Top Ten: Important Events In 2011
1) Osama bin Laden is killed (May 1st)
Key details:
- Al-Qaida leader killed in operation led by Navy SEALs, CIA forces
- DNA evidence: 99.9 certain it was bin Laden
- His compound was located close to Pakistan army base
- President Obama says 'justice has been done'
- Former President Bush hails 'momentous achievement'
Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was slain Sunday in his luxury hideout in Pakistan in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.
"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama declared late Sunday as crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate. Many sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Are the Champions."
Hundreds more waved American flags at ground zero in New York — where the twin towers that once stood as symbols of American economic power were brought down by bin Laden's hijackers 10 years ago.
Bin Laden, 54, was killed after a gunbattle with Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitary forces at a compound in the city of Abbottabad. He was shot in the left eye, NBC News' Savannah Guthrie reported citing an unnamed U.S. official.
In a background briefing with journalists, U.S. officials suggested that Bin Laden opened fire on the American forces before he was killed.
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Pope John Paul II moves step closer to sainthood as he is beatified in Rome
Pope Benedict XVI has beatified Pope John Paul II before several hundred thousand people packed into St Peter's Square and surrounding streets, moving his predecessor one step closer to sainthood.
"From now on Pope John Paul shall be called 'blessed'," Benedict proclaimed in Latin, establishing that the late pontiff's feast day would be 22 October– the day of his inauguration in 1978.
Waving national flags and singing, the faithful momentarily banished the scandals and controversies that have rocked Catholicism since John Paul's death to celebrate an inspirational figure who, for many, was their church's greatest modern leader.
The red and white flag of his native Poland predominated but the crowd included Roman Catholics from as far away as Australia.
Some had camped out in the area around St Peter's, others had spent the night in prayer and contemplation of the life of works of the late pope.
Alessandra Verdura, 18, from Northamptonshire, was among 200,000 people who joined a vigil in the Circus Maximus.
At 4am, she and her father were to pray in one of eight churches in Rome staying open all night for the occasion.
"He has gone," said the Anglia Ruskin University student who was only 12 when he died. "But still people feel he is with them, and that shows how much of a great pope he was."
Representatives of five royal houses, including the Duke of Gloucester, were expected for the occasion. So too were at least six heads of government and 16 heads of state, including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who flew into Rome on Saturday.
As part of an elaborate security operation, the area around St Peter's Square had been cordoned off for more than 16 hours before the first pilgrims were given access early on Sunday morning.
Beatification is the last step on the road to sainthood, though not all those who are beatified are finally canonised. Before conferring the title of "blessed", the Roman Catholic church requires evidence of at least one miracle.
John Paul, who died in 2005, is deemed to have interceded with God to bring about the inexplicable cure of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, who was dying of Parkinson's disease, the same illness that took his own life.
On Saturday, Simon-Pierre was among the speakers in the Circus Maximus, where images of John Paul were shown on giant screens and against a background of sacred music.
The crowd also heard eulogies of the late pontiff from his former secretary Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and press officer, Joaquin Navarro-Valls.
The charismatic John Paul is widely credited with having hastened the collapse of communism in Europe but is also controversial.
Some in his church have questioned the speed with which he has been fast-tracked toward sainthood.
John Paul is accused by victims' groups of having turned a blind eye to sex abuse by his clergymen.
Some traditionalists believe he made unacceptable compromises with other religions and many progressives argue he fatally weakened the innovative legacy of the Second Vatican council.
3) Royal Wedding (April 29th)
3:43 p.m. EDT - Grace Kelly seen as an inspiration for Kate Middleton's gown
Before her wedding to Prince William, Kate Middleton was said to have admired the wedding gown worn by film actress Grace Kelly when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco in April of 1956.
3.31 p.m. EDT - Kate Middleton said her royal wedding to Prince William was a "great day"
"I'm glad the weather held off," the bride said upon leaving for Buckingham Palace, according to the UK's Press Association. "We had a great day."
2.:56 p.m. EDT - Prince William and Kate Middleton are back at Buckingham Palace
Britain's new royal couple have returned to Buckingham Palace for the evening reception. Kate Middleton is reportedly not wearing the same lace Alexander McQueen dress she was married in. She is said to be wearing a different white dress, also to have been designed by McQueen creative director Sarah Burton.
2:32 p.m. EDT - Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, head back to Buckingham Palace
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have left Clarence House for the evening dinner reception at Buckingham Palace. Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected in the car after them.
