MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2011
FATAL DISTRACTION
Israel: Bloody clash at Syrian border is ploy to divert attention from brutal crackdown
Israel is blaming the embattled Syrian government for allowing hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters to charge an Israeli security fence in Golan Heights yesterday, leading to clashes where Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing several of the demonstrators.
Syrian state television last night said 23 protesters were killed, with hundreds more wounded. The Israeli military said it was aware of 12 injured protesters.
A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that soldiers had opened fire at the protesters, but did not comment on the reports of casualties.
“We verbally warned them, we shot warning shots into the air,” spokeswoman Avital Leibovitch told reporters. “When this failed, we had to direct some fire to their feet in order to try to protect our fence.”
Leibovitch pointed to the Syrian government’s atypical willingness to permit protesters to reach the border fences, something it had previously resisted in order to avoid an Israeli military response.
“We believe that the Syrian regime is focusing the world’s attention on the border with Israel instead of what is happening there,” she said.
With massive unrest seizing several Syrian cities, she argued, the regime of President Bashar Assad has sought to redirect attention toward the territorial struggles and the conflict with Israel.
It was the second time in less than a month that protesters had managed to amass near the security fences that demarcate Israeli territory at the Syrian border — activity the Syrian government usually tightly controls.
In Lebanon, where Palestinian protesters also approached the Israeli border yesterday, Lebanese soldiers prevented them from getting too close.
Yesterday’s demonstration, in a valley outside the remote town of Majdal Shams, marked the anniversary of the start of the 1967 Six-Day War, during which Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria.
The storming of the border by unarmed protesters was part of a new, more confrontational approach by pro-Palestinian groups outside Israel, some of whom hope to ride the recent wave of popular uprisings across the Middle East. During a previous border storming in mid-May, on the anniversary of Israel’s founding, activists from surrounding territories converged on the borders of Israel from several different places, including the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Golan Heights. At least 10 Arabs were killed that day.
Israeli officials condemned yesterday’s actions, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denouncing the demonstrators in Golan Heights as “extremist elements” who “are trying to break through our borders and threaten our communities and our citizens.”
Images and video from the Associated Press and other sources at yesterday’s demonstration showed protesters tearing away portions of the barbed wiring at the outer limits of the Israeli security fence. Israeli soldiers could be seen crouching behind barricades and firing their weapons, and protesters returning volleys of rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Yemen’s Saleh recovers
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is said to be awake and recovering from brain surgery in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, after sustaining serious injuries during an attack on his compound last week.
Protesters, interpreting Saleh’s absence as a sign that his grip on power was weakening, celebrated on the streets of San‘a, where they have been staging anti-government demonstrations since January.
“Who is next?” asked one banner held up by protesters in a sea of red, white and black Yemeni flags, referring to the wave of uprisings in the Arab world that has seen the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt toppled and inspired uprisings elsewhere.
38 dead in Syria
A Syrian human rights observer said yesterday that 38 protesters had been killed in clashes with the military over the weekend, as the civil turmoil in Syria showed little signs of abating.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, described continuing clashes in the northwestern Idlib province, while in the central city of Hama, where some 50 people were reportedly killed on Friday, 100,000 protesters prepared for a three-day hunger strike.
The crackdown has raised Western pressure on President Bashar Assad, 45, who has tried to strengthen his regional clout by reaffirming an alliance with Iran and backing militant groups.
— Joshua Hersh
Steve Jobs breaks medical leave to show off Apple’s iCloud
Steve Jobs is expected to appear in public to show off Apple's iCloud, despite being on medical leave from the company. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, will make a rare public appearance on Monday to show off a new music subscription and content sharing service called iCloud, and new software to power the iPhone.
Jobs, 56, is unexpectedly breaking his medical leave from the company to appear at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Music industry sources indicate that Apple has now signed up the four major music labels in the US – Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner Music – for iCloud. It is thought that it will provide a music streaming service in the US similar to that available in Europe from Spotify. However it is not clear whether the music elements of iCloud will initially be available outside the US.
Reports by the New York Post suggest that Apple has had to make upfront payments to the labels of between $100m (£61m) and $150m to secure their business and ensure that it gets a lead over Spotify and rival music services launched in March and May from Amazon and Google.
Jobs is also scheduled to show off the new version of the software to run the hugely successful iPhone – but analysts are not expecting to see a new version of the device itself before September. They think that Apple is shifting its timing so that iPhone releases come closer to Christmas, in order to boost seasonal sales.
The Apple chief will have an audience of app developers who may also be keen to know how the company is going to protect them from a growing number of threats from patent holders in the US, where software can be patented. In the past two months more than a dozen developers for the iPhone have been sued by companies which claim to have patents covering the systems they use, and demanding payments. The developers, though, hope that Apple will seek to protect them because if developers are scared off there will be fewer apps for the iPhone and iPad – which will hit Apple's sales.
Jobs's presence is surprising because he announced in January that he would be taking time away from the company for unexplained medical reasons. It is believed that they are related to his surgery in 2004 for neuroendocrine cancer in the pancreas, a treatable condition, and a subsequent liver transplant. Jobs appeared very gaunt in pictures published this year, such as at a dinner with Barack Obama in February and his only other public appearance, to launch the iPad 2 tablet in March.
