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Marvel Comics featuring Obama with Spiderman

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:58:00 -0500

Barack Obama is being featured along with superhero Spiderman in a new children’s book by Marvel Comics, after learning that the U.S. President-elect was an avid Spidey collector as a kid.

"When we read that we thought, ''Oh my God the future Commander-in-chief is actually the future nerd-in-chief,''" the New York Daily News quoted Joe Quesada, Marvel''s top editor, as saying.

"With a geek in the White House, we just had to give him a shout back. It''s just the coolest thing ever," Quesada added.

The comic to go on sale next Wednesday will have Spiderman with Barack Obama on its cover.

According to news.com.au, it will be a six-page special story revolving around mild-mannered photographer Peter Parker, who spots two Obamas on inauguration day.

He will transform into Spiderman, and tell the real Obama from the fake.

Gus Poulakas, owner of Silver Age Comics in Queens, said that the sales stunt would be very beneficial for the industry.

"We''ll get a couple of people coming in off the street, who didn''t read a comic book in their lives, people wanting to get a piece of history," he said.

This is not the first time that comic book creators’ inclination towards the political arena has been reported, for Obama was endorsed by the title character of Image Comics'' ‘Savage Dragon’ during the presidential campaigning too.

"Let me just say if John McCain had come out and said he was a big Spider-Man or Captain America fan, we''d do it for him, too," Quesada said. (ANI)

FBI looking for over 3000 additional staff

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:58:00 -0500

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seeking to fill thousands of posts as it embarks on the biggest recruitment drive in its 101-year history.

According to the Scotsman, the vacancies include 850 special agents, besides a further 2,100 "professional staff positions".

Jobs include intelligence analysts, fingerprint experts, language specialists and electronics technicians, presumably for help with wire-tapping and other hi-tech eavesdropping.

"Your country needs you.This is a great time to apply for a great job," the paper quoted FBI spokesman Richard Kolko, as saying.

Perks include healthcare benefits and up to five weeks'' annual holiday. However, the job description makes no mention of dark glasses, trenchcoats or trilby hats.

FBI officials said that they were on a hiring spree to counter new threats to internal security, especially from cyber crime, domestic terrorism and blue-collar criminals.

They said applicants with language skills and computer expertise would be welcome.

"We''re looking for professionals in a wide variety of fields who have a deep desire to help protect our nation from terrorists, spies, and others who wish us harm," the Scotsman quoted John Raucci, the assistant director of the FBI''s human resources division, as saying.

Applicants must be US citizens and pass extensive background screening, including interviews with family, friends and former colleagues, and will be expected to uphold the agency''s motto of fidelity, bravery and integrity. (ANI)

Michelle Obama hailed as connoisseur of American designer clothes

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:57:00 -0500

US President-elect Barack Obama has yet to step into office, but his wife Michelle Obama has already been seen as the promoter of high fashion in America by fashion experts.

The would-be First Lady made a big impact with the clothes she wore throughout the campaign, leaving behind a message that clothes not only make a person stand out but also show a his/her temperament.

“My perception is that she’s already had an extremely potent effect on the business,” the New York Times quoted Hamish Bowles, the Vogue editor who was curator of ‘Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years’, a 2001 show of Kennedy’s style at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as saying.

“Just looking at the designers she’s been drawn to, you can see she’s shown astute sartorial judgment.

“She has also made clear in her choices that thoughtful and intelligent American designers are perfectly capable of creating clothes that have an impact on the world stage,” he added.

Michelle Obama’s choice of attire is being seen as a godsend for the American designers.

“There is something timely about celebrating American fashion and American designers,” Stephanie Solomon, the fashion director of Bloomingdale’s, said.

“Mrs. Obama is, first of all, very elegant and has wonderful taste.

“But she also recognizes the value of beautiful dresses and not big prices. She dresses like taste doesn’t necessarily have to do with brand or status, but with what looks well on your body and makes you look glamorous, bottom line.

“It is very refreshing and appropriate for this period,” she added.

Steven Kolb, the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, said that American fashion liked other industries needs a big boost at the moment.

Further adding that even though trying to revive a faltering industry might be too much even for her, she was still expected to use her position as the First Lady to promote American goods. (ANI)

‘Chicken Madras’, ‘Rogan josh’ make it to UK’s ‘Healthiest Takeaway’ list

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:57:00 -0500

Indian spicy dish Chicken Madras has topped a new list of healthy takeaways.

