Navy's Anti-Bath Salts Ad Warns Against 'Demons' - Business Insider

The U.S. Navy produced this public service announcement warning recruits against using bath salts for all the obvious reasons -- vomiting, paranoia, brain swelling and violent behavior. Plus, you might see demons!

Demons show up in the dramatic re-enactment of a user's death in the video, and then again in a short discussion of the drug by Lt. George Loeffler of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

It's middle-school level stuff. (For comparison, the current gold-standard in anti-drug advertising is Rehabs.com's harrowing "New faces of Meth" infographic, which will haunt your dreams for days.)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/navys-anti-bath-salts-ad-warns-against-demons-2013-1

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On school tour, Newtown parents thank teachers

A man waves to a child on a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn.,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A man waves to a child on a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn.,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A woman hugs a child before he boards a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Children from Sandy Hook Elementary School will return to school Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Chalk Hill School is seen in Monroe, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The Sandy Hook Elementary School students fron Newtown, Conn., will begin classes on Thursday at Chalk Hill School. The school was overhauled specially for them in the neighboring town of Monroe, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A police officer greets a bus at the entrance to a school on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A green and white ribbon, the school colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School is seen attached to a bus on the first day of school after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

MONROE, Conn. (AP) ? On a tour Wednesday of his daughter's new school, Vinny Alvarez took a moment to thank her third-grade teacher, who protected the class from a rampaging gunman by locking her classroom door and keeping the children in a corner.

Alvarez was one of many Sandy Hook Elementary School parents expressing gratitude to the teachers during an open house at their school in the neighboring town of Monroe, where their children are resuming classes Thursday for the first time since the Dec. 14 shooting that left 20 students and six educators dead.

Alvarez said each student received a gift box with a toy inside and he expressed thanks to the teacher, Courtney Martin, who kept her door locked until it was safe to leave the building.

"Everybody there thanked her in their own way," he said.

Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson announced that the Sandy Hook staff decided that the students' new school, the former Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, would be renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"That's who they are. They're the Sandy Hook family," Robinson said after a news conference at a park in Monroe a few miles from the school. She added that renaming the Chalk Hill school will allow staff and students to keep "their identity and a comfort level."

The school where the shootings occurred remains closed and guarded by police. Newtown officials haven't decided yet on the building's future.

The gunman, Adam Lanza, also killed his mother at the home they shared in Newtown before the school shootings, which ended when Lanza fatally shot himself as police arrived. Police haven't released any details about a motive.

Numerous police officers on Wednesday guarded the outside of the Monroe school, which is about 7 miles from the old school, and told reporters to stay away.

"I think right now it has to be the safest school in America," Monroe police Lt. Keith White said.

Teachers attended staff meetings at the new school on Wednesday morning and were visited by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy before the open house, White said.

Robinson said Chalk Hill School has been transformed into a "cheerful" place for the surviving students to resume normal school routines. She said mental health counselors continue to be available for anyone who needs them.

Donna Page, a retired Sandy Hook principal, will lead the new school.

During the open house on Wednesday, Alvarez said his 8-year-old daughter also got to pick out a stuffed animal to take home from the school library.

"I'm not worried about her going back," he said of his daughter Cynthia. "The fear kind of kicks back in a little bit, but we're very excited for her and we got to see many, many kids today. The atmosphere was very cheerful."

Several signs welcoming the Sandy Hook students to their new school were posted along the road leading to the school in a rural, mostly residential neighborhood. One said "Welcome Sandy Hook Elementary Kids," while a similar sign added "You are in our prayers."

Teams of workers, many of them volunteers, prepared the Chalk Hill school with fresh paint and new furniture and even raised bathroom floors so the smaller elementary school students can reach the toilets. The students' desks, backpacks and other belongings that were left behind following the shooting were taken to the new school to make them feel at home.

Counselors say it's important for children to get back to a normal routine and for teachers and parents to offer sensitive reassurances.

One parent, Robert Bazuro of Newtown, said he was pleased that school was resuming Thursday for the Sandy Hook survivors. He brought his two children, who are in the second and fourth grades, to a barbershop Wednesday morning.

"We're very happy the kids are going back and we're very thankful for Monroe for everything they've done for us," Bazuro said. He said his children weren't at Sandy Hook on the day of the shootings. He declined to elaborate.

When classes start, Robinson said teachers will try to make it as normal a school day as possible for the children.

"We want to get back to teaching and learning," she said. "We will obviously take time out from the academics for any conversations that need to take place, and there will be a lot of support there. All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that's going to be the healthiest thing."

