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Saturday, December 1, 2012

RSVP for the #MerryGreen party! - The Eco-Friendly Family

by Amanda on November 30, 2012

Join The Eco Chic and myself as we celebrate the holiday?s this year by sharing some of our favorite eco-friendly gift ideas with you. Along the way we may share some of our favorite holiday recipes, traditions, and ideas for going green this year. A few lucky participants will even get to take home some eco-friendly prizes from our sponsors!

When:?Tuesday, December 11th (12/11/12)
Time: 9-10pm ET
Hashtag: #MerryGreen
Your Hosts: @EFFblog &?@TheEcoChic
Sponsors: @AllegoryPens, @VZWraps?& More to be announced soon!

New to Twitter parties? Try out these great guides on how to join the fun using TweetGrid or TweetChat!

Note: Twitter has tightened the rules on Tweeting from third party programs, if you run into issues simply go to Twitter.com and search for the chat by typing in the party hashtag (or clicking here > #greengifts).

Prizes: We are highlighting great green gifting ideas from a variety of company to fill all of your gifting needs. Check out the Rafflecopter RSVP form below to see them all!

To RSVP: Complete the Rafflecopter steps below (not visible on all mobile devices or feeds) to enter. ?Liking? and following our sponsors will earn you additional entries into the door prizes for the evening. Be sure to check back before the party to get new entries from new sponsors!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please thank our sponsors by visiting them online at:

Allegory Pens

VZWraps

Promotions from our sponsors:

Coming Soon?

Interested in being a sponsor? More information about this and upcoming parties is available here, or email theecochic@gmail.com for additional information.

Note about winners, prize distribution and all that legal stuff: In order to be eligible for the door prizes you must complete the mandatory Rafflecopter steps listed above and tweet with us using the #greengifts hashtag at least one time during the party. Party hosts will confirm your participation before announcing you as a winner. Winners must confirm with the party hosts by Direct Message (DM) or email in order for us to obtain all the necessary contact information. Prizes will be distributed directly from the sponsors of the party. Distribution can take 2-4 weeks. Should your prize not arrive after 2-4 weeks we will contact the sponsor once to follow up. After that any correspondence should be directed to the sponsor. This is a sponsored party and compensation has been received for their participation. All opinions of the party hosts are our own and are not influenced by the sponsors. ?Liking? a sponsors page is optional but will earn you extra entries into the door prizes. For any additional questions please contact theecochic@gmail.com.

Family defends brothers charged in Fla. plot

OAKLAND PARK, Fla. (AP) ? Two Florida brothers charged with plotting to support terrorists are caring family men who enjoyed living in the U.S. and would never hurt anyone, their family said Saturday.

Authorities swarmed a quiet, lakefront condominium near Fort Lauderdale earlier this week and arrested Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30, and 20-year-old Raees Alam Qazi, charging them with plotting to provide material support to terrorists and to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors said the two are naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Pakistan. They remained jailed Saturday without bond.

Two people who identified themselves as the men's mother and brother told The Associated Press outside their condominium that one of the jailed men is married. They repeatedly refused to disclose their full names to an AP reporter.

"It's just a whole misunderstanding. A family like this with a baby like this would never do anything like this," the brother said. He was reluctant to talk, worrying "a lot of people don't know what's true" and stressing that his family has strong values.

"Always love people, always try to help people, if your car breaks down I will help you," he said.

Both referred to a 1-year-old boy who lived in the condo with them and missed the brothers who were arrested. However, it was not clear how the child was related to the two jailed men.

The mother said her sons' arrest has been hard on the family, saying "the wife is crying" all the time. But she said she was hopeful and repeated that her sons liked living in America.

"This is good America, good state, good job," she said. She spoke little English and said she and her husband did not have jobs.

Federal authorities said the investigation was still very active. But they offered few details about the plot, and information was scant in the three-page grand jury indictment released Friday. Authorities said the case was not an FBI sting operation but declined further comment.

The indictment alleges that the two provided money, property, lodging, communications equipment and other support for a conspiracy to obtain a weapon of mass destruction between July 2011 and this week.

It wasn't clear whether the conspirators actually did obtain explosives or what their potential targets might have been.

The brothers' arrest shocked residents in the community, where about a dozen two-story apartment complexes surround a pool and fitness center. Several residents walked their dogs along the tree-lined street Saturday, and a handful of children played outside.