Stale of the century
Shoppers flock to ‘salvage grocery’ for old or damaged food
BY JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN
ARVADA, Colo. — Whether in the market for rattlesnake sausage, sarsaparilla soda or canned pork brains in milk gravy, Denver-area bargain hunters have long flocked to The Friday Store, a “salvage grocery” that stocks an always-eclectic selection of deeply discounted groceries.
But despite peddling stale Pepperidge Farm cookies and crushed Cheerios, business is booming at The Friday Store and similar discount grocers nationwide. In fact, the shakier the economy, the more willing Americans are to buy their food for the lowest possible price — even if the packaging is damaged or the expiration date has come and gone.
“I’m so broke, I can’t even pay attention,” said Peg Grieser, a 60-year-old Denver resident getting by on a small disability check. “I’d be nuts not to shop at The Friday Store.”
Married owners Martin and Jo Palumbo estimate business has increased 25 percent this year over last. And the higher that unemployment climbs, the more customers they have. The pair travel to reclamation centers and suppliers that specialize in reselling crates damaged by falling off a truck. Not like the mobster cliché of items that “fell off a truck” — in many cases, these foodstuffs have literally hit the highway.
But that hasn’t stopped adventurous shoppers from boldly stocking up on the discounted deals.
“In this economy, everything is going up except people’s wages,” said Martin Palumbo. “I’ve had customers thank me for allowing them to put food on the table at all.”
One of the nation’s largest discount grocers is Berkeley, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet, with 151 stores nationwide. The chain opened 12 new locations last year, and is planning an additional 13 this year.
“All the deep-discount stores have seen big increases in past years, and you just have to know it’s due to the bad economy and high unemployment rates,” said Melissa Porter, Grocery Outlet’s vice president of marketing.
At that chain, specific deals are made with food companies about selling expired food. While some brands don’t allow it at all, others have assured Grocery Outlet that their products are good for up to 30 days after the printed expiration date.
The Friday Store takes it even further, and last month was selling bottles of Del Monte ketchup that expired in October 2010 for $1, Power Bars that expired in November 2010 for 33 cents, and eight-count boxes of instant Starbucks Via that expired in January for $2.
Although, as Jo Palumbo points out, expiration dates can often be ignored by thrifty shoppers. And a vacuum-sealed bag of instant coffee is probably going to be good for a long, long time.
“Where else can you find jumbo breaded shrimp for $3 a pound?” asked Richard Douglas, 50, at The Friday Store as he hoisted a gallon jug of Goya bitter orange marmalade onto the counter.
“And this here jug is going to make me about a million margaritas.”
U.N. Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right
By David Kravets
A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.
The report railed against France and the United Kingdom, which have passed laws to remove accused copyright scofflaws from the internet. It also protested blocking internet access to quell political unrest (.pdf).
While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, states have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The report continues:
The Special Rapporteur calls upon all states to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, including during times of political unrest. In particular, the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend existing intellectual copyright laws which permit users to be disconnected from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws.
The report, by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, comes the same day an internet-monitoring firm detected that two thirds of Syria’s internet access has abruptly gone dark, in what is likely a government response to unrest in that country.
Kiss of death
‘Twilight’ vampire Pattinson smooches male co-star on big MTV night
BY HUNTER WALKER
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Team Edward took over the MTV Movie Awards last night as “Twilight” vampire Robert Pattinson sucked up the spotlight — and sucked face with his male co-star.
The Englishman picked up the first popcorn-shaped trophy of the evening yesterday — presented by a touchy-feely Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis — in the same category that he won for last year: Best Male Performance as vampire Edward Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”
Pattinson seemed to never leave the stage.
Apart from winning awards for from Best Fight (with Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel for their “Eclipse” battle), Best Male Performance and Best Movie (“Eclipse”), Pattinson also provided the hottest action of the night when he won for Best Kiss with “Twilight” leading lady Kristen Stewart.
Instead of smooching Stewart when accepting the prize, Pattinson ran into the audience and planted his lips on his surprised male “Twilight” co-star Taylor Lautner.
Lautner also got some face time earlier when Jason Sudeikis, the show’s tepid host, kicked off the ceremony at Gibson Amphitheater by starring in his own version of “The Hangover” in which he went in search of Lautner, who plays werewolf Jacob Black in the “Twilight” films.
Later, the Pattinson show continued as he slipped the F-word past censors during a giggly, rambling speech while presenting Reese Witherspoon with the special MTV Generation Award.
After the show, guests at a VIP afterparty were drenched by a rare Southern California rainstorm. Only a few hardcore revelers, including “Hard Times of RJ Berger” star Jareb Dauplaise, stuck around for the soaked shenanigans.
Britney Spears
Our musical mathematician breaks down what makes up performers.
BY @DISCOGRAPHIES
Chile’s Puyehue volcano spews a magnetic cloud of lightning 6 miles into the sky.
Riding for Relief
Celebrities and fashion designers came together in New York for the fourth annual Veuve Clicquot Polo classic. This year, the event benefited the charity organization Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti.
Santorum in White House Race; 'In It to Win'
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, once the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, said Monday he's seeking the GOP nomination for president, vowing he's "in it to win." (June 6)
“I deeply regret what I have done and I am not resigning.” - Anthony Weiner
The Only Living Boy in New York
Helpful.
Credit: The Daily (www.thedaily.com)
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