Canada and the United States are finding themselves at odds with Latin American countries on two thorny issues — the war on drugs and the exclusion of Cuba — at a summit of hemispheric leaders in Colombia.
The event's host, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, delivered a frank speech Saturday to the assembled heads of state and government in which he said it would be "unacceptable" to hold another Summit of the Americas without Cuba. The communist country was suspended from the Organization of American States, the main organizing body for the summits, in 1962.
Canada and the United States are the only two countries in the organization that have not lobbied to invite to Cuba to the events.
"The isolation, the embargo, the indifference, the looking the other way don't work," Santos said in the coastal resort city of Cartagena. "It's an anachronism that keeps us anchored in a Cold War era that was overcome decades ago."
Three Latin American leaders are threatening not to sign Sunday's summit declaration unless Canada and the United States agree to allow Cuba to attend the next one, the CBC's Terry Milewski reported from the summit.
Divided over drugs
The Colombian president also said that the war on drugs isn't working and that he would like to see a debate on decriminalizing them.
Violence related to the drug trade has pushed murder rates in Central America and the Caribbean to the highest in the world.
But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has said he won't entertain any policy changes that would lift the prohibition of illicit drugs, while U.S. President Barack Obama repeated at the summit on Saturday that the White House believes "legalization is not the answer."
Saturday's focus on Cuba and drug enforcement policy clashed with Harper's agenda at the summit, which was to sell Canada as an attractive destination to do business.
The prime minister went looking for investment dollars from across the region during a speech Saturday to assembled leaders, where he boasted of Canada's economic stability and strong resource industry.
Harper also told a forum of CEOs his government's budget promises to speed up the regulatory process to develop major natural resource projects is a key reason they should invest.
"We cannot allow valid concerns about environmental protection to be used as an excuse to trap worthwhile projects in reviews without end," Harper said. "What matters is that the relevant facts are fully considered. That need not take years."
A prostitution scandal involving U.S. security personnel in Colombia and an unprecedented regional push to end the isolation of Cuba threatened on Saturday to eclipse President Barack Obama's charm offensive to Latin America.
In a major embarrassment for Washington at the Summit of the Americas attended by more than 30 heads of state, 11 U.S. Secret Service agents were sent home and five military servicemen grounded over "misconduct" allegations in a hotel.
Prostitutes were taken to the hotel, according to a Colombian police source.
The widening controversy was overshadowing a host of weightier topics at the two-day summit that began on Saturday.
"I had a breakfast meeting to discuss trade and drugs, but the only thing the other delegates wanted to talk about was the story of the agents and the hookers," chuckled one Latin American diplomat in the historic city of Cartagena.
Locals were upset about the bad publicity for their city, and the scandal was raising eyebrows around the region.
"Obama's guards expelled in Colombia over prostitution - shame the gringos think that Latin America is a brothel and they act like it too," commented left-leaning Venezuelan political commentator Nicmer Evans via Twitter.
Obama's rapprochement with the region - already undermined by the titillating headlines from Cartagena - also faces a rare display of unity among both leftist and conservative-run nations in Latin America in allowing communist-run Cuba at the next summit.
Argentina's foreign minister said the final summit declaration was stalled over the issue of Cuba, with 32 nations supporting its inclusion in the next Summit of the Americas, but the United States vetoing that.
"We have decided not to participate in future 'Summits of the Americas' without the presence of Cuba," said the leftist ALBA block of nations, founded by Venezuela's theatrically anti-U.S. president, Hugo Chavez.
Agence France-Presse reports that a German man in Munich allegedly had to flee to the police after a woman demanded too much sex.
After several amicably agreed upon rolls in the hay, the man reportedly tried to leave the woman's apartment. But she wouldn't let him exit and instead allegedly insisted on more sex. That's when the man ran to the cops for help, according to authorities.
Perhaps the woman in question was unaware of a study reported on by Forbes that found that, while women can, for the most part, never have too much sex, men can.
From Forbes:
Penile tissues, if given too roistering or prolonged a pummeling, can sustain damage. In cases you'd just as soon not hear about, permanent damage.