Neighbors said residents of the apartment complex had to submit to a detailed background check before moving in. The entrance has a security gate with a guard house and video surveillance around the pool clubhouse.

Neighbor Martica Albu, who has lived in the complex for about seven years, said the brothers seemed nice and always greeted her warmly, but said she didn't know them well.

"It's terrifying. It's right here, right where you're living in your condo complex," 41-year-old Lano Tice said as he was taking out the trash.

The Qazi brothers had initial court appearances Friday, but court-appointed attorneys for the two did not respond to emails seeking comment. An arraignment and bail hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

They could face up to 15 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to life in prison on the weapon of mass destruction charge.

South Florida has seen several high-profile terrorism cases, including the conviction of al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla. Five men accused of plotting to join forces with al-Qaida to destroy a landmark Chicago skyscraper and bomb FBI offices in several cities also were convicted in Florida.

More recently, a Miami Muslim cleric and one of his sons are facing trial on charges they provided thousands of dollars to the Pakistani Taliban terrorism group.

Associated Press reporter Curt Anderson contributed to this story from Miami.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-01-Florida%20Terror%20Charges/id-25b3ca1ae11b455ca8e268478ec0fdf6

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99% Finding Nemo 3D

All Critics (224) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (234) | Rotten (2) | DVD (48)

A genuinely funny and touching film that, in less than a decade, has established itself as a timeless classic.

It makes even more compelling what is still my all-time favorite Pixar film.

Think of this re-release as an encore, a handy touchstone for you and your kids. "Finding Nemo" was and remains the gold standard against which all other modern animated films are measured, a classic from the day it premiered.

In this seamless blending of technical brilliance and storytelling verve, the Pixar team has made something as marvelously soulful and innately, fluidly American as jazz.

Nemo, with its ravishing underwater fantasia, manages to trump the design glamour of earlier Pixar films.

Detail is what holds your attention from frame to frame: the panorama of soft and hard corals, the different textured sea bottoms, the undulating seaweed, and the schooling sardines that look flashy and real as can be.

I don't exactly worship Pixar, but "Finding Nemo" is truly a great film.

Gill is Platoon's Sgt. Elias if he'd survived Sgt. Barnes' treachery and returned to civilian life weary and hard-bitten from his experiences. And also a fish.

Finding Nemo 3D is a quality post-conversion experience that successfully enhances the 2003 film's original standout visuals.

The 3D gives the images a little more depth but they already had heft and weight. The 3D is a money-making gimmick, nothing more.

A great blend of storytelling and technology.

It's downright curmudgeonly to remain focused on the negatives when the rest of the picture is saturated with invention and wit.

It's bright, it's beautiful and it hasn't aged a day. So why, then, do we need to see it in 3-D?

A rare example of a movie that not only survives its 3-D conversion but benefits from it

It was as funny as I remember and brilliant because it is subtle. It just knocks it out of the park. I love everything about this movie, one of my favorite Pixar movies of all time, 5/5 Schmoes. The new sound/3D adds to the greatness that is Nemo.

If you're fishing for fun in an ocean of movie mediocrity, grab the kids or the grandkids, fork out a few extra bucks and see this one in three-dimensions.

It's a great movie, so much fun, an acheivement that should be enjoyed by children of all ages and worth seeing it in 3D.

Sea-worthy w/enhanced visual lure and rich, humorous characters set in a double narrative; this 3D revisit allows us to fall overboard all over again.

If ever there was a film that wasn't broke, this is it. So naturally they converted it into 3D for a special re-release this weekend. (Stupid irony.)

I believe my sensitivity to certain creative choices of the picture has dulled some, while age has opened my eyes to its complex relationships and tireless sense of exploration.

When the blunt head of Bruce the shark slams into the screen like a hammer, everyone -- adults included -- gasps

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/finding_nemo_3d/

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Friday, November 30, 2012

Range Rover-Exposed at the LA Auto Show

The all-new Range Rover has lost nearly a half ton in weight compared to the outgoing model. But to prove that its underpinnings are no less stout, they stripped one naked to showcase the hard parts. The blue tube above the front tire is part of the engine's air intake system-designed for extreme water fording.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/range-rover-exposed-at-the-la-auto-show-14797693?src=rss

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'East Coast Rapist' Aaron Thomas Pleads Guilty To Virginia Attack And Abduction

LEESBURG, Va. -- A Connecticut man who police believe is responsible for a series of sexual assaults along the East Coast pleaded guilty Thursday to a 2001 rape and abduction in Virginia, marking the first conviction in the attacks spanning more than a decade.