Chicken Madras comes from southern India and the curry is quite hot owing to a fairly large amount of chilli in the recipe, reports the Scotsman.

The list, compiled by online takeaway site Just-Eat.co.uk, included rogan josh at number three.

Rogan josh is an aromatic curry dish popular in India. Rogan means clarified butter in Persian, while Josh means hot or passionate. Rogan Josh thus means meat cooked in clarified butter at intense heat.

Rogan Josh was brought to India by the Moghuls. The unrelenting heat of the Indian plains took the Moghuls frequently to Kashmir, which is where the first Indian adoption of Rogan Josh occurred.

Kebabs, pizza and Chinese takeaways also made it to the list.

A food website has compiled a top ten list of healthy takeaways. (ANI)

Teacher unveils book inspired by Obama and family

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:56:00 -0500

A Prince George''s County teacher is so inspired by Barack Obama that he has gone ahead and wrote a book of word searches and puzzles based on the President-elect and his family.

The Rev. Eugene Williams Sr., of Clinton has self-published "Words, Cross & Across: Word Searches on Barack Obama" inspired by Obama’s rhetoric and his family.

The 67-year-old author said that he got struck by the idea for the book last year when his 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade English students at Annapolis Road Academy, in Bladensburg, failed to understand many of the words in Obama''s book "The Audacity of Hope" and Martin Luther King''s "I Have a Dream" speech.

"I see it as a family-oriented book. It''s a good way to bring families together and learn new words," The Washington Times quoted Williams as saying.

He further said that he designed the searches and charts with word meanings and usage components so that students could also learn definitions.

In fact, a large number of his words were taken from the SAT prep class he taught, but not all the words are so complex.

In fact, he deliberately used words such as "father," "nice" and "bank” to balance out "elucidate," "puissant," and "gregarious," thus making it possible for even younger children to learn from the book.

"We want parents to sit down with children as young as 2- or 3-years-old," said Williams.

For writing the 156-page book, Williams even made it a point to watch the president-elect on the Web site YouTube, to help him make better associations with Obama''s word choices.

"I teach words by association," said Williams.

The book will be available at Local bookstores, Amazon.com and his Web site, www.academicresourcesunlimited.org, and the proceeds from its sales will go to Academic Resources Unlimited Inc., a nonprofit group created by Williams.

"People are buying everything about Barack Obama," said Williams.

After the release, he sent two copies of "Words" to the Obama campaign office in Chicago - one for the President-elect and another for his wife, Michelle.

Williams said he knew the Obamas would appreciate his book because they shared the same philosophy on education.

"With an educated populace, we have a better society," said Williams. (ANI)

US planning to sell missile defence system to India

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:56:00 -0500

To guard New Delhi against any possible nuclear threats in the future, the United States is planning to sell a missile shield system to India.

The US is in preliminary talks with India over the sale of missile shield systems, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Citing officials at the US Embassy in New Delhi, the Financial Times said talks took place mainly at a scientific and technical level, and US defence officials had conducted computer simulations with their Indian counterparts.

"India is a partner of ours, and we want to provide it with whatever it needs to protect itself," one US embassy official was quoted, as saying.

"This fits into the overall strategic partnership we are building," the US embassy official added.

Relations between India and the United States have warmed considerably in recent years and October 2008 saw the signing of a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation accord.

The paper quoted a senior Pakistani official with detailed knowledge of Islamabad''s nuclear programme as saying that it "will have to take counter measures to respond" to any Indo-US deal on missile defence.

But the daily noted that no decisions had yet been made, and an agreement would likely be extremely politically sensitive for the Indian Government. (ANI)

Cleric condemns Oxford dictionary for replacing words associated with religion and history

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:55:00 -0500

A clergyman has criticized the publishers of a children''s dictionary for removing words associated with religion and history, and replacing them with terms such as "celebrity" and "voicemail".

Reverend Canon Jeremy Haselock, the Vice-Dean of Norwich Cathedral, said the "ineffably sad" removal of traditional Christian words in favour of "grey" modern terminology left the Oxford Junior Dictionary "colourless and romance-free".

He is now urging people to use a glossary on the cathedral''s website, which he states will be a "non-politically correct, non multicultural" antidote to the new book.

His comments come after The Sunday Telegraph disclosed that Oxford University Press has removed dozens of words linked to Christianity, the monarchy, British history and wildlife from its popular children''s dictionary over the past five years.

