Mereja

Author: Serkadis

  • Noticias del Área Metropolitana de Maracaibo l III Edición

    NOTICIAS DE MARACAIBO

  • Cadillac CTS-V, vídeo disponible

    Después de que el Cadillac CTS-V fuera presentado en el Salón de Detroit, poco queda que no sepamos a día de hoy sobre el nuevo modelo de Cadillac. Acaba de ser publicado un vídeo en el que podemos apreciar a este increible coupé.

    Cadillac CTS-V

    En este vídeo podemos ver el periodo de tiempo desde que fueron presentados los primeros bocetos hasta que el modelo fué mostrado por completo. Recordemos que hará uso de un motor V8 de 556 CV de potencia.

    Related posts:

    1. BMW M5 vs Cadillac CTS-V
    2. Cadillac afirma que el CTS-V Coupé estará en Detroit
    3. Cadillac CTS-Coupé presentado en directo

  • Porsche 911 GT3 R debuts at Autosport International

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    2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R – Click above for high-res image gallery

    If you think the Porsche 911 is a common sight at country clubs and law firm parking lots, that’s nothing compared to the ubiquity of Neunelferen that dominate the race track. And this is the latest.

    Replacing last year’s GT3 Cup S, the new GT3 R was initially released back in November, but is now set to make its public debut at the Autosport International racing car show in Birmingham, England. Stripped down and track-tuned, the GT3 R is a pure racing machine, with a 4.0-liter flat-six driving 480 horsepower through a six-speed sequential transmission to the rear wheels.

    It’s been homologated to FIA GT3 regulations, so expect to see it dicing with the GT3-spec likes of the Alpina B6, Reiter Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Audi R8 LM and upcoming BMW Z4 – to name just a few – on race tracks around the world once the racing season gets off to a start.

    Follow the jump for more details and info on Porsche‘s racing program in the UK, and check out the images in the revised gallery below for all the angles.

    Gallery: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R

    [Source: Porsche]

    Continue reading Porsche 911 GT3 R debuts at Autosport International

    Porsche 911 GT3 R debuts at Autosport International originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Jim Rogers: Brace Yourself For Food Shortages, Thanks To The Banks Hoarding Cash

    Jim Rogers is sounding the alarm — buy agricultural commodities ahead of the riots. The financial crisis has cut off investment in agriculture, with many farmers unable to get loans for fertilizer according to Mr. Rogers. Of course, this means agricultural commodities will make a killing:

    CNBC: “Sometimes in the next few years we’re going to have very serious shortages of food everywhere in the world and prices are going to go through the roof.”

    Cotton and coffee are good buys because they are very distressed, while sugar, despite the fact that it has gone up a lot, is still down 70 percent from its all-time high, according to Rogers.

    “I don’t think that the problems of the world are behind us yet,” he said.

    Starting at 1:30 in the video:

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  • Themes para Windows 7 de AVATAR

    Microsoft a liberado de forma oficial un theme de “AVATAR” la nueva pelicula de James Cameron, que incluye 7 fondos personalizados de la pelicula.. Tambien hay un theme no oficial que tiene 24 wallpapers aun mejores, con sonidos, iconos y cursores incluidos..

    Enlaces

    Theme oficial de avatar

    Theme no oficial de avatar Link 1, Link 2, Vía.

  • Financial Stocks Getting Whacked After JPMorgan Earnings

    finviz DJIA jan15th

    Tthe market is tanking, with the financial sector taking huge losses.

    The Dow is down more than 100.

    The culprit? Weak top-line and consumer numbers at JPMorgan.

    Let’s see how the big boys are holding up:

     

    • JP Morgan (JPM): -2.42%

    • Goldman Sachs (GS): -2.05%

    • Morgan Stanley (MS): -3.27%

    • Wells Fargo (WFC): -2.41%

    • MBIA (MBI): -3.07%

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  • Cloud Computing Circa 1963

    Well – what’s old is new again. Dave Jilk – my first business partner and CTO of Standing Cloud – sent me this magnificent video on 1963 Timesharing: A Solution to Computer Bottlenecks where MIT Professor Fernando Corbato explains how timesharing works to MIT Science Reporter John Fitch (who has one of those magnificent deep reporter voices).

