What happens 70 years ago
The RAF bombs Essen again..
Sir Staffor Cripps leaves India. He cant make a pact with the independists.
The Americans from their bases in Australia bomb objectives in the Philipines.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
What happens 70 years ago
British air attack directed to the Baltic port of Lübeck, the attack destroy two halves of the medieval centre.
British commandos attack the port of St. Nazaire, France. The port is the only in France that can refuge the battleship Tirpitz, that can be a danger in British commerce operations. The HMS Campbelton is fulled with explosives and crash the docks, destroying the port. However, two halves of the raiding force is lost.
Dutch surrender in Sumatra.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
What happens 70 years
A fractured convoy reaches Malta, after heavy losses to the Luftwaffe
and an Italian sea force. Continued heavy bombing attacks on the island
with slight opposition from overtaxed RAF air forces.
In Sofia, Hitler and King Boris of Bulgaria met, to talk about the send of troops to the Soviet Union.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
What happens 70 years ago
Japanese land troops in the Solomon Islands , underscoring Australia's dangerous situation, especially if, as it is soon made clear, an airfield is built on Guadalcanal.
The Japanese are now threatening American forces around Manila Bay; the retreat to Corregidor begins.
First American Troops arrive to Australia.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Brazil's economy tops United Kingdom's
Brazil's Gross Domestic Product for the year was $2.469 trillion, according to the study -- making it the sixth-largest economy in the world.
Brazil eked ahead of the United Kingdom -- which had total production of $2.420 trillion -- by a razor-thin margin of only $49.2 billion.
"Brazil has a large workforce and extensive natural resources," said Tim Ohlenburg, a senior economist at CEBR. "It's set to grow faster than most European countries."
Still, the year wasn't all roses for the South American powerhouse. Growth slowed to only 2.7% in 2011, a sharp decline from the 7.5% rate registered in 2010.
The UK grew at only 0.8% last year, and the island nation's economy actually contracted slightly in the fourth quarter.
The United States, China, Japan, Germany and France remain the five largest economies in the world.
Comment: is good to see that other countries are staring to grew up in economy, now we have another big country with a big economy, and is good that they too start increasing the use of the natural resources. Brazil is a beautiful place, has more that on failure, but still is a very cool place to visit. I think is very, very good that this country just increase its economy. This is just the start to put Latin America in the next level, first is Brazil, them maybe Argentina, and who knows maybe then is the turn of Guatemala.
"Brazil has a large workforce and extensive natural resources," said Tim Ohlenburg, a senior economist at CEBR. "It's set to grow faster than most European countries."
Still, the year wasn't all roses for the South American powerhouse. Growth slowed to only 2.7% in 2011, a sharp decline from the 7.5% rate registered in 2010.
The UK grew at only 0.8% last year, and the island nation's economy actually contracted slightly in the fourth quarter.
The United States, China, Japan, Germany and France remain the five largest economies in the world.
Comment: is good to see that other countries are staring to grew up in economy, now we have another big country with a big economy, and is good that they too start increasing the use of the natural resources. Brazil is a beautiful place, has more that on failure, but still is a very cool place to visit. I think is very, very good that this country just increase its economy. This is just the start to put Latin America in the next level, first is Brazil, them maybe Argentina, and who knows maybe then is the turn of Guatemala.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
EU kills Kill Bill-style video over racism complaints
Trying to riff on one of the
bad-boy movie director's iconic characters, the European Union has landed itself
in a whole mess of trouble.
The 27-nation bloc released a
video last week trying to promote an anti-racist message, then pulled it days
later amid accusations that the clip itself was racist.
It features a white woman wearing
a yellow track suit, like that of the Uma Thurman character The Bride in
Tarantino's two-part kung-fu fest "Kill Bill."
Standing alone in an abandoned
train station, she is threatened first by an east Asian karate master, then a
scimitar-wielding turbaned Arab, and finally a bare-chested, dreadlocked black
man.
She calmly duplicates herself 11
times and surrounds her three attackers, prompting them to stop threatening her
and sit cross-legged as the 12 track-suited white women do the same. The entire
scene then morphs into the European Union flag, her track suits becoming the
flag's 12 yellow stars.
The 127,000-euro ($167,000) ad
prompted head-smacking from critics as it spread across 7,000 websites starting
on Friday.
"So the message of this video
is: no other race can challenge 'white supremacy'?" was the most popular comment
on the video on YouTube.
But EU spokesman Peter Stano said
the video was "absolutely not intended to be racist and we obviously regret that
it has been perceived in this way by some people," and apologized "to anyone who
may have felt offended."
The clip was aimed at
16-to-24-year-olds "who understand the plots and themes of martial arts films
and video games" and featured "typical characters for the martial arts genre,"
he said.
"It started with demonstration
of their skills and ended with all characters showing their mutual respect,
concluding in a position of peace and harmony," Stano said.
The EU spent 121,500 euros
($160,500) distributing the ad, which was made by the Mostra agency, Stano
said.
That's a total cost of nearly a
quarter of a million euros for a clip which -- like Tarantino's Bill -- got
killed.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Chavez illness changes the game for Venezuelan election
Caracas, Venezuela (CNN) -- The possibility that poor health
may prevent Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez from being re-elected in October
has altered the country's political landscape.
On Monday, Chavez underwent an operation in Cuba to remove a tumor from his abdomen. He also was diagnosed with cancer last June, though the type wasn't revealed.
The detection of the tumor comes at a bad time for the ruling United Socialist Party. With the presidential election campaign scheduled to start soon, the opposition Democratic Unity alliance is in better shape than ever. Just days before the president announced his health issues, the alliance had elected its own presidential candidate in primaries featuring an unexpectedly high turnout of 3 million voters.
The candidate, centrist Henrique Capriles, governor of the important state of Miranda, obtained almost two-thirds of the votes, giving him a solid mandate to face off against Chavez. At 39, Capriles is almost 20 years younger than the president, and his message of change seems to have found a ready audience after 13 years of 'revolution' under the former army officer.
This leaves the chavistas -- as the president's supporters are known -- in a dilemma. With a plentiful flow of cash from the state-run oil industry and control of all the country's levers of power, the popular and charismatic Chavez might normally be expected to win in October. But a weakened Chavez, perhaps unable to campaign, could prove a liability.
A defeat for the government in October would bring more than a simple handover of power. Chavez seeks the installation of a "communal" state with a centrally planned economy, and he has been taking steps in this direction since he was last re-elected in 2006. The opposition would gradually restore the political institutions and economic freedom theoretically guaranteed under the 1999 constitution.
