murderous butts than lift a finger for the Cubans. As Jeane Kirkpatrick put it to me, a long time ago now, that is “both a puzzling and a profoundly painful phenomenon of our times.”

Cuba: Permanecen en huelga de hambre 5 activistas del Frente OZT (5-30-13)

Continúan en huelga de hambre Luis Enrique Santos Caballero, Arnaldo Pérez, Fernando Vázquez, Yunier Santana y Damaris Moya Portieles. La salud de cada uno de ellos se empeora, en especial la de Luis Enrique Santos Caballero quien tiene solo un riñón. Le dijo hoy una doctora enviada por el régimen que podrá morir debido a que puede perder su otro riñón. Santos afirmo que llevaría su protesta hasta las ultimas consecuencias si fuera necesario. Exige una vivienda luego de que fue desalojado. La solidaridad internacional es de suma importancia. 

Pace University’s “Left Forum” to Host Panel on The Cuban Five

Havana -- (Prensa Latina) -- The event is part of activities of the Left Forum, to be held on June 7-8, expected to be attended by thousands of people, said the National Free the Five Committee.
According to the solidarity group, the invitation was made in New York to all supporters of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, internationally known as The Cuban Five.
Famous lawyer Martin Garbus, a member of The Cuban Five’s legal team; Stephen Kimber, a professor of the University of King’s College; Peter Roman, a professor in Hostos Community College; Keith Bolender, a professor in the Toronto University and Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the Committee, will be among the panellists.
The communiqué adds that besides the demand for the immediate release of these Cuban heroes, the panellists will examine the hostile US policy of blockade imposed on Cuba for over fifty years by successive US administrations.
The case of the Cuban Five is “an example of the US intransigence,” said the Committee.
Left Forum is a yearly conference that gathers in New York wide range left wing, progressive intellectuals, activists, scholars, organizations and public in general to discuss and share ideas about the current world situation.

On Dupont Circle: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the Progressives Who Shaped Our World

LibraryOfCongress
James Srodes discussed and signed his book, "On Dupont Circle: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the Progressives Who Shaped Our World."

Speaker Biography: James Srodes is a former Washington bureau chief for Forbes and Financial World magazines. He is the author of several books, including "Franklin: The Essential Founding Father," "Allen Dulles: Master of Spies" and, most recently, "On Dupont Circle: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the Progressives Who Shaped Our World."

Teaching a robot to anticipate human actions

By Amara D. Angelica

“Hey, you spilled my last beer!” “Sorry, Frank, Kinect crashed.”
A robot that anticipates your actions (credit: Robot Learning Lab, Computer Science Department, Cornell University)
Why can’t a robot be like a servant (to paraphrase My Fair Lady)? You know, one who would anticipate your every need — even before you asked?
The folks at the Personal Robotics Lab of Ashutosh Saxena, Cornell assistant professor of computer science have gone and done just that.
When we last (virtually) visited the lab, we learned that the roboticists taught  “hallucinating” robots to arrange your room for you, and before that to pick up after you, These are important robot skills if you’re disabled, for example — or you live in a dorm.
Now they’ve taken the next step: they’ve taught a Cornell robot to foresee a human action, the person’s likely trajectory, and what it needs to do to help the person. Let’s say you’re walking toward a refrigerator carrying something with both hands; the robot could open the door for you (as shown in the video below).
Anticipating human actions
Understanding when and where to open the door (or when and how to pour a beer, also in the video) can be difficult for a robot because of the many variables it encounters while assessing the situation. But the Cornell team has created an elegant solution.
(Left) Robot’s video view. (Next) Heatmap of objects. (Next) Heatmap of trajectories (Right) Robot opening the door (credit: Robot Learning Lab, Computer Science Department, Cornell University).
For starters, the Cornell robot has access to a Microsoft Kinect 3-D camera and a database of 3D videos. The robot identifies the activities it sees, considers what uses are possible with the objects in the scene, and determines how those uses fit with the activities.
It then generates a set of possible trajectories or continuations into the future — such as eating, drinking, cleaning, putting away — and finally chooses the most probable. As the action continues, the robot constantly updates and refines its predictions.
“We extract the general principles of how people behave,” said Ashutosh Saxena, Cornell professor of computer science and co-author of a new study tied to the research. “Drinking coffee is a big activity, but there are several parts to it.” The robot builds a “vocabulary” of such small parts that it can put together in various ways to recognize a variety of big activities, he explained.
In tests, the robot made correct predictions 82 percent of the time when looking one second into the future, 71 percent correct for three seconds, and 57 percent correct for 10 seconds.
“Even though humans are predictable, they are only predictable part of the time,” Saxena said. “The future would be to figure out how the robot plans its action. Right now we are almost hard-coding the responses, but there should be a way for the robot to learn how to respond.”
This is amazing research, getting us closer to the robot butler in Robot & Frank and countless other science-fiction stories.
The research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office, the Alfred E. Sloan Foundation and Microsoft.
Saxena will join Cornell graduate student Hema S. Koppula as they present their research at the International Conference of Machine Learning, June 18–21 in Atlanta, and the Robotics: Science and Systems conference, June 24–28 in Berlin, Germany.
rss Anticipation