    Since history can be so incredibly instructive to reflect on when you think about the future of science.  If you draw a curve of “computer technology progress” from 1963 to 2010 after you watch this and then ponder the progress from 2010 to 2057 you will have a very interesting few moments of reflection.

    The following quotes are approximate but they will give you enough sound bites to motivate you to watch it!

    “Computers used to be unreliable – they managed to lick all of those problems” (2:00)

    “The man machine interaction is very poor” (3:00)

    “The computers are very expensive – they cost between 300 and 600 / hour” (3:30) – (BAF: Kind of like a lawyer today)

    “It’s a little noisy out here (in the data center) – let’s go in my office so I can show you how it works from a remote terminal” (4:30)

    “It looks like a typewriter” (5:00)

    The moments of drawing on a blackboard to explain how a computer works (starting around 6:00) is priceless.

    “Eventually we’d like to see graphical display but there are technical problems right now” (9:30)

    “Wooo the chalk is a little soft” (12:30)

    “The disk memories have been available for a year or so but most people haven’t figured out how to use them yet because they haven’t figured out how to keep things from getting mixed up” (16:30)

    “I’m moderately familiar with the keyboard – we have to study how humans interact with the machines” (19:00)

    Watching the interactive demo at about 20:00 is just wild.

    “In the long run we will have increasing needs for computer time by a large amount” (25:00)

    Singularity anyone?  Or not so much?


  • Adam Lambert “Whaddya Want From Me” VIDEO Premiere


  • Hydrogen Nano Bubble Storage Technology Advances

    This week I was able to chat with Louis Ventre, Jr. who is the Executive VP and General Counsel for HCE, LLC. HCE has just filed a U. S. patent application for hydrogen nano bubble storage methods based upon the work of the late inventor Udo von Wimmersperg.

    The theory behind the patent is that hydrogen bubbles at a nano scale can be dispersed and stored in water. This water in turn can be stored in a container at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperatures. These hydrogen nano bubbles then can be released for use in hydrogen internal combustion engines and fuel cells. So essentially these nano scale water bubbles are filled with hydrogen at very high pressures, up to 43,500 pounds per square inch before being released. This “juiced” water, however, does not have to be stored any differently than a combustible liquid such as gasoline.

    According to the HCE, “The method used to release gas from the aqueous dispersion depends on the application. In the case of an internal combustion engine one might choose to inject the dispersion into the inlet manifold and carry the water through the combustion and expansion process. Alternatively, the gas can be separated by weakening the surface tension of the water through raising the temperature of the dispersion. This can be done, for example, by utilizing waste heat. Another method to release hydrogen would be to introduce an additive that lowers surface tension. The rate at which gas separation from liquid can be effected is related to prevention of foaming. In the case of fuel cells, it may be advantageous to introduce the gas in dispersion.”

    Once again, according to the company, “The invention of a new liquid fuel consisting of a dispersion of hydrogen nanobubbles in water solves this problem. The hydrogen nanobubble dispersion (HND) can be carried in a normal fuel tank and can be used as a direct replacement of gasoline in conventional engines. The vehicle range per gallon of HND is the same as that for gasoline. In addition there is a saving in weight by a factor two because of the lower density of HND; this aspect is of particular benefit in the case of aircraft fuel.”

    Many people will turn up their noses when one mentions running a car on water. There is no evidence that a car has run on water alone to date. But, this juiced water along with leading edge hydrogen nano bubble storage technology may just allow us to rethink the possibilities of how future hydrogen cars will be fueled and what it will take to get us to this point. Many thanks to Louis Ventre, Jr. for his insights and information about this new “outside-the-box” technology.

  • BofA Credit-Card Charge-Offs Reverse Three Month Decline, Jump In December

    creditcard9.jpg

    American shoppers, stressed to save face during the holiday season, are still having problems paying their debts.

    But the picture is mixed..

    Reuters: Bank of America, the biggest U.S. bank, had the highest default and delinquency rates of the three companies that reported early on Friday. The bank said its rate of charge-offs — debts the company believes it will never collect — rose last month to 13.53 percent from 13.00 percent in November, reversing a three-month decline.