The prospect that the president might die or lose power peacefully in this year's elections triggered an optimistic response from the markets. Venezuelan bonds gained a couple of percentage points after Chavez announced his operation, and they continued to rally throughout last week, reflecting the possibility of a more business-friendly regime taking power next January.
Much interest also focuses on the country's role as a major oil exporter. Already heavily dependent on oil revenue, the Venezuelan economy has become even more petroleum-centered since Chavez took power in 1999. Of every $100 in foreign earnings, $95 now come from oil and its derivatives. Yet production has fallen, and much of what the country exports now brings in less revenue, thanks to concessionary deals for friendly countries such as Cuba. These would be cut back under a Democratic Unity alliance government.
Oil exports to the United States, historically Venezuela's most important market, are at their lowest level for more than 20 years. But despite his anti-U.S. rhetoric, Chavez seems unlikely to halt them altogether because of their importance to the government's cash flow.
The likeliest cause of such a disruption is perhaps a U.S. embargo, triggered by Venezuelan support for its ally Iran, especially if a Republican president were to take over in Washington. But by then, the Chavez government might just be history.
Comment
Anibody in this planet has the life assured even is a president, a senator, a millionary or whatever has the life assured. In this post of CNN ther is an example of a famous president that has like 12 yaers in the power and is very recognized in all the world an in his 52 years he has cancer.
On Monday, Chavez underwent an operation in Cuba to remove a tumor from his abdomen. He also was diagnosed with cancer last June, though the type wasn't revealed.
The detection of the tumor comes at a bad time for the ruling United Socialist Party. With the presidential election campaign scheduled to start soon, the opposition Democratic Unity alliance is in better shape than ever. Just days before the president announced his health issues, the alliance had elected its own presidential candidate in primaries featuring an unexpectedly high turnout of 3 million voters.
The candidate, centrist Henrique Capriles, governor of the important state of Miranda, obtained almost two-thirds of the votes, giving him a solid mandate to face off against Chavez. At 39, Capriles is almost 20 years younger than the president, and his message of change seems to have found a ready audience after 13 years of 'revolution' under the former army officer.
This leaves the chavistas -- as the president's supporters are known -- in a dilemma. With a plentiful flow of cash from the state-run oil industry and control of all the country's levers of power, the popular and charismatic Chavez might normally be expected to win in October. But a weakened Chavez, perhaps unable to campaign, could prove a liability.
In the absence of the president -- either through death or incapacitation --
it might be impossible to keep the party's squabbling factions together. Chavez
has, apparently quite deliberately, declined to cultivate a viable successor.
The very real prospect of defeat has already brought some disagreements into the
open. More bad news might lead some to jump ship or seek backroom deals with the
opposition.
A defeat for the government in October would bring more than a simple handover of power. Chavez seeks the installation of a "communal" state with a centrally planned economy, and he has been taking steps in this direction since he was last re-elected in 2006. The opposition would gradually restore the political institutions and economic freedom theoretically guaranteed under the 1999 constitution.
The prospect that the president might die or lose power peacefully in this year's elections triggered an optimistic response from the markets. Venezuelan bonds gained a couple of percentage points after Chavez announced his operation, and they continued to rally throughout last week, reflecting the possibility of a more business-friendly regime taking power next January.
Much interest also focuses on the country's role as a major oil exporter. Already heavily dependent on oil revenue, the Venezuelan economy has become even more petroleum-centered since Chavez took power in 1999. Of every $100 in foreign earnings, $95 now come from oil and its derivatives. Yet production has fallen, and much of what the country exports now brings in less revenue, thanks to concessionary deals for friendly countries such as Cuba. These would be cut back under a Democratic Unity alliance government.
Oil exports to the United States, historically Venezuela's most important market, are at their lowest level for more than 20 years. But despite his anti-U.S. rhetoric, Chavez seems unlikely to halt them altogether because of their importance to the government's cash flow.
The likeliest cause of such a disruption is perhaps a U.S. embargo, triggered by Venezuelan support for its ally Iran, especially if a Republican president were to take over in Washington. But by then, the Chavez government might just be history.
Comment
Anibody in this planet has the life assured even is a president, a senator, a millionary or whatever has the life assured. In this post of CNN ther is an example of a famous president that has like 12 yaers in the power and is very recognized in all the world an in his 52 years he has cancer.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Monday that the war on drugs in Mexico "is not a failure."
At a press conference in Mexico City after meeting Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire, Napolitano called the drug policies of both Mexico and the United States "a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs."
Napolitano also said that among the things discussed at the meeting with Poire was how to have a more regional approach to a number of security issues threatening the United States, Mexico and Central America.
Asked why, in spite of efforts by both Mexico and the United States, the leader Mexico's most powerful criminal organization -- the Sinaloa drug cartel -- remains at large, Napolitano implied it's only a matter of time before Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman falls.
"It took us 10 years to find Osama bin Laden and we found him," Napolitano said. "And you know what happened there. I'm not suggesting the same thing would happen with Guzman but I am suggesting that we are persistent when it comes to wrongdoers and those who do harm in both of our countries."
Guzman escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001, and both Mexican and U.S. authorities are offering multimillion-dollar rewards for information leading to his capture.
Mexican reporters also asked whether the U.S. Homeland Security secretary still considers Mexico a safe destination. Twenty-two Carnival Cruise Lines passengers were robbed of valuables and their passports Saturday while they were traveling by bus in the middle of a shore excursion near the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
Napolitano didn't specifically address that incident, but suggested she doesn't believe there is a generalized security problem.
"I think Americans come and go freely to Mexico all the time and I expect that to continue. It's a wonderful country. There are many, many places to go and to see. And obviously we also do a tremendous amount of commerce," Napolitano said.
The meeting with Poire was Napolitano's first stop of a five-day regional tour that will also take her to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.
Napoliticano was specifically asked whether the U.S. government is as concerned about the power of criminal organizations in Latin America as it is about terrorism. She called both terrorism and drug trafficking a global scourge, but pointed out there are important distinctions between the two.
"(Drug trafficking) has to be handled in a somewhat different way. It's a different type of crime and it's a different type of plague, but that's also why it is so important that we act not only bi-nationally, but in a regional way, to go after the supply of illegal narcotics," Napolitano said.
At a press conference in Mexico City after meeting Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire, Napolitano called the drug policies of both Mexico and the United States "a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs."
Napolitano also said that among the things discussed at the meeting with Poire was how to have a more regional approach to a number of security issues threatening the United States, Mexico and Central America.
