Family of rape accused snaps at press pixmen

GEORGE TOWN: A commotion broke out outside a magistrate’s court here when a woman struggled to shield an air steward charged with raping his colleague from press photographers.
The woman, believed to be the mother of G. Dinesh Kumar, 31, raised her voice and brandished her handbag while leading him to the elevator.

A small crowd gathered to watch when she targeted one photographer who she claimed had touched her bag.
A man, believed to be a relative, then appeared and threatened to sue the press.
Police officers stationed at the courthouse quickly moved in to break up the exchange, after which the man and the woman led Dinesh Kumar, who had zipped a red jacket over his head to hide his face from photographers, into an elevator.
Dinesh Kumar is accused of raping a 23-year-old colleague at his home in Pangsapuri Golf View, Bandar Bukit Jambul, at about 9am on May 8.
The offence under Section 376(2)(b) of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail term of 30 years and possible whipping.
Dinesh Kumar had pleaded not guilty when he was first charged in a Sessions Court here on May 13.
The case was mentioned at the magistrate’s court yesterday as the judge presiding over the case was on medical leave.
Magistrate Noor Aini Yusof set July 19 to mention the case to give defence counsel Jagdeep Singh Deo time to make a representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.-the star

Five in family die in crash

KULAIJAYA: A holiday in Malacca came to a tragic end for a family of six when their car skidded and crashed into a road divider at KM46.7 of the North-South Highway, killing five of them.
Four of them died at the scene of the accident while the fifth person died at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital.
The dead are technician Wong Tong Hing, 66, his wife Fong Kum Ngoh, 60, sister-in-law Fong Kum Kai, 59, and Wong's 18-month-old grandson Jing Xuan.

Totally wrecked: The Nissan Livina which crashed into a road divider at KM46.7 of the North-South Highway killing five passengers. Only one passenger survived and has been admitted to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor.
Wong's daughter Ai Ling, 35, died at the hospital while his daughter-in-law Ng Chai Yuin has been admitted to the intensive care unit.
Wong was driving the MPV when the accident happened at 9.55am. Due to the impact, Jing Xuan was flung out about three metres from the car.
The bodies were sent to the Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim Hospital Kulaijaya for post mortem.
Wong's 29-year-old son Siang Zhen, who rushed to the hospital from Singapore, was too distraught to speak to reporters at the mortuary.
A neighbour and close friend, Kam Yee Chin, 52, said she had known the family for more than 13 years.
“The accident was such a shock to me. The last time I saw Kum Ngoh was on Thursday evening when she told me she was going on a holiday,” she said when met at the mortuary.
Kulai OCPD Supt Zulkefly Yahya said no other vehicle was involved in the accident.
“We believe that the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the divider,” he said.
He urged those with information about the accident to call the police hotline at 07-2212 999 or head to the nearest police station.-the star

MPs want Anwar to step down

PETALING JAYA: Several Independ-ent MPs have called on Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to step down to preserve Parliament's sanctity in light of revelations that the man in the sex video was “99.99% certain” to be him.

Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim said Pakatan Rakyat leaders should make a stand and ask Anwar to resign.
“Some PKR MPs told me they are quitting politics because Anwar has misled them,” he said, adding that Anwar should be the one to quit instead and “migrate elsewhere”.
Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong said Anwar should resign for lodging a false report when he claimed that the video was fabricated.
“The police should make a counter report against Anwar for lodging the false report and he should step down for misleading the public,” he said.
Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin said Anwar should resign on moral grounds.
“Recently, leaders in Turkey, United States and Indonesia, implicated in various sex-related scandals, have resigned. Why should there be an exception for Anwar?” he asked, adding that a Royal Commission of Inquiry should be set up to probe the matter further.
Zulkifli said Anwar should also focus on clearing his name.
Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrish-nan said Anwar should apologise to all Malaysians if it was proven that he had lodged a false report.
“Anwar should also ask the Bersih 2.0 (Coalition for Clean and Fair Election) organisers to stop the rally on July 9,” said Gobalakrishnan.
Pasir Mas MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali said he was convinced that Anwar would never admit to any wrongdoing.
“He will never own up. He will continue blaming others.”- Bernama

Paul Scholes Could Leave Manchester United In The Summer

Manchester United veteran Paul Scholes has hinted that he could be on his way out of Old Trafford next summer.

The 35-year-old doesn’t feel he’s playing regularly enough and may seek first team football at another club.

"I don't feel I am making as much of a contribution as I'd like," he said, according to The Sun. "I wouldn't say I am playing some of my best football.

"I always preferred when I was playing regularly and scoring a lot more. Now, it's different. I play once every two or three weeks. I can only hope to do well when I get the chance. I don't have a choice.

"You do think about the future. I am not too sure. I'll just carry on and we'll see what happens come the end of the season," he added.

Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson will take Scholes’ comments into consideration as his side travel to West Ham United on Saturday.-Goal.com

Another radioactive leak after the Japan incident.

BRACEVILLE, Ill. — Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The number and severity of the leaks has been escalating, even as federal regulators extend the licenses of more and more reactors across the nation.
Tritium, which is a radioactive form of hydrogen, has leaked from at least 48 of 65 sites, according to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission records reviewed as part of the AP's yearlong examination of safety issues at aging nuclear power plants.
Leaks from at least 37 of those facilities contained concentrations exceeding the federal drinking water standard — sometimes at hundreds of times the limit.
While most leaks have been found within plant boundaries, some have migrated offsite. But none is known to have reached public water supplies.
At three sites — two in Illinois and one in Minnesota — leaks have contaminated drinking wells of nearby homes, the records show, but not at levels violating the drinking water standard.
At a fourth site, in New Jersey, tritium has leaked into an aquifer and a discharge canal feeding picturesque Barnegat Bay off the Atlantic Ocean.