    Bank of America’s credit card delinquencies — an indicator of future loan losses — fell to 7.44 percent last month from 7.69 percent in November. Capital One said its annualized charge-off rate for U.S. credit cards rose to 10.14 percent in December from 9.60 percent in November.

    However, credit card accounts that were at least 30 days delinquent fell to 5.78 percent from 5.87 percent at Capital One, the third-largest U.S. issuer of Visa-branded credit card and the fifth-largest issuer of MasterCard-branded credit cards.

    Continue reading ->

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  • How-To: Create Your Own iTunes LP

    iTunes LP Logo

    The iTunes LP is the new format Apple has been pushing in iTunes. It’s more like a DVD than anything else. You have menus, music, photos, liner notes and videos. Since this is such a fresh format, not many albums are available in it yet. The good news is, you can make your own.

    I’ll take you through the process of creating your own iTunes LP that you can distribute yourself.

    Getting Started

    Apple offers a template to help you out, which can be found here (ZIP). After it is unzipped, you should see an iTunes-LP-Example.itlp file. Right click on the file and select “Show Package Contents.”

    If you open up the index.html file in Safari, you’ll see the LP.

    First, we want to edit the iTunesMetadata.plist file in TextEdit and enter some info about the LP we are creating. I decided to do the Neutral Milk Hotel album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Filling out this information helps iTunes import the LP correctly. Make sure the artist and album name are correct at a minimum.

    Now we can get into the good stuff. We want to create the background image and the bleed image. The bleed image is what the user see’s if they are viewing the album at a resolution larger than 1280×720. Open up the images/interface/bleed.png file in your image editor of choice. For now, you might just want to make the image a solid color, otherwise it may look cluttered.

    The buttons are simply images that can be replaced easily. The LP format is really just HTML with some nice JavaScript and CSS. Because of this, you can make your LP’s as complicated as you see fit. The CSS folder contains all the CSS files that reference the positioning of the buttons. Editing the home.css file, I can change the position of my title on the home page.

    The one thing your LP will need, no mater how simple, is music. The music doesn’t live inside the LP itself. The LP file just references songs in your iTunes library. There is an audio folder, where the intro music that plays on the LP lives. Apple suggests keeping this short, so I opened up one of the songs off the album in iTunes. I then edited the Start and Stop times.

    After I made sure it played back properly, I created an AAC version of it by right clicking and selecting “Create AAC Version.” This created a new m4a file that was the specific length I wanted. I renamed the file to intro.m4a and replaced the original intro.m4a file in the audio folder.

    Next, lets add some photos. I used Google to grab a handful of images related to the band. Then I replaced the photos in the images/photos folder and used the same naming convention of photo01.jpg.

    The photos will get resized and cropped automatically to 600×400 when they are displayed, so size doesn’t seem to be too important.

    Now I want to add some liner notes, so I used the band’s bio information from Amazon. Just edit the views/linernotes.html file and add your own text.

    I decided that I didn’t want the credit or video sections so I deleted them out of views/home.html.

    Then I had to edit the css/home.css file to move the liner notes button up.

    Things are really starting to come together.

    Adding Songs & Lyrics

    Adding songs is probably the hardest part of the whole iTunes LP creation process. The LP references songs by their XID. The XID is a serial number of sorts that Apple assigns to every song available for purchase in the iTunes store. This means the LP can play any song that it knows the XID for, regardless if the user renamed the file in anyway. If it’s a song you didn’t purchase from iTunes, you have to create your own XID.

    We’ll look at how to find the XID for songs you’ve purchased from iTunes. First, you need to enable author mode for iTunes. Make sure iTunes is closed and then run this command in Terminal:

    defaults write com.apple.iTunes WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true

    Now open iTunes back up, right-click on a purchased song and choose Get Info. Under the Info tab you will see an XID field. That is how to tell your LP what song to play.

    But what if this isn’t a song you purchased through iTunes? Then the XID field will be blank. We need to generate our own. Go to Terminal and enter the following command:

    uuidgen

    You will now get back a random UUID string that can be used for a song. You have to do this for every song so they each have a unique XID. Find your song in iTunes and get to the XID field. Apple wants us to prefix this UUID with TEST:uuid: to create the complete XID string. Now our song has a unique XID that can be referenced in our LP.