And the German man might not be alone in his desire for a bit less sex.
Reuters reported on a study that found 12 percent of men aged 16-24 wanted sex less often. It's not a perfect comparison though, since the German man was 43.
Doug Olsen found his calling early: teaching science to middle schoolers. In 1983, he appeared on the cover of PARADE 's first issue dedicated to American salaries. He stood before a blackboard in Seattle, chalk in hand, 30 years old, earning $18,700 a year. He was happy and hopeful. He said, "I wouldn't dream of doing anything else."
[Related: How happy are you at your job? Take the job happiness survey now.]
Since then, America has faced an economic seesaw like few generations have seen. Three major booms and as many busts, unemployment veering from highs and lows not experienced since the Depression, new industries created, new kinds of help wanted, old industries --- and job titles --- relegated to history books.
Like the early 1980s, many of us today wonder what the economy has in store, how jobs will evolve, how salaries will change, and how to best carry on the pursuit of happiness in America.
If you could start over, would you pick the same field? Take the survey now.
To mark its 30th What People Earn report, PARADE contacted hundreds of people previously featured to see how their careers have fared over the years. Many had lost their jobs or quit them, while others had become the boss. Some relocated to find work, others embarked on a new path entirely. Almost all of them faced challenges from an American job market in transition.
[Related: Signs You're in the Wrong Job]
In 1983, Doug Olsen's career goal was to stay in front of a blackboard. Despite tough years of downsizing and restructuring, he achieved it. Three decades later, PARADE found him at the same school. He had recently retired --- at a salary of $58,000 --- and now volunteers there daily. “My passion always has been kids' education. I'm grateful for my 31 years of teaching, and I'm happy to say my daughter has followed my footsteps.”
The Three Stooges" opens around the country today (April 13th), but there is one group that has already deemed the film a stinker.
The Catholic League's President, Bill Donohue, has put out a statement condemning the movie for its disrespectful portrayal of Catholics, specifically nuns. Donohue claims that the movie is more evidence of the increasing hostility towards religion and Catholics in Hollywood:
In the 1950s, Hollywood generally avoided crude fare and was respectful of religion. Today it specializes in crudity and trashes Christianity, especially Catholicism. Enter the “The Three Stooges.” This movie is not just another remake: it is a cultural marker of sociological significance, and what it says about the way we’ve changed is not encouraging.
The film pushes the envelope with its portrayals of two unusual nuns portrayed by the bombshell Kate Upton, and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" creator Larry David. Both are potential causes for offense for different reasons as MovieFone reports:
In "Stooges," David portrays Sister Mary-Mengele. The name is a nod to the late Nazi Josef Mengele, an SS Officer who decided prisoners' fates at Auschwitz. As for Upton, it's not so much her character's name -- Sister Bernice -- as it is her attire. During one scene, the SI swimsuit model dons a very revealing bikini along with a large rosary around her neck.
Larry David probably didn't help the situation when he said his dressing as a nun made him understand why they are so mean. David explained:
"You know, the outfits might have something to do with that. Forget about the fact that they never have sex. If you gave me a choice of no sex or having to wear that outfit the rest of my life, I would definitely take the no sex... No wonder they're so crazy.”
The reviews for Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's new horror flick "The Cabin in the Woods" have been mostly positive. However there was one critic who wasn't so impressed with Whedon's "nightmare spoof," claiming that it's not as scary as the movies it seems to copy.
"A testament to the wonders of writing under the guidance of crystal meth, this nightmare spoof of everything from 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' to the 'Scream' franchise totally defies logic, and pretty much eludes description," wrote Rex Reed of The New York Observer.
Meanwhile, the return of Fox's "Glee" made teenage girls squeal with delight -- and HitFix's Ryan McGee cry out in frustration. As for ABC's "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23"? Well, even James Van Der Beek (playing The Beek himself!) couldn't save this new comedy from The Washington Post's wrath.
HuffPost Entertainment has rounded up the week's snarkiest reviews just for your enjoyment in this week's installment of our "Week In Ouch" series.
