Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/334577176?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, October 20, 2013
Bomb kills 12 as war-related deaths near 500,000 in Iraq
Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - A bomb ripped through a crowd of worshippers at a Sunni mosque in Iraq, killing 12 people as a study put the death toll in the war-torn country at nearly half a million since the US-led 2003 invasion.
Three children, a policeman and an army officer were among the dead from the blast in the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, which also wounded 26 people, police and a doctor said.
The bomb exploded as worshippers left the mosque after marking the start of the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday.
Bodies, their clothes covered in blood, were placed in the back of a police pickup truck to be taken away, an AFP journalist reported.
Angry and grieving people railed against those behind the attack, shouting: "God take revenge on those who are evil!"
Worshipper Khalaf al-Obaidi said he narrowly avoided being caught the blast after he went to greet one of his brothers inside the mosque instead of leaving.
"You look and you see your friend or your brother or your relatives (on the ground). Even an infidel would not do this," he said. "God willing, there will be security and safety for this country and its poor people."
Hours after the fatal blast, a study by university researchers the US, Canada and Baghdad said that nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion a decade ago.
That figure is far higher than the nearly 115,000 violent civilian deaths reported by the British-based group Iraq Body Count, which bases its tally on media reports, hospital and morgue records, and official and non-governmental accounts.
The new study, published in the US and conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, covers not only violent deaths but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.
It differs from some previous counts by spanning a longer period of time and by using randomised surveys of households across Iraq to project a nationwide death toll from 2003 to mid-2011.
Violence caused most of the deaths, but about a third were indirectly linked to the war, and these deaths have been left out of previous counts, said lead author Amy Hagopian, a public health researcher at the University of Washington.
Those included situations when a pregnant woman encountered difficult labour but could not leave the house due to fighting, or when a person drank contaminated water, or when a patient could not get treated at a hospital because staff was overwhelmed with war casualties.
"I think it is important that people understand the consequences of launching wars on public health, on how people live. This country is forever changed," Hagopian told AFP.
Eid al-Adha, which commemorates the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) to sacrifice his son at God's command, is the biggest Muslim holiday of the year.
In Iraq, as around the Islamic world, people mark the holiday by slaughtering an animal, normally a sheep, and giving the meat to the poor.
As with various other religious occasions in Iraq, observance differs between Sunnis and Shiites.
"We ask God to keep the ghost of sectarian strife... and civil war, on which those who sold their soul to the devil are insisting, away from our country," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in pre-recorded remarks broadcast on Tuesday.
Other attacks in Kirkuk, Nineveh and Baghdad provinces on Tuesday killed three people and wounded three more, officials said.
Almost nothing is safe from attack by militants in Iraq, and violence has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.
Secure targets such as prisons have been struck in recent months, along with cafés, markets, mosques, football fields, weddings and funerals.
Attacks on both Sunni and Shiite gatherings have raised fears of a relapse into the intense sectarian bloodshed that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007.
Analysts say the Shiite-led government's failure to address the grievances of Iraq's Sunni Arab minority -- which complains of being excluded from government jobs and senior posts and of abuses by security forces -- has driven the surge in unrest.
Violence worsened sharply after security forces stormed a Sunni anti-government protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23, sparking clashes in which dozens died.
And while the authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating anti-government protesters and Sunnis in general, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, underlying issues remain unaddressed.
The government has enacted new security measures, stepped up executions and carried out wide-ranging operations against militants for more than two months, but has so far failed to curb the violence.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-targeting-worshippers-kills-11-iraq-070823320.html
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Aretha: Side effects 'were rough,' glad to work
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Aretha Franklin says "the side effects were rough" from her treatment for an undisclosed condition.
The 71-year-old singer sat at a piano Wednesday inside a Westin hotel in the Detroit suburb of Southfield. She sang Etta James' "At Last" and told reporters she's "glad to be back in it" — a reference to her music.
The Detroit News (http://bit.ly/18mUgFb ) reports she's starting on a new album with producers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Don Was.
Franklin says she and Edmonds were supposed to team up in July, but couldn't because of her medical treatments. She says it was music executive Clive Davis who suggested she collaborate with Was, known for his work with the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson.
Franklin canceled several concerts earlier this year for health reasons.
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Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/aretha-side-effects-were-rough-glad-010326745.html
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Booker's campaign path bumpier than anticipated
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Cory Booker's path to Wednesday's U.S. Senate election has been bumpier than anticipated.
Even Republicans had expected Booker, a Democrat in a Democratic-leaning state, to cruise to victory by a wide margin over little-known Republican Steve Lonegan in the special election to replace former Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June.
While Booker holds a double-digit lead in most polls, the charismatic Newark mayor has faced sustained Republican criticism that has exposed vulnerabilities that could hamper him should he seek even higher office someday.