After sex scandal, ex-CIA chief Petraeus takes Wall Street job 

AFP - Getty Images
Former CIA director David Petraeus addresses a University of Southern California event honoring the military on March 26, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, attempting to rebuild his reputation after he resigned as CIA director last year over an extramarital affair, will take a new job with investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the firm said on Thursday.
Petraeus, 60, will serve as chairman of the newly created KKR Global Institute, supporting its investment teams and portfolio companies studying new investments, especially in new parts of the world. The New York-based company did not detail the terms of its agreement with Petraeus, but a spokeswoman said he will serve in a consultant's role.
The four-star general resigned as head of the CIA in November, saying he had engaged in an extramarital affair. It was a stunning downfall for a revered military man who was seen as one of the top American leaders of his generation and was once considered a potential contender for the White House.
The sex scandal involving the married Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, an Army reserve intelligence officer who is also married, provided fodder for comedians and triggered a media storm that followed his confession and resignation.
He had been CIA director since September 2011. Before that, Petraeus served more than 37 years in the U.S. Army. He was commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and also commanded forces in Iraq in 2007 and 2008, when violence in that country dropped following a surge in military forces.
Petraeus has a doctorate from Princeton University and has written widely on international relations, military strategy and tactics, and national security issues. He also has taught economics and international relations at the U.S. Military Academy.
He will add the new job to a couple of teaching assignments. Earlier this month, the University of Southern California announced he will join its faculty to teach classes and also mentor ROTC members.
In April, Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York named Petraeus a visiting professor for public policy starting next August. He said in a statement released by Macaulay that he was looking forward to leading a seminar on the global economic slowdown.
KKR, which has more than $78 billion in assets under management, has been involved in some of the biggest private equity buyouts in history including the $45 billion takeover of Texas power producer TXU, now known as Energy Future Holdings, in 2007. Private equity still accounts for most of KKR's assets under management, but the firm has been diversifying into credit and hedge funds.
KKR said the global institute will help it focus on issues that can affect its global investments. Those include public policy, regulatory and technology trends. The institute also will build on KKR's push to help its portfolio companies expand globally.

Amelia Earhart’s Plane Revealed in Sonar?

A grainy sonar image captured off an uninhabited tropical island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati might represent the remains of the Electra, the two-engine aircraft legendary aviator Amelia Earhart was piloting when she vanished on July 2, 1937 in a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator.
Released by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which has long been investigating Earhart's last, fateful flight, the images show an "anomaly" resting at the depth of about 600 feet in the waters off Nikumaroro island, some 350 miles southeast of Earhart's target destination, Howland Island.

PHOTOS: Clues Pointing to Amelia Earhart's Plane

According to TIGHAR researchers, the sonar image shows a strong return from a narrow object roughly 22 feet long oriented southwest/northeast on the slope near the base of an underwater cliff. Shadows indicate that the object is higher on the southwest (downhill side). A lesser return extends northeastward for about 131 feet.
"What initially got our attention is that there is no other sonar return like it in the entire body of data collected," Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, told Discovery News.
"It is truly an anomaly, and when you're looking for man-made objects against a natural background, anomalies are good," he added.
A number of artifacts recovered by TIGHAR during 10 expeditions have suggested that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, made a forced landing on the island's smooth, flat coral reef. Gillespie and his team believe the two became castaways and eventually died there.

NEWS: Pieces of Amelia Earhart's Plane Located?