1:49 p.m. EDT - The Queen to miss out on Prince Harry's best man speech
Queen Elizabeth II, who departed for a private weekend with her husband, Prince Philip, will also skip out on Michael Middleton's father-of-the-bride address.
11:31 a.m. EDT - Prime Minister David Cameron calls royal wedding "incredibly romantic"
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's wedding was "incredibly romantic" and "very much like a fairy tale," according to BBC News.
11:13 a.m. Queen Elizabeth II departs Buckingham Palace
BBC News reports that Queen Elizabeth II has left Buckingham Palace following her post-wedding luncheon and is "being flown off for a private weekend in the U.K.
11:01 a.m. EDT - Royal couple arrives at Clarence House
Prince William and Catherine Middleton have arrived at Clarence House for what the palace calls "a period of reflection." They'll be back at Buckingham Palace at 2 p.m. EDT (that's 7 p.m., London time) for a more intimate evening celebration, hosted by Prince Charles, for about 300 guests.
10:38 a.m. EDT - Prince William and Kate Middleton depart Buckingham Palace for Clarence House
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left Buckingham Palace in a blue Aston Martin convertible with "JU5T WED" on the license plate. The prince is driving, with his bride in the passenger seat.
9:55 a.m. EDT - Celebrations continue at Buckingham Palace luncheon
Queen Elizabeth II is hosting a luncheon for around 650 guests from this morning's wedding congregation. Guests will be served canapes, champagne, wedding cake and a chocolate biscuit cake specially requested by Prince William.
8:30 a.m. EDT - Flypast goes over Buckingham Palace
8:27 a.m. EDT - The royal couple kiss
The pair share a brief kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony as crowds cheer below. A second, equally short kiss followed a minute later.
8:26 a.m. EDT - Prince William and Catherine step out on the balcony
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge step out on the Buckingham Palace balcony, along with the Queen and their wedding party, to greet the crowds.
8:15 a.m. EDT - Crowds gather at Buckingham Palace
Crowds are gathering outside the palace to catch a glimpse of the newly-married Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will soon emerge onto the balcony to greet the crowds and share a kiss.
7:59 a.m. EDT - Queen says wedding was "amazing"
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4) President Obama releases his long form birth certificate proving he was born in the U.S. (April 27th)
President Obama Releases Birth Certificate to End Birther 'Silliness'
The White House released copies of President Obama's original birth certificate today to try to put to rest conspiracy theories surrounding the circumstances of his birth and eligibility for office.
The extraordinary move, more than two years into the Obama presidency, followed weeks of mounting frustration inside the White House over what Obama described as a "distraction" and a "sideshow" that was drawing attention away from more pressing issues.
"We've got some enormous challenges out there," the president told reporters at the White House. "There are a lot of folks out there who are still looking for work. Everybody is still suffering under high gas prices. We're going to have to make a series of very difficult decisions about how we invest in our future but also get a hold of our deficit and our debt."
But, he said, the American people are not going to be able to rise to these challenges "if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers."
Later Wednesday, in Chicago, during a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show, the President was in a more jovial mood, joking with Oprah about the "birther" controversy that he hopes today's release will finally "put to rest."
"Can I just say --I was there, so I knew that -- I knew I had been born. I remembered it," Obama said.
"He was born here," First Lady Michelle Obama, sitting by her husband's side for the interview interjected.
Among the documents distributed by White House Counsel Bob Bauer are the president's "long form" birth certificate and correspondence between Bauer and the state of Hawaii, where the president was born.
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5)Tornadoes in the South (April)Tornadoes and Storms Tear Through South; at Least 292 Dead
Tornadoes and Storms Tear Through South; at Least 292 Dead
The death toll approached 300 tonight from the tornadoes and thunderstorms that tore through the South Wednesday night and early today.
NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, estimated there were 173 tornadoes Wednesday, a new record for a single storm system in modern times.
President Obama called the loss of life "heartbreaking," and promised those affected by the storms the full support of the federal government.
"We can't control when or where a terrible storm may strike, but we can control how we respond to it," Obama said during a press conference today at the White House. "I want every American that's been affected by this disaster to know the federal government will do everything we can to help you recover and we will stand with you as you rebuild."
The twisters rampaged through cities like Tuscaloosa, Ala., forced a pair of nuclear plants to go off line, left thousands homeless and more than a million people without power.
NOAA said it was the worst tornado outbreak since 1974, when storms killed 315 people. The deadliest tornado outbreak on record was on March 18, 1925, when 695 people died.
"In a matter of hours, these deadly tornadoes ... took mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, even entire communities," Obama said.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal toured the tornado area this morning and said, "It's hard to imagine nature can be this devastating."