Previously, the AP reported that regulators and industry have weakened safety standards for decades to keep the nation's commercial nuclear reactors operating within the rules.
While NRC officials and plant operators argue that safety margins can be eased without peril, critics say these accommodations are inching the reactors closer to an accident.
Any exposure to radioactivity, no matter how slight, boosts cancer risk, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Federal regulators set a limit for how much tritium is allowed in drinking water. So far, federal and industry officials say, the tritium leaks pose no health threat.
But it's hard to know how far some leaks have traveled into groundwater. Tritium moves through soil quickly, and when it is detected it often indicates the presence of more powerful radioactive isotopes that are often spilled at the same time.
For example, cesium-137 turned up with tritium at the Fort Calhoun nuclear unit near Omaha, Neb., in 2007. Strontium-90 was discovered with tritium two years earlier at the Indian Point nuclear power complex, where two reactors operate 25 miles north of New York City.
The tritium leaks also have spurred doubts among independent engineers about the reliability of emergency safety systems at the 104 nuclear reactors situated on the 65 sites.
That's partly because some of the leaky underground pipes carry water meant to cool a reactor in an emergency shutdown and to prevent a meltdown. More than a mile of piping, much of it encased in concrete, can lie beneath a reactor.
Tritium is relatively short-lived and penetrates the body weakly through the air compared to other radioactive contaminants. Each of the known releases has been less radioactive than a single X-ray.
The main health risk from tritium, though, would be in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says tritium should measure no more than 20,000 picocuries per liter in drinking water. The agency estimates seven of 200,000 people who drink such water for decades would develop cancer.
Still, the NRC and industry consider the leaks a public relations problem, not a public health or accident threat, records and interviews show.
"The public health and safety impact of this is next to zero," said Tony Pietrangelo, chief nuclear officer of the industry's Nuclear Energy Institute. "This is a public confidence issue."

Filipinos witness 'red moon' in total lunar eclipse.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos got "moonstruck" after witnessing a rare astronomical event as the earth cast its shadow over the moon, resulting in a total lunar eclipse, early morning Thursday.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) astronomer Dr. Armando Lee, today's lunar eclipse is special and worth gazing.
"This [lunar eclipse] is special because we will see a really red moon," Lee said Wednesday night. "This is also going to be one of the longest in 11 years."
The eclipse started at 1:24 a.m. in its penumbral phase. Lee, however, said that the moon was seen in its brightest red color around 3 a.m., when the eclipse was at its greatest phase.
The eclipse ended at 7 a.m.
A lunar eclipse takes place when the earth comes between the moon and the sun. This phenomenon makes the earth block the white light that the moon gets from the sun.
The sun's light then passes through the earth's atmosphere, making the moon red, instead of the normal blue.
But Prof. Edmond Rosales, Sky Explorer head astronomer, said that the "red moon" phenomenon is also an indication of pollution.
Spectators arrived at various sites ideal for gazing before midnight yesterday. They trooped to the University of the Philippines Observational Deck and the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay to witness the spectacular event.
The lunar eclipse has also been seen in other parts of the world including Europe, Africa, Russia and Australia.-abd-cbnNEWS,com

82-year-old man dies a day after car ran over him

Toronto-An 82-year-old man has died in hospital a day after he was run over by an SUV driven by his daughter.
The man was taken to hospital Saturday afternoon suffering internal injuries and broken bones.
He succumbed to his injuries Sunday night.
Police said the man’s daughter was picking him up from a pharmacy at a plaza at Bathurst St. and Dewlane Dr., and that he was making his way to the passenger side of the vehicle when he fell in front of it.
The daughter got out of the car to help her father, but forgot to switch the gear to park. Police say the car was on a slight downward slope. It lurched forward and rolled over the man.
Staff Sgt. Anne MacDonald said the victim’s daughter was “devastated” after the accident.
A man who works in plaza, who refused to be named, provided police with the security video.
“I just went over to one of the attending police officers, gave him my card and said ‘I have this on video.’ And he came up and ultimately I had three or four of them there watching the video. We were able to quickly make a copy and we gave it to him.”
The worker did not see the accident happen, but he and a colleague noticed ambulances on the screen and went down to see what had happened. He said the elderly man who fell had been visiting the pharmacy.
“He was walking very precariously. I had seen him outside prior to coming to my office. He was having some difficulty, with a cane and all. I think essentially he lost his balance; he didn’t slip on anything,” the worker said.
He said it appeared on the video as if the car was stopped when the woman got out to help her father up, but that since it was still in gear, “it lurched forward and ran him over.
“It was not a pleasant sight,” he said.-Star News

‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ case reveals man behind another lesbian website

LONDON—The hoax involving the true identity of a Syrian lesbian blogger has taken another turn, as another man has acknowledged he is behind a lesbian blog that republished vivid accounts of revolt in Damascus.
A 40-year-old American man living in Scotland apologized earlier Monday for posing as a Syrian lesbian blogger named Amina Arraf, whose reported detention fuelled attention that eventually led to the man’s confession that his blog posts had been an elaborate ruse.
Later Monday, The Washington Post reported that an editor of lesbian news website Lezgetreal.com — who encouraged Arraf and republished her blog entries — was a man named Bill Graber who used the name Paula Brooks as an online persona.
Graber confirmed his identity to the Associated Press, saying “LezGetReal was not meant to be deceitful or con anyone.”-Star News