This week, critics from Empire to The New York Times and HitFix all had something nasty to say about the latest movies, music and TV shows.
Let us know what you think deserved the harsh critiques, and which ones you think critics should ease up on in the comments.
Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of Detroit "ruin porn" is it inherently ignores the very real people who still live in the city. Now there's a convergence — the amazing story of Allan Hill, the man who legally lives inside the city's abandoned Packard Auto Plant.
What's most surprising about this moving mini-documentary is Hill's "quality of life" doesn't look as terrible as you'd imagine, nor does his reasoning for choosing to stay in the largest abandoned factory in the world seem so unsound.
The whole creation is a huge gut-check to our biases. Yes, the Packard Plant is so giant and empty and strange they shoot Michael Bay movies there. And, occasionally, kids push a dump truck out a window.
Yet, Hill has power, Internet access, a welding setup, and a small kitchen. He even maintains a webcam. The owner apparently gave him his blessing so long as Hill works as a custodian of the property.
He reminds me of the Prophet Amos, whom God appointed to tell the Israelites to stop letting the wealthiest few prosper at the hands of the poorest. This was not a popular message as it came at a time when Israel was doing fairly well. Amos also told them to prepare themselves for judgement, especially from a foreign nation.
.मीडिया में खबरें आने के बाद निर्मल बाबा भी बचाव की मुद्रा में आ गए हैं। निर्मल बाबा ने शनिवार को अपने भक्तों से आह्वान किया कि वो भारी संख्या में टीवी चैनलों में फोन करके उनकी शक्तियों के बारे में बताएं।
अपने ट्विटर पेज पर बयान जारी करते हुए निर्मल बाबा ने अपने भक्तों से टीवी चैनलों में फोन करके अपने अनुभव साझा करने का आह्वान किया। बाबा ने कहा कि कुछ लोग उनकी छवि को खराब करने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। निर्मल बाबा ने यह भी कहा कि उनके भक्त शांति व्यवस्था बनाए रखें और किसी भी तरह से कानून अपने हाथ में न लें। निर्मल बाबा ने अपने समर्थकों से यह भी कहा है कि वो उनके खिलाफ खबर चला रहे टीवी चैनलों की शिकायत न्यूज ब्रॉडकास्टर एसोसिएशन से भी करें।
वहीं निर्मल बाबा को घोटालेबाज कहते हुए वरिष्ठ समाजसेवी और गांधीवादी अन्ना हजारे ने कहा कि लोगों को ऐसे घोटालेबाजे बाबाओं के पास जाने की जरूरत ही क्या है। बस सत्य के मार्ग पर चलते रहो भगवान अपने आप आपके पीछे खड़ा हो जाएगा।
गौरतलब है कि कृपा का कारोबार करने का आरोप झेल रहे निर्मल बाबा की मुसीबत बढ़ सकती है। उन्होंने शुक्रवार को 'आज तक' को दिए गए इंटरव्यू में कहा कि उनका सालाना टर्न ओवर 235-240 करोड़ रुपये का है और वह पूरी रकम पर इनकम टैक्स देते हैं। लेकिन शनिवार को 'प्रभात खबर' ने उनके खातों से जुड़ी जो जानकारी सार्वजनिक की है, उससे बाबा की बात पूरी तरह सच नहीं लगती। इसके मुताबिक निर्मल बाबा के दो खाते हैं। एक निर्मल दरबार के नाम से (जिसका नंबर टीवी पर चलता रहता है) और दूसरा निर्मलजीत सिंह नरूला के नाम से। इस खाते का नंबर है 1546000102129694। यह खाता नंबर टीवी पर नहीं दिखाया जाता। इस खाते में चार जनवरी 2012 से 13 अप्रैल 2012 के बीच 123 करोड़ (कुल 1,23,02,43,974) रुपये जमा हुए। इस राशि में से 105.56 करोड़ की निकासी भी हुई। 13 अप्रैल को इस खाते में 17.47 करोड़ रुपए बचे थे।