In July 2012, Gillespie and his crew returned to Nikumaroro to carry out an underwater search for the plane with a torpedo-shaped Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV).
Multi-beam sonar mounted on the ship mapped the underwater terrain and the AUV collected a volume of side-scan data along roughly 1.3 nautical miles of shoreline off the west end of Nikumaroro, while the ROV, capable of reaching depths of 3,000 feet, produced hours upon hours of high-definition video.
Plagued by a number of technical issues and a difficult environment, the hunt did not result in the immediate identification of pieces from Earhart's Lockheed Electra aircraft.
As they returned from the data collection trip, TIGHAR researchers began reviewing and analyzing all of new material recovered from the underwater search.
They identified a small debris field of objects at the depth of 200 feet, which TIGHAR forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman described as consisting of man-made objects.
Located distinctly apart from the debris field of the SS Norwich City, a British steamer which went aground on the island's reef in 1929, the site features objects which appear consistent with the interpretation made by Glickmann of a grainy photograph of Nikumaroro's western shoreline.
The grainy photo was shot by British Colonial Service officer Eric R. Bevington in October 1937, just three months after Amelia's disappearance on July 2, 1937. It revealed an apparent man-made protruding object on the left side of the frame.
Forensic imaging analyses of the picture found the mysterious object consistent with the shape and dimensions of the wreckage of landing gear from Earhart's plane.
"The Bevington photo shows what appears to be four components of the plane: a strut, a wheel, a worm gear and a fender. In the debris field there appears to be the fender, possibly the wheel and possibly some portions of the strut," Glickman told Discovery News.
A new twist in the search occurred last March when Richard Conroy, a member of TIGHAR’s on-line Amelia Earhart Search Forum, spotted an anomaly in a sonar map posted online.
Keep reading on Discovery >>
TIGHARchannel

American drone crashes amid militant fighting in Somalia

A U.S. reconnaissance drone has crashed in Somalia, but it’s unclear if it was shot down by Islamist militants, a senior U.S. official tells Fox News.
The crash happened Tuesday in the southern Shabelle region, where African troops are fighting al Shabaab insurgents, the provincial governor told Reuters.
Abdikadir Mohamed Nur said the Al Qaeda-linked group had shot at the drone for several hours, eventually hitting it.
"Finally they hit it and the drone crashed," Nur told Reuters.
The cause of the crash has not been determined, and the U.S. official told Fox News that it is still being investigated. The official says it is unlikely it was shot down by militants.
Kenyan, Ethiopian and African Union forces are fighting al Shabaab, the group driven out of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in 2011. They hope to prevent the militant group from gaining ground in eastern Africa.
The U.S. does not disclose drone activities in Somalia, but they have been used to kill Somali and al Shabaab militants, according to Reuters.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, a lobbying group, says U.S. Predator and Reaper drones cost around $2,500 to $3,500 to operate each flight hour.

US Drone Strike Kills Taliban No. 2 In Pakistan

REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Lt Col Leslie Pratt
A MQ-1 Predator drone
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed the number two of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said, in what would be a major blow in the fight against militancy.
The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman, in the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue.
Wali-ur-Rehman had been poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a senior army official based in the South Waziristan region, had said in December.
"This is a huge blow to militants and a win in the fight against insurgents," one security official told Reuters, declining further comment.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate entity allied to the Afghan Taliban. Known as the Tehreek-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP), they have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan told Reuters the group did not have "confirmed reports" that Wali-ur-Rehman had been killed. He declined further comment.
Drone casualties are difficult to verify. Foreign journalists must have permission from the military to visit the Pashtun tribal areas along the Afghan border.
Taliban fighters also often seal off the sites of drone strikes immediately so Pakistani journalists cannot see the victims.
"That the Taliban are remaining silent and neither denying or confirming the news is itself peculiar," said Saleem Safi, a Pakistani expert on the Taliban. "But if this news is true, then the Pakistan army has the U.S. to thank."
The security officials and Pashtun tribesmen in the northwestern region said the drone fired two missiles that struck a mud-built house at Chashma village, 3 km (2 miles) east of Miranshah, the region's administrative town.
They said seven people were killed and four wounded.
FOREIGN MINISTRY DENOUNCES DRONES
"Tribesmen started rescue work an hour after the attack and recovered seven bodies," said resident Bashir Dawar. "The bodies were badly damaged and beyond recognition."
The Pakistan government had yet to confirm Wali-ur-Rehman's death.
A U.S. drone killed Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in 2009. There had been several reports that his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed the same way but they turned out to be untrue.
But the Foreign Ministry again denounced drones in general on Wednesday.
"The government has consistently maintained that the drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives, have human rights and humanitarian implications and violate the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law," it said.
U.S. President Barack Obama recently indicated he was scaling back the drone strike program, winning cautious approval from Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S. fight on militancy.
North Waziristan is on the Afghan border and has long been a stronghold of militants including Afghan Talibanand their al Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban allies.
Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif said this month that drone strikes were a "challenge" to Pakistan's sovereignty.
"We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue," he said.
Obama's announcement of scaling back drone strikes was widely welcomed by the people of North Waziristan, where drones armed with missiles have carried out the most strikes against militants over the past seven years, sometimes with heavy civilian casualties.
The strike also coincided with the first session of the newly elected provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the former Northwest Frontier Province.
Former cricketer Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party won most seats in the assembly and denounced the strike, saying Obama had gone back on his word.