The governor said it was a remarkably wide swath of twisters and noted there were multiple tornadoes in some areas.
The majority of the deaths reported so far have been in Alabama, where at least 195 people were killed. Mississippi recorded 32 fatalities, Tennessee had 33, Georgia at least 10, and Virginia had eight.
Hundreds more were injured. Of the 134 patients brought to the University of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, 40 were major trauma injuries, the hospital said.
Loring Rue, M.D., chief of trauma surgery at UAB Hospital, said 134 patients came through the E.R.; 40 were major trauma injuries and 23 were admitted to intensive care units. In addition,10 surgical procedures were performed.
"The injuries were remarkable," Rue said, adding that people who were in the comfort of their homes when the tornado struck were brought in with injuries doctors normally see in high-speed motor-vehicle accidents
Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the area can expect mild weather for the next few days but he could not predict whether more killer tornadoes were on their way.
"May is usually the most active tornado month," Carbin said. "Will it maintain the activity of April? We just cannot say."
President Obama called Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley to express condolences over the deaths in his state and the White House announced that the president will stop in Alabama Friday to tour the wreckage while on his way to Cape Canaveral for the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.
Possibly the hardest-hit area was Tuscaloosa, where at least 32 people died. Early estimates indicated that the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa could have been on the ground for 176 miles, with winds between 167 and 200 mph.
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Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan
TOKYO — Rescuers struggled to reach survivors on Saturday morning as Japan reeled after an earthquake and a tsunami struck in deadly tandem. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake set off a devastating tsunami that sent walls of water washing over coastal cities in the north. Concerns mounted over possible radiation leaks from two nuclear plants near the earthquake zone.
The death toll from the tsunami and earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, was in the hundreds, but Japanese news media quoted government officials as saying that it would almost certainly rise to more than 1,000. About 200 to 300 bodies were found along the waterline in Sendai, a port city in northeastern Japan and the closest major city to the epicenter.
Thousands of homes were destroyed, many roads were impassable, trains and buses were not running, and power and cellphones remained down. On Saturday morning, the JR rail company said that there were three trains missing in parts of two northern prefectures.
While the loss of life and property may yet be considerable, many lives were certainly saved by Japan’s extensive disaster preparedness and strict construction codes. Japan’s economy was spared a more devastating blow because the earthquake hit far from its industrial heartland.
Japanese officials on Saturday issued broad evacuation orders for people living in the vicinity of two separate nuclear power plants that had experienced breakdowns in their cooling systems as a result of the earthquake, and they warned that small amounts of radiation could leak from both plants.
On Friday, at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time, the quake struck. First came the roar and rumble of the temblor, shaking skyscrapers, toppling furniture and buckling highways. Then waves as high as 30 feet rushed onto shore, whisking away cars and carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields and highways.
By Saturday morning, Japan was filled with scenes of desperation, as stranded survivors called for help and rescuers searched for people buried in the rubble. Kazushige Itabashi, an official in Natori City, one of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami, said several districts in an area near Sendai’s airport were annihilated.
Rescuers found 870 people in one elementary school on Saturday morning and were trying to reach 1,200 people in the junior high school, closer to the water. There was no electricity and no water for people in shelters. According to a newspaper, the Mainichi Shimbun, about 600 people were on the roof of a public grade school, in Sendai City. By Saturday morning, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and firefighters had evacuated about 150 of them.
On the rooftop of Chuo Hospital in the city of Iwanuma, doctors and nurses were waving white flags and pink umbrellas, according to TV Asahi. On the floor of the roof, they wrote “Help” in English, and “Food” in Japanese. The reporter, observing the scene from a helicopter, said, “If anyone in the City Hall office is watching, please help them.”
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Resigns From Office Amid Public Protests
You Say You Want a Revolution
History insists that we put aside the frivolous pop culture news of the day for a moment to focus on an important moment in World History. For the better part of 2 weeks, the people of Egypt have been pressing for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak (in office for 30 years!) and despite his obvious reluctance to leave office, Mubarak finally succumbed to the will of the people and has today formally resigned from office. Vice President Omar Suleiman released a statement to the people of Egypt (and to the world) that former president Mubarak is NO LONGER in power. The will of the Egyptian people has won out in this revolution and, for the most part, peacefully ousted their unwanted dictator.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt turned over all power to the military, and left the Egyptian capital for his resort home in Sharm el-Sheik, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced on state television on Friday. The announcement, delivered during evening prayers in Cairo, set off a frenzy of celebration, with protesters shouting “Egypt is free!” The Egyptian military issued a communiqué pledging to carry out a variety of constitutional reforms in a statement notable for its commanding tone. The military’s statement alluded to the delegation of power to Mr. Suleiman and it suggested that the military would supervise implementation of the reforms.