Restaurant promotes sex in its bathrooms

Mildred's Temple Kitchen is inviting customers to have sex in its bathrooms.
The Valentine's weekend promotion takes uncomfortable but electrifying sex from the close confines of an airplane and transfers it to the unisex stalls of the Hanna Ave. restaurant.
The Liberty Village restaurant proposes its modern bathrooms become one of the "101 places to have sex before you die."
Mildred's has always elicited a certain response. One customer, who didn't want to be named, remembers going to a wedding at the eatery's old location and seeing a copy of the Kama Sutra in the bathroom.
"They invite it," said the customer.
This time, the invitation is explicit. On its website, Mildred's asks: "Have you given any thought to moving beyond the bedroom?
"Check out Mildred's Sexy Bathrooms throughout the weekend of Big Love. You get the picture."
Actually, the picture is clouded by practicalities. Is the restaurant supplying condoms? What about the health risks of body fluids? And who's cleaning up?
"We've always had little trysts in our bathrooms," says chef/co-owner Donna Dooher, pointing to lingering weekday lunches as a popular time. "We're taking it to the next level on Valentine's weekend."
The restaurant's four bathrooms light up outside when occupied. Staff have learned to watch the light flicker twice when two customers enter the same bathroom, usually a few minutes apart.
Toronto Public Health says as long as there's no sex in the kitchen and the restaurant keeps its washrooms clean and sanitized, it's not fussed. "As far as bodily fluids, it's pretty much similar to the other human functions going on in there," says Jim Chan, manager of the food safety program.
Dooher says customers must bring their own condoms but she's hiring a maid to tidy the washrooms that weekend. "She'll be there with her feather duster and cleaning supplies."
At least diners aren't encouraged to use furry handcuffs, part of a $55 "naughty love hamper," while at Mildred's. "Best to savour and enjoy (those) long after you leave the restaurant," the restaurant says-Star News

Oops, no more illegal downloads?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Thousands of Malaysians joined an online protest Sunday against a government effort to block access to 10 popular websites often used to illegally download movies, TV shows and music.
It is the biggest move to curb Internet entertainment piracy in Malaysia, which has long been accused by industry officials of not cracking down hard enough on the rampant sale of bootleg DVDs and CDs.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, a government regulatory body, said Friday that it wanted Internet service providers to block 10 websites that violated copyright laws.
More than 6,500 people have since joined a Facebook page slamming the decision, with some saying the government had reneged on its pledge not to censor the Internet.
"I think it is the stupidest move ever," wrote Satila Suhaimi Kelly, one of the Facebook group's members. "I use (the websites) to share my own personal photos and videos with friends and family all around the world."
The ban appeared to be erratically enforced by Malaysian Internet providers. Most users complained Saturday they couldn't surf the sites, but some were able to by Sunday. Others used alternative access routes to circumvent the ban.
The websites include the Pirate Bay, a Sweden-based site that has faced lawsuits by entertainment companies in Europe over complaints of copyright infringement.
The Multimedia Commission has defended the ban, saying it was asked by Malaysia's Domestic Trade Ministry to help enforce copyright regulations. It denied the move amounted to censorship.
Malaysian filmmaker Norman Abd Halim told The Star newspaper he welcomed the move.
"The unauthorized use of copyrighted work is destroying the industry," the daily quoted him as saying.-Yahoo

Six-year-old stabbed to death for being noisy

A SIX-year-old boy in Sabah paid a deadly price for being noisy, Metro Ahad reported.
Mohd Khairadri Awang Ahmad and two elder siblings were attacked by their furious uncle who could not stand the din the children were making while playing in their home at the Sandakan municipal council flats in Jalan Batu Sapi on Friday afternoon.
The uncle, who lived a floor below the children's home, used a kitchen knife to slash the little boy, his brother, Mohd Fadli Zairi, 12, and sister Nur Salinah, 10.
Neighbours rushed the three children to the Duchess of Kent Hospital, where Mohd Khairadri, who was stabbed in the stomach, was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mohd Fadli was treated for cuts on his chest and Nur Salinah for an injured wrist.
The tabloid reported that the children's parents were not home at the time of the incident.
The uncle, in his 20s, had gone up to their unit and warned the children to be quiet as their noise was disturbing him.
When they ignored him, the man went into the kitchen to grab the knife.
The two elder children managed to flee to a neighbour's house to seek help after the attack.
Mohd Khairadri, however, was found in a pool of blood when the neighbour rushed to their home.
Sandakan deputy OCPD Sup Fadzil Mohd Ali said a suspect has been arrested and was being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Troubled by a rocky marriage, a woman in Miri sought the help of a bomoh for a solution only to be raped by him, Metro Ahad reported.
The medium, in his 50s allegedly assaulted the victim after giving her a floral bath and persuading her to make believe he was her husband.
Thinking it was part of the ritual to treat her misfortune, the woman followed his every instruction and for two months did not tell anyone about what happened.
It was only when she realised the bomoh's treatment was not working that she made a police report on Saturday about the incident that occurred in April.
In a separate case, a 15-year-old boy in Bukit Mertajam told police he had been sexually abused by a man who had moved into the neighbourhood about a month ago.
The teenager said the man would sneak into his house each time his (the suspect's) wife was not at home.
The boy claimed the man, in his 20s, forced him to perform oral sex.
He lodged a police report against the neighbour after complaining to his father.- Sun News

Korean scientists claim discovery of enzyme that causes liver cancer

SEOUL: South Korean scientists said Monday that they have discovered a new enzyme that can cause cancerous growth and inhibit radiation therapy in humans, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Konkuk University team led by microbial engineering professor An Sung-kwan said it detected the so-called Hades enzyme in human liver cancer patients undergoing treatment at local hospitals.
A detailed examination showed cancer patients usually had higher levels of this particular enzyme compared to healthy people, and that Hades reduced the effects of radiation used to kill off cancerous growth, the team said.
Researchers said the enzyme not only makes it harder to kill off cancer, but contributes to the spread or reemergence of cancerous growth within the body even after doctors had been able to treat the disease initially.
They said Hades works by disrupting the activities of the p53 protein that is attributed to suppressing cancerous growth in humans.
The p53 is a "cell killer" protein that is only found in small quantities but becomes more active and multiplies if cancer is growing in the body and radiation therapy is carried out.
Subjecting this protein to radiation allows it to live longer and helps it attack cancerous growth.
"The latest research is noteworthy because Hades can be used as a target 'marker' for future research, and controlling this enzyme may raise the effectiveness of current anti-cancer treatment methods," An claimed.
The latest findings were published in last month's online issue of the Cell Death and Differentiation journal. - Star News