Patient plays guitar during brain surgery in Los Angeles

ITN
A patient undergoing brain surgery at University of California is filmed playing guitar during the procedure. Brad Carter, a 39-year-old actor and musician in Los Angeles, was undergoing a procedure to implant a brain pacemaker to help treat essential tremors.

The procedure was conducted on May 23 and with Carter's help was turned into a public event.

The medical team posted live updates on Twitter during surgery as well as videos of Carter, who was awake during the procedure, testing his motor skills including playing guitar.  

El hombre fuerte de la inteligencia cubana en Venezuela

Coronel de la Inteligencia cubana, Alexis Frutos Weeden
Por Juan Reynaldo Sánchez*
En uno de sus últimas apariciones públicas antes del viaje final a La Habana, Hugo Chávez hizo alusión a un tal Alexis –sin apellidos- dándole las gracias por el trabajo desarrollado como miembro del grupo de cubanos que velaban por su salud.
¿Quién era en realidad este importante señor que Chávez se dignaba en nombrar como una suerte de familiar cubano?

La duda quedó despejada el pasado 4 de mayo, en ocasión de un acto oficial en Caracas para condecorar a ocho médicos militares de la Misión Martí, dedicada a velar por la salud de Chávez desde el 2003. La ceremonia fue realizada en el Cuartel de la Montaña, junto al panteón donde descansan los restos de ex mandatario venezolano, y Nicolás Maduro tuvo a su cargo la imposición de la Orden Generalísimo Francisco Miranda de Primera Clase al selecto grupo.

En el video del acto –transmitido por la estatal VTV- apareció el coronel de la Inteligencia cubana, Alexis Frutos Weeden, sentado junto a Maduro y al embajador Rogelio Polanco.
El Frutos que conocí

Conocí muy bien a Alexis Frutos. Las primeras noticias de este oficial se remontan a la época en que el jefe de la Inteligencia cubana era el comandante Joaquín Méndez Comiche. Por entonces Frutos era el Segundo Jefe de Personal y Cuadros de la Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI), bajo las órdenes del jefe de ese departamento, el coronel José.

Cuando el General de División Luis Barreiro Caramés (hoy suegro de Fidel Castro Díaz Balart, hijo de Fidel Castro Ruz) tomó el mando en la DGI, a finales de los años 70, el coronel Frutos desempeñaba el cargo de jefe del Grupo Psicológico de la inteligencia, encargado de preparar a oficiales y agentes de inteligencia.

Frutos siempre se destacó por ser un adulador de los jefes y siempre tuvo la ambición de pertenecer a la parte operativa de la inteligencia. Siempre quiso ser un oficial operativo. Los acontecimientos de la Causa No. 2 de 1989 –juicio contra el General José Abrantes y un grupo de altos oficiales del Ministerio del Interior (MININT)- provocaron la intervención del organismo por oficiales de las Fuerzas Armadas, que asumieron el mando de las principales direcciones del MININT, menos la dirección de Seguridad Personal. En esta dependencia, el General Humberto Francis Pardo había asumido su cargo en una fecha reciente, y era un hombre de Raúl Castro con toda la confianza de Fidel Castro.

Por entonces Frutos, en actitud sumisa y oportunista, continua sus adulaciones al entonces General Carlos Fernández Gondín, designado al frente de la Inteligencia tras los acontecimientos del verano de 1989.
Ambiciones de Futuros Negocios

Pero la ambición de Frutos no se concretaba y comenzó a merodear -junto al General Orlando Delgado "Orlandito", ex jefe de despacho de Abrantes- las instalaciones de un grupo de trabajo que creado por Fidel Castro en una oficina en las calles 19 y 0, en El Vedado, bajo el rotulo de ¨Futuros Negocios¨. ("Orlandito" seguía siendo hombre de comfianza tras declarar contra Abrantes en el juicio de la Causa No. 2)

Al frente de este grupo se encontraba el Coronel Saúl, de la Dirección de Inteligencia (DI), quien se  encargaría de planificar, controlar y establecer negocios fuera de Cuba, incluyendo Panamá, México y Estados Unidos.

