Movies, TV and yes, toys, draw fans to Comic-Con - Salt Lake Tribune

In this July 5, 2012 photo, the Marvel Universe S.H.I.E.L.D. Super Helicarrier, at center with a Captain America figure on the foredeck, is seen with, from left background, a DC Comics Vertigo Death figurine, the Polly Pocket DC Comics Villain set, and a Dana as Zuul "Ghostbusters" figure, all special-issue Comic-Con 2012 collectibles, shown in Los Angeles. The annual four-day Comic-Con festival runs July 12-15, 2012, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Los Angeles ? Football fans have the Super Bowl. Soccer enthusiasts have the World Cup. Cinephiles have the Academy Awards.

For pop-culture lovers ? the self-professed geeks and nerds who delight in fantasy-inspired fun from anime to zombies ? there is Comic-Con, the Olympic-sized celebration of movies, TV, video games, costumes and pop art that began as a humble comic-book convention 43 years ago and is now an annual marketing extravaganza.

From Thursday to Sunday, more than 100,000 pop-culture aficionados will flood the San Diego Convention Center, showing off their Storm Trooper suits, playing yet-to-be-released video games and attending panels featuring A-list filmmakers like Peter Jackson and such hot TV shows as "Game of Thrones."

But first comes Wednesday?s "preview night." Available only to those who bought four-day passes to the sold-out convention, the showing is decidedly low tech, yet high end: it?s all about collectible toys.

On display will be special-issue, limited-edition playthings and books made just for the pop-culture fest. These include not only the unique freebies that various booths are giving away, but also coveted collectibles that could fetch hundreds of dollars at Comic-Con and hundreds more in after-market sales.

"There are people who buy tickets for every day of the show so that on Wednesday night they can be the first in line for these exclusive collectibles. That?s their reward for going to a destination like Comic-Con," said pop-culture expert and host of G4?s "Attack of the Show" Blair Butler. "There are also people who flip that stuff on eBay for hundreds of dollars. They buy two: One to keep and one to sell on eBay."

Collectors will literally run across the massive convention center floor when the doors open Wednesday evening to cue up for products like Hasbro?s S.H.I.E.L.D. Super Helicarrier, a four-foot-long replica of the flying superhero headquarters from the "Avengers" movie and Mattel?s quirky Dana as Zuul "Ghostbusters" figurine. Others seek out small-run exclusives such as the golden Domo bobble-head doll (only 1,000 made) and Image Comics? special hardcover comics collection "The Walking Dead: Compendium One" (only 900 available).

Toy companies and publishers large and small make special products just for the Comic-Con crowd. Hasbro and Mattel each issue around 10 Comic-Con exclusives a year. These toys are introduced at Comic-Con and limited numbers are often made available for sale later at Toys "R" Us and on each company?s collector websites.

"Everything is made in limited quantities. Products can double, triple, quadruple in price over the course of a year," said Hugo Stevenson, president of Huckleberry Toys, which is offering zombies and other figurines based on the upcoming film "ParaNorman." "There?s a whole group of people who actually make a business out of this: Going down and buying collectibles at San Diego Comic-Con and then selling them in their stores or on eBay."

For most collectors, though, adding exclusive items to a carefully cultivated collection is priceless.

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"No collector is going to sell their collection," said Scott Neitlich, a marketing manager at Mattel whose personal toy cache includes "roughly 5,000" figures. "It?s not just about the physical price of the product, but the emotional connection each collector has about what figures they?ve decided to include."

Most toy collectors are men ages 25 to 40, he said, though women are getting into the hobby in growing numbers. Mattel is aiming its limited DC Comics Vertigo Death statuette and Polly Pocket DC Comics Villains set at female collectors. Hasbro hopes to tap the market with a special-edition My Little Pony: a gray Pegasus with blonde hair.

"It?s people who grew up in the ?70s and ?80s who now have disposable income to recapture their youth," Neitlich said. "Toys are so important because it?s the one pop-culture medium that traverses all licenses. Batman and He-Man can battle on your shelf. You?re probably not going to see that movie or that comic book, but toys are that one medium that can coexist across all of pop culture. It allows your shelf to become a symbol of everything that you love. It?s really about celebrating individuality and which characters speak to you."