Strong quake again rocks damaged New Zealand city

WELLINGTON: A series of strong earthquakes shook the quake-weary New Zealand city of Christchurch on Monday, briefly trapping two people inside a church.
The quakes forced people to flee in panic from buildings. There were no initial reports of injuries.

Christchurch has been shaken by thousands of aftershocks since a 6.3-magnitude quake killed 181 people in February.
A series of tremors were felt on Monday, the largest of which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0.
One of the temblors trapped two people inside St. John's Church, which mostly collapsed in the February quake. Police said they have since been rescued. Another building nearby was brought down, but no one was inside.
People attending inquest hearings for victims of the Feb. 22 earthquake reportedly bolted from the Riccarton Park Function Center when Monday's quakes struck. Others fled from buildings at Canterbury University and the Westfield Riccarton Mall, which also suffered heavy damage in February- Sun News

Disapproving man hires killers to murder son-in-law

SUN NEWS- A MAN who was furious that his daughter had married someone of another caste without his knowledge, paid hired killers to murder his son-in-law, Makkal Osai reported.
C. Parthasarathy, a 23-year-old software engineer, was found dead near Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu, India, on June 3 after being reported missing from his home.
Three people confessed to Chennai police they were hired to kill Parthasarathy.
The gang, hired by the victim's father-in-law, had abducted the youth, murdered him and set his body on fire.
The father-in-law was reportedly furious that his daughter had married Parthasarathy on Feb 10 after he made arrangements for the girl to marry another man.
Parthasarathy and the girl were reported to have met online.
The father-in-law had promised to pay the killers Rs200,000 (RM15,000) and had paid them Rs25,000 (RM1,750) in advance.
An elderly resident of Kampung Sungai Buloh in Sungai Siput, Perak, is shocked and disappointed that her name had been left out of a list of families that are eligible for compensation because of a rail project.
Malaysia Nanban, which reported the plight of Thanaletchumi, 70, said she was among 30 families in the village affected by the Ipoh-Padang Besar dual railway track project.
Her daughter, V. Sarojaa, 53, lodged a complaint at the district land office.
She said her mother's name was on the initial list when a survey was first done in 2001.
She added that a fire in 2004 destroyed their house and it was only fair that the family be given an alternative piece of land and the RM8,000 as given to the other villagers.
After the fire, the family received some aid from the land office and donations from former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

It's time to let loose!!

MSNTRAVEL-Take your pick at these incredible summer hotspots and unleash the free spirit in you.

Haulover Beach Park contains one of south Florida’s most beautiful clothing optional beaches–a 0.4 mile stretch of beach on the northern portion that draws people from all walks of life, from other states, Canada and a variety of other countries. Nestled between the Intercoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, it has pristine white sand shores, open ocean surf, various shaded picnic facilities, beautifully landscaped sand dunes, and concession stands. The beach is ideal for surfing as well as swimming.

Thousands of people come to Haulover Beach on a sunny day. Simply put, Haulover Beach is one of the best clothing-optional beaches in the world, as ranked by many online and print

publications. As many as 7,000 people visit the beach in a single day. Because clothing is optional, some visitors remained clothed.

Although Haulover Nude Beach is

only a small portion of the larger Haulover Beach Park, approximately 66% to 85% of visitors use the nude beach area. Therefore, it is quite friendly to people who want to go nude. Haulover Nude Beach is situated between the Intercostal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean and is part of Haulover Beach Park.

(Photo & Resources extract from: www.sffb.com) Soth.Flourida Free Beaches

The Rage Corner #1

Tune Hotels in the BIG league

STAR- Despite its limited presence in Indonesia with only two hotels in Bali, Tune hotels has joined the big league when it was name among the TOP20 Indonesia Innovative Brands 2011 by the country's leading marketing communications magazine MIX.

Ranked ninth, Tune Hotels stands side-by-side with world renowned brands such as Blackberry, Nissan and Tupperware, along with home-grown Indonesian giants including BCA Bank, Bank Danamon and Ancon EcoPark.
Tune Hotels was the only Malaysia brand on the list and it is the second accolade for the brand this year after its Westminister hotel in London was awarded a certificate of Exellence the world's largest travel website TripAdvisor last month as a "result of consistently great feedback" from the hotel guests.

Tune Hotels group CEOMark Lankester said:" We are veryencouraged by the recognition from MIX. Our presence in Indonesia might currently be confined to only two hotels in Bali, but it did not stop ur from getting into the radar of keen industry observers and marketing professionals.

"To be ranked ninth among brands in Southeast Asia's largest market speaks volumes of Tune Hotel's service proposition and quality. We are very proud to be the only Malaysian brand on such a reputable list" said Lankester.

He added that the company would be opening five now hotels in Indonesia next year, namely in Jakarta, Pekanbary, Makassar, Surabaya and Palembang. In his review, MIX attributed Tune Hotels' innovativesnes to its ability to serve the practical needs of tourists by giving them the best value.

"Apart from affordable room rates, Tune Hotels also accommodates tourists who just need a room to 'sleep and go'," the review stated.