Como directivos de las empresas de Futuros Negocios se utilizarían a supuestos desertores cubanos. Aludiendo a la misión de este grupo empresarial, Fidel Castro manifestó delante de mí y en presencia de algunos de sus más cercanos colaboradores, que “al imperialismo había que darle donde más le duele, en el dinero”. (De ahí mi certeza de que muchas de las estafas realizadas por cubanos en territorio estadounidense tienen detrás al gobierno de La Habana).

Entre 1999 y 2003, Frutos estuvo como encargado de negocios en la Embajada de Cuba en Panamá y, sin dudas, su relación con el grupo Futuros Negocios había dado resultados.

En Panamá y junto al coronel de la inteligencia Carlos Rafael Zamora, más conocido como el Gallo Zamora (hoy embajador en Brasil), Frutos informaba a Cuba de las actividades de corrupción y posible vinculación con la CIA del empresario panameño Alejandro Abood y de varios funcionarios cubanos que le habían vendido información sensible. Abood fue arrestado en La Habana en el 2001 y devuelto a su país dos años después.
Designado en Venezuela

Frutos salió hacia Venezuela para ocupar el cargo formal de ministro consejero de la embajada cubana en Caracas, pero en realidad su designación sería como jefe de la inteligencia en el país suramericano. El coronel fue encargado además por las autoridades cubanas con la responsabilidad de supervisar la salud del presidente Chávez y sobre todo mantener el control sobre el equipo médico de la Misión Martí.

Además de mantener en estricta vigilancia a los oficiales miembros de la Misión Martí y evitar fugas de información con respecto a la salud del mandatario, Frutos mantuvo informados a Fidel y Raúl Castro de todos los pormenores de la salud de Chávez desde el 2003. Por esta época también llegó a Venezuela el General Fabián Escalante Font, alias Roberto, encargado durante años a la contrainteligencia cubana y con vasta experiencia en tareas de enfrentamiento a actividades subversivas contra el régimen castrista.

El coronel Frutos tiene dos hijas con Mayra Mena, su esposa. La mayor se nombra Patricia Frutos Mena y trabaja actualmente para la inteligencia cubana en la Embajada de Cuba en Beijing, China. La segunda, Mayra Frutos Mena, está con su padre en Venezuela probando los manjares de la cúpula chavista.

Esta es la cosecha de Alexis, pilar del espionaje cubano en tierras venezolanas, a quien tanto Chávez agradecía por su dedicación y lealtad ante la cercanía de la muerte.
*Juan Reynaldo Sánchez fue escolta personal de Fidel Castro entre 1968 y 1994, con grados de teniente coronel. Fue destituido y cumplió prisión en Cuba. Logró abandonar la isla en el 2008 y actualmente reside en Miami. Tiene en preparación un libro sobre su experiencia en la seguridad personal del gobernante cubano.
Video donde puede verse a Alexis Frutos junto a Nicolás Maduro:

Petrolera rusa abandona temporalmente exploración en Cuba

La petrolera estatal rusa Zarubezhneft dijo esta semana que abandonará por ahora las operaciones de exploración en la costa norte de la región central de Cuba, debido a varios problemas geológicos, suspendiendo el único proyecto actual en la  búsqueda de yacimientos de crudo en aguas profundas de la isla, informa la agencia Reuters.

Según un parte de prensa de la compañía rusa, el vicedirector general de esta, Serguei Erke, visitó La Habana y se reunió con la contraparte de CubaPetroleo y decidieron detener la exploración.

La noticia no es mala del todo, indica Reuters, porque la empresa rusa dijo que retornaría al mismo sitio el próximo año, aunque se considera otro golpe a las esperanzas de la isla de lograr su independencia energética.

El tema ha adquirido urgencia tras el fallecimiento del ex presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez, quien fue el principal aliado y benefactor del Gobierno comunista.

El plan de los rusos era perforar un pozo de 6.500 metros en las aguas profundas y encontrar petróleo, pero las esperanzas se frustraron por el mismo problema que otras compañías han encontrado en una superficie de roca muy dura, así como
problemas con la plataforma semisumergible Songa Mercur.

"Teniendo en cuenta las complicaciones geológicas, Zarubezhnet y Cubapetróleo (petrolera estatal cubana) han decidido conjuntamente hacer cambios en el programa inicial de perforación al dividirlo en dos etapas", dijo esta semana la compañía rusa a Reuters.