Lonegan has hammered Booker on Newark's economic troubles, tax increases, and violent crime. The GOP also has assailed him over a 2008 statement that a drug dealer he called a friend was actually an "archetype"; his G-rated Twitter exchanges with a Portland, Ore., stripper; his out-of-state fundraising trips; and a Washington Post interview where Booker, who talks about past girlfriends but prefers to keep his personal life private, said he "loves" when people on Twitter say that he is gay and asked, "so what does it matter if I am?"
After weeks of mostly ignoring Lonegan, the sustained assault has gotten Booker's attention.
He has aggressively hit back in the past several weeks, castigating Lonegan seemingly at every turn, using the brass-knuckled political skills he learned in the rough-and-tumble world of Newark politics.
"Sending him to Washington would be like pouring gasoline on a fire," Booker said, calling Lonegan a member of the "tea party fringe" that "hijacked" the government and caused a shutdown.
In a debate last week, Booker said the former mayor of Bogota, a small borough in Bergen County, "ran his city into a ditch" and asked for a state bailout. He painted Lonegan as an extremist, and said sending another Republican who supports the government shutdown to Washington would hurt the country.
Before deciding to return heavy fire, Booker had focused more on policy differences with Lonegan on issues like child poverty and criminal justice reforms, painting himself as a political uniter, while promoting Newark's growth. He told Lonegan to "bring on your wrecking ball" after the primary, but almost immediately shifted toward highlighting policy differences, fundraising and disregarding attacks. Booker largely avoided local media interviews, but held regular "run with Cory" events, where a group of supporters jogged a mile with the mayor.
For most of the campaign, Lonegan has gotten little help from Republicans outside the state, save for endorsements from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, both tea party favorites. The Senate Republican campaign arm hasn't sent any staffers into New Jersey — a standard practice in competitive races — and hasn't spent money on radio or television ads.
Booker had raised $11.2 million for his campaign through early October, compared to Lonegan's $1.4 million, according to campaign finance reports reviewed by the Newark Star-Ledger.
In an 11th hour push for Lonegan, tea party leaders have begun coordinating phone banks and a get-out-the-vote effort. The nation's largest tea party political action committee — the Tea Party Express — brought former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in to campaign for the GOP nominee last weekend.
Tea party supporters dream of another surprise upset like Republican Scott Brown's unexpected victory in Democratic-leaning Massachusetts in a 2010 special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Democrats in Washington mostly stayed out of the race until the final week. President Barack Obama released a video Monday urging voters to cast ballots for Booker and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stumped with Booker on Sunday. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a longtime Booker supporter, spent $1 million on a television ad for Booker.
Booker campaign officials say they expected all along that the race would tighten, because no New Jersey Democrat running statewide has won with more than 60 percent of the vote in a generation. But they say they're confident that the double digit lead in the polls will be borne out on Election Day.
"We knew there would be a narrowing," Booker said in an interview with The Associated Press, "and so far the election has gone for us exactly according to plan."
Still, Republicans in Washington say they're pleased that Booker has had to work harder than anyone imagined. They're privately cheering the tea party's involvement.
And they suggest that Booker is making mistakes that could come back to haunt him as he eyes his political future. Some Democrats have mused about the possibility that Booker — a gifted public speaker who is young at age 44 — could make an attractive vice presidential candidate in 2016.
There's little doubt that Booker has national aspirations. He's spent a chunk of his mayoral tenure traveling the country, meeting with big Democratic donors and raising money in places like Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Hollywood star Matt Damon helped organize one Booker fundraiser in California.
Booker advisers suggest that the aggressive fundraising schedule has dual benefits, generating resources quickly for the special election, while giving Booker a head start for his next election. If he wins on Wednesday, he'll have to defend his seat next November.
Lonegan, however, says his campaign is "cresting."
"It's not a longshot," he told the AP. "We're going to win on Wednesday."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bookers-campaign-path-bumpier-anticipated-194246715--election.html
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Saturday, October 19, 2013
Camille Grammer Battles Endometrial Cancer with Hysterectomy
She’s one of the hottest ladies on reality television, and thankfully Camille Grammer is on the mend after battling endometrial cancer.
According to the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” babe’s spokesperson, she elected to have a radical hysterectomy after learning that she was in the early stages of the disease.
The rep told Us Weekly, “Camille underwent a radical hysterectomy. The surgery went very well and she is expected to make a complete recovery following a significant recuperation period.”
“She was at elevated risk due to genetic issues and has been diligent about regular check-ups and monitoring which explains the early detection and rapid treatment. Camille expresses gratitude to all the amazing health care professionals who have taken such loving and nurturing care of her. She urges all women to be aware of genetic factors relating to women's cancers and get regular check-ups."
Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/camille-grammer/camille-grammer-battles-endometrial-cancer-hysterectomy-942293
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Panasonic’s New Mirrorless Camera Is Smaller Than Many Point-and-Shoots
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Banks Ease Purse Strings On Luxury Home Loans
For the first time in decades, interest rates for jumbo home loans are lower than rates for a typical mortgage. And because of that, the luxury market is the fastest growing sector of home loans. In Phoenix, sales of homes that cost more than $500,000 are up 64 percent.
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