Other notable features include Tune Hotels's online booking system as well as the usage of wall spaces within the hotel premises for advertising purposes. " The innovation is not just incremental but actually radical. Tune Hotels has transformed not one or two, but all aspects of the hotel services," said Dentsu Strat Indonesia president director Janoe Arijanto who sat on the judging panel. He added that budget hotels in Indonesia have now become a category of its own and one of the main catalysts of growth for the model was Tune Hotels.

Meanwhile, another jury, OMG Creative Consultant Yoris Sebastian noted:"Tune Hotels Bali is a perfect example of radical innovation taking place-offering luxurious beds at very affordable prices."

Tune Hotels service offering focuses on five-star beds, powerful showers, central and convenieny locations, clean environment and 24-hour security.

Tune Hotels currently has 12 operating properties including nine in Malaysia that are located in Kuala Lumpur, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Kota Damansara, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Bintulu Kota Kinabalu and Kota Bharu; two in Bali, Indonesia (Kuta and Legian) and one in London.

Since the removal of admin fee in January, guests can further save 20% if they purchase the Comfort Package that includes towels, toiletries and air condition credits. They can enjoy even more savings of 30% with Plus Package that bundles television and in-room wifi.

The Genocide Letter by Hitler is unveiled.

In September 1919, the year after the end of World War I, a German captain named Karl Mayr, who ran a propaganda unit in charge of educating demobilized soldiers in nationalism and scapegoating, received an inquiry from a soldier named Adolf Gemlich about the army's position on "the Jewish question." Mayr tasked a young subordinate named Adolf Hitler to answer. The resulting Gemlich letter, as it is known to historians, is believed to be the first record of Hitler's anti-Semitic beliefs and has been an important document in Holocaust studies for decades.
This week, Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, announced that the center has obtained the original, signed letter, which had never been publicly displayed. At the letter's public unveiling in New York City, Hier explained its tortuous journey from Hitler's own hand to its eventual home at the center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. (See pictures from the Hitler exhibit in Germany.)
In April 1945, an American GI named William Ziegler found the letter scattered among other documents in Nuremberg, Germany. Ziegler took the letter home and sold it to a private collector. In 1988, the Wiesenthal Center had the opportunity to buy the letter but was skeptical about whether Hitler could have afforded a typewriter. "He was a nobody; he couldn't afford anything," Hier said at the letter's unveiling. "A typewriter is like today having somebody who can't afford his meals and he's waving the latest Apple computer in front of you."
By the time the center could verify that Hitler had used a German army typewriter, the letter had been sold to another private collector. In 1990, handwriting expert Charles Hamilton Jr., who gained fame for exposing fake Hitler diaries in 1983, authenticated Hitler's signature on the Gemlich letter.
When the Wiesenthal Center again had an opportunity to purchase the letter this year, it paid $150,000 to make the letter part of its collection. "We do not want to make a market for memorabilia, but this document does not belong in private hands," Hier said. "It has too much to say to history. It belongs in public hands, and it has found its home at the Museum of Tolerance."
Few have questioned the importance of the Gemlich letter in understanding Hitler and the Holocaust. It not only provides a look into his beliefs, but reveals early ideas of how he would attempt the systematic extermination of the Jews. "Anti-Semitism — born of purely emotional grounds — will find an expression in the form of pogroms," Hitler wrote, according to a translation provided by the Wiesenthal Center. "The final goal must be the removal of the Jews. To accomplish these goals, only a government of national power is capable and never a government of national weakness." Hier highlighted these sentences as being the most important in the letter.
Yet the purchase of such a document, especially at such a high price, has raised questions among historians. "This is not the Magna Carta," says Michael Marrus, the Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto. "I doubt very strongly that, given everything else we know, the Gemlich letter will change historians' views about Hitler, or that it will be seen as pushing back Hitler's genocidal ambitions to a very early date."
"If this is, indeed, the original of the letter, it's a curatorial coup for the Wiesenthal Center, but not likely to produce an advance in historical understanding," Peter Hayes, the Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor of Holocaust studies at Northwestern University, adds in an e-mail. "Though the origins of Hitler's anti-Semitism and the moment of its onset remain matters of dispute among historians, the predominant view is that his hatred of Jews crystallized in the 10 months between Germany's defeat in November 1918 and the date of this letter, and its appearance in original form isn't going to make any difference to that view." (See pictures from inside Hitler's bunker.)
Another concern with the purchase is that such transactions, not by private collectors but by a human-rights organization like the Wiesenthal Center, could have unintended consequences. "What you don't want to happen is for a mystique to grow around these documents," Marrus says.
In presenting the document to the media, Hier explained that operational funds were not used in its purchase and that the center's trustees donated the money to buy the letter. "This is the first document of its kind that deals with the Jews exclusively and postulates the solution," Hier said. "We have 50,000 archives, and this is the most important archive I've ever seen."
The letter will be on permanent display at the entrance to the Museum of Tolerance's Holocaust section, where visitors can view translations and see Hitler's signature on the document for themselves. "Five million people have visited the Museum of Tolerance," Hier said. "Ninety-five percent of the visitors are non-Jews. So we don't only educate the Jewish community that knows about the Holocaust, but we educate the larger world. That's where the document belongs."-TIMES

Why do we fear a rising China?