    There are two places these XID’s need to be entered. The manifest.xml file and the controllers/data.js file. First we edit the manifest.xml file and replace the default XID with the one from our track.

    Then we edit the data.js file and do the same.

    Now open up your LP in iTunes, play the first song and admire your work. These same steps need to be done for every song on the LP.

    Let’s add some lyrics to our song next. The lyrics are just an image file located in the images/songs/ folder. They are named simply lyrics01.jpg and so on. You can either just create a simple image with text in it or get creative. What about scanning lyrics from the original vinyl/CD art? You could go even further and scribble the lyrics down on paper then scan it in.

    Replicate these steps for each song and remember to be creative. The LP will only be as cool as you want it to be. I like to think of it as digital scrap-booking. If you love the music, you will be inspired to go all out.

    If you create an LP and use XID’s from songs purchased through iTunes, you could give the LP to someone else. As long as they also purchased the songs in iTunes, it will work for them. You could also find a small local band that you dig and create one for them. That should get you some backstage passes.

  • Abt Launches Tuning Package for Audi Q7 Facelift 3.0 TDI Clean Diesel

    Volkswagen Group-dedicated tuner Abt Sportsline has released a tuning package for the facelift version of the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Clean Diesel.

    The company promises that the engine’s praised fuel economy and emissions efficiency have remained untouched, while the unit’s power was upgraded from the standard 240HP to 278HP. The torque has also gone up from the factory stock 550 Nm to 580 Nm.

    The clean and now mean(ish) Q7 sits on ABT springs, which bring it 30mm closer to the ground and it can… (read more)

  • University of Chicago Applications to College Increase Significantly

    The University of Chicago has recorded a substantial increase in applications to the College this year, forming the largest and most diverse undergraduate applicant pool in the school’s history while maintaining the highest academic standards.

    The University received 19,306 applications for the class entering in the fall of 2010, a 42 percent increase from last year’s total of 13,564.

    There were increases in applications from minority students, as well as increases from all income levels, from every geographic region of the U.S. and from outside the country.

    Leaders at the University said the increases reflect a larger number of talented students becoming familiar with the distinctive opportunities available at UChicago.

    “Our students and faculty place great value on intellectual curiosity, diversity of thought and openness to the world,” said John W. Boyer, Dean of the College and the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor in History.

    “Attracting more students who share our values enriches our academic culture of constantly testing ideas and arguments. At Chicago we are fortunate to have students at all levels who share our devotion to the core academic enterprise of the University.”

    This year’s increase continues a trend that has built for two decades and accelerated in recent years, including a doubling of College applicants since 2006. University leaders said the growth stems, in part, from a broadening of academic programs and enhanced student life opportunities.

    For example, the Chicago Studies program has created new avenues for intellectual engagement with the city, the College has significantly expanded support for student research projects supervised by faculty and it also has created many new study-abroad options, including the five-year-old Center in Paris and a new initiative in China.

    Additional student life initiatives have included the recent construction of new residence halls and athletics facilities, the growth of cultural options in the Hyde Park neighborhood and a renewed emphasis on the arts as an integral part of campus life.

    The Odyssey Scholarships program also has helped more students benefit from a UChicago education by reducing loans and supplying grants for students who qualify.

    Enthusiasm among prospective students continues to grow, as shown by this year’s rise in early-action applications, which increased by 32 percent over the previous record in 2007.

    Because early applicants tend to view the University as a first choice, the increase suggests a growing group of students who are passionate about the institution, said James G. Nondorf, Vice President and Dean of College Admissions and Financial Aid.

    “By every measure, this is a highly accomplished and diverse group of young scholars,” Nondorf said.

    Nondorf said the school’s adoption of the Common Application in 2008 likely contributed to the increase in applications.

    “What’s most encouraging is that so many talented students and their families are learning about this University’s distinctive strengths,” Nondorf said.


  • Official T-Mobile HTC Touch Pro 2/Dash 3G WM 6.5 upgrade now available for download

    t-mowm65

    Some-one at T-Mobile US appears to have flipped a switch early, as the official Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM update for the HTC Touch Pro 2 and the T-Mobile Dash 3G are now available for download.

