Obama Divorce Bombshell: Reality or Rumor? (Photos and videos)

The whole world was heated up last couple of days just couple of days before the first lady’s birthday due to Obama’s divorce news and now most of those news are already removed from their sites.

Qatar’s Vagina Stadium Distracts from Heinous Human Rights Abuses

By Cristina Maza
After the small, gas-rich country of Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, the nation’s leaders set out to build a 40,000-capacity stadium that would leave international spectators in awe. While the stadium itself has yet to be constructed, the building’s design alone has already succeeded in capturing the attention of international onlookers. While some sports fans may be impressed and inspired by the future stadium’s cooled pitch and real grass, most agree that the building’s most noteworthy characteristic is that it resembles a massive vagina.

Since the design’s release, media pundits and web-based wonks have penned a plethora of clever commentary detailing the suggestiveness of the future stadium’s gaping hole, and the sleek luminosity of its labia-like attachments. However, amid the foray of opinions regarding whether a vagina-shaped sports arena should be celebrated or ridiculed, commentators have forgotten the most significant fact about the building’s construction: Qatar’s migrant workers, who will build the now-infamous stadium, are treated like animals and forced to work gruelling hours in dangerous conditions.

Emotional Baby Is Moved To Tears By Mom’s Singing

This 10-month-old’s impassioned response to her mother’s private performance of “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” gives a whole new (beautiful) meaning to the word “cry-baby.”

The little one was identified by Canada’s TVA as Mary Lynne Leroux. Mom, Amanda, told TVA that she’s too shy to sing in public — but clearly, she’s found an appreciative audience at home.

Our hearts can’t tell YOU no, kid.

 @HP

Denmark Is Considered The Happiest Country. You’ll Never Guess Why.

Last month, Denmark was crowned the happiest country in the world.

“The top countries generally rank higher in all six of the key factors identified in the World Happiness Report,” wrote University of British Columbia economics professor John Helliwell, one of the report’s contributing authors. “Together, these six factors explain three quarters of differences in life evaluations across hundreds of countries and over the years.”

The six factors for a happy nation split evenly between concerns on a government- and on a human-scale. The happiest countries have in common a large GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy at birth and a lack of corruption in leadership. But also essential were three things over which individual citizens have a bit more control over: A sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and a culture of generosity.

“There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being,” economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a statement at the time of the report’s release.

Ohio State Marching Band Does Michael Jackson Moonwalk Like You’ve Never Seen Before (VIDEO)

By Sarah Barness

The Ohio State University marching band celebrated the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s album, “Bad,” during halftime of the game against the University of Iowa Saturday.

Their flawless synchronicity is pretty mesmerizing, but it’s game over once they start doing the moonwalk at 4:40.

Seriously guys, stop reading and start watching because The Buckeyes are so bad, they’re good.

 @HP

Malala Marches Toward the Nobel Peace Prize

Complement video:

By Aryn Baker

Malala Yousafzai said: ‘I hope this book will reach people around the world, so they realise how difficult it is for some children to get access to education.’ Photograph: Liz Cave/Getty

This Friday, the Nobel committee announces the 2013 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. As far as global opinion is concerned, the award is a 16-year-old Pakistani girl’s to lose.

Long before she became a global symbol of children’s education, Malala Yousufzai was one girl squirming under the thumb of the Pakistani Taliban, whose draconian interpretation of Islamic law saw girls’ schools closed in her hometown of Mingora in early 2009. In a frank and witty blog published on the BBC Urdu  website under a pseudonym, Malala, then 11-years-old, chafed at the new regulations that limited her freedom, stopped her from learning and kept her from seeing her friends. The pseudonym, of course, was meant to protect her identity, but it was not long before her private persona—the outspoken daughter of a prominent school administrator—meshed with her public one, and she took her demand that a girls’ right to education be recognized across Pakistan to a national audience, appearing several times on TV talk shows and eventually in an international documentary. “I wanted to speak up for my rights,” she told the BBC on Monday, when reminiscing about her early activism. “And also I didn’t want my future to be just sitting in a room and be imprisoned in my four walls and just cooking and giving birth to children. I didn’t want to see my life in that way.”