It's hard to argue that the rise of China, taken on the whole, is anything but good for the global economy. New wealth for China's 1.3 billion people means 1.3 billion more people who can buy stuff from the rest of the world, creating jobs from American research labs to Japanese industrial zones to Brazilian mines. A global economy no longer solely dependent on the U.S. consumer for growth is potentially more stable and prosperous.
Yet few people see China that way. Many don't acknowledge China's positive role in the world economy at all. Instead, they focus on the competition China has created, especially for the developed world, or the jobs many believe China has “stolen.” However, even those who realize, or even directly benefit from, China's advance still can't but feel uneasy about that advance. But why is that? Why do we fear a rising China in a way we don't a rising India? Or why is an economically powerful China less acceptable than, for example, a stronger Europe?
The conflicting emotions many have about China's rise are the subject of my latest TIME magazine story, focused on Australia's relationship with the Middle Kingdom. What's happening Down Under is a glimpse into the future for all of us. And for me, reporting there got me thinking about why so many of us – and not just in the West, but out here in Asia as well – are having so much trouble coming to terms with the idea of China as a superpower.
There are few countries in the world that have benefited more from China's rapid economic growth than Australia. The boom in exports Australia has enjoyed due to surging Chinese demand, especially for raw materials, is a key reason – perhaps the determining factor – why the country avoided a recession after the 2008 financial crisis. Trade with China is also spurring investment and creating jobs. But simultaneously, Australians are becoming uncomfortable about their growing relationship with China. They fret that the economy is becoming too dependent on China for its growth. They worry China will use its economic leverage to put political pressure on the country, or employ its growing economic power to become a strategic threat. They don't much care for Chinese companies buying Australian assets. Australians worry that what helps their wallets hurts their country politically and strategically, and the more powerful China gets, the bigger that potential danger. Hugh White, head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, explained the sentiment to me this way: “As China keeps growing strong enough to fulfill Australians' economic aspirations, it grows more powerful and undermines U.S. primacy and our strategic aspirations. People are conscious that with the benefits we get from Chinese growth, there is a certain degree of vulnerability.”
I think many of us around the world can sympathize with the Australians. As David Pilling of The Financial Times recently pointed out, China's neighbors aren't too fond of the way Beijing throws its new heft around in the Asia region as its economic influence grows. It's no coincidence that political leaders in Seoul and Taipei strive to maintain strong ties to Washington even as their economies become driven more and more by China. Americans are queasy that the Chinese own so much U.S. debt. The Japanese own just about as much, but that doesn't seem to bother anybody.
Of course, 30 years ago, it might have. The reaction many have to China today is very similar to the one that towards Japan in the 1980s, when the Land of the Rising Sun was the rising economic challenger to the West. In recent years, Americans got all jittery about a Chinese attempt to buy oil firm Unocal; more than 20 years ago, Americans got all jittery over Japan's acquisition of Rockefeller Center. Why? After the overly emotional response in the U.S. to Sony's acquisition of Hollywood's Columbia Pictures, co-founder Akio Morita pointed out that Australian born Rupert Murdoch had previously bought 20^th Century Fox, without the drama. He was suggesting the reason was racism.
That may be part of the story today with China as well. But the issues are far more complex than that. In the West, Europeans and Americans have dominated the world scene for so many centuries that they're uncomfortable with the notion of someone else claiming the throne of global hegemony. The concern Americans had with Japan back in the day was that the Japanese were competitors in the global economy, not partners. The fear was that Japan was trying to undermine American dominance, at least in the realm of business. Even beyond that, Japan was winning with an economic system that challenged American ideals of free markets and free enterprise. For many, the rise of Japan seemed to have something sinister behind it – a competing and unfamiliar economic, corporate and cultural system that was producing superior results to those of the West, and appeared to have only its own interests at heart. The challenge from Japan was not just economic, but ideological.
The reasons many fear China today are very similar. China, too, uses a competing economic model – “state capitalism” – that challenges the economic ideology of the West. In many ways, China also behaves in a mercantilist fashion, which gives the impression it cares little about anyone else. It keeps its currency controlled so its exports can out-compete those from other countries, and it grabs natural resources for itself wherever and whenever it can. Often state-controlled companies are doing the grabbing, making China seem like a threatening monolithic juggernaut. Worst of all, the political ideology behind China's economic ascent completely counters Western ideals about democracy and human rights. China is not just competing with the U.S. in world markets, but offering up an entirely different economic and political system, one that at times seems better at creating growth and jobs, even as it restricts much-cherished civil liberties. China is succeeding based on ideas that Americans despise.
The concerns many in the world have with China go well beyond even that. No one ever expected Japan to become a military threat to the West, or even a contender for diplomatic influence around the world. Japan wanted to be No.1, but only when it came to its role in the world economy. Aside from that Japan was a part of the global establishment – a member of the G7 and a clear U.S. military ally. China is none of those things. More and more, China is using its economic clout to offer an alternative to the U.S.-led political and economic system. Beijing routinely complains about the primacy of the dollar and wants its own currency to play a greater international role. Chinese diplomats have tried to extend their country's political pull across Africa and Latin America while supporting countries clearly hostile to U.S. interests (such as North Korea.) And Beijing is becoming a bigger military power as well, something that makes its neighbors, many of which have a history of conflict with China (South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan) extremely nervous. Every extra 10% to China's GDP translates into more money the government can spend on its navy and armed forces.
In other words, China appears to be challenging not just today's economic orthodoxy and order, but the world's political and military framework as well. China isn't content just to sell more TV sets to the world, like Japan. The Chinese want to have more control over the world.  And they want to use their economic clout to get it.
Or so we think. The fact is we're only guessing at what China might do as a superpower. Since China is still a relatively poor nation today, it makes sense that at this stage in its development, its leadership tends to be focused on what's good for China. Will China's outlook broaden as it become richer? We don't know.
When the U.S. took over global leadership from a waning British Empire, the world had a pretty good idea what to expect – that overall the U.S. would continue to hold to ideas of free enterprise and democracy. Now an equally important shift is taking place – the rise of the East – but it's not so clear what it all means for the direction of global civilization. So maybe that's what we fear most of all. The uncertainty of a fundamentally changing world.-TIMES

Ferris wheel murdered an 11-year-old girl.