    Owners simply need to follow the link below and enter their EMEI number to access the download, that was originally intended to be released on January 20th.

    Download the ROM update here.

    Via Tmonews.com

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  • Yahoo Mail Gets an Updated Duplicate Contacts Tool

    Gmail may be getting more headlines than Yahoo Mail and it’s certainly more popular with the hipper crowd but, at the end of the day, Yahoo’s webmail client is so far ahead in terms of market share that it doesn’t really matter. And even as Yahoo continues to look for its ‘inner purpose’ by ditching search and focusing on content, Yahoo Mail is… (read more)

  • Jim Chanos: Just Wait Until The Chinese See Communist Insiders Flipping Their Homes

    China uber-bear Jim Chanos adds some thoughts to the Chinese real estate bubble story:

    Owning your own home is fast becoming the number one goal — and fear — of the working and middle-classes of China. Compounded by the fact that there are few modern public or private pension plans for retired workers, this “nation of frugal savers” has made the bet of a lifetime (literally) on already over-priced residential real estate — often with accumulated family savings.

    If it turns out that foreign “hot money” and Party insiders have been the sellers (or more accurately, the “flippers”), while the workers have been the buyers, the potential for social unrest will soar. More importantly, confidence in Beijing’s economic “Miracle” and its mandarins will soon shatter as investors around the world realize that Chinese policymakers learned nothing from the West’s crisis of just a few years ago.

    Forget Chinese trade, the yuan, shoddy construction and manufacturing, the pollution, commodity demand, labor migration, or even $2.3 trillion in foreign currency reserves. The only Chinese political economy story that “counts” is the “Chinese Residential Real Estate Bubble.”

    Now see the evidence that Chinese real estate is the most obvious bubble ever — >

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  • Three More Charged with Headley in Mumbai and Demark Terrorism Plots

    Tahawwur Rana and David Headley Indicted for Alleged Roles in India and Denmark Terrorism Conspiracies

    Ilyas Kashmiri and Retired Pakistan Major Charged in Denmark Plot

    A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.

    The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on Dec. 7, 2009, while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of the designated foreign terrorist organization Lashkar e Tayyiba.

    Also indicted were Ilyas Kashmiri, an allegedly influential terrorist organization leader in Pakistan who is alleged to be in regular contact with leaders of al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, both of whom were charged in two conspiracy counts relating to the Denmark terrorism plot.

    Both Rana and Abdur Rehman were charged separately in previous court filings, but today’s indictment charges Kashmiri for the first time, although he was identified by name in the charges filed previously against Rana, Abdur Rehman, and Headley.

    Rana, 49, a Canadian citizen, Chicago resident, and native of Pakistan, has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested on Oct. 18, 2009, in connection with the planned attack in Denmark. He was indicted today on three counts of providing material support to terrorism or a terrorist organization—one count of providing material support in preparation for and in carrying out the Mumbai attacks; one count of providing material support to the Denmark terrorism plot; and one count of providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar). Translated as the “Army of the Good,” Lashkar operated in Pakistan for the principal purpose of fighting to separate from India portions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Lashkar was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in December 2001.

    No date has been set yet for Rana to be arraigned in federal court in Chicago. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber.

    Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also known as “Major Abdur Rehman” and “Pasha,” were each charged with one count of conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to the Danish terrorism plot. Neither man is in U.S. custody.

    Headley, 49, a U.S. citizen and Chicago resident, faces the same 12 counts that were filed against him last month—six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, and providing material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India. Headley has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges but previously authorized the Justice Department to disclose that he is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.

    In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar, and conspired with its members and others, including Rana, Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, in planning and executing the attacks in Denmark and India. He allegedly conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.

    The superseding indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI; and David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the FBI offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are also participating in the investigation and prosecution.

    Mumbai Terror Attacks

    According to the charges, unnamed Lashkar Member A, who served as a “handler” for Headley and another person associated with Lashkar, advised Headley in late 2005 that Headley would be traveling to India to perform surveillance of potential targets for Lashkar. Headley changed his given name of Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, enabling him to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the spring of 2006, Lashkar Member A and a Lashkar associate discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

    In approximately June 2006, Headley allegedly traveled to Chicago, advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India, and obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities. Rana allegedly directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story of opening a First World office in Mumbai, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India. Headley misrepresented his birth name, his father’s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application, the indictment alleges.

