Muslim militants freed a Filipino-American woman

Philippines militants free US woman, still hold son

 

 Muslim militants freed a Filipino-American woman after 2 1/2 months in captivity in the southern Philippines but are still holding her 14-year-old son and a relative, authorities said Monday.
Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann was dropped off by boat late Sunday at a wharf and walked to nearby Maluso township on southern Basilan Island, where a patrolling police team picked her up, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang. She was handed over to FBI agents in the Philippines.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants snatched the three on July 12 while they were vacationing with their relatives on an island near southern Zamboanga city. In a July 17 cellphone call to the captives' relatives in Virginia that was traced to Basilan, the hostage-takers demanded a huge ransom, according to Philippine officials.
It was not clear if any ransom was paid but that has been the case in previous abductions.
"We thank God for this release," Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat told The Associated Press, adding that Lunsmann was "a bit weak."

Lunsmann, a 41-year-old veterinarian who lives in Virginia, was born to a Muslim family near Zamboanga. She was adopted by an American couple as a child and grew up in the United States. She has visited her Philippine home province at least five times before, police said.
The U.S. Embassy said in a statement Lunsmann's release "could not have occurred without the concerted efforts of Philippine government officials" and Lobregat's personal engagement.
The Abu Sayyaf still holds an Indian, a Malaysian and a Japanese convert to Islam.

PBS Kids and WordGirl

PBS Kids and WordGirl

The first was Liberty's Kids. This is also the second PBS Kids program to have a TV-Y7 rating. 

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Kids is the brand for children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States founded in 1993. As with all PBS programming, PBS Kids programming is non-commercial. It is aimed at children aged eight years old and under.

WordGirl is an American children’s animated television series for children aged 6-12, animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids. The show began as a series of shorts that premiered on PBS Kids GO! on November 10, 2006,

This animated show is aimed at people seven and older and is designed to teach about the expansive English language and its vocabulary.

The show has been renewed for three additional seasons in August of 2010.

The show is also seen on some educational networks in Canada, including Knowledge in British Columbia. The program is also syndicated internationally in places such as Australia and Italy, and also airs on Discovery Kids Latin America.

NASA fuels Atlantis for end-of-era spaceflight

NASA fuels Atlantis for end-of-era spaceflight

Atlantis is poised to blaze a path into history Friday when it propels toward the heavens on the last-ever mission of the 30-year-old American space shuttle program.

The crew of four US astronauts boarded the shuttle as NASA kept a close eye on the gloomy weather forecasts, which have predicted rain, clouds and a 70 percent likelihood of a delay in the launch planned for 11:26am (1526 GMT).

Atlantis’s 12-day mission to the International Space Station marks the end of an era in human spaceflight, after which the United States will rely on Russia to send astronauts to space until a replacement US capsule can be built.

‘The beginning of the end of the space shuttle era is this morning,’ said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.

At least 7,50,000 people have descended on Florida, with tourists eager to grab a glimpse of the final launch, but nostalgia has mingled with bitterness among the thousands of NASA employees set to lose their jobs.

Business, consumer cards 

     A recent study shows American households receive more than 10 million offers business credit cards every month.  

       It bit different from the run-of-the-mill mailers.

       It was personally, and looked like dozens of other credit card solicitations; the card being marketed was for a business.

       Look closely, a card is primarily for business use, no technical restrictions against using business cards for personal use, and the Pew Charitable Trust credit card practices.

       At one point, it big deal whether the card was issued to Kevin DeMarrais or DeMarrais Inc. changed with the passing of the federal Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act in 2009.

       The law adds critical protections and restricts several abusive practices; In general, credit cards have become safer and more transparent.

        

       Consumers of marketing increasingly common the thing speaks for itself.

jonathan rhys meyers girlfriend

From Paris With Love

A surprise hit at the box office and American feature debut of French cinematographer-turned-director Pierre Morel in 2008. Directs box office see it “From Paris With Love”

       “From Paris With Love” inches toward embracing the absurdities, much more than the more sober-minded “Taken” but far less that the rebellious “District B13.”

       “Taken” nor the new “From Paris With Love” has been able to capture that same energy and freewheeling sense of fun.

       Three films written by Luc Besson, who seems to almost single-handedly be keeping the French film industry financially alive.

       To do manage of films Hollywood.

       They waste all sorts of time on exposition and feebly trying to explain story and that only makes the improbabilities stand out even more.

       The premise,” From Paris With Love” is basically celebrate odd couple formula, more clever or picked up the pace.

       The film’s only saving grace is its action scenes. Knew choreograph action in “District B13,” knows how to make fights look cool film and how to drop bodies down lovely spiral staircases.

       Forgive a lot in an action film if it at least delivers some kick ass action. "From Paris With Love" delivers the occasional fun moment. Not enough to provide full dispensation for the films other flaws.

Phone gives clues to Osama bin Laden in Pakistan

Phone gives clues to Osama bin Laden in Pakistan 

  The New York Times reported on a cell phone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency,

          The discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan, the newspaper said, citing the officials and others sources it did not identify.

 

The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.

"We cannot confirm this account," a U.S. official in Washington said when asked about the report.

In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.