Asked why, in spite of efforts by both Mexico and the United States, the leader Mexico's most powerful criminal organization -- the Sinaloa drug cartel -- remains at large, Napolitano implied it's only a matter of time before Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman falls.
"It took us 10 years to find Osama bin Laden and we found him," Napolitano said. "And you know what happened there. I'm not suggesting the same thing would happen with Guzman but I am suggesting that we are persistent when it comes to wrongdoers and those who do harm in both of our countries."
Guzman escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001, and both Mexican and U.S. authorities are offering multimillion-dollar rewards for information leading to his capture.
Mexican reporters also asked whether the U.S. Homeland Security secretary still considers Mexico a safe destination. Twenty-two Carnival Cruise Lines passengers were robbed of valuables and their passports Saturday while they were traveling by bus in the middle of a shore excursion near the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
Napolitano didn't specifically address that incident, but suggested she doesn't believe there is a generalized security problem.
"I think Americans come and go freely to Mexico all the time and I expect that to continue. It's a wonderful country. There are many, many places to go and to see. And obviously we also do a tremendous amount of commerce," Napolitano said.
The meeting with Poire was Napolitano's first stop of a five-day regional tour that will also take her to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.
Napoliticano was specifically asked whether the U.S. government is as concerned about the power of criminal organizations in Latin America as it is about terrorism. She called both terrorism and drug trafficking a global scourge, but pointed out there are important distinctions between the two.
"(Drug trafficking) has to be handled in a somewhat different way. It's a different type of crime and it's a different type of plague, but that's also why it is so important that we act not only bi-nationally, but in a regional way, to go after the supply of illegal narcotics," Napolitano said.
What happens 70 years ago
Japanese land forces invade Java.
Operation Bitting: British paratroopers are sent to Bruneval, France where the Germans install a modern radiotelemeter. Dismount the machine and translate it to England, being transport by little British cruisers.
Battle of Sonda Strait: The Japanese destroy the rest of the Allied fllet in The West Dutch Indies.
Japanese land forces invade Java.
Operation Bitting: British paratroopers are sent to Bruneval, France where the Germans install a modern radiotelemeter. Dismount the machine and translate it to England, being transport by little British cruisers.
Battle of Sonda Strait: The Japanese destroy the rest of the Allied fllet in The West Dutch Indies.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Chris Brown collaboration is typical Rihanna, analysts say
Once the artists' respective remixes, "Birthday Cake" and "Turn Up the Music," featuring each other, hit the Web on Monday, that head-shaking turned into full-blown opposition.
Some have questioned why Rihanna would musically reunite with her ex and whether their working together was a straight career move or a byproduct of her feelings for Brown. But based on the way the "We Found Love" singer markets herself, industry experts agree, her decision to collaborate with Brown is actually quite characteristic.
"So much of (Rihanna's) music is about being in control of herself," said Tamar Anitai, the managing editor of MTV Buzzworthy. "Some of her fans have been really surprised by (her working with Brown again), but a lot of her other fans are so used to her making these big, bold statements."
Rihanna has been in the game for a long time, Anitai said, and she wants people to know that she makes her own decisions. "This is her way of saying, 'I've made peace with my past.' "
Since he pleaded guilty in June 2009 to assaulting his then-girlfriend on the eve of the 51st Grammy Awards, Brown's career has flourished -- as has Rihanna's.
Country singer Miranda Lambert and HLN's Dr. Drew are among those weighing in on Brown's successes in addition to his troubles, including outbursts on Twitter and a reported tantrum after an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" last year.
A firestorm erupted when many women tweeted after this year's Grammy Awards that they would let Brown beat them.
But while the response to the pair's partnership has been overwhelmingly negative, their remixes have actually been well-received, said Ian Drew, Us Weekly's senior editor for music.
"Say what you will about them ... but when they're on a track together, it sort of lights up and ignites," Drew said.
Referencing Rihanna's "S&M," which shocked listeners with talk of chains and whips, he said that "these two are all about pushing buttons."
What is boils down to, Drew added, is whether people have the ability to separate the artists' personal lives from their music.
It's unclear what effect their collaborations will have on their careers. But the critics seem to be out in full force.
A recent Newsday story titled "Rihanna and Chris Brown deserve each other" states, "Apparently, Rihanna wants to show her independence and Brown wants to show that he can beat a woman and still get her to be friends."
And AJ Reynolds, who hosts Canada's Top 20 Countdown, said that all tracks featuring Brown have been pulled from the radio show after numerous parents complained.
The backlash couldn't have come as a surprise to the two artists. Music producer The-Dream, who wrote "Birthday Cake" with Rihanna, told MTV it was actually her idea to feature Brown on the song's remix.
"When she raised the question to me, I know she's not crazy," he said. "So my thought was, 'you've been thinking about this; you've already thought it out, so evidently you know what reaction you gonna get.' "
Despite the fact that Rihanna typically embraces her sexuality in her music, "Turn Up the Music" (which features the lyrics, "So let's go tonight and do whatever it takes to make it right") and "Birthday Cake's" explicit nature are a bit jarring, given the pair's history, said Bill Werde, Billboard's editorial director.
Even so, Werde said, he can't see Rihanna's career being hurt by the collaboration.
"If Chris Brown can rebound from (the assault) ... please don't tell me that Rihanna can't rebound from what some are perceiving as a lapse in judgment," he added.
In the end, fans reserve the right to support the artists or not, but onlookers have to remember, this is still a real and tumultuous situation.
"People have the tendency to forget that maybe this isn't some kind of contrived career move or a staged opportunity for PR," Werde said. "This media-saturated world is trying to make sense of a very, very human decision.
"I would like to think she's thought through the consequences, but I don't think she's making this decision with an eye toward her career," Werde added. "She's probably just thinking with her heart."
Comment: I think, if i was a celebrity and i had to participate with a person that had heart me, more if i was a women and they do it fiscally because what Chris Brown do to Rihanna cant be fixed, if a man hurts his girlfriend in any way he most be prepared because people will be in the girl side, What Chris Brown has is anger issues, he had to control the, I think that Chris Brown is a good singer, but in his life stile I dont think the same way, the ager that a person has to hurt a person knowing that all persons will find out, well I researve mi comments. But if i was Rihanna I will think twice before collaborating with Chris Brown.
Some have questioned why Rihanna would musically reunite with her ex and whether their working together was a straight career move or a byproduct of her feelings for Brown. But based on the way the "We Found Love" singer markets herself, industry experts agree, her decision to collaborate with Brown is actually quite characteristic.