Here is the full text of Vice President Suleiman‘s statement formally announcing Mubarak‘s resignation:
In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody.
This is History in the making … today is a day that will live forever in history books. The people of Egypt have overthrown their dictator. Yes, there has been much death in this Egyptian revolution but compared to other far more bloody revolutions (including our own American Revolution), I think it’s safe to say that the people of Egypt were able to peacefully enforce their will on their government leaders in order to be free of their dictatorship. The road ahead for Egypt will not be an easy one … surely there will be a struggle for power … but it is my hope that Egypt’s future will be a bright, Democratic one where the will of the people is paramount over everything. Let’s send our best wishes and all our love to the people of Egypt as they embark on an uncertain future … one that will hopefully turn out peaceful and FREE.
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Oil Soars as Libyan Furor Shakes Markets
HOUSTON — The political turmoil sweeping the Arab world drove oil prices sharply higher and stocks much lower on Tuesday despite efforts by Saudi Arabia to calm turbulent markets.
The unrest that has spread from Tunisia to Libya pushed oil prices to a two-year high and has spurred an increase in gasoline prices. The specter of rising energy costs and accelerating inflation in turn unsettled investors.
Oil is now at a price not seen since the recession began, and it is more than $20 above goals set in recent months by Saudi officials as strong enough to satisfy the top producers but not so strong they might suffocate the global economic recovery.
Although there are still plentiful supplies of oil and gasoline in the United States and in much of the world, American consumers are now paying an average of $3.17 a gallon for regular gasoline, a steep rise of 6 cents a gallon over the last week, according to the AAA daily fuel gauge report. With consumers paying roughly 50 cents more a gallon than a year ago, analysts are warning that prices could easily top $3.50 by the summer driving season.
“Higher energy prices act like a tax on consumers, reducing the amount of discretionary purchasing power that they have,” said Lawrence R. Creatura, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. “It represents an additional, potential headwind for retailers.”
Those concerns helped send the Dow Jones industrial average down 178.46 points, or 1.44 percent, to 12,212.79. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined 27.57 points, or 2.05 percent, to 1,315.44, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 77.53 points, or 2.74 percent, to 2,756.42. Markets in Asia and Europe were also lower. Treasury prices rose in the United States.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister sought to reassure the markets on Tuesday, saying that OPEC was ready to pump more oil to compensate for any decline. At least 50,000 barrels a day of output has already been halted in Libya. That is only a fraction of the country’s production, but with foreign oil companies beginning to shut down operations and evacuate workers and with local ports closing, more output could be lost.
“OPEC is ready to meet any shortage in supply when it happens,” the Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said at a news conference after a meeting of ministers of oil producing and consuming nations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “There is concern and fear, but there is no shortage.”
Europe appears most immediately vulnerable to the strife in Libya, which produces almost 2 percent of the world’s oil. More than 85 percent of its exports go to Europe; more than a third goes to Italy alone. Libya sends only a small fraction of its oil to the United States, but because oil is a world commodity, Americans are not immune to the price shock waves.
In New York, crude oil for March delivery gained $7.37, or 8.6 percent, to $93.57 a barrel, while oil for April delivery rose 6.4 percent, to $95.42 a barrel. Brent crude, a European benchmark traded in London, rose 4 cents, to $105.78. Refineries on the East and West Coasts also depend on Brent crude, meaning that the higher prices paid by Europeans are also pushing up gasoline and heating oil prices paid by many New Yorkers, New Englanders and other Americans.
Tom Kloza, the chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, estimated that the Saudis could pump an additional 1 million to 1.5 million barrels in a matter of days. As the largest producer, Saudi Arabia is by far the most influential member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with a reserve capacity to deliver an additional four million to five million barrels to the world markets after several weeks of preparation. That is more than twice the oil that world markets would lose if production were halted completely by unrest in Libya.
“Unless this unrest spreads to the streets of Jeddah and Riyadh,” Mr. Kloza said, “I think it’s a very manageable situation and prices are closer to cresting than they are to exploding higher.”
While Libya has been the immediate cause for the spike in oil prices recently, oil experts said traders were driving up prices because of concerns that a long period of instability in the Middle East was just beginning. They identified the protests in Bahrain in particular as a disturbing sign that neighboring Saudi Arabia might not be immune to the spreading political contagion.