Aaron Thomas of New Haven faces two potential life sentences after he entered the guilty pleas in Loudoun County Circuit Court to one count of rape and one of abduction with intent to defile.

Thomas had been scheduled to enter a guilty plea earlier this month in Prince William County for raping two teenage trick-or-treaters on Halloween 2009, but the deal fell through after Thomas told a judge he didn't know what he was doing.

Thursday's hearing faced road bumps of its own, when a teary, shackled Thomas cried out "I don't know what's going on here and I don't know what I'm doing" in response to a judge's question about the plea. But he ultimately accepted responsibility, pleading guilty in a barely audible voice. A third, lesser count was dropped as part of the plea deal.

Thomas underwent a mental health evaluation after being transferred to Virginia to face charges. A court-appointed evaluator concluded he was faking symptoms of insanity.

Part of the evidence against Thomas included a letter of apology he wrote shortly after his arrest last year to the woman he raped in Leesburg, threatening her with a screwdriver.

In the letter, written after he was interviewed by detectives, Thomas wrote "I did not want to hurt you I just have a bad emotional sex problem that I could not control (sic)." He concluded, "Sorry 4 hurting you emtionaley (sic) because I have problems with my self."

Thursday's guilty plea was the first conviction in any of the cases linked to the man police dubbed the East Coast Rapist. He is scheduled for a second plea hearing Friday in Prince William County.

Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said he was glad that the guilty plea would spare the victim from having to testify at a trial. She will be able to testify at Thomas' sentencing about the effect the crime has had on her life.

Plowman declined to say Thursday whether he will seek a life sentence.

Thomas was arrested in Connecticut in March 2011 after a multi-state law enforcement effort to catch a man believed responsible for rapes and other attacks on 17 women since 1997 in Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The cases were linked by DNA and other evidence.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/east-coast-rapist-guilty-plea_n_2214671.html

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UN vote recognizes state of Palestine; US objects

Palestinians celebrate as they wave posters of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, left, and President Mahmoud Abbas, right, as they watch the U.N. General Assembly votes on a resolution to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state, in the west bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The results of a draft resolution on Palestinian status are posted during a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly after a vote on a resolution on the issue of upgrading the Palestinian Authority's status to non-member observer state in the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Members of the Palestinian delegation and others join Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by applauding during a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly after a vote on a resolution on the issue of upgrading the Palestinian Authority's status to non-member observer state passed in the United Nations in New York, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Palestinians wave palestinian flags as they watch the U.N. General Assembly votes on a resolution to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state, In the west bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians gather next to a section of Israeli separation barrier at the entrance to the west bank city of Bethlehem to watch a large screen showing the U.N. General Assembly votes on a resolution to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the U.N. was approved by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions, in the 193-member world body.

A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds crowded into the main square waved Palestinian flags and chanted "God is great." Others who had watched the vote on outdoor screens and television sets hugged, honked and set off fireworks before dancing in the streets.

Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their U.N. status.

The Palestinians still face enormous limitations. They don't control their borders, airspace or trade, they have separate and competing governments in Gaza and the West Bank and they have no unified army or police.

The United States immediately criticized the historic vote. "Today's unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path peace," U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the vote "unfortunate" and "counterproductive."

The United States and Israel voted against recognition, joined by Canada, the Czech Republic, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote "defamatory and venomous," saying it was "full of mendacious propaganda" against Israel. Netanyahu called the vote meaningless.

Abbas had told the General Assembly that it was "being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine." Abbas said the vote is the last chance to save the two-state solution.

After the vote, Netanyahu said the U.N. move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.

Thursday's vote came on the same day, Nov. 29, that the U.N. General Assembly in 1947 voted to recognize a partitioned state in Palestine, with the jubilant revelers then Jews. The Palestinians rejected that partition plan, and decades of tension and violence followed.

Just before Thursday's vote, Israel's U.N. ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that "the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace" and that the U.N. can't break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.

The vote had been certain to succeed, with most member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state.

Unlike the more powerful U.N. Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly, and the resolution to raise the Palestinian status only required a majority vote for approval.

The vote grants Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas' hand if peace talks resume.

The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.

Israel has stepped back from initial threats of harsh retaliation for the Palestinians seeking U.N. recognition, but government officials warned that Israel would respond to any Palestinian attempts to use the upgraded status to confront Israel in international bodies.