"So much of (Rihanna's) music is about being in control of herself," said Tamar Anitai, the managing editor of MTV Buzzworthy. "Some of her fans have been really surprised by (her working with Brown again), but a lot of her other fans are so used to her making these big, bold statements."
Since he pleaded guilty in June 2009 to assaulting his then-girlfriend on the eve of the 51st Grammy Awards, Brown's career has flourished -- as has Rihanna's.
Country singer Miranda Lambert and HLN's Dr. Drew are among those weighing in on Brown's successes in addition to his troubles, including outbursts on Twitter and a reported tantrum after an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" last year.
A firestorm erupted when many women tweeted after this year's Grammy Awards that they would let Brown beat them.
But while the response to the pair's partnership has been overwhelmingly negative, their remixes have actually been well-received, said Ian Drew, Us Weekly's senior editor for music.
"Say what you will about them ... but when they're on a track together, it sort of lights up and ignites," Drew said.
Referencing Rihanna's "S&M," which shocked listeners with talk of chains and whips, he said that "these two are all about pushing buttons."
What is boils down to, Drew added, is whether people have the ability to separate the artists' personal lives from their music.
It's unclear what effect their collaborations will have on their careers. But the critics seem to be out in full force.
A recent Newsday story titled "Rihanna and Chris Brown deserve each other" states, "Apparently, Rihanna wants to show her independence and Brown wants to show that he can beat a woman and still get her to be friends."
And AJ Reynolds, who hosts Canada's Top 20 Countdown, said that all tracks featuring Brown have been pulled from the radio show after numerous parents complained.
The backlash couldn't have come as a surprise to the two artists. Music producer The-Dream, who wrote "Birthday Cake" with Rihanna, told MTV it was actually her idea to feature Brown on the song's remix.
"When she raised the question to me, I know she's not crazy," he said. "So my thought was, 'you've been thinking about this; you've already thought it out, so evidently you know what reaction you gonna get.' "
Despite the fact that Rihanna typically embraces her sexuality in her music, "Turn Up the Music" (which features the lyrics, "So let's go tonight and do whatever it takes to make it right") and "Birthday Cake's" explicit nature are a bit jarring, given the pair's history, said Bill Werde, Billboard's editorial director.
Even so, Werde said, he can't see Rihanna's career being hurt by the collaboration.
"If Chris Brown can rebound from (the assault) ... please don't tell me that Rihanna can't rebound from what some are perceiving as a lapse in judgment," he added.
In the end, fans reserve the right to support the artists or not, but onlookers have to remember, this is still a real and tumultuous situation.
"People have the tendency to forget that maybe this isn't some kind of contrived career move or a staged opportunity for PR," Werde said. "This media-saturated world is trying to make sense of a very, very human decision.
"I would like to think she's thought through the consequences, but I don't think she's making this decision with an eye toward her career," Werde added. "She's probably just thinking with her heart."
Comment: I think, if i was a celebrity and i had to participate with a person that had heart me, more if i was a women and they do it fiscally because what Chris Brown do to Rihanna cant be fixed, if a man hurts his girlfriend in any way he most be prepared because people will be in the girl side, What Chris Brown has is anger issues, he had to control the, I think that Chris Brown is a good singer, but in his life stile I dont think the same way, the ager that a person has to hurt a person knowing that all persons will find out, well I researve mi comments. But if i was Rihanna I will think twice before collaborating with Chris Brown.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
49 killed in Argentina train crash
Video from the scene showed rescuers prying open windows of twisted train
cars to reach trapped passengers. Crews carried bleeding victims on stretchers
through the busy Once station; some victims were taken to area hospitals by
helicopter.
"The government and people of Argentina give their solidarity and weigh the pain felt by the families of the victims," President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said in a statement declaring the mourning period. Memorials will be held outside Argentina's Government House and Olivos, the presidential residence, the state news agency Telam reported.
"Never in my life had I seen anything like this," Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi told reporters hours after the accident, which occurred during the height of the morning rush.
Passengers told reporters the crash sounded like a bomb blast.
"Suddenly I heard a bang, and many people fell on top of me. I think I had more than 10 people above me. I got out as quickly as I could," a witness identified only as Esteban told the state news agency. "I only saw injured people and heard screams."
The first two cars of the train -- crammed with commuters -- were most affected by the crash. Passengers emerged bruised, some with serious injuries, Schiavi said.
The crash injured more than 600 people, Telam reported, and more than 460 were hospitalized. Family members flooded local hospitals, clamoring for news of missing loved ones.
Auhtorities will use GPS data, security camera footage, audio recordings from the driver's cabin and maintenance records in their investigation, Schiavi said.
The train stopped at other stations on its route, and data show that it slowed as it approached the Once station, Schiavi said.
"It stopped 14 times, and the last time, it didn't stop," he said.
The train was traveling at 26 kilometers per hour (16 mph) when it entered the station around 8:30 a.m., he said.
"We do not know what happened in the last 40 meters," he said.
The train's 28-year-old driver had just started his shift and had a good record, the transportation minister said.
Earlier Wednesday, Schiavi said authorities believed there were problems with the train's brakes that caused it to smash into a barrier at the station.
Buenos Aires Trains, which runs the rail service, said it was cooperating with the federal investigation.
Wednesday's crash was among the worst in Argentina's history, Telam reported.
In 1970, 200 people died when two trains crashed north of Buenos Aires.
Eight years later, 56 people were killed when a train hit a truck in Argentina's Santa Fe province, the state news agency reported
Comment: Its a real tragedy that a lot of people dies for one accident, i dont now why it happens, how the train crash? how it happen? it whas on porpuse? we dont know , but we should pray for the deaths and the deaths families, because they have just lost a person in their life, we dont know if it was a father in the train, and now the mom is the one that has to mantain the fasmily.
"The government and people of Argentina give their solidarity and weigh the pain felt by the families of the victims," President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said in a statement declaring the mourning period. Memorials will be held outside Argentina's Government House and Olivos, the presidential residence, the state news agency Telam reported.
"Never in my life had I seen anything like this," Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi told reporters hours after the accident, which occurred during the height of the morning rush.
"Suddenly I heard a bang, and many people fell on top of me. I think I had more than 10 people above me. I got out as quickly as I could," a witness identified only as Esteban told the state news agency. "I only saw injured people and heard screams."
The first two cars of the train -- crammed with commuters -- were most affected by the crash. Passengers emerged bruised, some with serious injuries, Schiavi said.
