Al Sharpton is a pastor, but he is also a man. The problem is that he is also a married man. But in his defense, he has been separated from his wife for several years, so maybe this is OK. It’s not as if other people in the church aren’t also doing their dirt too.
Sharpton is 58 years old, and a source says that he has never filed for divorce from his wife Kathy Lee Jordan. But the two did announce their split back in 2004. The two had been married for 24 years before calling it quits.
Now, Sharpton is dating a much younger woman, Aisha McShaw, who told the New York Daily News that she is Sharpton’s girlfriend.
McShaw was Sharpton’s date to the president’s birthday party and the White House Correspondent’s dinner in April. Rachel Noerdlinger, Sharpton’s right hand person, explained how he told her about it all.
“His exact words to me were, ‘Rachel, I’m not announcing an engagement or a marriage,’ ” Noerdlinger said. “ ‘Don’t I have a right to date when my marriage has been over for a decade?’ ”
Sharpton’s wife had nothing to say about this. So, the good pastor is still married and dating a woman that is young enough to be his daughter. Is there anything wrong with that, or do people have the right to just do whatever they want? What standards should a pastor be held to?
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The predictions were dire: Black people would burn and loot America's cities if George Zimmerman was found not guilty. White people everywhere would be attacked in revenge for the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Judging from water-cooler conversations, social media and viral emails, many people took these warnings seriously — yet they proved to be largely wrong.
Community leaders and scholars say the overwhelmingly peaceful response to the Zimmerman verdict reflects increased opportunities for African-Americans, the powerful image of a black president voicing frustration with the verdict, and the modern ability to create change through activism and social media rather than a brick.
"There was the assumption that black people, Latino people, inner-city people are inherently violent, and that's the farthest thing from the truth," says Kevin Powell, whose BK Nation advocacy group helped organize peaceful marches involving thousands of people in New York City.
"They need to stop racially stereotyping people," Powell says. "It's the same thing George Zimmerman was engaging in. To automatically assume an explosion from the Zimmerman verdict — I don't think they understand black people."
The talk of violence originated long before the verdict with some conservative commentators, who said riots should be blamed on liberals who distorted facts to make Zimmerman look guilty. "Media's dishonest motives in Trayvon Martin case could end in riots," read one headline on Glenn Beck's website.
Speculation intensified when news broke that Florida police were preparing for possible unrest. Pundits highlighted dozens of tweets from average citizens threatening violence if Zimmerman was acquitted. Reminders circulated about a handful of "this is for Trayvon" assaults by black people when the case first gained national notice.
"I fully expect organized race rioting to begin in every major city to dwarf the Rodney King and the Martin Luther King riots," wrote former police officer Paul Huebl. "If you live in a large city be prepared to evacuate or put up a fight to win. You will need firearms, fire suppression equipment along with lots of food and water."
In the week after the verdict, amid peaceful protests involving tens of thousands of people across the country, there was some violence.
In Oakland, protesters broke windows, vandalized a police car and started street fires. In Los Angeles, people splintered off two peaceful protests to smash windows, set fires, attack pedestrians, and assault police with rocks and bottles. About 50 teenagers took the subway to Hollywood to rob pedestrians; 12 were arrested.
Individual attacks were reported in Mississippi, Milwaukee and Baltimore, where black people were accused of assaulting two white people and a Hispanic in Martin's name.
Overall, the response to the Zimmerman verdict was nothing like the massive 1992 Los Angeles uprising that killed 53 people, injured more than 2,000 and caused $1 billion in damage after police officers were acquitted in the Rodney King beating. And there was no comparison with the 1960s riots that struck cities across the country in response to oppression of African-Americans and the assassination of Martin Luther King.
The '60s riots sprang from a sense of deep frustration that progress was being thwarted, says Max Krochmal, a history professor at Texas Christian University.
"They saw the limits to what they could achieve," Krochmal says.
President Barack Obama, who spoke emotionally after the verdict about the frustrations many African-Americans felt over the verdict, is a reminder that limits have been lifted.
"In the '60s, there was just a lot of anger with the way things were. There was a hopelessness. When King was killed, that was the worst. It was like killing the hope," says the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, 82, who leads The House of the Lord Church in New York.
"Maybe the anger is not there like it was before," says Daughtry, who organized several peaceful rallies after the verdict.
He added that Obama's statement helped keep things calm. The president told people that "I feel pain, I've been through the same thing, I'm not distant to the pain you feel," Daughtry says. "I've got a man in the White House who knows that pain."
For many, social media has been a constructive outlet for that pain.
"I definitely think that social media has helped to defuse anything that happens out on the streets," Powell says. "Because people are able to use their voices. They can be heard."
"Imagine if there was no Twitter and Facebook and this verdict came down," he says. "Where would people go?"
"People are using social media to vent," Powell continues. "That's where all the energy is being placed. It's easy — people can click a button and say exactly what they want — like boycott Florida."
John Baick, a history professor at Western New England University, says the Zimmerman trial is another skirmish in the battles over the direction of American culture.
"Use of the word 'riot' is talking about race without talking about race," Baick says. "It's like, look at 'them.'"
"The word riot says so much about fears, about assumptions," he says. "It's deep in our culture that we are afraid of 'them.'"
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
He wants to move on, and believes that he’s moved on, but can Weiner really push past his sexual misconduct? The science isn’t encouraging.
It’s not the first time New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner has been caught with his pants down — in 2011, he resigned from Congress after he admitted to sending lewd pictures of himself to young women. Yesterday’s revelation that, under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger,” he again sent explicit texts and images to young women more than a year after stepping down from political life raises questions the obvious question— can Weiner’s sexual compulsion be controlled?