He?s most excited about the exclusive new Vykron action figure, based on a 1982 He-Man prototype, which comes with military warrior, spaceman and barbarian outfits.

"Comic-Con has become the place, really the only place, where you can go to get these limited-edition, first-edition products," said Rich Collins, chief of Big Tent Entertainment, which makes toys and products for Domo, Dark Horse Comics and other brands. "If you?re a fan of this genre, this is THE show, not just in the U.S., but globally."

As Stevenson of Huckleberry Toys puts it, "They have anything and everything for sale down there. If you can?t find something you like ... you must not really be into pop culture."

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/54447059-81/comic-con-toys-pop.html.csp

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Melted hearts? Olympic flame in my hometown

LOCOG

Torchbearer John Bowman lights the cauldron with the Olympic Flame following the Torch Relay journey through Chelmsford, England on Friday.

By Peter Jeary, NBC News producer

CHELMSFORD, England -- By any measure, 2012 has been a year to remember for my hometown of Chelmsford, about thirty miles northeast of London.

First, the borough was rather unexpectedly granted city status as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations earlier this spring. I've always thought the U.S. has played fast and loose with the term 'city', appending it to all kinds of urban sprawl. But in England it's a much more serious matter; to be a city means gravitas, history and a definite sense of superiority over those places that, well, aren't.

---

Then just a few days later, as if to top the royal accolade, it was announced that Chelmsford would play host to the Olympic torch relay on its odyssey around Britain. And it wouldn't just have the torch parade through its streets ? it would play overnight host to the sacred flame!

As we say about buses in England: You wait ages for one and then two come along together.

But was I the only resident to think our civic cup runneth over with good fortune?

For a while, I feared I was.

Taking the pulse of the community on a rain-soaked Friday on Chelmsford High Street ? where the market stalls selling strawberries were mocked by the unseasonal weather ? I found few shoppers willing to look on the bright side.

Peter Jeary / NBC News

Chelmsford, England, High Street on Friday.

"It's all overdone," one old-timer told me. "Not just the torch, the whole Olympics."

"Draw a circle around London and you'll find hundreds of places like Chelmsford," another said, "It's nothing special."

But it is ? or at least it was.

Chelmsford proudly calls itself the Birthplace of Radio?? in 1899 Guglielmo Marconi opened the world's first 'wireless' factory here. In 1920 the first entertainment radio program was broadcast from the company's New Street headquarters. In the 1960s, Chelmsford's Corn Exchange was the venue of choice for some of the world's iconic musicians: Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd both performed on its stage in 1967. Tickets on the door cost ten shillings (about 75 cents).

Sadly, the Corn Exchange was pulled down a few years later as part of a city-center redevelopment that can only be described as legalized vandalism. The town's old heart was ripped out and replaced by shopping malls and office blocks. Marconi's New Street factory now lies abandoned as real estate developers wait for prices to rise again.

'Worth every minute'
However community pride was destined to show its face again. On Friday around 15,000 people gathered at Hylands Park just outside town to welcome the flame and celebrate with live music, dance performances and sports displays.

Read more coverage of the London 2012 Olympics

Of course there was the occasional snarky remark ??after all, this is Britain: One man standing near me in the long line to get into the park said, "If this was Germany, the gates would have opened on time."

But most of my fellow Chelmsfordians seemed excited.?

Peter Jeary / NBC News producer

Ann Deane, 71, at a celebration in Chelmsford, England, for the Olympic torch relay on Friday.

Ann Deane, 71, was among the first to find a vantage point by the front of the stage. She told me she could remember when cows were herded down Chelmsford High Street on their way to the livestock market.

Deane praised the celebration as being what Chelmsford deserved. "It's the sort of thing that should happen in a city," she said.

The crowd buzzed as the appointed hour approached. The famous flame would soon appear. Children pushed to the front of crowd; smaller ones were lifted shoulder-high. Jen Harold, 31, squeezed in beside her family near the barrier.

"I've already seen the torch today," she whispered. "I was with my school in Southend. I only applied for these tickets because I'm going on a hen weekend (bachelorette party) tomorrow and won't get up in time to see it in the morning."

And then with a cheer, a wave and the lighting of a burning cauldron, the torch had suddenly come and gone.

