The Conservative Report

Jailed U.S. Contractor Appears in Pakistani Court

Posted by gunnerstahl at 11:42 PM

Associated Press

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan – An American detained for visa violations in northwest Pakistan is a contractor who had worked on a U.S.-funded construction project in the region, a security official said Saturday.

Pakistan's intelligence agency says it is scrutinizing the details of Americans in the country after the arrest last month of a CIA employee for shooting dead two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore, but it was unclear whether the arrest of Aaron Mark DeHaven in Peshawar on Friday was directly related.

The killings in Lahore have sharply raised tensions between Pakistan's spy agency and the CIA, which cooperate behind the scenes in the fight against Islamist militant groups inside Pakistan. The shootings have also unleashed a new round of anti-American rhetoric in the country.

On Saturday, more than 300 Islamists from the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, which has militant links, rallied in Lahore, urging the government to hang the detained CIA contractor, Raymond Allen Davis.

"Expel all the CIA agents," said Amir Hamza, a leader of the charity.

The rally came hours after DeHaven appeared in court in Peshawar, and a judge ordered he remain in custody for 14 more days while police investigate him.

The security official said DeHaven was a contractor who had worked on at least one construction contract for the U.S. government in the region, declining to give more details.

He said DeHaven is a 34-year-old from Virginia who is married to a Pakistani woman. The official asked that his name not be published because of the sensitivity of the case.

DeHaven's application form for a work visa says he works for Catalyst Services.

The company's website says it performs logistics, "life support" and construction services around the world and lists contact numbers in Pakistan, Dubai and Afghanistan.

It says its management teams have U.S. Army or Defense Department backgrounds.

The United States makes extensive use of contractors to implement its billion-dollar aid and military projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The U.S. Embassy said it had seen media reports about the arrest and was trying to arrange consular access to DeHaven.

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Latest Videos February 26, 2011Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:21:53 GMT4:02 PM EST

Friend Me: Facebook Helps Reunite Mother, Daughter

Posted by gunnerstahl at 11:27 PM

KDVR.com

Baby picture of Christina Marie.

After 30 years, a Colorado mother and daughter have been reunited thanks to Facebook.

Angelina Rodriguez's baby was taken from her in 1980 by her then-boyfriend, according to KDVR.com.

She tried to get her daughter Christina Marie back legally for five years, but officials were unable to find her boyfriend, according to the website.

"He never called again. He never bothered again," Rodriguez told KDVR.com.

Rodriguez and her other daughter, Erica Benavidez, began searching for Christina Marie on Facebook and MySpace a few years ago.

"You wouldn't believe how many Christina Marie's are on Facebook and MySpace," Benavidez told the website.

But after nine long years, Christina Marie finally responded to a Facebook message Thursday night.

"My mouth just hung open," the mother told the website.

"It's like God knew I was supposed to be here," Benavidez told the site.

After reuniting on Facebook Thursday, the two talked on the phone for the first time Friday night. They hope to reunite in person soon.

Click here for more on this story about the Facebook reunion from KDVR.com.

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Latest Videos February 26, 2011Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:31:30 GMT4:02 PM EST

Obama to Qaddafi: Leave Libya Now

Posted by gunnerstahl at 11:12 PM

Feb. 25: President Obama meets with Democratic governors in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington.

Speaking out against Muammar al-Qaddafi for the first time, President Obama said on Saturday the Libyan leader needs to "leave now," having lost the legitimacy to rule.

In a White House statement on Obama's telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama took his most direct position yet on the escalating violence in Libya.

"The president stated that when a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," it said.

Obama's stance comes after he signed an executive order Friday freezing assets held by Qaddafi and four of his children in the United States. The Treasury Department said the sanctions against Qaddafi, three of his sons and a daughter also apply to the Libyan government.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced further sanctions Saturday, revoking visas for senior Libyan officials and their immediate family members. She said future applications from those blacklisted for travel to the United States would be rejected.

Qaddafi "should go without further bloodshed and violence," Clinton said in a separate statement.

Obama has been conferring with world leaders about the unrest in Libya. The administration is hoping that the world speaks with a single voice against Qaddafi's violent crackdown on protesters, and Obama is sending Clinton to Geneva on Sunday to coordinate with foreign policy chiefs from several countries.