Bahrain produces little oil, but it is connected to the oil-rich eastern region of Saudi Arabia by a 15-mile causeway. The island nation has a majority Shiite population with cultural and religious ties to the Saudi Shiite minority that lives close to some of the richest Saudi oil fields.
Saudi rulers have long feared that its regional rival, Iran, could try to destabilize Bahrain as a way to cause trouble for the Saudi royal family. Iran’s intentions became all the more worrisome to the Saudis when it decided this month to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in more than 30 years.
“No one knows where this ends,” said Helima L. Croft, a director and senior geopolitical strategist at Barclays Capital. “A couple of weeks ago it was Tunisia and Egypt, and it was thought this can be contained to North Africa and the resource-poor Middle East countries. But now with protests in Bahrain, that’s the heart of the gulf, and it’s adding to anxieties.”
Middle Eastern oil fields are generally well defended and far from population centers, but energy analysts say the continuing turbulence potentially threatens supply lines and foreign investment that producers like Libya and Algeria depend on to increase production.
World oil prices started rising sharply when demonstrators overwhelmed downtown Cairo earlier in the month because of concerns that unrest could block the Suez Canal and Sumed pipeline through which three million barrels of crude pass daily. Labor unrest continues to roil the canal, though shipments have continued without incident.
Unrest in Yemen potentially threatens the 18-mile-wide Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping lane between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East that serves as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean through which nearly four million barrels of oil pass daily. Security for tanker traffic in the area became a concern after terrorists attacked a French tanker off the coast of Yemen in 2002.
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9) Egyptian protests/revolution (February)Tahrir Square protesters defy army to keep Egypt's revolution alive
Focus now on push for a civilian-led interim government and removal of emergency laws that permit detention without trial
This time they asked Amr Shalkami nicely. But still he refused to go.
Shalkami has not left Cairo's Tahrir Square in the nearly three weeks since the beginning of the popular revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak on Friday.
He withstood an assault by police officers, beating and shooting as they tried to drive the protesters out. And he survived an attack by pro-Mubarak thugs on camels. On Sunday it was the army's turn to try to force him home.
The soldiers politely urged the pharmacist to pack up his things and go. The revolution was won, they said. There was nothing left to protest about. The new ruling military council had promised there would be democracy. Egypt must return to normal. Time to leave Tahrir Square.
Shalkami was having none of it.
"The rest of the revolution is not complete. Since the beginning of the revolution we have trusted our army but if we leave the square our revolution will die. We must keep the revolution alive so that we get the 100% freedom we are asking for," he said.
Shalkami is among a few hundred protesters who have remained in Tahrir Square to keep pressure on the military to meet the demands of the demonstrators, which went beyond Mubarak's removal.
The army has promised free elections in a few months and said it will lift the hated state of emergency when the security situation allows. It has also dismissed the widely discredited parliament elected last year in a tainted ballot.
For most Egyptians that would appear to be enough. But Shalkami is among those continuing to press for the installation of a civilian-led interim government and the immediate lifting of the emergency laws, which permit detention without trial. Instead the army has said a military council will rule by decree.
As troops moved in to Tahrir Square shortly after dawn, some of the protesters quietly packed up their belongings or helped with the cleanup. Others began chanting: "We're not leaving, we're not leaving."
Soldiers tore down the tents and the plastic makeshift shelters that hundreds of demonstrators have been living in for nearly three weeks. A hard core of activists stood their ground and chanted "peacefully, peacefully" as the military police tried to disperse them. The soldiers lashed out with sticks.
One of the remaining protesters, Adel el-Ghendy, a 54-year-old building contractor, said the soldiers had torn his shelter down but he would stay and sleep in the open.
"The soldiers told us to go. They removed our tents but we will stay. We want another government. We need civilian government. They want to steal our revolution," he said.
After the army tried to force the demonstrators out of the square, a call went out over loudspeakers and via text message and social media for people to return and make a stand. By the afternoon, a 1,000 or more had arrived. They were confronted by small groups of counter-demonstrators who told the protesters to accept the military's assurances and leave.
The demonstrators said about 30 were arrested and taken to a military compound at the nearby Egyptian museum where detained protesters have previously been beaten and interrogated.
All around Tahrir Square, life was getting back to normal. Banks, schools and colleges opened. Traffic was flowing again, although it ground to a halt on the main roundabout when the demonstrators launched a sit-down protest in front of the military police.