Later I tracked down longtime Chelmsford resident Ken Edwards, one of the three runners responsible for getting the torch from the highway to the celebration Friday night.

Edwards, 61, has lived in Chelmsford for decades and was nominated to be a torch bearer by the city council for his contribution to the local sports scene. "It's a great honor, but it's for the community and not just for me. I'm just the lucky one."

I asked him what it was like to carry the Olympic flame.

"Do you know what?" he said. "It was an out-of-body experience. I felt I was watching myself running with the torch. I started off just walking, but with the crowd cheering I started jogging. I didn't intend to, it just happened."

Peter Jeary / NBC News

Torchbearer Ken Edwards, 61, a longtime Chelmsford resident, poses with children and the Olympic flame in Chelmsford, England on Friday.

He beamed as he posed for photographs with well-wishers and let them hold the torch. "This is what it's all about," he said. "People can't resist touching the thing."

And I think that's it. Once you're touched ? however briefly ? by the magic of the torch and the spirit of the Olympics, it's hard to be cynical about bad city-planning, British weather or commercialization.

Thousands more Chelmsfordians were touched by that Olympic spirit again early Saturday, when they packed the city streets to watch the flame pass by for the official relay. The cathedral bells tolled and people of all ages cheered as it made its way toward Cambridge on Day 50 of the relay.

David Cooper, 62, stood along the street with his 3-year-old grandson, Jack. "It won't happen again in my lifetime," he said. "It was worth every minute."

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/07/12612361-cynics-or-melted-hearts-olympic-flame-touches-hometown-england?lite

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Celebrate Fatherhood - Sakura Haruka

Sakura Haruka is not a blog just about celebrating motherhood. It shares the joys {& frustrations!} of parenting and of families as a whole. Inspired by my hubby's thoughts on being a dad, Celebrate Fatherhood is thus a monthly series where daddies from all walks of life?share insights about?what fatherhood means to them, and how we can appreciate their role in a family too.

I sincerely thank all those who took the time to guest post for me. Most of those I approached were very supportive and enthusiastic about this new series, sharing my belief that being an involved dad, and getting the dads involved, is important in building a strong family. If you have a story to share, please email me at sakuraharuka {at} live {dot} com.

*****

Because though government policy may work against us, society may disregard us, and our bosses may not understand us, the ones that truly don't appreciate dads are the dads themselves.

The non-appreciation begins the moment you announce that your family is getting pregnant - to family, to friends, to strangers in a quiet candle-lit restaurant if you choose to suddenly jump up from your dining experience with your wife after she tells you about it. Yes, you're happy; you're going to be a father, for crying out loud, why wouldn't you be? But take a few seconds to notice one very subtle yet highly indicative gesture in everyone when you make the announcement, because the moment the words "We're having a baby" come out of your mouth, all exclamations, heads, smiles, claps, hugs will instinctively be directed squarely at the mother.

That moment, and that collective behaviour, sets the tone for the rest of the pregnancy term. Everywhere you go, you bump into friends and family that will notice your wife's bump, and there is a saying, that people have no qualms patting the wife's belly and saying "Congratulations", but no one is going to pat daddy in between the legs and say "Good job."

That being said, we don't do ourselves any favours either. For the 10 months that your wife is carrying your child to term, try as you might, you are not even near being part of the experience aside from making it happen that hot and steamy night (good job, by the way). The morning sickness is all your wife's responsibility, unless you were there at the time she up chucked and you happen to be a sympathetic puker. The wardrobe change from Uniqlo to Dorothy Perkins to Maternity Exchange, that's not something you can really "be the man" for and help her out with, besides helping her queue at the checkout and using your credit card for the purchase. And when the baby kicks in mummy's belly, its movement and meaning reverberate throughout your wife's body and soul - you only get to feel it with your hand most times. Dads will know, we feel pretty useless most of the pregnancy term; what we don't realize is, that's also us not appreciating ourselves.

The most important thing that you can do to get yourselves out of this rut of self-loathing is to witness the delivery of your child - every single bloodcurdling minute from start to finish. The beauty of childbirth, really, is that it is not beautiful at all. It's shocking, jarring, many men have fainted in the process, and many others simply don't want any part of it. But it is compulsory because you get to see first-hand the reason why mothers deserve all the credit they get for bringing little human lives into the world, and how insignificant your resentment of the world not appreciating your fatherly status, all in the span of time it takes from going into labour to weighing and measuring your freshly-minted child.