(CNN) -- An 11-year-old girl died Friday after falling from a Ferris wheel while on a class trip to an amusement park in New Jersey, police said.
Abiah Jones fell at Morley Piers Mariner's Landing Pier about 12:30 p.m., according to the Wildwood Police Department.
First responders gave her first aid and took her to Cape Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about 1:15 p.m., according to police.
The girl was riding one of the park's main attractions, "The Great Wheel." At 156 feet, it's one of the tallest wheels on the East Coast, according to Morley Piers spokeswoman Lindsey Young.
The cause of the girl's fall was unknown and the Wildwood police and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office continue to investigate.
The Carnival Amusement Inspectors of New Jersey were also on the scene Friday afternoon conducting their own investigation, police said.
It is the first time someone has fallen from the ride since it opened in 1985 and the park has suffered no other guest fatality, Young said.

The ride was inspected by the state in March and passed, Young said.

Federer stops Djokovic win streak at 43.

PARIS - Dusk was descending, wind was swirling and full-throated chants of "Ro-ger! Ro-ger!" from 15,000 or so fans finally were hushing as Roger Federer stepped to the baseline to serve - one point from returning to the French Open final and one point from ending Novak Djokovic's 43-match winning streak.

Federer rocked back, unfurled his body and whipped an ace, his 18th Friday, to seal a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Djokovic, then roared and wagged his right index finger, as if telling the world, "I'm still No. 1!"

So what if the official ranking says otherwise? This was Federer showing he's still got what it takes.

He'll go for a 17th Grand Slam title, and second at Roland Garros, in Sunday's final against longtime nemesis and five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to improve to 44-1 at the clay-court major tournament.

By summoning all of the strokes and resolve required to win a taut, tense contest with a lot on the line, Federer also managed to do what no one else had in quite some time: defeat Djokovic, who entered the day 41-0 in 2011 and unbeaten since losing to - guess who? - Federer in late November.

INTERACTIVE French Open replay Miss any of Roger Federer's exciting four-set victory over Novak Djokovic? Watch a full replay of the match.

"I wasn't here to spoil the party," said the third-seeded Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the 2009 French Open. "Almost feels, somewhat, like I've won the tournament, which is not the case. Silverware is still out there to be won, and I'm looking forward to the match with Rafa."

It'll be their fifth meeting - and fourth final - in Paris since 2005. Nadal is 4-0 in those matches, part of his 16-8 overall lead head-to-head.

A sixth French Open title would tie Nadal with Bjorn Borg for the most in history.

"I don't think about that," said Nadal, who turned 25 Friday. "A lot of respect for the great Bjorn, but I ... focus on (trying) to play well. For me, is much more important win Roland Garros than equal Bjorn."

Slideshow   Federer vs. Nadal Relive the head-to-head battles between two of the best players in men's tennis.

Djokovic is the only other player to have beaten Federer more than eight times, including a 3-0 mark this season before Friday. Long considered one of the top talents in tennis, Djokovic credited a handful of factors with helping him excel recently: more maturity; confidence from helping Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in December; a gluten-free diet he now refuses to discuss in any detail. He won his second major title at the Australian Open in January and arrived in Paris as a co-favorite with Nadal, thanks in part to having beaten the Spaniard in two tournament finals on clay in May.

"It had to end somewhere," said the second-seeded Djokovic, who would have clinched the No. 1 ranking with a victory over Federer and will move up anyway if Nadal loses Sunday. "Best five months of my life, my tennis career. I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period."

Nadal's victory over the fourth-seeded Murray was far more compelling and competitive than a typical straight-set sweep, yet still paled in comparison to what Federer and Djokovic produced later. Because Nadal-Murray lasted more than three hours - and because the tournament pushed back the start of the men's semifinals from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. to accommodate TV - Federer and Djokovic didn't set foot on Court Philippe Chatrier until early evening. It was nearly 6 p.m. when the first point was played, and the heavy gray clouds clustered overhead limited the light.

Slideshow   Men's singles champions Take a look at all of the men who have hoisted the singles trophy at Roland Garros in the Open era.

By the end of the match, at 9:36 p.m., it was tough to see. Both men knew that if Djokovic managed to push their semifinal to a fifth set, play would have been suspended for the night and resumed Saturday.

For portions of the first two sets, Djokovic's timing was a tad off, perhaps a result of not having played since Sunday. It was an unusual four-day break in the middle of a Grand Slam tournament, one that came about because Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent withdrew with an injury.

Nevertheless, Federer and Djokovic produced riveting tennis, particularly in a 70-minute first set filled with lengthy exchanges, plenty of defense and terrific shotmaking.

As he approaches his 30th birthday on Aug. 8, Federer might no longer be at the height of his powers. But he's still awfully good. A couple of shots he conjured up in the first set - a volley that landed right on a corner; a forehand winner on the run that caught a line - were so superb that Djokovic felt obliged to join fans in applauding.

Video   Birthday win for Nadal June 3: Rafael Nadal calls the French Open the most important tournament of the year in his perspective and reflects on reaching another final at Roland Garros with a big win over Andy Murray.

It was at this tournament a year ago that Federer lost to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals, ending his streak of reaching the semifinals at a record 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. A month later, Federer lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, too.

Semifinal exits followed at the U.S. Open in September - after wasting two match points - and the Australian Open in January, both against Djokovic. Add it up, and it means Federer went more than a year without reaching a Grand Slam final, which wouldn't be a big deal for anyone else, but certainly was for a guy who'd never been through that long a drought since winning his first major title at Wimbledon in 2003.

Djokovic missed early chances to nose ahead. He held two set points at 5-4, but Federer saved both. Djokovic led 5-4 in the tiebreaker before a real lapse: backhand long; forehand wide; forehand into the net. Three unforced errors by Djokovic gave three points - and that set - to Federer.