The crash injured more than 600 people, Telam reported, and more than 460 were hospitalized. Family members flooded local hospitals, clamoring for news of missing loved ones.
Auhtorities will use GPS data, security camera footage, audio recordings from the driver's cabin and maintenance records in their investigation, Schiavi said.
The train stopped at other stations on its route, and data show that it slowed as it approached the Once station, Schiavi said.
"It stopped 14 times, and the last time, it didn't stop," he said.
The train was traveling at 26 kilometers per hour (16 mph) when it entered the station around 8:30 a.m., he said.
"We do not know what happened in the last 40 meters," he said.
The train's 28-year-old driver had just started his shift and had a good record, the transportation minister said.
Earlier Wednesday, Schiavi said authorities believed there were problems with the train's brakes that caused it to smash into a barrier at the station.
Buenos Aires Trains, which runs the rail service, said it was cooperating with the federal investigation.
Wednesday's crash was among the worst in Argentina's history, Telam reported.
In 1970, 200 people died when two trains crashed north of Buenos Aires.
Eight years later, 56 people were killed when a train hit a truck in Argentina's Santa Fe province, the state news agency reported
Comment: Its a real tragedy that a lot of people dies for one accident, i dont now why it happens, how the train crash? how it happen? it whas on porpuse? we dont know , but we should pray for the deaths and the deaths families, because they have just lost a person in their life, we dont know if it was a father in the train, and now the mom is the one that has to mantain the fasmily.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
30 prisoners escape after riot in northern Mexico, governor says
The prison's director and 18 guards have been removed from their positions
and are under investigation, Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina told reporters.
"There is no doubt that without the help of prison officials, it would have been very hard to make this escape. ... For us, it is difficult to confirm that the betrayal, corruption and complicity of a few can hinder the work of good police, soldiers and sailors who risk their lives daily for the security of Nuevo Leon's residents," he said.
Authorities are offering a reward of 10 million pesos (about $788,000) for information leading to the escapees' capture, Medina said. Preliminary reports indicate the escapees were members of the Zetas drug cartel, he said.
A fierce rivalry between drug cartels likely fueled the fighting that killed 44 people Sunday inside the prison in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters.
At least two Zetas leaders, including the suspected head of the cartel in the nearby industrial city of Monterrey, were among the prisoners who escaped, according to Mexican military records.
Prisoners could have used the riot to engineer their breakout, Domene said Sunday. He did not say how prisoners inside acquired the clubs, stones and sharp objects they used in the fighting.
Earlier Sunday, Domene said inmates had taken a guard hostage as clashes broke out at the prison. Some prisoners also set mattresses ablaze, sending smoke rising above the facility, he said.
Federal and state police surrounded the prison as anxious family members awaited information outside its gates.
The clashes, which occurred in a part of the prison where most inmates were serving time for federal drug trafficking offenses, might have begun as a fight between the Zetas and Gulf cartels, Domene said.
The Zetas started with deserters from the Mexican Army and quickly gained a reputation for ruthless violence as the armed branch of Mexico's Gulf cartel. The partnership ended in 2010, and turf battles between the rival cartels are common in northern Mexico.
State officials have asked Mexico's interior ministry to transfer inmates connected with federal offenses out of the prison, which has become significantly overcrowded as authorities crack down on organized crime, Medina said Monday.
The Apodaca prison was housing about 3,000 prisoners at the time of Sunday's riot, Domene said Sunday.
Last year, 14 inmates were killed and 35 people were injured in a fire in the prison's psychiatric ward.
Nearly half of Mexico's 428 penitentiary centers are overcrowded, according to federal police statistics.
After more than 350 people died in a fire in a Honduran prison last week, a United Nations official said widespread overcrowding was one factor behind a recent wave of violence in Latin American prisons.
"These events reflect an alarming pattern of prison violence in the region, which is a direct consequence of -- or aggravated by -- a range of endemic problems including chronic prison overcrowding, the lack of access to basic services such as adequate floor space, potable water, food, health care and lack of basic sanitary and hygienic standards," Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.
In Mexico, prison expert Jose Luis Musi said conditions remain ripe for more violence.
"There are many factors," he said. "There is overpopulation, there is complicity and there is a lack of security."
comment: What I believe is impossible is that a group of 30 prisoners escaped form a prison, without the help of policemen, because if the prisoner hade a routine, and they make it every day I dont see how could they go out. The other thing is that these shows that Mexico is more dangerouse than Guatemala, because here that havent happen, so that is a total proof that Guatemala is more safe than Mexico. Maybe in Mexico they dont ask for cellphones in the traffic light, but here in Guatemala we dont have prisons in witch 30 people scape at once.
"There is no doubt that without the help of prison officials, it would have been very hard to make this escape. ... For us, it is difficult to confirm that the betrayal, corruption and complicity of a few can hinder the work of good police, soldiers and sailors who risk their lives daily for the security of Nuevo Leon's residents," he said.
Authorities are offering a reward of 10 million pesos (about $788,000) for information leading to the escapees' capture, Medina said. Preliminary reports indicate the escapees were members of the Zetas drug cartel, he said.
A fierce rivalry between drug cartels likely fueled the fighting that killed 44 people Sunday inside the prison in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters.
At least two Zetas leaders, including the suspected head of the cartel in the nearby industrial city of Monterrey, were among the prisoners who escaped, according to Mexican military records.
Prisoners could have used the riot to engineer their breakout, Domene said Sunday. He did not say how prisoners inside acquired the clubs, stones and sharp objects they used in the fighting.
Earlier Sunday, Domene said inmates had taken a guard hostage as clashes broke out at the prison. Some prisoners also set mattresses ablaze, sending smoke rising above the facility, he said.
Federal and state police surrounded the prison as anxious family members awaited information outside its gates.
The clashes, which occurred in a part of the prison where most inmates were serving time for federal drug trafficking offenses, might have begun as a fight between the Zetas and Gulf cartels, Domene said.
The Zetas started with deserters from the Mexican Army and quickly gained a reputation for ruthless violence as the armed branch of Mexico's Gulf cartel. The partnership ended in 2010, and turf battles between the rival cartels are common in northern Mexico.
State officials have asked Mexico's interior ministry to transfer inmates connected with federal offenses out of the prison, which has become significantly overcrowded as authorities crack down on organized crime, Medina said Monday.
The Apodaca prison was housing about 3,000 prisoners at the time of Sunday's riot, Domene said Sunday.
Last year, 14 inmates were killed and 35 people were injured in a fire in the prison's psychiatric ward.