Then word came that the much-hated civil police were demonstrating outside the interior ministry for a pay rise, an unthinkable act of defiance just a few weeks ago.
Many Egyptians are prepared to take the army's word that it is committed to free elections. Some opposition leaders say the protest genie is out of the bottle and the military will not dare go against the will of the people.
But just to remind the army, a victory celebration is planned for Tahrir Square on Friday at which organisers of the protests plan to announce a "council of trustees" to – as Ronald Reagan put it in negotiating nuclear missile treaties with the Soviets – trust but verify.
Nothing Egypt's military council has done in its past suggests it has the capacity or inclination to introduce speedy and radical change. Guaranteed its $1.3bn annual grant from the US – a dividend from the Camp David peace accord with Israel – it has gained a reputation as a hidebound institution with little appetite for reform.
The frustration of the military's US benefactors shines through in leaked embassy cables, in which the criticism is focused mostly on the man at the top, 75-year-old Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi. A March 2008 cable described Tantawi as "aged and change-resistant".
It said: "Charming and courtly, he is nonetheless mired in a post-Camp David military paradigm that has served his cohort's narrow interests for the last three decades. He and Mubarak are focused on regime stability and maintaining the status quo through the end of their time. They simply do not have the energy, inclination or world view to do anything differently."
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10) Attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords (January 8th)
Gabrielle Giffords Shot: Congresswoman Shot In Arizona
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing six people and wounding 13 others.
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The assassination attempt left Giffords in critical condition -- the bullet went straight through her brain -- but the hospital said her outlook was "optimistic" and that she was responding to commands from doctors. The hospital said a 9-year-old child was among the killed, and a U.S. Marshal said a federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack.
Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said three Giffords staffers were shot in the attack. One died, and the other two are expected to survive. Gabe Zimmerman, a former social worker who served as Giffords' director of community outreach, died.
Giffords, 40, is a moderate Democrat who narrowly won re-election in November against a tea party candidate who sought to throw her from office over her support of the health care law. Anger over her position became violent at times, with her Tucson office vandalized after the House passed the overhaul last March and someone showing up at a recent gathering with a weapon.
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How Gadhafi's death will affect Libya's civil war
Muammar Gadhafi was not the leader of all fighters battling against Libya's new regime, says CNN's Ben Wedeman.
The death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed Thursday in his hometown of Sirte, Libya, is "an important step" for Libya, but don't expect the fighting to end right away, said CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman. Wedeman, the first Western television reporter to enter and report from inside Libya during the war, talked about how Gadhafi's life ended and what his death means for Libya's future and the civil war.Q: There are reports that Gadhafi was hiding in a hole, possibly a sewer or drainage ditch, like former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before he was captured. It doesn't seem like Gadhafi's M.O. What do you make of this?
The World's Biggest Problems
The World’s Biggest Problems portal has a simple, clear mission: educating people all around the world about the biggest problems facing humanity. These problems have two criteria, they must be global in scope, and have the potential to rapidly escalate into severe crises.
* Economic Collapse : Fragilities in the current global economy could tip the developed world into conditions not seen since the 1920s.
* Peak Oil : Petroleum has powered the modern world for almost 100 years; today, many industry insiders say that we may be reaching a permanent peak in oil production.
* Global Water Crisis : Over the last 50 years the human population has nearly tripled, while industrial pollution, unsustainable agriculture, and poor civic planning have decreased the overall water supply.
* Species Extinction : Certain species that human beings depend upon for our food supply are going extinct; if their numbers fall too low we may face extinction ourselves.
* Rapid Climate Change : While the debate rages on about the causes of climate change, global warming is an empirical fact. The problem is both a curse and blessing, in that people from different cultures will either have to work together or face mutual destruction.
WBP fulfills its role in several ways:
* Content Aggregation : WBP utilizes the collective intelligence of its users by allowing them to independantly add content, ensuring that only the most relevant and timely information is pulled to the site.
* Sophisticated Filtration : The WBP tagging system filters and sorts information in a way that is natural and intuitive. It allows for users to filter content not only by problem, but also by specific issues within or between problems.
* Provides Objectivity : In a world where zero sum advocacy is the norm, WBP offers overviews of all the problems that seek to inform, not persuade, the reader.
* Gives its Users a Voice: All WBP users can post a personal blog on the site, giving them the ability to share their views with thousands of like minded people from all over the world.
Economic Collapse
The global economy binds together the fate of the international community and all its member nations. It precludes the possibility of a third World War, and exposes individuals all over the world to new ideas, products, and information. Today, the world economy is facing two looming crises.