So do I feel unappreciated as a father? It's not a question I can answer because I have never asked to be appreciated. Sure I could do with some perks at work, maybe some pats of encouragement in between the legs, but witnessing my own wife's ordeal with giving birth to Xander made me realize how much I owe to the woman I love, and seeing my son grow up is reminding me every day that my wife and I are no longer living for ourselves; Xander is our life now, our future and our everything. And being the best dad I can will earn me the only appreciation I will ever need - the love my son has for me.

*****

Winston Tay?currently runs 2 blogs, Dear Xander & Blogfathers! SG. ?He lives for writing, if not for his wife and son, and come August he will be working full-time for an online parenting portal, so you can hopefully say he never has to work ever again :)

This post by Winston touched me a lot because I felt as if the boy was speaking to me through his words. I actually felt goose bumps!! Honestly, I think there is no such thing as a perfect mum, nor a perfect dad... all that we can expect is to be the best that we can ever be to our children. Lil Pumpkin may not be able to say in words completely how much she loves and appreciates her daddy dearest, but I know and I hope the boy knows too that he means the world to her, as to me.

Read all Celebrate Fatherhood posts here.

Source: http://www.sakuraharuka.com/2012/07/celebrate-fatherhood-be-best-dad-you.html

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Federer's record 8th Wimbledon final, Murray's 1st

Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts after winning a set against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts after winning a set against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Andy Murray of Britain reacts after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Andy Murray of Britain reacts during a semifinals match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a shot to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a shot to Roger Federer of Switzerland during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ? Roger Federer is back in the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2009. If that seems like a long gap for the six-time champion, imagine how all of Britain feels: Andy Murray is the first man from the host country to play for the title at the All England Club in 74 years.

Both are playing for history.

Already the owner of a record 16 Grand Slam titles, but none in the past 2? years, Federer can equal two marks held by Pete Sampras with one more victory Sunday: seven Wimbledon championships, and 286 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. So far 0-3 in major finals, without claiming even one set, Murray can become the first British man to collect any Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships in 1936.

"Everyone loves Roger at Wimbledon, but a majority of people are going to want to see Andy win this time. ... They can inspire Andy. They can pick him up. But at the same time, they might make him feel like he's pulling all the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders. That's a lot to deal with," Sampras said in a telephone interview. "And he has to play Roger Federer, so he'll have his hands full."

Yes, Federer still has Wimbledon.

And Wimbledon still has Federer.

After seeing his grip on the grass-court Grand Slam tournament slip away with a pair of quarterfinal losses the past two years, the third-seeded Federer reasserted himself by beating defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Friday.

Djokovic or Rafael Nadal won the nine previous majors, and both surpassed Federer in the rankings. But after losing six of his last seven matches against Djokovic, all on clay or hard courts, Federer had the upper hand on grass, the first time in 27 career meetings they've played each other on that surface.

"People were like, 'How are we going to survive a Wimbledon final without you?'" Federer joked about his earlier-than-usual exits in 2010 and 2011. "For me, it was no problem. I went on vacation and relaxed. Of course, it feels great to be in the Wimbledon final."

No need to tell that to Murray.

Not since Bunny Austin in 1938 had someone representing Britain won a men's semifinal at Wimbledon ? until, that is, Murray hit a forehand return winner that clipped a sideline to eliminate No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. It was a thrill-a-minute match, with both players smearing their white uniforms with grass and dirt stains by diving for volleys.

After a replay review to make sure that last shot was in, Tsonga and Murray hugged. The Frenchman put his hand on the scruff of Murray's neck and they had a lengthy chat near the net. Then Murray sat in his sideline chair, tilted his head back and closed his eyes, the sounds of a raucous standing ovation ringing through Centre Court.

"A big relief," Murray said. "It was a very emotional end to the match. I've just got to try to keep it together for the final."

He had lost in the semifinals each of the past three years, part of an 0-11 rut for British men in the final four. For decades, the locals who love their tennis dealt with the angst of seeing their players come so close, yet so far.