The Palestinians now can gain access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.

However, in the run-up to the U.N. vote, Abbas signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, and not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged.

___

Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Bradley Klapper in Washington, Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem and Mohammed Daraghmeh and Karin Laub in Ramallah contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-29-UN-Palestinians-Status/id-36b69c15002a49a1b77920b53d24e0f5

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Comelec opens party list to 13 families

by Reynaldo Santos Jr.
Posted on 11/29/2012 5:13 PM ?|?Updated 11/29/2012 9:33 PM

MANILA, Philippines ? Thirteen organizations whose nominees come from the same families have been accredited for next year?s party-list polls, according to the complete list released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, November 29.

They include Ang Mata'y Alagaan (AMA), whose first 3 nominees upon application are members of Supreme Court Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr?s family. Also on the list is Ako Ang Batang Sora Movement, Inc. (ABSI), which counts 3 relatives of Quezon City congresswoman Mary Ann Susano among the 5 nominees each group is allowed to have.

For the 2013, the party list has become a sort of family affair for 36 of the 289 groups that applied for inclusion (165 new applicants, 124 accredited in 2010). Each of these 38 have 2-3 nominees who are related to each other.

Organizations applying for accreditation for the party list have to nominate 5 persons each to represent them. For every corresponding percentage of votes that the group garners, it can send to the House of Representatives the nominees who are first on the list.

AMA?s Nominees 1-3 were Justice Velasco?s wife Lorna and children Tricia Nicole and Vincent Michael. The poll body said earlier the group had replaced the Velascos as nominees, although it wasn?t clear when the substitution was made and who replaced them.

ABSI has Congresswoman Susano?s nieces Vanessa Rose and Maricel Francisco as first and fourth nominees, and her nephew Michael Ryan Francisco as fifth nominee.

Eleven other groups, each with two related nominees, have been accredited by the Comelec for the 2013 party list. They are:

Agrarian Development Association (ADA) ? Former Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric D. Singson and his son, incumbent Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric G. Singson Jr.
Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano Inc. (AGBIAG) ? Patricio T. Antonio and Jose Antonieto M. Antonio.
Agila ng Katutubong Pilipino, Inc. (AGILA) ? Gil A. Valera and Elorde B. Valera.
Ang Laban ng Indiginong Filipino (ALIF) ? Current ALIF Rep. Acmad Tomawis?s sons Abdul (his political liaison officer) and Agakhan.
Angkla: Ang Partido ng mga Pilipinong Marino, Inc. (ANGKLA) ? Jesulito A. Manalo and Jose Miguel S. Manalo.
Bagong Henerasyon (BH) ? Incumbent BH Rep. Bernadette Cruz-Herrera Dy and her husband Edgar Allan D. Dy.
Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) ? Incumbent TUCP Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza and his brother Michael Democrito. They are sons of TUCP president Democrito Mendoza.
1 Alliance Advocating Autonomy Party (1 AAA Party) ? Former Department of Transportation and Communications secretary and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon D. Alvarez and Alfonso A. Alvarez.
Aasenso Sa Barangay - LAKAS Inc. (ASBI-LAKAN) ? Hermin E. Arceo and Ariel S. Arceo.
OFW Family Club, Inc. (OFW FAMILY) ? Former ambassador and National Labor Relations Comission chair Roy V. Se?eres Sr. and his son Roy M. Se?eres Jr.
Padayon Pilipino (PADAYON PILIPINO) - Vladimir R. Elazequi and Natasha E. Elazequi.

Twenty-three other groups with 2-3 related nominees were already disqualified by Comelec.

They include the Alliance of Organizations, Networks, and Associations of the Philippines (ALONA), whose nominees are House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez?s children Danilo Jr. and Joanna, and in-law Alexis.

Also disqualified was the National Crusaders for Peace and Democracy Inc. (NCPD), whose nominees include retired police general Romeo Maganto and his children Faith and Rommel.

Comelec Resolution 9366, or the rules and regulations governing the 2013 partylist elections, does not specifically state that having relatives as nominees of a single party is a basis for disqualification.

Having a single family as source for a number of nominees, however, tends to go against the main criteria that a group has to represent and to have nominees belonging to marginalized sectors.

The Comelec on Thursday released a list of 79 accredited groups for the 2013 party-list race. ? Rappler.com

Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections-2013/16996-comelec-opens-party-list-to-13-families

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