The U.S., by far the world’s largest and most powerful economy, is completely in debt at the individual, institutional, and governmental levels. The Dollar is at its lowest rate in years, and the fundamental driver of the US economy – the housing market – appears to be coming undone. Well respected investors like Warren Buffet and George Soros, as well as Intellectual Property expert Dr. David Martin, are beginning to warn of a coming economic collapse.
Throughout the developed world, demographic trends that began centuries ago are coming to a point; people are living longer than every before, while having fewer children than at any other point in human history. As the Baby Boomer generation retires, governments with already strained budgets are scrambling to fund the retirement programs they have promised. Most nations find themselves having to choose between raising taxes or cutting benefits, with both options seriously threatening the stability of the modern world…
Peak Oil
Petroleum powers 96% of the transportation on the planet and is the key ingredient in plastics and fertilizers. Its integral role in human civilization cannot be overestimated - without it modern life would be impossible. Over the last century, the global petroleum supply could be counted on to meet demand; today however, the situation appears to be changing.
The developing world - led by China and India - is modernizing at a blistering pace, and their appetite for oil is driving up demand all over the globe. At the same time, production is declining in all but a few countries.
For decades, scientists, government officials, and business leaders have warned of Peak Oil, the point at which global petroleum production reaches its maximum level and begins to drop. While many official sources claim that Peak Oil is decades away, numerous signals suggest that Peak Oil may happen much sooner than that…
Global Water Crisis
Water - the essential ingredient for life on this planet – is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. According to the World Bank and World Health Organization, 2 billion people lack access to clean water and 1 billion people do not have enough to even meet their daily needs.
Every day an increasing amount of pollution seeps into rivers and lakes making them toxic to humans, and underground aquifers – our most significant sources of water – are being depleted at an alarming rate.
By 2050 the number of people on the planet is projected to exceed 9 billion, and if current trends continue more and more useable water will be lost. Making an adequate supply of water available to everyone alive today is a monumental task, and ensuring that there is enough water for all future generations will require an unprecedented level of international cooperation and compassion…
Species Extinction
Modern science has shown that nature is not always “red in tooth and claw”, but rather that cooperation is often the norm. Human beings often act as if we are in direct competition with every other form of life, when in truth our very survival depends on a myriad of species from simple bacteria to complex mammals.
Today, human activities are causing a massive extinction of species, the full implications of which are barely understood. Rising ocean temperatures reduce the ability of plankton to reproduce, thereby undermining the entire oceanic ecosystem. Commercial fishing’s increasing size and scope threaten to empty of the ocean of fish within several decades.
Modern agricultural practices strip the Earth of its thin layer of topsoil through water and wind erosion, destroying this precious micro ecosystem that takes centuries to form and supports all life on land. Furthermore, bee populations are plummeting as a result of mite infestations and a mysterious problem called Colony Collapse Disorder. Over 70% of our food is pollinated by bees; if bee populations fall too far, our food supplies will be seriously threatened. . .
Rapid Climate Change
The global warming debate, despite having vociferous proponents on each side, appears to have been decided. Global warming is very real, and it is the preeminent danger to human civilization today. The rising global temperature threatens to create catastrophic weather systems, crop failures, disease outbreaks, and water shortages worldwide.
Emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are trapping heat within the Earths’ atmosphere, slowly increasing the overall temperature. These emissions are the byproduct of our modern way of life, and to halt them would require a voluntary shift in the very structure of our society, a move unprecedented in human history.
To not take action, however, would be to alter the very chemical composition of our planet. Life on Earth evolved over hundreds of millions of years to survive within very specific conditions, and those conditions are changing...
The World’s Biggest Problems portal has a simple, clear mission: educating people all around the world about the biggest problems facing humanity. These problems have two criteria, they must be global in scope, and have the potential to rapidly escalate into severe crises.
* Economic Collapse : Fragilities in the current global economy could tip the developed world into conditions not seen since the 1920s.
* Peak Oil : Petroleum has powered the modern world for almost 100 years; today, many industry insiders say that we may be reaching a permanent peak in oil production.
* Global Water Crisis : Over the last 50 years the human population has nearly tripled, while industrial pollution, unsustainable agriculture, and poor civic planning have decreased the overall water supply.
* Species Extinction : Certain species that human beings depend upon for our food supply are going extinct; if their numbers fall too low we may face extinction ourselves.
* Rapid Climate Change : While the debate rages on about the causes of climate change, global warming is an empirical fact. The problem is both a curse and blessing, in that people from different cultures will either have to work together or face mutual destruction.