Nearly half of Mexico's 428 penitentiary centers are overcrowded, according to federal police statistics.
After more than 350 people died in a fire in a Honduran prison last week, a United Nations official said widespread overcrowding was one factor behind a recent wave of violence in Latin American prisons.
"These events reflect an alarming pattern of prison violence in the region, which is a direct consequence of -- or aggravated by -- a range of endemic problems including chronic prison overcrowding, the lack of access to basic services such as adequate floor space, potable water, food, health care and lack of basic sanitary and hygienic standards," Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.
In Mexico, prison expert Jose Luis Musi said conditions remain ripe for more violence.
"There are many factors," he said. "There is overpopulation, there is complicity and there is a lack of security."
comment: What I believe is impossible is that a group of 30 prisoners escaped form a prison, without the help of policemen, because if the prisoner hade a routine, and they make it every day I dont see how could they go out. The other thing is that these shows that Mexico is more dangerouse than Guatemala, because here that havent happen, so that is a total proof that Guatemala is more safe than Mexico. Maybe in Mexico they dont ask for cellphones in the traffic light, but here in Guatemala we dont have prisons in witch 30 people scape at once.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Rats being put to work in Colombia, training to detect explosives
This new recruit is unlike any other. It stands on four legs, has white hair
all over its body and weighs slightly less than a pound. Its name is Rattus
Norvegicus -- but it's more commonly known as a lab rat.
During a recent training session, trainers set the white rat on a patch of grass where they had hidden an explosive device underground. It took the rat less than a minute to find it. The rodent was showered with praise. Its trainers also gave it its favorite reward, a treat.
Though safer than a decade ago, Colombia is a country where landmines and car bombs are still a threat. Earlier this month, six people were killed by a car bomb targeting a police station in the town of Villa Rica in the southern province of El Cauca. The day before the February 2 bombing, nine people were killed and 70 were injured by another explosion in the neighboring province of Narino.
Edgar Ramirez, a second lieutenant with the Colombian National Police, says his country still "faces conflicts such as guerrillas, and criminal and paramilitary groups. There are many disputed territories because of the drug trade or simply to take control, and many groups set up land mines in these territories."
In the past, Colombian police used bomb-sniffing dogs; but the dogs' weight would often trigger the explosives. That's not a problem for lab rats that weigh slightly less than a pound.
And according to the trainers, their sense of smell is just as good as a dog's.
Colombia is not the first country to use rodents in this fashion. Rats have already been put to work in Mozambique to detect landmines.
Ramirez says that the only disadvantage he can think of about using rats is their short life span.
"These animals live only three to four years, which is a relatively short period of time from a human perspective. On the other hand, they're very prolific. They reproduce themselves exponentially in a very short time," Ramirez said.
So far, the rats have been trained to detect seven different kinds of explosives including ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, gunpowder and TNT.
The project is directed by Luisa Fernanda Mendez Pardo, a veterinarian who specializes in canine explosives-detection training. Mendez said that in the last four years her team has produced five generations of between 15 and 18 rodents each.
"As a researcher," Mendez said, "I can tell you that this project has exceeded the expectations we had at the beginning. We have been able to condition the rats to follow simple verbal commands. We have also trained them to not be afraid of their human handlers."
Their trust has also gone beyond humans. The rats even get on with the cat that protects them from other predators at the lab where they're trained.
Mendez also says the rats are much more cost-effective than their canine counterparts. "With the money it takes to feed a dog per day, you can feed seven rats for seven days," Mendez said.
Officials with the Colombian National Police say they expect to take the bomb-sniffing rats into the field in later this year.
"The main goal is to tackle a humanitarian problem in Colombia," says Mendez. "In my career, I have seen many civilians, police officers and soldiers who have been killed or severely injured in mine fields. It has become a personal challenge, and I want to use this project to help my country."
The team has been able to successfully train more than 70 rats in the last four years since the project began. The process has allowed them to acquire important knowledge about how the rodents can help authorities clear fields full of landmines in the Colombian countryside.
comment: The idea of Colombia of training rats for the detection of bombs, its prety good, because they are, indirecly, saving a lot of persons lifves because the people will not longer have to go and find the bomb. A lot of people may said that "the rats are living things too, why are you trainig this animals...", but what this people dont see is that a humman life, is more valuable that an animal life. Also they are giving rats a positive function, others than eating trash, or being a pest.
During a recent training session, trainers set the white rat on a patch of grass where they had hidden an explosive device underground. It took the rat less than a minute to find it. The rodent was showered with praise. Its trainers also gave it its favorite reward, a treat.
Though safer than a decade ago, Colombia is a country where landmines and car bombs are still a threat. Earlier this month, six people were killed by a car bomb targeting a police station in the town of Villa Rica in the southern province of El Cauca. The day before the February 2 bombing, nine people were killed and 70 were injured by another explosion in the neighboring province of Narino.
Edgar Ramirez, a second lieutenant with the Colombian National Police, says his country still "faces conflicts such as guerrillas, and criminal and paramilitary groups. There are many disputed territories because of the drug trade or simply to take control, and many groups set up land mines in these territories."
In the past, Colombian police used bomb-sniffing dogs; but the dogs' weight would often trigger the explosives. That's not a problem for lab rats that weigh slightly less than a pound.
And according to the trainers, their sense of smell is just as good as a dog's.
Colombia is not the first country to use rodents in this fashion. Rats have already been put to work in Mozambique to detect landmines.
Ramirez says that the only disadvantage he can think of about using rats is their short life span.
"These animals live only three to four years, which is a relatively short period of time from a human perspective. On the other hand, they're very prolific. They reproduce themselves exponentially in a very short time," Ramirez said.
So far, the rats have been trained to detect seven different kinds of explosives including ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, gunpowder and TNT.
The project is directed by Luisa Fernanda Mendez Pardo, a veterinarian who specializes in canine explosives-detection training. Mendez said that in the last four years her team has produced five generations of between 15 and 18 rodents each.
"As a researcher," Mendez said, "I can tell you that this project has exceeded the expectations we had at the beginning. We have been able to condition the rats to follow simple verbal commands. We have also trained them to not be afraid of their human handlers."
Their trust has also gone beyond humans. The rats even get on with the cat that protects them from other predators at the lab where they're trained.
Mendez also says the rats are much more cost-effective than their canine counterparts. "With the money it takes to feed a dog per day, you can feed seven rats for seven days," Mendez said.
Officials with the Colombian National Police say they expect to take the bomb-sniffing rats into the field in later this year.