"La segunda etapa de los trabajos de exploración en el Bloque L se debe poner en marcha en el 2014", dijo la empresa que declinó ofrecer más detalles. El pozo, cuya perforación comenzó hace cinco meses, se encontraba en aguas pocos profundas, a unos 320 kilómetros al este de La Habana, cerca del popular destino turístico Cayo Santa María.

El final prematuro de Zarubezhneft no era totalmente inesperado debido a que Songa Offshore, propietario de la plataforma de perforación Songa Mercur, anunció  oficialmente que suspendería los trabajos el 1 de junio y se trasladará al sudeste de Asia. La empresa rusa tenía previsto permanecer en la isla hasta el 1 de julio.

Un reporte de prensa reciente dijo que la plataforma volvería en otro intento con Zarubezhneft, pero el presidente de Songa Offshore, Jeans Wilhelmsen, dijo a Reuters que el informe era "completamente sin fundamentos". "Nosotros no tenemos ningún acuerdo para que Mercur vuelva y no hemos recibido consultas de  Zarubezhneft que quieran retornar", dijo. "Así que niego que Mercur volverá", apuntó.
    
Todo esto significa que Cuba está en el punto de partida en sus intentos por explotar pozos en aguas profundas en su costa norte, donde cree tener reservas por unos 20.000 millones de barriles de petróleo.

En el último año, las petrolera española Repsol S.A., la malaya Petronas y PDVSA, de Venezuela, fracasaron en anteriores intentos de exploración en aguas profundas cubanas a más de una milla de profundidad en la costa norte y oeste de Cuba.

Todas las compañías exploraron pozos sin éxito al encontrarse con una superficie de roca dura y mucha densidad, difícil de perforar. En caso de encontrar petróleo se necesitarían de tres a cinco años para su puesta en producción, según los expertos.

El tiempo es clave para Cuba, que recibe unos 110.000 barriles de petróleo al día, o dos terceras partes de su crudo, gracias a un generoso acuerdo con el fallecido ex presidente venezolano Chávez. A cambio, más de 40.000 médicos y otros especialistas cubanos trabajan en Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro prometió durante una reciente visita a La Habana mantener el flujo de petróleo, pero se enfrenta en la actualidad a crecientes problemas económicos y la presión política de opositores para frenar los envíos de crudo a Cuba.
   
En un desarrollo que parece potencialmente interesante y controvertido, la petrolera noruega Statoil ASA, que también se asoció con Repsol, parece estar observando las
posibilidades inexploradas de Cuba en el Caribe.

Un mapa en exhibición de la empresa Cubapetróleo durante una conferencia de geociencias en La Habana indicó que a partir de noviembre Cuba estaba en negociaciones con la petrolera noruega para arrendar tres bloques a lo largo de la región central y del sudeste, entre el archipiélago de Jardines de la Reina y la
costa del Golfo de Ana María y el Golfo de Guacanayabo.

Statoil no ha hecho comentarios sobre los proyectos pendientes, pero fuentes de la industria dijeron que sólo están observando en busca de perspectivas de petróleo y que su nivel de interés aún está por verse. La compañía, en cambio, no ha mencionado a Cuba en sus planes de perforación para los próximos dos años.

Una serie de factores están trabajando en contra de las esperanzas de hallar petróleo en Cuba, entre ellos las dificultades políticas y logísticas impuestas por el embargo
comercial de más de medio siglo contra la isla.  "Es muy difícil hoy en día, con otras oportunidades que hay para una importante compañía petrolera, justificar ir a Cuba y
el gasto de lo que sin duda será más de 100 millones en áreas en las que, sin embargo, no se ha demostrado que tienen reservas recuperables", dijo el experto en temas del petróleo cubano Jorge Piñón, de la Universidad de Texas, en Austin. "Va a ser muy difícil (para Cuba)", agregó. 

Report: U.S. Weapons System Designs Breached by Chinese Cyber Attacks

According to a report prepared for the Pentagon and the defense industry, US weapons systems have been infiltrated by Chinese hackers.  "More than two dozen major weapons systems whose designs were breached were programs critical to U.S. missile defenses and combat aircraft and ships, according to a previously undisclosed section of a confidential report prepared for Pentagon leaders by the Defense Science Board."