    In July 2006, unnamed Person A in Pakistan gave Headley approximately $25,000 to establish and operate the Mumbai office of First World and to pay for living expenses while Headley carried out his assignment for Lashkar, the charges add.

    Headley later made five extended trips to Mumbai—in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008—each time taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008, and using his association with First World as cover for his travels. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance photos and videos.

    During his meetings with Lashkar members and associates in Pakistan after the September 2007 surveillance trip to Mumbai, Lashkar Member A showed Headley a styrofoam mockup of the Taj Mahal hotel, and Person A provided Headley with approximately $2,000 worth of Indian currency for expenses, according to the indictment. Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Lashkar Member A provided Headley with an additional $1,000 worth of Indian currency. In addition, Lashkar Members A and B provided Headley with a global positioning system device and showed him how to use it to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai, which Headley then used during his surveillance trips in April and July 2008, the charges state.

    Before the July 2008 visit, Person A provided an additional $1,500 worth of Indian currency to Headley to keep the First World office open, but approved closing that office in the future and opening a new business in Delhi, India, to be used as cover for future activities. During Headley’s July 2008 surveillance mission, Person A communicated with Headley by passing messages to him through Rana, the indictment alleges.

    Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley allegedly had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims.

    The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.

    Denmark Terror Plot

    Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley allegedly conspired between October 2008, and Oct. 3, 2009, with Kashmiri, Abdur Rehman and others to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, including murder and maiming, against the facilities of the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and two of its employees, Editor A and Cartoonist A. In 2005, the newspaper had published 12 cartoons, some of which depicted the Prophet Mohammed, setting off protests throughout the Muslim world. In early 2008, the Jyllands-Posten and other Danish newspapers republished one of the cartoons which had drawn particularly strong criticism.

    Today’s indictment alleges that Headley met with Lashkar Member A in Pakistan in October 2008 and discussed the prospect of an attack on the newspaper, including extensive surveillance work that Headley would perform. Lashkar Member A allegedly provided Headley with a thumb drive containing information about Denmark, the city of Copenhagen, and the newspaper. In late December 2008 and early January 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley advised Rana of the planned attack on the Danish newspaper and his intended travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance of its facilities. Headley allegedly obtained Rana’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper’s offices by falsely expressing interest in placing advertising for First World in the newspaper. At the same time, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. Before departing Chicago, Headley and Rana caused business cards to be made that identified Headley as a representative of the Immigration Law Center, the business name of First World, according to the charges.

    Headley allegedly traveled in January 2009, from Chicago to Copenhagen, Denmark, to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and to videotape the surrounding areas. On Jan. 29, 2009, Rana, posing as Headley, allegedly sent an e-mail to the Jyllands-Posten pretending to be interested in placing an advertisement in the newspaper on behalf of First World.

    In late January 2009, Headley traveled to Pakistan and met separately to discuss the planning with Abdur Rehman and Lashkar Member A. In February 2009, Abdur Rehman allegedly took Headley to meet with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan. During the meeting, Kashmiri allegedly indicated that he had reviewed the surveillance videos made by Headley and suggested using a truck bomb in the operation. Kashmiri further indicated that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary, the indictment alleges. Subsequently, in March 2009, Lashkar Member A advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, according to the charges.

    In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met again with Kashmiri in Waziristan and Kashmiri allegedly directed Headley to meet with his European contacts who could provide Headley with money, weapons, and manpower for the newspaper attack. In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, including Copenhagen, attempting to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while there, made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos, according to the charges.

    In September 2009, Headley and Rana allegedly spoke about reports that Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper. Later that month, Abdur Rehman, from Pakistan, allegedly called Headley to report that Kashmiri was not killed and was anxious to move forward with attacking the newspaper. In the late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley allegedly agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headley’s work in Denmark.

    On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to meet with and deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri, the indictment alleges.

    The charges identify Kashmiri as an influential leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), an organization that trained terrorists and executed attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control and other areas. Kashmiri based his operations from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of western Pakistan, an area which served as a haven for terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. Kashmiri allegedly was in regular contact with al Qaeda and in particular with an al Qaeda leader, Mustafa Abu al Yazid, also known as “Sheik Said al Masri.”