निर्मल बाबा को विभिन्न प्रकार के जमा पर 13 मई 2011 से 31 मार्च 2012 तक के बीच ब्याज के रुप में 85.77 लाख रुपये मिले। बाबा की कमाई पर अब इनकम टैक्स विभाग और प्रवर्तन निदेशालय की भी नजर है। संभव है, जल्द ही बाबा को इनके सामने सफाई भी देनी पड़े। आयकर विभाग के सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार, फाइनांशियल इंटेलिजेंस यूनिट (एफआइयू) इस बात पर नजर रखे हुए है कि निर्मल बाबा कितना कमाते हैं और कहां खर्च करते हैं। सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार, एफआईयू निर्मल बाबा की आय के स्रोतों के अलावा इस बात की भी जांच कर सकती है कि बैंक खातों के अलावा निर्मल बाबा को और किन-किन माध्यमों से पैसे दिए गए और उन्होंने कहां-कहां निवेश किया है। बाबा को विदेशों से मिले फंडिंग पर भी पूछताछ हो सकती है। यदि उन्होंने पैसों को विदेशी खातों में ट्रांसफर किया है तो इस बात की भी जांच की जाएगी। बाबा ने 25 करोड़ की एफडी भी करा रखी है।
इस बीच ऐसा भी लग रहा है कि बाबा पर भक्तों की 'कृपा' घट गई है। 'प्रभात खबर' की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक निर्मल दरबार के नाम से आईसीआईसीआई बैंक में खुले खाते (संख्या 002-905-010-576) में शुक्रवार को सिर्फ 34 लाख रुपये जमा किये गये। पहले इस खाते में प्रतिदिन औसतन एक करोड़ रुपये जमा किये जा रहे थे। पहले औसतन चार से साढ़े चार हजार लोग प्रतिदिन निर्मल बाबा के खाते में राशि जमा कर रहे थे, लेकिन शुक्रवार शाम पांच बजे तक देश भर के 1800 लोगों ने ही बाबा के आईसीआईसीआई बैंक खाते में राशि जमा की थी। यानी 40 फीसदी कम। बाबा को लेकर लोगों में संदेह बढ़ने की बात इंटरनेट सर्च ट्रेंड से भी साबित हो रही है। लोग बड़ी संख्या में गूगल पर निर्मल बाबा फ्रॉड की वर्ड डाल कर सर्च कर रहे हैं।
Brain is the central organ of the human body. It is extremely complex and sophisticated. The functions of the brain were found by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks in 400 BC. It was Hippocrates who first discovered that brain played an important role in sensation and intelligence. Nowadays, everyone understand the importance of having the brain, but most of us don’t know much about it, so here are some interesting facts for you.
(image credits: jepoirrier)
1) There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
2) The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consists of at least 60% fat.
3) Neurons develop at the rate of 250,000 neurons per minute during early pregnancy.
4) Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.
5) Alcohol interferes with brain processes by weakening connections between neurons.
6) Altitude makes the brain see strange visions – Many religions involve special visions that occurred at great heights. For example, Moses encountered a voice emanating from a burning bush on Mount Sinai and Muhammad was visited by an angel on Mount Hira. Similar phenomena are reported by mountain climbers, but they don’t think it’s very mystical. Many of the effects are attributable to the reduced supply of oxygen to the brain. At 8,000ft or higher, some mountaineers report perceiving unseen companions, seeing light emanating from themselves or others, seeing a second body like their own, and suddenly feeling emotions such as fear. Oxygen deprivation is likely to interfere with brain regions active in visual and face processing, and in emotional events.
7) Reading aloud and talking often to a young child promotes brain development.
8 ) Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.
9) The capacity for such emotions as joy, happiness, fear, and shyness are already developed at birth. The specific type of nurturing a child receives shapes how these emotions are developed.
10) The left side of your brain (left hemisphere) controls the right side of your body; and, the right side of your brain (right hemisphere) controls the left side of your body.
Days to Create Habit, 14 Days to Break the Habit
We all have vices, even though we may not all admit that we have them. Some people smoke, other people go shopping too much, and still others sit in front of their laptop every night eating a full bag of nacho chips while writing articles.