WBP fulfills its role in several ways:
* Content Aggregation : WBP utilizes the collective intelligence of its users by allowing them to independantly add content, ensuring that only the most relevant and timely information is pulled to the site.
* Sophisticated Filtration : The WBP tagging system filters and sorts information in a way that is natural and intuitive. It allows for users to filter content not only by problem, but also by specific issues within or between problems.
* Provides Objectivity : In a world where zero sum advocacy is the norm, WBP offers overviews of all the problems that seek to inform, not persuade, the reader.
* Gives its Users a Voice: All WBP users can post a personal blog on the site, giving them the ability to share their views with thousands of like minded people from all over the world.
Economic Collapse
The global economy binds together the fate of the international community and all its member nations. It precludes the possibility of a third World War, and exposes individuals all over the world to new ideas, products, and information. Today, the world economy is facing two looming crises.
The U.S., by far the world’s largest and most powerful economy, is completely in debt at the individual, institutional, and governmental levels. The Dollar is at its lowest rate in years, and the fundamental driver of the US economy – the housing market – appears to be coming undone. Well respected investors like Warren Buffet and George Soros, as well as Intellectual Property expert Dr. David Martin, are beginning to warn of a coming economic collapse.
Throughout the developed world, demographic trends that began centuries ago are coming to a point; people are living longer than every before, while having fewer children than at any other point in human history. As the Baby Boomer generation retires, governments with already strained budgets are scrambling to fund the retirement programs they have promised. Most nations find themselves having to choose between raising taxes or cutting benefits, with both options seriously threatening the stability of the modern world…
Peak Oil
Petroleum powers 96% of the transportation on the planet and is the key ingredient in plastics and fertilizers. Its integral role in human civilization cannot be overestimated - without it modern life would be impossible. Over the last century, the global petroleum supply could be counted on to meet demand; today however, the situation appears to be changing.
The developing world - led by China and India - is modernizing at a blistering pace, and their appetite for oil is driving up demand all over the globe. At the same time, production is declining in all but a few countries.
For decades, scientists, government officials, and business leaders have warned of Peak Oil, the point at which global petroleum production reaches its maximum level and begins to drop. While many official sources claim that Peak Oil is decades away, numerous signals suggest that Peak Oil may happen much sooner than that…
Global Water Crisis
Water - the essential ingredient for life on this planet – is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. According to the World Bank and World Health Organization, 2 billion people lack access to clean water and 1 billion people do not have enough to even meet their daily needs.
Every day an increasing amount of pollution seeps into rivers and lakes making them toxic to humans, and underground aquifers – our most significant sources of water – are being depleted at an alarming rate.
By 2050 the number of people on the planet is projected to exceed 9 billion, and if current trends continue more and more useable water will be lost. Making an adequate supply of water available to everyone alive today is a monumental task, and ensuring that there is enough water for all future generations will require an unprecedented level of international cooperation and compassion…
Species Extinction
Modern science has shown that nature is not always “red in tooth and claw”, but rather that cooperation is often the norm. Human beings often act as if we are in direct competition with every other form of life, when in truth our very survival depends on a myriad of species from simple bacteria to complex mammals.
Today, human activities are causing a massive extinction of species, the full implications of which are barely understood. Rising ocean temperatures reduce the ability of plankton to reproduce, thereby undermining the entire oceanic ecosystem. Commercial fishing’s increasing size and scope threaten to empty of the ocean of fish within several decades.
Modern agricultural practices strip the Earth of its thin layer of topsoil through water and wind erosion, destroying this precious micro ecosystem that takes centuries to form and supports all life on land. Furthermore, bee populations are plummeting as a result of mite infestations and a mysterious problem called Colony Collapse Disorder. Over 70% of our food is pollinated by bees; if bee populations fall too far, our food supplies will be seriously threatened. . .
Rapid Climate Change
The global warming debate, despite having vociferous proponents on each side, appears to have been decided. Global warming is very real, and it is the preeminent danger to human civilization today. The rising global temperature threatens to create catastrophic weather systems, crop failures, disease outbreaks, and water shortages worldwide.
Emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are trapping heat within the Earths’ atmosphere, slowly increasing the overall temperature. These emissions are the byproduct of our modern way of life, and to halt them would require a voluntary shift in the very structure of our society, a move unprecedented in human history.
To not take action, however, would be to alter the very chemical composition of our planet. Life on Earth evolved over hundreds of millions of years to survive within very specific conditions, and those conditions are changing...
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