Aisle, bishop, empire and monarch have all gone, along with willow, moss and fern.

In their place, the 6,000-word volume – aimed at readers aged seven and above – now includes terms that will be well known to most young people, such as blog, broadband, celebrity and MP3 player.

The move prompted complaints from academics and parents, and now the Church of England has added its voice to the chorus of disapproval.(ANI)

Race bias still keeping Brit boardrooms stubbornly white

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:55:00 -0500

Boardrooms across the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom continue to remain stubbornly white, says a report, Race to the Top, by the charity Business in the Community (BITC).

Reaching its conclusion on race bias still being persistent in the country, the BITC is quoted by the Guardian as saying that that management prospects are disproportionately bleak for people from a black or minority ethnic (BME) background - and likely to worsen over the next decade unless action is taken.

It reached its conclusions after analyzing data between 2000 and 2007.

Sandra Kerr, national director for the BITC''s Race for Opportunity campaign, called the findings "devastating".

She said that action was needed right away to "shatter the last glass ceiling", and the government needed to lead by example.

"There is definitely a need to put this at the heart of the agenda for government and business," she said.

The report suggests that since 2000 a number of government-led legal measures and race equality initiatives designed to increase top-level opportunities for BME managers have had minimal impact.

These include the strengthening of the 1976 Race Relations Act, the creation of an ethnic minority and employment taskforce, the race equality and diversity action plan, and specialist employment advisers.

The report suggests that a handful of high-profile, top black and ethnic minority executives, such as Suma Chakrabarti, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Victor Adebowale, chief executive of the social care business Turning Point, and the private equity boss Damon Buffini are prominent exceptions.

The gap between ethnic minority representation in senior management and numbers in the wider population is particularly worrying, the report concludes. (ANI)

Fears of Gaza conflict spread following fresh Israel-Hizbollah hostilities

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:54:00 -0500

Israeli warplanes responded to Hizbollah rocket strikes in its territories within minutes by bombing the suspected launch sites, raising fears of the Gaza conflict spreading across the region.

There were unconfirmed reports that five Israelis had been injured in the blasts. Experts said at least three katyusha rockets landed in Israel.

The attack raised fears of the conflict spreading and the very dramatic prospect of a northern front being opened up in Israel while its armed forces are still heavily engaged in the south of the country on operation Cast Lead, the assault on Gaza.

Katyushas have been fired into Israel by Hizbollah, the militant Shia group in southern Lebanon, and militants connected to the large Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon, The Telegraph reported.

Israeli planners were this morning anxiously trying to work out who might have been responsible for the katyusha strikes.

Two weeks ago Lebanese security forces said they had found rockets in the south of the country aimed at Israel and set to be fired by automatic timer.

The assessment then was they were the work of Palestinian militants and not Hizbollah.

If Hizbollah does start an assault on Israel in support of Hamas militants in Gaza then the level of conflict seen over the last 13 days since operation Case Lead began could escalate dramatically.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes on Hizbollah positions in southern Lebanon could be expected.

Israel and Hizbollah fought a brutal 34-day conflict in 2006, which killed around 1,000 Lebanese and 140 Israelis.

As Israeli experts tried to assess the developments in the north, the Israeli air force carried out heavy overnight bombing of Gaza’s southern border with Egypt hoping to disrupt the smuggling tunnels dug in the sandy soil.

The Egyptian border at the town of Rafah has become the focus of diplomatic attempts to end the Gaza conflict. (ANI)

‘Eccentric’ Brit man dies in tunnel labyrinth he made from home rubbish

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:54:00 -0500

A 74-year-old Brit man was found dead inside the labyrinth of tunnels he had built from rubbish in his home.

Gordon Stewart is believed to have died of dehydration, after losing his way out of the mass of carrier bags, boxes, old furniture and other junk.

The cops discovered a confusing system of tunnel networking around the interior of the building with Stewart lying dead inside.

The smell was so unbearable that the police had to call in a specialist team - equipped with breathing apparatus.

Locals said that Stewart, who wore a ponytail, was often spotted riding his bike around the streets.

The neighbours became concerned after not seeing Stewart for several days, and raised the alarm.

"He was slightly eccentric, but very clever. He was just a collector,” the Telegraph quoted a neighbour as saying.

“He came home with a load of cardboard boxes and lived in his own world," the neighbour added.

They also revealed that Stewart had been accumulating rubbish for at least 10 years. (ANI)