The U.N. Security Council met urgently Saturday to debate new sanctions against Libya but disagreed over a proposal to refer Qaddafi and his top lieutenants to an international war crimes tribunal.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants immediate action to protect Libyan civilians. The U.N. chief was due in Washington on Monday for talks with Obama at the White House.

The administration had been facing increasing pressure to more forcefully condemn Qaddafi and explicitly call for his ouster, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy has done. Witnesses in Libya said Qaddafi is arming civilian supporters to set up checkpoints and roving patrols in Tripoli, the capital.

The U.S. held back, but its tone shifted sharply on Friday after Americans in Libya were evacuated to safety by ferry and a chartered airplane.

Shortly after, Obama signed an executive order outlining financial penalties designed to pressure Qaddafi's government into halting the violence. The order said that the instability in Libya constituted an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

A nonviolent revolt against Qaddafi's government began Feb. 15 amid a wave of uprisings in the Arab world. Most of Libya's eastern half is under the control of rebels. Witnesses say Qaddafi's government has responded by shooting at protesters in numerous cities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Latest Politics Videos February 25, 2011Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:56:37 GMT9:02 PM EST

How to Guarantee Great Abs

Posted by gunnerstahl at 10:57 PM

If you're on a mission this summer to get cut and achieve that ripped set of six-pack abs, there are some important abs diet commandments that you must follow. Failure to account for the foods you eat on a daily basis will quickly short circuit your results and leave you continually wondering when progress is going to take place.

If you really want to get results quickly, you must take control of your abs diet and only feed your body the foods that will prime it for fat burning.

Let's go over some of the top abs diet commandments that you must know.

1. Thou shalt not skip post-workout meals
Without question, the single most important meal that you must eat during the day is the post-workout meal. Many people make the mistake of skipping this meal, thinking that it will allow them to continue to burn off body fat after the workout.

The period after a workout is when that food will be used to stoke the metabolic rate and when it's going to get sucked right up into the muscle tissues.

If you want to really boost your ability to get lean, load up a higher percentage of your daily calorie intake right after the workout and keep the other meals during the day lower in overall calories.

2. Thou shall eat protein with each meal or snack
The second abs diet commandment to follow is to make sure you get some protein with each and every meal or snack you eat.

When on a strict fat-loss diet, protein is the single macronutrient that will spare your lean muscle mass.
If it's a rock-solid physique you're after, this will be essential. Focus on proteins that are naturally leaner, such as chicken, fish, egg whites and extra-lean cuts of red meat.

3. Thou shall include at least one high-carb day a week
Third, don't forgo carbs altogether. Many people who are attempting to get a ripped stomach are quick to remove virtually all carbs from their diet except fibrous vegetables.

When all carbohydrates are removed like this, your metabolism is going to plummet, making fat loss extremely difficult -- if not impossible.

Having at least one high-carb day in the diet is going to prevent this and keep that metabolism running faster. If you can have two or three high-carb days on your hardest workout days, it will be all the better.
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Use A Compass To ... Get Lost?

Posted by gunnerstahl at 10:42 PM

Gary A. Glatzmaier / UCSC

A computer simulation shows the Earth's magnetic field lines and two poles, with blue lines directed inward and yellow lines directed outward.

The Earth's magnetic field is changing at an increasing rate, throwing off airports and altering the aurora borealis -- and its effect on ordinary compasses could mean the difference between homeward bound and hopelessly lost.

Earth’s northernmost magnetic point -- or magnetic north -- is distinct from its geographic North Pole, and scientists have long known that the magnetic poles are on the move.

But the magnetic poles have been moving faster lately, sliding towards Siberia at 34 miles per year at a speed that's accelerated 36 percent over the last 10 years, according to the United States Geological Survey, or USGS.

Since compasses rely on magnetic north to point you in the right way up the trail, the average $2-dollar model could very well point you in the wrong direction. Depending on location and journey length, unaware hikers or boaters could find themselves hundreds of miles off course if they don’t calibrate for the shift, experts said.