Gaining access to these systems could not only accelerate the development of Chinese weapon systems, but also cripple our military advantage in the future. The Defense Science Board, an advisory board of civilian and government experts, did not state that the Chinese stole the weapons information and designs. But officials with knowledge of the breaches reported the intrusions were part of a larger campaign by the Chinese against the US defense systems.
A report in January warned that the US and the Pentagon is not prepared to protect against a full scale cyber attack. The Washington Post was given a copy of the confidential report listing all of the weapons systems that were compromised.
The designs included those for the advanced Patriot missile system, known as PAC-3; an Army system for shooting down ballistic missiles, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD; and the Navy’s Aegis ballistic-missile defense system.Also identified in the report are vital combat aircraft and ships, including the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship, which is designed to patrol waters close to shore.Also on the list is the most expensive weapons system ever built — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is on track to cost about $1.4 trillion. The 2007 hack of that project was reported previously.
In March of this year, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon gave a speech instructing China to "control it's cyberactivity."  But the US addressed this issue as well in a four hour private meeting a year ago. "The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a closed meeting, said senior U.S. defense and diplomatic officials presented the Chinese with case studies detailing the evidence of major intrusions into U.S. companies, including defense contractors."
The Chinese deny they conduct cyber-espionage. President Obama will meet with President Xi Jinping next month in California and is expected to address the issue.
A senior military official stated  “This is billions of dollars of combat advantage for China. They’ve just saved themselves 25 years of research and development. It’s nuts.”

Florida High School Online Class: Terrorists Lack Self-Esteem

A high school online class in Florida has not only compared Christianity and Islam as fundamentalist groups, but apparently claims that terrorists act the way they do because of low self-esteem.Florida Virtual School

(FLVS) in World History stated: "Common traits that psychologists have found in terrorists are that they are often risk-takers and many suffer from low self-esteem. Sometimes joining a terrorist group provides these individuals with a sense of belonging."

A FLVS representative said that this passage and another which tries to equate the two religions by saying Christianity has sections in the Bible that "could be used to justify the slaughter of men…" cannot be altered or changed because they are part of Common Core standards. The school has denied this, as well as any intent to conflate the two religions or present a sympathetic portrait of terrorists.
The online class, with the topic 08.07 "Invisible Warfare: Objectives," is available to high school students. It starts with a definition of what a fundamentalist is, then proceeds to terrorism.

Hitler Lookalike Teapot Blitzkreigs JCPenney Billboard

A JCPenney billboard in Culver City has been raising eyebrows thanks to its depiction of a tea pot. Passing motorists say that the tea pot bears a striking resemblance to World War II-era German dictator Adolf Hitler.

“That Hitler looks like a kettle,” a Reddit user pointed out. “He even has his right arm extended,” wrote a second.
The kettle retails for $40, and is designed by Michael Graves Design Bells and Whistles.
The teapot has yet to invade Czechoslovakia, but the Obama national security team has set up a meeting in Munich just in case.

Harvard Economists Blast Paul Krugman for 'Uncivil Behavior'

infosurhoy.com

In an open letter published on Saturday, Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff fired back at New York Times columnist Paul Krugman for his “spectacularly uncivil behavior” in the wake of a controversy over the scholars’ austerity findings.

“It has been with deep disappointment that we have experienced your spectacularly uncivil behavior the past few weeks,” wrote Reinhart and Rogoff. “You have attacked us in very personal terms, virtually non-stop, in your New York Times column and blog posts. Now you have doubled down in the New York Review of Books, adding the accusation we didn't share our data.” 
The scholars added: “Your characterization of our work and of our policy impact is selective and shallow. It is deeply misleading about where we stand on the issues. And we would respectfully submit, your logic and evidence on the policy substance is not nearly as compelling as you imply.”
Krugman has maintained that his Keynesian economic approach does not make him smarter than everyone else; rather, it makes him right.
“Am I (and others on my side of the issue) that much smarter than everyone else? No,” writes Krugman.  “The point is not that I have an uncanny ability to be right; it’s that the other guys have an intense desire to be wrong. And they’ve achieved their goal.”
The Reinhart-Rogoff-Krugman feud erupted after University of Massachusetts graduate student Thomas Herndon found flaws in the scholars’ data.

