"Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."
New York: Reigning Miss USA Rima Fakih has spoken out against the Ground Zero mosque.
Fakih, 24, is the first Muslim winner of the Miss USA contest and is preparing for the Miss Universe Pageant, scheduled for August 23 in Las Vegas.
“I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on Constitutional rights of freedom of religion,” the New York Post quoted Fakih as telling Inside Edition during an interview.
“I also agree that it shouldn’t be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion,” she added.
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| Pakistani villagers stand on the remains of a bridge washed away by heavy flooding in Bannu in northwest Pakistan |
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| Residents evacuate to safety in a flood-hit area of Nowshera, Pakistan on July 30, 2010. (A. MAJEED/AFP |
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| GettyImages |
AC Milan director general Ariedo Braida has revealed the club are considering making a move to sign Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"It's not easy to sign Ibrahimovic, but it is possible," Braida said. "It doesn't just depend on us, as it also depends on Barcelona and the player."
Ibrahimovic is reportedly seeking a move after the arrival of Spain striker David Villa knocked him down the pecking order at the Nou Camp. The Rossoneri are looking to boost their attacking options and are willing to offload Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in order to raise funds for a high-profile signing.
Braida told Spanish TV channel RAC-1: "I know Ibrahimovic well and he is a great player. The problem is that Milan have three, four or five forwards for two or three places. In order to sign a new striker, we'd have to sell one. Having said that, everything is possible. Yes, this can happen."
Ibrahimovic played for Milan rivals Inter for three-years before moving to Barcelona in a €60 million player-plus-cash deal in July 2009, with Samuel Eto'o heading the in other direction.
English Premier League side Tottenham suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat at the hands of Young Boys of Bern last night in their Champions League play-off.
In truth it turned out to be a good result for the North London side.
Great Defeat
Even Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp thought it was a ‘Great defeat’, he told Sky Sports: “That was a great defeat in the end if there is such a thing as a great defeat. At 3-0 we were out of it,”
“They started off, they got after us, we didn’t look happy on the surface, we couldn’t get hold of the ball, it kept bouncing away from us and we didn’t look confident in our play and we were in desperate trouble to be fair.
“Full credit to the lads. We come back to 3-1 and then a great goal from Pav to put us right back in the tie, and the tie is evenly balanced now. We need to win at home and it gives us a great chance still.”
Shell-shocked
Tottenham looked shell-shocked after going 3-0 down in less than half an hour in Switzerland. They looked like a bunch of strangers. Centre-backs Sebastien Bassong and Michael Dawson were awful and Young Boys looked like they could score every time they came forward in the first half.
Tottenham cannot use playing on artificial turf as an excuse for their poor start, although they wouldn’t have been used to playing on such a surface Spurs still shouldn’t have been so sloppy at the back.
Tottenham did start to play towards the end of the first half and got back into the game with a goal through Bassong. Before Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored Tottenham’s second with a superb effort, Young Boys had chances to add to their lead but didn’t take them.
Substitute Christian Schneuwly missed two glorious chances to put the Swiss side in even healthier shape. Those misses could cost the Swiss side a place in the Champion’s League group stages, despite their superb display against Spurs.
Away Goals
Tottenham had an off day but they managed to score two crucial away goals. Those two goals mean that Tottenham only need to win the second leg 1-0. However that’s easier said than done. Young Boys went to Fenerbahce in the last round and got the result they needed to go through.
Better
If or when Tottenham get through to the group stages of the Champions League then they will have to do far better than they did last night. If they were playing against better opposition last night then they probably would have conceded six or seven.
Tottenham now have to go out and put things right in the second leg next Wednesday. It’s crucial for Tottenham to start showing their quality.
They could easily go out of the Champions league before they have even made it into the group stages. I’m sure that Young Boys will give it everything they have at White Hart Lane but I just think that Tottenham will have too much for them back in England.
Learning Experience
Tottenham need to use this game as a learning experience and they must now realise they can’t take anything for granted and that no game will be easy for them in the Champions league. I’m sure Tottenham won’t make the same mistakes they did last night and will get the opportunity to come face to face with some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Source: www.soccernews.com
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| Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg | AP Photo/Tony Avelar |
AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook users carrying their smart phones will soon be able to "check in" to real-world locations such as bars, parks and live concerts as the social network makes its first foray into the location services craze.
"Where are you?" is joining "What's on your mind?" as Facebook lets its users declare their whereabouts to their friends and people nearby.
With the much-anticipated launch of Facebook Places late Wednesday, the world's largest social network joins a growing number of services that let users find coupons, earn quirky merit badges or simply share with friends where they are.