"He's got sort of one monkey off the nation's back with the first finalist in 74 years, but I think a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone," said Tim Henman, a Brit who lost in four semifinals from 1998-2002, twice to Sampras. "It seems like it could be destiny."

Even Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in on what he called the "great news."

"I'll be watching the final on Sunday and like the rest of the country, will be getting right behind Andy Murray," Cameron said in a statement. "I wish him the best of luck."

Murray actually leads his head-to-head series with Federer 8-7. But Federer won their finals at the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open, the last time he was a Grand Slam champion.

"It's a great challenge, one where I'm probably not expected to win the match, but one that, if I play well, I'm capable of winning," Murray said. "I mean, if you look at his record here over the past 10 years or so, it's been incredible."

Federer reached a modern-record eighth final at the All England Club. He turns 31 on Aug. 8, and would be the first man 30 or older to win Wimbledon since Arthur Ashe in 1975.

"I'm aware that the tournament's not over yet. I didn't break down crying and fall to my knees and thought the tournament is over and I achieved everything I ever wanted," Federer said. "I want to try to play the best possible final I can."

He and Djokovic played with the Centre Court roof shut because of rain early in the day, and the first key moment came about 15 minutes in, with Djokovic serving. He went ahead 30-love, then dropped four consecutive points. Federer got a break point when he flicked a cross-court backhand passing shot and Djokovic missed a volley as he slipped to the turf, caking his lower right leg with white chalk from a line. Djokovic then slapped a backhand into the net to trail 4-2 and hung his head.

Moments later, Federer served out the first set at love, meaning he'd taken 20 of the 24 points on his serve until then.

"He served well," Djokovic said, then amended that assessment: "He served really well."

But if that opening set was a statement by Federer ? along the lines of, "Hey, Novak, you might have caught up to me everywhere else, but on grass, at Wimbledon, I'm still superior" ? Djokovic quickly responded. He won 9 of 10 points, breaking for the only time all afternoon, and went ahead 3-0 en route to taking the second set.

That was the first time in eight appearances in the Wimbledon semifinals that Federer dropped a set.

It remains the only one.

Things were even at a set apiece, and 4-all, 30-all in the third, when everything changed. Djokovic earned a break point when Federer pushed an inside-out forehand wide. Here, then, was a moment of truth, and Federer came through with three consecutive service winners ? at 120 mph, 113 mph and 124 mph ? to hold for a 5-4 lead.

If that was Federer keeping the door to the final ajar, it swung wide open in the next game. Djokovic, suddenly shaky on his own serve, badly missed an easy overhead to set up two set points for Federer, who converted the second with an overhead winner that ended a 20-stroke exchange.

Federer pumped a fist and bellowed. Djokovic bowed his head. The crowd, clearly pulling for Federer the whole match, roared.

"It's like it always is with these guys; it's just a couple points," said Federer's coach, Paul Annacone, who also worked with Sampras. "The third set was obviously pivotal, and Roger played a couple of the big points a little bit better."

That was part of a five-game run for Federer, who soon broke again and went up 3-0 in the fourth set.

In the U.S. Open semifinals last September, Djokovic came back to win after facing a two-set deficit and two match points. There would be no such turnaround this time.

"I needed to be very consistent in order to win this match. I wasn't. I had ups and downs throughout the match," Djokovic said. "Unfortunately the one that lasted for, what, 15-20 minutes ? end of the third, beginning of the fourth ? (cost) me the win today."

He hardly resembled the guy who was so self-confident during the last 18 months, while picking up four major titles and compiling a 27-match Grand Slam winning streak. He shrugged his shoulders, put his hands on his hips, shook his head.

"Start of the fourth set, I dropped in the energy level, I thought," Djokovic said. "I played really a couple of sloppy games, very slow, with no pace."

Afterward, the 25-year-old Serb said he'd been feeling "not so great, really" for the past five or six days but wouldn't go into specifics.

Federer's victory came first Friday, so he had to wait to find out who he would be facing Sunday. Asked for a preference, he didn't hesitate.

"I'd love to play Murray," Federer said. "I always say in whatever country I am, I like to play the 'local hero,' as I kind of call them, and Andy is exactly that here at Wimbledon."

Federer got his wish.