Asia Has Most Billionaires Of Any Continent, According To Hurun Survey

A Chinese wealth survey has found that Asia has more billionaires than any other continent, apparently surpassing North America for the first time.

China’s super-rich make their billions predominantly from real estate, manufacturing and investments, the report said. Photo: EPA

AFP

Asia has more billionaires than any other continent, followed by North America and Europe, according to a survey by a China-based wealth magazine released on Thursday.

There were 1,453 people around the world with a personal wealth of $1 billion or more as of January, said the Hurun Report, a luxury magazine publisher that compiled the list.

Asia had 608 billionaires, North America 440 and Europe 324, it said in a statement.

Among individual countries, the United States and China dominated with 408 and 317 citizens respectively on the list, followed by Russia, Germany and India.

Mexican telecoms czar Carlos Slim, 73, was ranked as the “Richest Man on the Planet” with a personal fortune of $66 billion. Slim also topped the Forbes magazine annual global rich list last year.

Eugenie De Silva, 14-Year-Old College Graduate, To Start Master’s Program At Harvard In The Fall

Eugenie de Silva may be only 14 years old, but she already has very specific career aspirations.

“It is my ultimate goal to become the U.S. Defense Secretary,” de Silva, who lives in Harrogate, Tenn., told the Middlesboro Daily News earlier this year.

Though her dream job may sound mighty ambitious for a girl so young, de Silva has proved time and again that she’s anything but a typical teen.

A child prodigy, de Silva graduated from high school at the age of 11. This summer, she became a college grad. As the Daily News notes, the talented teen graduated summa cum laude from American Military University with a bachelor’s degree in intelligence analysis and a 4.0 GPA. She has also published two children’s books and authored several research papers on a wide range of topics including physics, behavioral sciences and psychology.

Starting in the fall, the extraordinary young woman will continue to impress the world with her academic prowess as she begins her simultaneous pursuit of two master’s degrees at two separate universities — one in legal studies at Harvard University and the other in intelligence analysis at American Military University.

“It’s always been my dream to attend Harvard so when I got there, it was really magnificent for me,” she told a local media channel earlier this year.

Snowden ‘Not A Patriot’: Obama Proposes FISA Reforms Amid Growing Concerns Over NSA Surveillance

Sabrina Siddiqui

 WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama announced new measures Friday to increase transparency and reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court amid growing concerns over the National Security Agency’s widespread surveillance programs.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Obama proposed the first of several steps “to help restore public confidence” following revelations in June that the federal government was secretly miningmillions of Americans’ phone and electronic communications.

“Unfortunately, rather than an orderly and lawful process to debate these issues and come up with appropriate reforms, repeated leaks of classified information have initiated the debate in a very passionate but not always fully informed way,” Obama said. “But given the history of abuse by governments, it’s right to ask questions about surveillance, particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives.”

The president’s proposed measures focused on reforming Section 215 of the Patriot Act and Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, under which the NSA’s surveillance programs are considered lawful. The reforms would focus on creating more oversight and greater transparency, particularly through modifications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which currently authorizes the surveillance through highly classified opinions.

Upsalite, ‘Impossible’ Material Believed To Have Many Uses, Created In Swedish Lab

It doesn’t look like much, but scientists from Sweden’s Uppsala University are calling a newly created form ofmagnesium carbonate an “impossible” material.

Dubbed upsalite, the highly porous material sets new records for surface area and water absorption, according to a written statement issued by the university. It is expected to have all sorts of applications, from controlling moisture in processes used by the electronics and pharmaceutical industries to sopping up toxins in the aftermath of chemical and oil spills.

“In contrast to what has been claimed for more than 100 years in the scientific literature, we have found that amorphous magnesium carbonate can be made in a very simple, low-temperature process,” study co-author Johan Goméz de la Torre, a researcher in the university’s nanotechnology and functional materials division, said in the statement.