5,000-Year-Old Ice Mummy Face

Posted by gunnerstahl at 10:27 PM

"A reconstruction of Otzi the Iceman -- a remarkably well preserved 5,300-year-old mummy sometimes lovingly called "Frozen Frit" -- recently created by Dutch forensic experts." /

Mysteries of Oscar Night

Posted by gunnerstahl at 10:12 PM

At 28, Anne Hathaway (pictured with co-host James Franco) is the youngest host of the Academy Awards.

LOS ANGELES -- To the movie industry, the Oscars are an awards ceremony. For the rest of us, they're a show.

So while we couldn't recall last year's best picture on a bet (Cameron's blue-aliens movie? No, wait, it was "Hurt Locker" from his ex!), we savor the memory of Billy Crystal's great opening bits and Jack Palance's one-armed push-ups and brave Christopher Reeve onstage, alone, in a wheelchair.

So, Academy Awards, what are you going to do for us in the three-hour-and-then-some ABC broadcast starting at 8 p.m. EST Sunday?

Nobody's complaining about seeing the likes of nominees Natalie Portman, Amy Adams or Colin Firth in their designer duds and with a potential winner's aura (and, in Portman's case, the unbeatable glow of pregnancy).

But in a year with so many apparent dead-certs -- including Portman as best actress for "Black Swan," Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Melissa Leo and Christian Bale of "The Fighter" for the supporting-actor prizes -- we need more bells and whistles.

First, there's the all-important theme for the Kodak Theatre event. This year: "You're invited."
OK. We accept.

Moving on, it's going to be cold, at least by L.A. standards, with temperatures dipping into the 40s at showtime. So during the red-carpet parade, look for loyal publicists earnestly guiding starlets out of the chill because why cover a designer gown with a coat?

The show's hosts are a key element and, this year, relatively daring: Anne Hathaway and James Franco, two fine, handsome actors but lacking the standard credentials of their predecessors, whether a seasoned emcee (Johnny Carson), comedian (Chris Rock) or song-and-dance man (Hugh Jackman).

ABC's promotional spots, including one in which Franco puts Hathaway's bathroom-break quickness to the stopwatch test, are a good sign that clever comedy is afoot. So is the approval of Alec Baldwin, who was a hit last year with co-host Steve Martin.

"She's a very smart and talented and gorgeous and funny woman, and he's a very charming and polished leading man," Baldwin said Friday. "They are great symbols of young Hollywood. The show is very well served by having them."

Any hosting advice for Hathaway, who was a best-actress nominee for 2008's "Rachel Getting Married," and Franco, who's up for best-actor honors for "127 Hours"?

"Just go with your instincts, because your instincts are what got you there in the first place," Baldwin counseled.

Hathaway, at 28 the youngest host ever, and Franco, 32, are expected to make a little music together. Hathaway sparkled in a 2008 Oscar duet with Jackman, while Franco practically demanded the chance to sing Sunday, said producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer.

More tunes are on tap with the return of the best-song showcases. The four nominated numbers will be performed by Gwyneth Paltrow ("Coming Home" from the film "Country Strong"); Randy Newman (his "Toy Story 3" song, "We Belong Together"); Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and composer Alan Menken ("I See the Light" from "Tangled") and Florence Welch and composer A.R. Rahman ("If I Rise" from "127 Hours").

The producers have secrets in store, including something they've termed "scenic transitions," with music and images that will take viewers to different points in film history for presentation of the more technical awards.

The best surprises, of course, are the unplanned emotional peaks. One could come courtesy of Annette Bening, 52, nominated three times before without winning, finally earning her trophy for "The Kids Are All Right." Or it could be provided by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld emerging as the underdog winner for her film debut in "True Grit."

Then there's presenter Sandra Bullock, returning to the stage where she triumphantly claimed her best-actress trophy last year for "The Blind Side" and then, within days, saw cheating allegations surface against her now-ex-husband, Jesse James.

Suspense over winners and losers is obviously a staple of the night. But there's a twist this year thanks to Banksy, the elusive British bad-boy street artist and nominee for best documentary feature for his directing debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop."

Will the artist who prefers to hide his face from public view suddenly turn ham and appear in front of a half-billion viewers? As the movie academy would put it, you're invited to find out.

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