So did Murray. And an entire country.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-06-Wimbledon/id-69ff540346d449f7b487008f0fae6be7

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Get Into The Most Effective Condition Of Your Life Nowadays! | kkr ...

It?s an easy task to go missing within the actually growing choice of health and fitness supplements that are offered to possible bodybuilders. From whey protein to muscle whole milk, cod liver oils tablets to steroid drugs, it?s hard to understand the specific biochemistry of each solitary substrate. Puzzled? Uncertainty is not only anticipated, but advertised to. This information will help the wayward layman fully grasp at least a few of the simple substances pandered on the open public.

During times of senior high school signing up for an athletics staff can enhance health and fitness levels while also creating new ties to kinds peers. There are many possibilities for one to determine what is right for them. Deciding on the game that interests a single one of the most will assure that one stays with it and receives all of the linked health and fitness advantages.

A great health and fitness tip would be to drive your bike more efficiently by finding out how to period one particular lower-leg at the same time. Biking with a single lower leg will force you to be pedal up as well as lower, which gives you with a far better work out and trains your thighs to improve bicycling power. Be sure to exercise both hip and legs!

To enhance your endurance, inhale and exhale totally and from the diaphragm whenever you physical exercise, specifically when operating. This improves your fresh air intake as well as your lung potential and permits you to workout much longer. When you don?t understand how to inhale and exhale from the diaphragm, you may lie down and set something on your own belly, then training which makes it go up and drop when you take in and breathe out.

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Those who do little if any exercising at all might find it very hard to get motivated. A good thing to do in cases like this is usually to commence little by little. Commence working out in tiny techniques, like auto parking a bit further more in the retailer or through your work. Choose a mild walk throughout your lunch or dinner break. Even though exercising is only one or two days every week for 25 moments, research indicates that it definitely advantages you.

Make certain you keep appropriately hydrated on your exercise routine. You should continue to keep restoring all the drinking water you will be shedding by way of perspiration, especially should it be popular what your location is training. Will not drink an excessive amount of at the same time however or you might vomit it support. Take little sips to help keep your entire body temperature awesome and also to rejuvenate your essential fluids.

If you think you?re as well in poor condition to work out, reconsider. Try out carrying out a plan like the 100 Press Ups or 200 Sit Ups program. They?re designed to focus on every person?s fitness level. They start out small and steadily, boost the function until finally you?re able to full the supreme objective.

When you can blend just 2 of these tips into your daily life, you will quickly see considerable alter. This will quickly distributed to all of elements of your life when you commence to get more assurance. As you have seen out of this report, fitness is not about compromise, but alternatively about making use of the body in terms of how they were meant to be employed.

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Source: http://kkr-fans-news-blog.com/get-into-the-most-effective-condition-of-your-life-nowadays/

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Former Argentine dictators found guilty of stealing babies

Three decades ago, when a military junta ran the country of Argentina, the government ran a systematic program to take babies from leftist parents. Hundreds of babies are thought to have disappeared under the program.?

By Debora Rey,?Associated Press / July 5, 2012

Former Argentina's dictators Jorge Rafael Videla, left, and Reynaldo Bignone wait to listen the verdict of Argentina's historic stolen babies trial in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The two former dictators were convicted of systematically stealing babies from leftists when a military junta ran the country three decades ago.

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Enlarge

Former?Argentine?dictator Jorge Rafael Videla was convicted and sentenced to 50 years Thursday for a systematic program to steal?babies?from prisoners who were kidnapped, tortured and killed during the military junta's war on leftist dissidents three decades ago.

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Argentina's last dictator, Reynaldo Bignone, also was convicted and got 15 years. Both men already were in prison for other human rights abuses.

"This is an historic day. Today legal justice has been made real ? never again the justice of one's own hands, which the repressors were known for," prominent rights activist Tati Almeida said outside the courthouse, where a jubilant crowd watched on a big screen and cheered each sentence.

The?baby?thefts set Argentina's 1976-1983 regime apart from all the other juntas that ruled in Latin America at the time. Videla other military and police officials were determined to remove any trace of the armed leftist guerrilla movement they said threatened the country's future.

The "dirty war" eventually claimed 13,000 victims according to official records. Many were pregnant women who were "disappeared" shortly after giving birth in clandestine maternity wards.