___

Eaton-Robb reported from Hartford, Conn.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-02-Connecticut%20School%20Shooting/id-73487d73ddb8482a8d0682b210f569e0

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Afghan negotiator welcomes prisoner release

KABUL, Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A top Afghan negotiator said Tuesday he hopes eight Taliban members freed by Pakistan will serve as peace mediators, describing Islamabad's move as a major step forward for Kabul's effort to enlist its neighbor's help in negotiating an end to its 11-year war.

The eight released Monday include the Taliban's justice minister when the militants ruled Afghanistan before their 2001 overthrow, as well as a onetime guard of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. It was the second group of prisoners released by Pakistan.

Although both sides describe the deal as a step toward peace, much about the release remains unclear. Kabul has lobbied hard for Pakistan to release some Taliban prisoners as a step toward talks, but simultaneously presses Islamabad to crack down on militants using its territory. It has not said what, if anything, this particular group might bring to the table.

Islamabad for its part has never said why it arrested the eight in the first place. Neither side has said where this batch of freed prisoners and a previous group of 18 released in November have gone, nor what they will be doing. Another 100 prisoners are believed to remain in Pakistani custody.

In Kabul, the spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said the Afghan leader would discuss the peace negotiations with U.S. President Barack Obama. Karzai departs for Washington early next week.

Karzai will also bring up the ongoing handover of security from NATO to Afghan forces, training and equipment the forces and the shape of a U.S.-Afghan agreement after Washington withdraws most of its troops, spokesman Aimal Faizi told a news conference. NATO plans to hand security responsibility over to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

The spokesman welcomed the prisoner release, but gave no details.

Ismail Qasemyar, a senior member of the Afghan High Peace Council, called their freeing a positive step in the peace process and hoped more releases would follow. It was not known whether the eight actually favored negotiations, but Qasemyar said it was hoped they would act as intermediaries between the Taliban leadership and the Kabul government.

"This is a big victory from our trip to Pakistan for peace negotiations. This is a good, practical step toward peace from Pakistan," said Qasemyar, the council's international affairs adviser and a key member of a delegation that travelled to Pakistan in November.

Pakistan is seen as key in ending the conflict. Kabul hopes the Taliban can be brought to the negotiating table before the 2014 foreign troop withdrawal.

But Pakistan's role is mixed. While Pakistan has arrested Afghan Taliban members, usually under pressure from Washington, its powerful military intelligence service has also afforded sanctuary and support for the militants.

Recently, Pakistan appears to have an interest in promoting a negotiated solution to the war across the border, as a post-2014 upheaval could bring harsh consequences, including another surge of refugees into the country.

Pakistan has longstanding ties to the Taliban, in part for geopolitical reasons. It fears that not having some control of who is or might one day be in power in Afghanistan could leave a vacuum which its arch-enemy, India, could fill.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the eight detainees were released to aid the peace process and included ex-Justice Minister Nooruddin Turabi and guard Mohammad Azeem. It was not known what role they might play in bringing the Taliban leaders to the negotiating table, what links they have to the group's current leadership or their stance on negotiations.

During Taliban rule, the one-legged, one-eyed Turabi was considered among the hard-liners in the regime, charged with dispensing harsh justice for even minor offenses against the group's draconian policies.

Today, Taliban leaders are believed to be split on the question of talks, with some favoring negotiations and others opting for continuing the war.

Waheed Mazhda, a political analyst and former Taliban member, said that Pakistan is playing a double game with Kabul, pretending to support negotiations but releasing the Taliban prisoners to please the Pakistan's branch of the Taliban. not Kabul. The Pakistan government, he says, does not want its homegrown militants to disrupt upcoming elections.

"Where are they? What are they doing right now?" he said, referring to the 18 already released. He said that he did not believe those released favored negotiations.

The Afghan peace process has made little headway since it began several years ago, riddled by mistrust among the major players, including the United States.

___

Associated Press writers Kathy Gannon, Rebecca Santana and Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-01-AS-Afghanistan-Pakistan/id-879b5f4809724725952dc16d04e4408c

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U.S. State Dept made 'grievous mistake' over Benghazi-Senate report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday.

A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists.

It also faulted the State Department for waiting for specific warnings instead of improving security.

The committee's assessment, "Flashing Red: A Special Report On The Terrorist Attack At Benghazi," follows a scathing report by an independent State Department accountability review board that resulted in a top security official resigning and three others at the department being relieved of their duties.

Joseph Lieberman, an independent senator who chairs the committee, said that in thousands of documents it reviewed, there was no indication that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had personally denied a request for extra funding or security for the Benghazi mission. He said key decisions were made by "midlevel managers" who have since been held accountable.

Republican Senator Susan Collins said it was likely that others needed to be held accountable, but that decision was best made by the Secretary of State, who has the best understanding "of how far up the chain of command the request for additional security went."