"The main goal is to tackle a humanitarian problem in Colombia," says Mendez. "In my career, I have seen many civilians, police officers and soldiers who have been killed or severely injured in mine fields. It has become a personal challenge, and I want to use this project to help my country."
The team has been able to successfully train more than 70 rats in the last four years since the project began. The process has allowed them to acquire important knowledge about how the rodents can help authorities clear fields full of landmines in the Colombian countryside.
comment: The idea of Colombia of training rats for the detection of bombs, its prety good, because they are, indirecly, saving a lot of persons lifves because the people will not longer have to go and find the bomb. A lot of people may said that "the rats are living things too, why are you trainig this animals...", but what this people dont see is that a humman life, is more valuable that an animal life. Also they are giving rats a positive function, others than eating trash, or being a pest.
Baby opens door into Indian trafficking ring
In a New Delhi hospital, a two-year-old girl is fighting for her life after a teenager brought her there three weeks ago, unconscious with severe head injuries and bruises, fractured arms and human bite marks covering her tiny body. All of India began following her ordeal through newspapers and television.
Police investigating the baby's case unearthed a suspected ring of human trafficking. The details sparked outrage among authorities and the public, who say the case raises a host of questions about child abandonment, exploitation and the poor treatment of girls and women in the world's second most populous nation.
Now the baby, named Falak by doctors, has thrust an ugly side of Indian society into the national spotlight
comment: Well is bad that a baby open the door is to danger.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The explosion Monday of a device attached to an Israeli Embassy van
in New Delhi and the discovery and safe detonation of another such
device found on an embassy car in Tbilisi, Georgia, led quickly to a
round of fingerpointing between Israel and Iran.
Four people were wounded in the van explosion, which occurred near the Israeli mission in New Delhi, officials said.
The other bomb, found on an embassy car in Tbilisi, Georgia, was
detonated in a controlled explosion with no injuries, an Israeli Foreign
Ministry spokesman said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed both incidents on
Iran, calling it "the biggest exporter of terror in the world."
Israeli Embassy car detonates in India
"The Israeli government and her security organizations are continuing
to operate together with local security services against these acts of
terror," Netanyahu said. "We will continue to act in a strong way,
systematically and steadfastly."
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast blamed
Israel, accusing it of having bombed its own embassies in New Delhi and
Tbilisi "to tarnish Iran's friendly ties with the host countries,"
Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said. "He brushed aside
Israeli accusation on Iranian involvement in the bombing and said that
Israel perpetrated the terrorist actions to launch psychological warfare
against Iran," IRNA reported.
"Iran condemns terrorism in strongest term and Iran has been the victim of terrorism," Mehmanparast said.
Police in India identified one of the wounded there as Tal Yehoshua
Coren, the wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry employee. A doctor in
India told reporters she was in critical but stable condition in a
hospital.
Also wounded in New Delhi was the Indian driver of the car, said Syed
Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. He
said both victims were being treated and "are OK." Two others in a
vehicle next to the van sustained minor injuries, according to B.K.
Gupta, an Indian police official.
Akbaruddin said the car was about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the Israeli mission at the time.
A witness told CNN there was a "huge explosion sound" and he later
saw a foreign woman and the Indian driver being removed from the car.
In a written statement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
condemned the attacks. "The United States places a high priority on the
safety and security of diplomatic personnel around the world, and we
stand ready to assist with any investigation of these cowardly actions,"
she said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry personnel based overseas have been on alert
in recent weeks to the heightened possibility of attacks at Israeli
facilities by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Muslim militant group and
political party.
Sunday marked the fourth anniversary of the death of Hezbollah leader
Imad Mugniyah in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria. Hezbollah holds
Israel responsible for his death and has vowed revenge.
Both Netanyahu and Michael Herzog, former chief of staff to Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, noted two recent attempted attacks on
Israeli citizens in Thailand and Azerbaijan. The Israeli government
issued a travel advisory this year for citizens traveling to Thailand
after Thai security officials arrested at least one Hezbollah-affiliated
man connected with a planned attack in the country.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this month that
Iran would support any nation or group that stands up against Israel. He
said Iran doesn't interfere in other nations but has aided such
militant groups as Hamas and Hezbollah in conflicts with Israel in Gaza
and Lebanon.
"Taken together, maybe we are witnessing an Iranian attack against
Israeli representation across the world," Herzog said of Monday's
incidents and the thwarted bombings in Thailand and Azerbaijan.
The modus operandi is not new. Last month, a mysterious explosion in
Iran killed a man identified as a nuclear scientist -- the third such
killing in the past two years in which someone placed a bomb on or under
a scientist's car. A fourth survived an assassination attempt.
The United States and Israel oppose Iran's nuclear program, although
numerous countries have expressed concern as well. Iran insists its
nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian energy purposes.
Iranian officials, on state-run media, blame Israel and the United States.
Clinton has denied "any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran."
While Israel generally refuses to comment on accusations and
speculation, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, a spokesman for the Israel
Defense Forces, said on his Facebook page, "I have no idea who targeted
the Iranian scientist but I certainly don't shed a tear."
With no one claiming responsibility, the killings remain shrouded in
mystery. Iran experts contacted last month by CNN could only speculate.
"The most likely contender among people who are following this is
that the Israelis are doing it, possibly in cooperation with the Iranian
mujahedeen," said Trita Parsi, president of the National
Iranian-American Council and author of the book "A Single Roll of the
Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran."
"There's almost no downside for Israel," he said. The killings "take
out nuclear assets and embarrass Iran" by showing that the regime can't
prevent such attacks, Parsi said. And "if Iran retaliates with a violent
act, then Israel can point to it as a reason to take military action
against the regime."
Michael Rubin, resident scholar with the American Enterprise
Institute, agreed that Israeli involvement was the most "plausible"
scenario. And Mark Hibbs, senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, also said the way the attacks took place "would
be consistent" with the possibility of Israel acting with cooperation
inside Iran.
Parsi told CNN he does not believe the killings are the work of the
United States, and he said they do not match the kind of activity U.S.
intelligence would carry out in a country with which there is no
declared state of war.
Rubin agreed, and gave a different reason. "Frankly, I don't think
the United States has the human intelligence knowledge," he said.
me:
the car do boom =) ↑↑↑ read that awesome finally that someone say that! cool
Monday, February 13, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Who will win (and who should win) a Grammy?
There are many award-worthy artists on the ballot this year -- even some not named Adele, Bruno, Nicki, or Katy. Here's who we think will grab the gold on Feb. 12 (and who would if we had our way).