Videla denied in his testimony that there was any systematic plan to remove the?babies, and said prisoners used their unborn children as "human shields" in their fight against the state.

Nine others, mostly former military and police officials, also were accused in the trial, which focused on 34baby?thefts. Seven were convicted and two were found not guilty.

Witnesses included former U.S. diplomat Elliot Abrams. He was called to testify after a long-classified memo describing his secret meeting with Argentina's ambassador was made public at the request of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights group whose evidence-gathering efforts were key to the trial.

Abrams testified from Washington that he secretly urged Bignone to reveal the stolen?babies' identities as a way to smooth Argentina's return to democracy.

"We knew that it wasn't just one or two children," Abrams testified, suggesting that there must have been some sort of directive from a high level official ? "a plan, because there were many people who were being murdered or jailed."

No reconciliation effort was made. Instead, Bignone ordered the military to destroy evidence of "dirty war" activities, and the junta denied any knowledge of?baby?thefts, let alone responsibility for the disappearances of political prisoners.

The U.S. government also revealed little of what it knew as the junta's death squads were eliminating opponents.

The Grandmothers group has since used DNA evidence to help 106 people who were stolen from prisoners asbabies?recover their true identities, and 26 of these cases were part of this trial. Many were raised by military officials or their allies, who falsified their birth names, trying to remove any hint of their leftist origins.

The rights group estimates as many as 500?babies?could have been stolen in all, but the destruction of documents and passage of time make it impossible to know for sure.

The trial featured gut-wrenching testimony from grandmothers and other relatives who searched inconsolably for their missing relatives, and from people who learned as young adults that they were raised by the very people involved in the disappearance of their birth parents.

Prosecutors had asked for 50 years for Videla and four others. Almeida, the rights activist, said that "in some cases we would have preferred longer sentences, but since they're such old men now, it's almost like a perpetual sentence."

Videla, 86, received the maximum sentence as the man criminally responsible for 20 of the thefts.

He and Bignone, 84, already have life sentences for other crimes against humanity, and are serving time behind bars despite an?Argentine?law that usually permits criminals over 70 to stay at home.

Seven others were convicted and sentenced by the three-judge panel on Thursday: former Adm. Antonio Vanek, 40 years; former marine Jorge "Tigre" Acosta, 30; former Gen. Santiago Omar Riveros, 20; former navy prefect Juan Antonio Azic, 14; and Dr. Jorge Magnacco, who witnesses said handled some of the births, 10.

Former Capt. Victor Gallo and his ex-wife Susana Colombo, were sentenced to 15 and five years in jail, respectively. Their adopted son, Francisco Madariaga, testified against them and said he hoped their sentences would set an example.

Retired Adm. Ruben Omar Franco and a former intelligence agent, Eduardo Ruffo, were absolved.

According to?Argentine?judicial procedure, the basis for the convictions and sentences won't be revealed until Sept. 17, said the president of the judicial tribunal, Maria del Carmen Roqueta.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/uGxrtB-lWag/Former-Argentine-dictators-found-guilty-of-stealing-babies

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Smart headlights make rain and snow disappear

23 hrs.

John Roach

Smart headlights are under development that reduce glare from falling rain and snow, making driving in nasty weather a bit less stressful.

The system uses a digital projector to illuminate raindrops at the top of the field of view for a few milliseconds as a processor predicts their path and switch off light rays that would normally hit the drops.

The result is a slightly dimmer headlight, but one that blocks out so?much glare from falling rain and snow that visibility improves.

The entire process from capture to reaction takes 13 milliseconds, explains Carnegie Mellon University?s Illumination and Imaging lab where proof-of-concept headlights have been tested.

While the lab prototype demonstrates the feasibility of the system, it will be a while before our cars come equipped with the technology.?

For example, the team needs to get the system working in a moving vehicle in the real world as well make their prediction algorithm robust to the effect of wind on rain and snow.?

Then, the team technology must be scaled up for cost-effective integration with cars ? something the researchers believe is possible with cutting-edge LED technology.

For more details on the project, check out the team?s lab page and this paper presented at the IEEE Conference on Computational Photography.

??via Technology Review?

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website and follow him on Twitter. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/smart-headlights-make-rain-snow-disappear-864247

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