These location services from various startups, including Foursquare and Gowalla, have grow in popularity with the widespread availability of smart phones that have GPS and other means of determining the user's location.
Facebook's version initially works through the site's iPhone application; users will need to download a free update of the Facebook app. Owners of other touch-screen gadgets can get the feature through visiting touch.facebook.com on their mobile Web browser. Facebook says it will add Places to other smart phone apps later.
As with any new Facebook product, privacy issues figure front and center into Places, but this time the company appears to have erred on the side of caution.
"Following the flaps created by earlier launches, Facebook seems to be taking a more moderate approach to location sharing," said Jules Polonetsky, a former AOL executive who now co-chairs the Washington-based Future of Privacy Forum. "Just about everybody recognizes location as something that you want to be in control of."
By nature, check-ins are "opt in" - that is, you won't be forced to check in to a location if you don't want to. When you do, your check-ins will be shared with your friends by default, but not the broader public unless you decide to do so.
If you're out and about with friends, you'll be able to "tag" them using the (at) symbol, much the same way you can already tag them in your status updates. Your friend will then be notified that you have tagged them and can choose to check in too, or reject it.
A feature called "Here Now" lets anyone who has checked in to a place see who else has done the same. Other Facebook users who have checked in to the same location will be able to see you even if they are not your friends, but you can turn this feature off.
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Peugeot Australia has beefed up its 207 range with the introduction of the special edition 207 Sportium five-door hatch.
Starting at $21,990 for the 88kW/160Nm 1.6-litre petrol five-speed manual, the Sportium sits right between the $19,990 entry-level 207 XR and the top-of-the-range 207 XT at $23,990.
Like the XT, it is also available as a petrol automatic ($23,990) and an 80kW/240Nm HDi diesel manual ($25,190).
Included on all three Sportium models are 16in alloy wheels, sports bumpers with fog lamps, body-coloured side mouldings, rear parking sensors and electric windows, privacy glass, leather steering wheel, carpet mats, dark interior trim, and aluminium pedals, door sills and gearknob (manual).
Five exterior colours are available including black, white, red and two shades of grey.
Peugeot Automobiles Australia general manager and director, Ken Thomas, said the introduction of the Sportium was another example of Peugeot’s commitment to offering customers a premium product without paying a premium.
“It delivers all the hallmarks of a true European car – such as dynamic style, high safety standard equipment including ESP, six airbags and ABS and a rewarding driving experience – at a price that’s very competitive in today’s automotive market,” Mr Thomas said.Through the first seven months of the year, the 207 holds a dominant position at the top of its $25K+ light segment with 453 sales and a market share of just below 50 percent.
But the premium light vehicle segment in Australia is very small, accounting for just 920 of the total 80,409 light vehicles sold in Australia this year. Against the entire light vehicle segment, the baby Pug accounts for just 0.56 percent of the market.
The 2010 Peugeot 207 Sportium special edition hatch is on sale now.
Note: Prices are the manufacturer’s maximum recommended vehicle price not including on road costs.
Source : www.caradvice.com.au
International plastic surgery statistics are available for the first time. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), released a report entitled, “ISAPS Biennial Global Survey,” earlier this month that details numbers and trends for procedures across the globe.
U.S. Plastic Surgery Statistics have been compiled for more than a decade by the Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). This debut publication by the ISAPS marks the first time information has been compiled for 25 countries around the globe.
What do the international figures reveal? As you can imagine, the report confirms some assumptions you might make. But it contains a few surprises too. When it comes to sheer numbers of procedures, yes, the U.S. tops the list, with over 15 percent of all plastic surgeries worldwide. But who is number two? The United Kingdom? No, the U.K. is far down the list at number 18. Brazil? No, but close. Brazil is number three. China is actually second in the number of procedures performed. India is number four, and Mexico is a somewhat surprising number five on the list.
You might suspect that breast augmentation, a consistently popular procedure, might be number one around the world. Or rhinoplasty, an operation that has been performed by plastic surgeons for decades. Neither one is top of the list worldwide; liposuction takes top honors.
One other finding that may surprise you is the fact that non-surgical procedures performed by plastic surgeons in the top 25 countries outnumber actual surgeries—8,759187 to 8,536,379. Consider the fact that many non-surgical treatments—such as Botox, hyaluronic acid (facial filler) injections and laser hair removal—are not administered by plastic surgeons, and you’ll get a sense of just how popular non-invasive procedures have become.
Some of the most important statistics to come out of the “ISAPS Biennial Global Survey” are related to plastic surgeons themselves. The report estimates that there are more than 30,000 board certified (or the equivalent in the home country) plastic surgeons at work internationally today.
Source : www.empowher.com