There's an old saying that it takes 7 days to create a habit and 14 days to break a habit. I don't know how true it is, but it does.I know we can start bad habits in 7 days or less, but breaking them is always harder.
Bad habits come in many forms and there are many factors to the bad habit. Determine the triggers of the bad habit first and foremost.
The first question you should ask when you plan to break a habit is how serious are you about breaking it? If you are really committed to getting rid of it, your chance of succeeding is much higher than if you lack this commitment. Be aware that breaking habits requires focused energy and you need to concentrate on observing your behaviour over a period of time.
In which situations are you performing the habit you want to get rid of. How often are you doing it and are there special things from your environment that trigger your behaviour? You should set aside a period of time just to observe yourself and your behaviour. Write down and keep track of when you do the unwanted behaviour. It is also important that you find out exactly what your thoughts and feelings are each time you perform your unwanted behaviour. When you write this down, you will be much more aware of when and why you perform this habit.
Now, take your notebook, read what you have written and ask yourself, "Which function has this habit for me? What does it really do for me? What pleasure does this habit give me? Which pain do I avoid with this behaviour? Does it prevent anxiety, stress, nausea? Does it make me feel more confident?
Think about this and write down some alternative behaviours to the habit you want to get rid of that would be a better and more positive way to handle the feelings or the situation that is associated with it. How can this new behaviour or new habit make you feel pleasure or prevent you from feeling pain as well as the old one. Select one or a few alternative behaviours or habits and start to practice them.
Be careful to observe your behaviour and as soon as you notice that you are practicing your old habit, stop yourself and start the new alternative behaviour you picked out previously. Work with this every day in the beginning one or two times a day, and increase it as the time goes by. To break an old habit and replace it with a new, isn't done overnight, but the more you practice your new behaviour, the more it becomes fixed and the more of the old one is erased.
Tell your family and friends that you are working with yourself to get rid of a habit you don't like, and they will probably help and support you in your endeavour to get rid of .
There are many ways to self improvement. Here are some tips for getting rid of a bad habit. Habits are as we all know some sort of automatic behaviours and most of us employ habits that are far from good, thus we want to change them. There are lots of examples; smoking habits, the habit of over-eating, the habit of forgetting certain things like umbrellas and gloves, the habit of interrupting other people when they talk etc.
Though there are many different bad habits, breaking a habit has certain things in common, whether it is a smoking habit, an over-eating habit or whatever. The tips below cover how to break a habit in general and can be applied on whichever habit you want to break.
The first question you should ask when you plan to break a habit is how serious are you about breaking it? If you are really committed to getting rid of it, your chance of succeeding is much higher than if you lack this commitment. Be aware that breaking habits requires focused energy and you need to concentrate on observing your behaviour over a period of time.
In which situations are you performing the habit you want to get rid of. How often are you doing it and are there special things from your environment that trigger your behaviour? You should set aside a period of time just to observe yourself and your behaviour. Write down and keep track of when you do the unwanted behaviour. It is also important that you find out exactly what your thoughts and feelings are each time you perform your unwanted behaviour. When you write this down, you will be much more aware of when and why you perform this habit.
Now, take your notebook, read what you have written and ask yourself, "Which function has this habit for me? What does it really do for me? What pleasure does this habit give me? Which pain do I avoid with this behaviour? Does it prevent anxiety, stress, nausea? Does it make me feel more confident?
Think about this and write down some alternative behaviours to the habit you want to get rid of that would be a better and more positive way to handle the feelings or the situation that is associated with it. How can this new behaviour or new habit make you feel pleasure or prevent you from feeling pain as well as the old one. Select one or a few alternative behaviours or habits and start to practice them.
Be careful to observe your behaviour and as soon as you notice that you are practicing your old habit, stop yourself and start the new alternative behaviour you picked out previously. Work with this every day in the beginning one or two times a day, and increase it as the time goes by. To break an old habit and replace it with a new, isn't done overnight, but the more you practice your new behaviour, the more it becomes fixed and the more of the old one is erased.
A - Analyze the Bad Habit