The researchers succeeded in making upsalite in 2011 by bubbling carbon dioxide through an alcohol-containing suspension. But it took another year of analysis and fine-tuning to be sure that they had created the “impossible” material.

Upsalite has the highest surface area ever measured for a so-called alkali earth metal carbonate, according to the statement. In addition, it’s filled with empty pores with diameters measuring less than 10 nanometers.

Kate Middleton Baby Born: Duchess Of Cambridge Gives Birth!

Kate Middleton’s baby is finally here! Buckingham Palace confirms that the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy, the first child for her and Prince William.

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President Barack Obama issued a statement Monday on Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton giving birth to a baby boy, her first child with Prince William.

Obama’s statement read:

Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child. We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince

Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the first family had been waiting with “anticipation” for news on the birth.

Middleton, who was admitted to the hospital on Monday morning, gave birth at 4:24 p.m. London time. The child weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, according to palace officials.

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Kate was admitted to St Mary’s Hospital on the morning of July 22. She and Prince William arrived via car through a secret side entrance.

Iris Halmshaw, 3-Year-Old With Autism, Can’t Talk; But Her Beautiful Paintings Sell For Hundreds

Three-year-old Iris Grace Halmshaw loves water, trees, wind, dancing on tiptoes and holding things in her left hand. The British toddler cannot talk yet due to her autism, but she is able to express herself through beautiful paintings that have been sold to collectors for hundreds of dollars.

Iris Grace was diagnosed with autism in 2011. She struggles to interact with others or maintain eye contact, according to a website set up by her parents. As part of her therapy, Iris’s parents encouraged her to take up painting, which she quickly grew to love, spending up to two hours on elaborate pieces.

“Her autism has created a style of painting which I have never seen in a child of her age,” mother Arabella Carter-Johnson wrote on the site. “She has an understanding of colours and how they interact with each other. She beams with excitement and joy when I get out the paints, it lifts her mood every time.”

Boston Marathon Explosion and president Obama Message

 

Stephen Hawking: Space Exploration Is Key To Saving Humanity

By ALICIA CHANG  

LOS ANGELES — Stephen Hawking, who spent his career decoding the universe and even experienced weightlessness, is urging the continuation of space exploration – for humanity’s sake.

The 71-year-old Hawking said he did not think humans would survive another 1,000 years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”

The British cosmologist made the remarks Tuesday before an audience of doctors, nurses and employees at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he toured a stem cell laboratory that’s focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Hawking was diagnosed with the neurological disorder 50 years ago while a student at Cambridge University. He recalled how he became depressed and initially didn’t see a point in finishing his doctorate. But he continued to delve into his studies.

“If you understand how the universe operates, you control it in a way,” he said.

International Topless Jihad Day: FEMEN Activists Stage Protests Across Europe (NSFW PHOTOS)

My comment: From personal freedom point of view this seems ok, but from civilization point of view we are going on absolutely wrong way.

FEMEN strikes again: Topless protesters staged demonstrations near mosques and Tunisian embassies across Europe on Thursday to express support for embattled FEMEN activist Amina Tyler.

“We’re free, we’re naked, it’s our right, it’s our body, it’s our rules, and nobody can use religion, and some other holy things, to abuse women, to oppress them,” FEMEN member Alexandra Shevchenko said in Berlin, according to AFP.

“And we’ll fight against them. And our boobs will be stronger than their stones,” she added.

Tunisian student Amina Tyler sparked a massive controversy in mid-March by posting topless photos of herself on Facebook, with the slogans “Fuck Your Morals” and “My Body Belongs To Me, And Is Not The Source Of Anyone’s Honor,” painted on her body.

Islamist hackers responded with an attack on FEMEN’s Tunisian Facebook Fan Page, replacing topless photos with quotes from the Quran. An Islamic preacher even stated that Tyler could be stoned for her act of defiance.