    According to the indictment, in June 2008, al Qaeda, through its media wing known as “As Sahab Media,” took credit for an attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohamed first published in the Jyllands-Posten in 2005. In August 2008, al Qaeda released a video through As Sahab Media calling for further attacks in retaliation for the publication of the cartoons, and Mustafa Abu al Yazid, among others, appeared in the video. The indictment alleges that in July 2009, Headley provided the al Qaeda video to Rana in Chicago.

    The counts against Headley charging conspiracy to bomb public places in India that resulted in deaths and aiding and abetting the murders of U.S. nationals each carry a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment or death. All of the other counts against Headley carry a maximum of life imprisonment, except providing material support to the Denmark terror plot—against all four defendants—carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.

    The other two material support counts against Rana, and the conspiracy to murder and maim people in Denmark against Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also carry a maximum of life in prison.

    The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Victoria J. Peters, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Grigg and Janet Hudson of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

    The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Press Releases | Chicago Home


  • New Assassin’s Creed game to star Ezio

    The next Assassin’s Creed game will once again star Assassin’s Creed 2’s Ezio, Ubisoft recently confirmed. Furthermore, it’ll follow the events that took place in AC2.

  • 2011 BMW 135i to get 7-speed double-clutch automatic

    BMW 7-speed double-clutch

    BMW has confirmed that its 2011 BMW 135i model will get its 7-speed double clutch automatic transmission as an option. The transmission will replace the current 6-speed automatic while the Getrag 6-speed manual will remain standard.

    The optional transmission is expected to increase fuel-economy and performance of the 135i’s new N55 inline-6 engine with a single twin-scroll turbocharger and BMW’s Valvetronic electric-motor-driven variable-valve-lift technology.

    The 2011 BMW 335is that we told you about earlier this morning will also get the 7-speed DCT automatic as an option.

    – By: Kap Shah

    Source: Inside Line


  • Kids, Creativity and the National Radon Poster Contest

    January is National Radon Action Month, or NRAM. Read more about EPA’s radon activities and what others are doing to reduce their radon exposure.

    Two months ago, I helped judge the 2010 National Radon Poster Contest.

    What amazed me most was the amount of creativity in the posters submitted by children, aged 9 to 14. Several times I assumed I was staring at an entry from a junior high student and it turned out to be from a fourth grader … a fourth grader! It gave me a great opportunity to appreciate children as messengers for environmental causes. The amount of poster entries this year was incredible: 216 schools in 36 states, one U.S. territory and seven tribal nations created a total of 2,862 posters!

    Creators of the winning 2010 posters are being recognized today at the Indoor Air Quality Tools for School Symposium in Washington, D.C. The national first place winner is pictured in this column and you can find posters for all national, state, territorial and tribal nation winners here. Posters were judged on criteria set by the National Safety Council, Kansas State University, and Environmental Protection Agency, co-sponsors of the 2010 contest.

    It’s important to get children involved early with simple messages. Some messages we stress through the Radon Poster contest are:

    • Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless.
    • Radon is a radioactive gas that can reach harmful levels if trapped indoors.
    • Radon comes from the soil underneath your home.
    • Radon causes lung cancer.

    Simple messages to children inspire adults to take action. Our action message is clear, “Test. Fix. Save a life.” That is, test for radon in your home, school and other buildings; fix existing radon problems; and build new homes to be radon resistant.

    Kansas State University’s National Radon Program will co-sponsor upcoming radon poster contests. Get involved! Promote the National Radon Poster Contest at your school. Organize a local awards ceremony to honor the winner selected by your school, community or state. Contact your state radon program to get started.

    Children play key roles as messengers. They are our radon, and environmental, advocates of the future.

    About the Author: Rebecca L. Reindel, MFS, is an Association of Schools of Public Health Environmental Health Fellow in the Indoor Environments Division, part of the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. She is completing her Master’s Degree in Public Health at the George Washington University. She holds a Master’s in Forensic Toxicology, has previously addressed workplace exposures for taxi drivers and is an instructor at GWU.