 Djokovic spiked his racket on the court and caught it, then cracked it against his green bench on the sideline. Many in the stands started chanting Federer's first name, drawing a response of "No-le!" - Djokovic's nickname - from the couple dozen loud, raucous supporters in the Serb's guest box. Those choruses would return throughout the match.

"The first set was huge," Federer said.

When he also took the second, things looked bleak for Djokovic. Federer began the day 174-0 when ahead by two sets in a Grand Slam match.

"I just felt: You don't give me such a lead, and then think you can crawl back into the match," Federer said.

But Djokovic did, indeed, work his way back to win the third, the only set of the 19 Federer has played that he has dropped in the tournament.

Video   Highlights: Nadal tops Murray in straight sets June 3: Take a look at some of the best points from Rafael Nadal's semifinal victory over Andy Murray.

Djokovic then broke to lead 5-4 in the fourth when Federer shanked a forehand off his frame. That let Djokovic serve for the set, but Federer broke right back with a forehand winner that he punctuated by shaking his fist.

In the next game, Federer faced two break points but saved both, the second with an ace.

Federer's coach, Paul Annacone, said later: "He reminded me a little of the guy from California that I used to work with" - a reference to Pete Sampras, whose record of 14 major titles Federer broke.

Another ace, followed by a service winner, put Federer up 6-3 in the fourth-set tiebreaker. Djokovic served - and won - the next two points. But then came Federer's chance to end it with one serve, and he did.

"Mental toughness in important moments. That's what makes him a big champion," said Djokovic, who fell one win shy of tying John McEnroe's 42-0 start in 1984, the best in the Open era.

Timeline Memorable moments at Roland Garros Take a look back at some of the biggest matches in French Open history.

Factoring in the setting, the atmosphere and both players' performances, a reporter asked Federer whether this might be the best tennis match since his 9-7 fifth-set loss to Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final. The question made Federer recoil.

"I haven't disappeared since. I've played some great matches since, and I (made) some sacrifices. I wasn't lying on the beach," he replied. "So I'm pretty happy that I made that effort over the years, and that when it really counts, I'm at the big occasion. Today was one of those moments."-MSNBC

Oops, fatal diarrhea!

Russia has announced a ban on fresh vegetable imports from the European Union in the wake of a deadly E. coli outbreak that has swept across parts of Europe, state media reported on Thursday.

"The ban will be in effect until we become convinced that this situation is resolved -- that is, when the source of the infection is located and it is established how it is being transmitted, but most importantly, when the outbreak is contained and people stop getting infected and dying," Gennady Onishchenko, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Health and Consumer Rights, told the state-run ITAR-TASS news agency.


Frederic Vincent, the European Commission health spokesman, called the move "disproportionate."
"The commission will be writing today to the Russian authorities and we will be liaising and working with them in the coming days to try to find a solution," Vincent said.


The commission is the EU's executive body.


Customs officials have been instructed to prevent the produce from entering the country, according to Onishchenko. Supermarkets and food chains in Russia were told to withdraw European vegetables from their produce bins.


The ban could potentially affect some larger cities in the European part of the country, where about 90% of vegetables are imported, said Sergey Shugayev, chairman of the Rural Russia Association.
China and Turkey are the two largest exporters of fresh vegetables into Russia, according to the Russian Greenhouses Association.


The outbreak is responsible for 15 deaths in Germany and one in Sweden, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak has sickened more than 1,000 people in at least 10 countries.
The European Food Safety Alert Network said EHEC, or enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, a strain of E. coli that causes hemorrhaging in the intestines, was found in organic cucumbers originating from Spain, packaged in Germany and distributed to countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg and Spain.


But the source has not yet been pinpointed, authorities said.

The ban on fresh vegetables from the European Union comes three days after Russia blocked the import of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and salad greens from Germany and Spain. On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates imposed a temporary ban on cucumbers from Spain, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.-CNN

Teen a sex slave to her stepfather

A FIFTEEN-year-old teenage girl ran away from home after her stepfather made her his “sex slave” and sexually abused her at least 11 times, reported Harian Metro.
Her mother was aware of the abuse, yet remained silent.
A source told the daily that the victim had on numerous occasions complained to her mother but her pleas went unheeded.
“The victim's mother advised her to put up with it so her husband wouldn't leave her,” he said, adding that the couple had been married for about three months.
He said the man became bolder after realising his wife would not take any action.
The man, in his thirties, then began to approach the victim every time his wife was out of the house.
“Unable to stand the abuses anymore, the victim ran away to her aunt's house in Bangi for protection because she didn't feel safe,” he said.
Accompanied by her aunt, the teenager lodged a report at the Pandan Indah police station in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Ampang Jaya deputy OCPD Supt Md Nazri Zawawi confirmed receiving the report.
> Kosmo! reported that a father's quick action in using the short message service (SMS) helped rescue his daughter who was kidnapped by an Indonesian man.
Ibnu Sina, 50, had woken up for dawn prayers at around 4am in his house at Kota Masai, Johor, when he realised that his daughter Nurul, 21, had gone missing.
He quickly sent out a mass SMS to his friends and provided detailed information about his daughter.
A boatman in the area recognised Nurul from the SMS and questioned the man who was trying to take her to Lombok, Indonesia.
The man, identified as Hasan Basri, 24, told the boatman that Nurul was of Indian descent.
“However, the boatman realised that the name on her MyKad matched the details in my SMS,” said Ibnu.
Hasan was beaten up before being handed over to the police.
However, all is not well at Nurul's household.
Ibnu Sina said his daughter “seemed like a different person” after the attempted kidnapping.
“She seems to have lost her memory and doesn't even know what had happened to her,” he said.
Nurul was due to get married this Saturday to a technician from Pahang.- Sun News

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