Record of the Year
Adele, ''Rolling in the Deep''
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''
Who will win: Adele's already Grammy catnip, and with its immaculate songcraft and pitch-perfect production, ''Rolling'' simply dominated 2011.
Who should win: Sorry, no drama here: we're going with the Academy on this one.
Album of the year
Adele, "21"
Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"
Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"
Rihanna, "Loud"
Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"
Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"
Rihanna, "Loud"
Who will win: "21" revived a bruised music industry practically by itself. And because Adele's rising tide lifted all boats, she'll be the one hoisting this award.
Who should win: Since the year's only serious challenger to "21" -- Kanye West's brilliant "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" -- was snubbed in this category, we're going to defer to Adele once again.
Song of the Year
Kanye West, ''All of the Lights''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Adele, ''Rolling in the Deep''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Adele, ''Rolling in the Deep''
Who will win: No, really, we're not kidding -- this is Adele's year.
Who should win: If somebody's going to topple Adele's sweep of the top awards, it should be Justin Vernon -- Bon Iver's ''Holocene'' is a stunner.
Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
Who will win: Bon Iver is only ''new'' by Academy math; still, he feels like the front-runner here, especially considering his inclusion the Big Three categories.
Who should win: Nicki Minaj came out of nowhere and tricked us into thinking she was here the whole time. And for that, this award should truly be hers. But, unfortunately, history has rarely favored rap in this category.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Adele, ''Someone Like You''
Lady Gaga, ''Yoü and I''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''
P!nk, ''F---in' Perfect''
Lady Gaga, ''Yoü and I''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''
P!nk, ''F---in' Perfect''
Who will win: Adele's powerful, give-all pipes make her the top contender once again.
Who should win: P!nk's voice is an undeniable force, up there with even Her Majesty Adele.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse, ''Body and Soul''
The Black Keys, ''Dearest''
Coldplay, ''Paradise''
Foster the People, ''Pumped Up Kicks''
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, ''Moves Like Jagger''
The Black Keys, ''Dearest''
Coldplay, ''Paradise''
Foster the People, ''Pumped Up Kicks''
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, ''Moves Like Jagger''
Who will win: People competing against Tony tend not to win, and voters will be eager to pay their respects to the late, great Amy.
Who should win: Foster the People's ''Pumped Up Kicks'' is a great track, even if it was overplayed -- and since Foster were totally snubbed in Best New Artist, we'd give them this one.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Adele, "21"
Cee Lo Green, "The Lady Killer"
Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"
Rihanna, "Loud"
Cee Lo Green, "The Lady Killer"
Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"
Rihanna, "Loud"
Who will win: Only one vocalist completely captured American earbuds this year, and it wasn't Cee Lo.
Who should win: Adele.
Best Rock Song
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
The Decemberists, ''Down by the Water''
Coldplay, ''Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall''
Radiohead, ''Lotus Flower''
Foo Fighters, ''Walk''
The Decemberists, ''Down by the Water''
Coldplay, ''Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall''
Radiohead, ''Lotus Flower''
Foo Fighters, ''Walk''
Who will win: Dave Grohl flexed his rock muscles this year, roaring his way back onto the radio and, likely, into this win.
Who should win: The Decemberists are historically not everyone's cup of tea, but ''Down by the Water'' -- aided by R.E.M. alum Peter Buck's guitar and Gillian Welch's vocals -- is a uniter, not a divider.
Best Rock Album
Jeff Beck, "Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul"
Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"
Kings of Leon, "Come Around Sundown"
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "I'm With You"
Wilco,"The Whole Love"
Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"
Kings of Leon, "Come Around Sundown"
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "I'm With You"
Wilco,"The Whole Love"
Who will win: Light may not be the Foos' best, but it's certainly rock and definitely an album, and that's good enough for the Academy.
Who should win: Wilco's been reliably (and relatively quietly) releasing amazing rock records for years, and "The Whole Love" is no exception.
Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Death Cab for Cutie, "Codes and Keys"
Foster the People, "Torches"
My Morning Jacket, "Circuital"
Radiohead, "The King of Limbs"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Codes and Keys"
Foster the People, "Torches"
My Morning Jacket, "Circuital"
Radiohead, "The King of Limbs"
Who will win: Bon Iver has a nod in three top categories, so if he loses out on those, this will be his consolation prize for not being a platinum-plated British song bird.
Who should win: While we loved the BI album as much as the next guy in line at Starbucks, My Morning Jacket's freaky redefinition of Southern rock made "Circuital" a standout.
Best Rap Album
Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Watch the Throne"
Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter IV"
Lupe Fiasco, "Lasers"
Nicki Minaj, "Pink Friday"
Kanye West, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter IV"
Lupe Fiasco, "Lasers"
Nicki Minaj, "Pink Friday"
Kanye West, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
Who will win: Since Nicki Minaj will probably lose Best New Artist, this could be the Academy's way of recognizing her breakout year.
Who should win: No disrespect to Minaj (we certainly don't want to incur the wrath of Roman Zolanski), but Kanye West has a bona fide opus on his hands, and a Grammy would fit nicely there too.
Best Country Album
Jason Aldean, "My Kinda Party"
Eric Church, "Chief"
Lady Antebellum, "Own the Night"
George Strait, "Here for a Good Time"
Taylor Swift, "Speak Now"
Eric Church, "Chief"
Lady Antebellum, "Own the Night"
George Strait, "Here for a Good Time"
Taylor Swift, "Speak Now"
Who will win: Swift's crossover appeal makes her an obvious choice, but country voters might want to keep it in the family -- and Aldean did have a huge year.
Who should win: Since Taylor Swift is hardly even nominated in the bigger mainstream categories for what was a massive, critically admired album, we'll say she earned this one fair and square. (And yes, we know her trophy case is already full.)
Best Folk Album
The Civil Wars, "Barton Hollow"
Steve Earle, "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"
Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
Eddie Vedder, "Ukulele Songs"
Gillian Welch, "The Harrow & the Harvest"
Steve Earle, "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"
Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
Eddie Vedder, "Ukulele Songs"
Gillian Welch, "The Harrow & the Harvest"
Who will win: Snubbed in the Best New Artist category, industry favorites the Civil Wars are primed to get their due in this apples-and-oranges bunch.
Who should win: Fleet Foxes are actually dark horses here, but the otherworldly beauty of the band's sophomore album definitely deserves its own spotlight.
comment: Well I think that is good to win a grammy. I hope someone good with alent should win it.
comment:
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