The attacks and the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens put diplomatic security practices at posts in risky areas under scrutiny and raised questions about whether intelligence on militant activity in the region was adequate.

The Senate report said the lack of specific intelligence of an imminent threat in Benghazi "may reflect a failure" by intelligence agencies to focus closely enough on militant groups with weak or no operational ties to al Qaeda and its affiliates.

"With Osama bin Laden dead and core al Qaeda weakened, a new collection of violent Islamist extremist organizations and cells have emerged in the last two to three years," the report said. That trend has been seen in the "Arab Spring" countries undergoing political transition or military conflict, it said.

NEED FOR BETTER INTELLIGENCE

The report recommended that U.S. intelligence agencies "broaden and deepen their focus in Libya and beyond, on nascent violent Islamist extremist groups in the region that lack strong operational ties to core al Qaeda or its main affiliate groups."

Neither the Senate report nor the unclassified accountability review board report pinned blame for the Benghazi attack on a specific militant group. The FBI is investigating who was behind the assaults.

President Barack Obama, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, said the United States had "very good leads" about who carried out the attacks. He did not provide details.

The Senate committee said the State Department should not have waited for specific warnings before acting on improving security in Benghazi.

It also said it was widely known that the post-revolution Libyan government was "incapable of performing its duty to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel," but the State Department failed to fill the security gap.

"Despite the inability of the Libyan government to fulfill its duties to secure the facility, the increasingly dangerous threat assessments, and a particularly vulnerable facility, the Department of State officials did not conclude the facility in Benghazi should be closed or temporarily shut down," the report said. "That was a grievous mistake."

The Senate panel reviewed changing comments made by the Obama administration after the attack, which led to a political firestorm in the run-up to the November presidential election and resulted in U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice withdrawing her name from consideration to replace Clinton, who is stepping down early next year.

Rice had said her initial comments that the attack grew out of a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islam film were based on talking points provided by intelligence agencies.

Lieberman said it was not the job of intelligence agencies to formulate unclassified talking points and they should decline such requests in the future.

The report said the original talking points included a line saying "we know" that individuals associated with al Qaeda or its affiliates participated in the attacks. But the final version had been changed to say: "There are indications that extremists participated," and the reference to al Qaeda and its affiliates was deleted.

The report said that while James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, had offered to provide the committee with a detailed chronology of how the talking points were written and evolved, this had still not been delivered to Capitol Hill because the administration had spent weeks "debating internally" whether or not it should turn over information considered "deliberative" to Congress.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-state-dept-made-grievous-mistake-over-benghazi-113351183.html

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California meteorite reveals secrets thanks to crowdsourcing (+video)

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Recently published research describes a collection of meteorite pieces that landed in California in April. The study came about through a group effort dubbed "crowdsourcing" by the lead scientist.   

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/2uF_M25U_-Y/California-meteorite-reveals-secrets-thanks-to-crowdsourcing-video

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State Dept. warns Americans about Haiti travel

20 hrs.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON --?The State Department has issued a revised Haiti travel advisory, warning Americans planning to travel to the Caribbean island nation about robbery, lawlessness, infectious disease and poor medical facilities.

"U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, predominantly in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender or age," the department said.

The new travel warning was released Friday to replace a less strongly worded advisory issued in June.

In recent months, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city, on flights from the United States have been attacked and robbed after leaving the airport. This year, at least two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in robbery and kidnapping incidents, the State Department said.

"Haitian authorities have limited capacity to deter or investigate such violent acts or prosecute perpetrators," the department said.

The State Department also noted that while the incidents of cholera have declined, the disease persists in many areas of Haiti. Medical facilities, including ambulance services, are particularly weak.

"Thousands of U.S. citizens safely visit Haiti each year, but the poor state of Haiti's emergency response network should be carefully considered when planning travel. Travelers to Haiti are encouraged to use organizations that have solid infrastructure, evacuation and medical support options in place," the department said.?

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/state-dept-warns-americans-about-haiti-travel-1C7782788

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GLHFCasting ? Professional Real Estate Agents

Property Management Alpine Why is it important to hire a real estate agent when you sell your home? Can you get more money by doing the sale on your own? It?s a possibility, but your best bet to get the best deal is to find a realtor. Real estate agents are experienced in using a variety of marketing tools to give your house the most publicity. Flyers, online listings, and networking with other realtors are a few of the tools they can use. Your agent can also give you with several helpful suggestions to have your home looking attractive for interested home buyers. With a licensed realtor on your side, selling your house will become a simple and successful experience.

Category: Uncategorized /

Source: http://www.glhfcasting.com/professional-real-estate-agents-2/

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