Venezuela: Se anuncia tempestad

La filtración de la grabación de Mario Silva con un miembro del G2 cubano, hecha por la DIM –Dirección de Inteligencia Militar–, demuestra cuán graves son las fracturas en el oficialismo y la guerra a cuchillo, desatada a raíz de la muerte del líder, entre una banda de personajes sin doctrina alguna, que gozan de total impunidad y se lanzaron sobre Venezuela para rapiñarla hasta con uñas y dientes.
El Gobierno está roto, no tiene apoyo en la Fuerza Armada ni en los once gobernadores militares, que toman decisiones propias y lo único que les interesa es que el Gobierno les envíe los recursos. Cada gobernador militar controla las guarniciones militares; los gobernadores civiles del PSUV no tienen injerencia ni influencia alguna con los militares.
Maduro tiene cara de asustado, no da la talla, no sabe qué hacer con el poder, su único bastón es Cilia Flores, que ha resultado mejor discípula para los cubanos que el hombre que cree en pajaritos preñados y en apariciones de su rostro en los cuadros del comandante (Mario Silva dixit). Las divisiones en el seno del PSUV han debilitado más al ilegítimo, que ahora busca apoyo en las televisoras privadas.
El castrocomunismo en Venezuela se derrumba, es un proceso en marcha, al menos es lo que plantean y desean en la Fuerza Armada. La liberación del general Antonio Rivero es una muestra de que los cubanos comenzaron a perder poder, porque era un preso de Raúl Castro. En la Fuerza Armada ya no hay miedo, nuestros informantes señalan que en la Fuerza Aérea se prepara un pronunciamiento, que sería seguido por la Armada, la Guardia Nacional y por último el Ejército, donde darían un plazo de dos meses a Maduro para que resuelva el grave problema de desabastecimiento y evitar otro Caracazo.
Una confrontación social induciría al Alto Mando Militar a solicitarle la renuncia y formar un gobierno de transición para ir a unas elecciones libres e impedir la injerencia de países extranjeros, como ha sucedido con Cuba. Tienen la intención de expulsar a los militares cubanos de las guarniciones, comenzando por Fuerte Tiuna, donde hay alrededor de 400.
El Gobierno habla de conspiraciones, teme un golpe de Estado, desconfía del ministro de la Defensa, el almirante Diego Molero. Es verdad que Maduro tiene el enemigo al lado, pero no es Molero, que ni siquiera ha podido vencer la resistencia que tienen en la Armada contra los cubanos y con el mismo Maduro. En cuanto a Diosdado Cabello, aunque sigue siendo peligroso, ha perdido poder y aliados en la Fuerza Armada, su grupo se ha desarticulado por su comportamiento en la Asamblea Nacional; consideran esa actuación de dictadorzuelo como una proyección de lo que haría en la Presidencia de la República. No quieren arriesgarse con un hombre que debería ser tratado por un psiquiatra.

Tic tac.
Disgusto: hay escasez de productos hasta en la cantina de la Fuerza Armada. Las cavas están vacías y en los depósitos no hay siquiera uniformes militares.
Chivera: Fuerte Tiuna se ha convertido en cementerio de carros de fabricación china, por falta de repuestos. Alrededor de 10 aviones Sukhoi también están parados porque no llegan los repuestos. Lo mismo sucede con los tanques de guerra y los radares chinos. De los equipos vendidos por los rusos se encuentra parado, 30% y, para colmo, los pilotos no quieren volar los helicópteros porque ya se han caído como 7 unidades.
Video: según fuentes de inteligencia, el presidente Chávez sí dejo un video grabado con instrucciones –como sospecha Mario Silva ante el G2– que estaría en manos de su hija María Gabriela… tic tac.

'Mars rat' spied by NASA's Curiosity rover

Fox News
Is that a rat on Mars?
A photo from the mast camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals the dusty orange, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet -- and what starry-eyed enthusiasts claim is a dusty orange rodent hiding among the stones.
The photo, taken Sept. 28, 2012, depicts the “Rocknest” site, where NASA’s rover took a scoopful of sand, tasted it, and determined it was full of weathered basaltic materials -- not unlike Hawaii, the space agency’s scientists said last year.
'Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach.'
- ScottCWaring on the blog UFO Sightings Daily
No word on how the rodent tasted, however.
The “creature” was identified on the UFO Sightings Daily website, where its finder, ScottCWaring, held tight to his opinion: That’s one darn cute rodent on Mars.
“Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach. Looks similar to a squirrel camouflaged in the stones and sand by its colors," he wrote. "Hey, who doesn't love squirrels, right?”
Others pointed out that the similarity in coloring and position mean it was most likely just a rock, fingering the psychology phenomenon known as pareidolia, a propensity to pick out faces from everyday objects and structures.
To take advantage of this psychological phenomenon closer to home, designers at Berlin's Onformative studio developed an algorithm that scans the surface of the earth with Google Maps, picking out geographical structures that are likely to be construed as having face-like features, science blog iO9 recently pointed out.
Their algorithm found faces in fields, mustaches in mountains, hills with actual eyes.
Perhaps the algorithm should be turned loose on Mars?