Weiner himself has not accepted the label of sex addict, but the candidate’s behavior meets a fundamental criterion for addiction: his exhibitionist acts continued despite negative consequences. It’s hard to imagine a better example of compulsive repetition: although he lost his job and put his marriage, family and entire political future at risk, the former Congressman nonetheless engaged again in the exact type of online behavior that brought him to public humiliation.
Even so, it’s still not clear whether sexual compulsions qualify as an addiction. The latest study argued that they don’t, because hypersexual people process sexual cues just like normal people do— and differently from the way addicts respond to drug cues. But the question is far from resolved. And whatever you want to call the issue, Weiner still has a problem, since compulsions can be just as disruptive as addictions, and equally difficult to overcome.
Though exact statistics for hypersexual behavior are not known, relapse rates for all compulsive disorders, including gambling and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are high, and they are generally considered chronic, which means they never really go away, but can re-emerge at any time. While he would not comment on Weiner’s case, Rory Reid, research psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles and a leading expert on hypersexuality, says “Relapse is common in recovery work. Rates appear to vary depending on a number of factors such as the severity or longevity of problem, the presence of co-occurring disorders such as depression, ADHD [attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder] and [others] and an individual’s level of motivation to change.”
Treating sexually deviant behavior also involves two challenges that don’t exist with alcohol and other drug addictions. Sexual behavior is one of the strongest forces in biology, and the need to reproduce represents a fundamental motivation. As a result, moderation, rather than abstinence, is generally the only realistic goal.
Research on substance addictions shows that while moderation is successful in less severe cases, it is often more difficult to achieve. With abstinence, there’s only one option to maintain recovery: just saying no, every time. But with moderation, the addict or compulsively behaving person has to figure out when it’s OK to say yes and how to deal with the craving that comes from engaging in just a little bit of the problem behavior without losing control. “When people experience problems with dysregulated behaviors such as eating or sex, it can be much more challenging because the goal is to live in harmony with the ‘substance’ rather than abstain from it,” says Reid. That’s why it’s so hard for people to alter their eating habits, since the desire to eat can’t ever be completely turned off.
And while studies show that the majority of people who suffer from alcohol and substance addictions do recover eventually, usually without formal treatment or even self-help groups, it’s not known if the same is true for sexual compulsions. “There is no published data on long-term recovery rates among hypersexual patients who have received treatment,” Reid says, “This is disconcerting given that rehabs offering treatment for ‘sex addiction’ charge thousands of dollars for their services but have no outcome research to support their claims of being helpful.”
There is also little hope that such research will be forthcoming. Politicians aren’t eager to fund sex-related research despite the fact that such studies may be the only hope in improving outcomes for not just those with sexual compulsions but for sex offenders as well, who continue to commit sexually related crimes. In the meantime, recovery should be an on-going effort — to be addressed one day at a time — rather than a process with a finite end. Instead of thinking that “This behavior is behind me,” as Weiner said in a press conference admitting to the latest transgressions, he may have to learn to live with, rather than leave behind, his actions.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
MOSCOW (AFP) – US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was set Wednesday to leave the Moscow airport transit zone where he has been holed up for the last month after being provided with a document allowing him to officially enter Russia, reports said.
The state RIA Novosti news agency said the document confirms that his application for asylum in Russia is being considered and allows him to cross into Russia proper so long as border guards do not object, it said.
The news agency added that the document was initially given to the lawyer helping him, Anatoly Kucherena, who was now at Sheremetyevo airport and meeting Snowden in a secure zone.
A large crowd of media was already outside a door marked “staff only” on the lower floor of Terminal E at Sheremetyevo, with police and security guards keeping tight control, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
The Interfax news agency said Snowden, who is wanted by the US on espionage charges for revealing a vast spying programme, could leave the airport in the “next hours”.
“The American is currently getting ready to leave. He is being provided with new clothes. The document will be given to him by Kucherena,” Interfax said.
RIA Novosti cited a source within the Russian border guards service as saying he would be allowed to leave the airport as soon as he presents the document.
He would not cross the border with regular passengers but through a special channel, the Interfax news agency reported.
The migration service declined to comment and there was no official confirmation that he was preparing to cross into Russian territory.
Snowden earlier this month applied for asylum in Russia, a process that could take up to three months.
Kucherena has said Snowden may even apply for Russian citizenship and is interested in looking for work in Russia.
Hosting Snowden risks further straining relations between Russia and the United States. But Russia has refused to hand Snowden over, saying it has no extradition treaty with Washington.
Snowden arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23.
The former contractor for the National Security Agency was checked-in to fly on to Cuba the next day but he never boarded the plane to Havana.
He ended up marooned at the Moscow airport after the United States revoked his passport.
With the help of Sarah Harrison, an employee of anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, the 30-year-old applied for asylum in 27 countries but most of the nations denied him a safe haven under pressure from Washington.
Three countries in Latin America known for their anti-US stance — Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela — have said they would be willing to give refuge to Snowden.
But there are doubts about whether the American will be able to travel on to Latin American after Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane flying from Moscow earlier this month was forced to land in Vienna and searched amid suspicions Snowden was on board.
Breaking his silence for the first time since arriving from Hong Kong, Snowden on July 12 summoned several rights activists and Kremlin-friendly lawyers for a dramatic, closed-door meeting at Sheremetyevo airport.
He told them he would apply for asylum in Russia and asked them to petition President Vladimir Putin on his behalf.
On July 16, Snowden applied for temporary asylum with the help of Kucherena, a pro-Kremlin lawyer who participated in the airport meeting.
The Kremlin has sought to keep Snowden’s case at arm’s length but observers said the activists’ meeting at the state-controlled airport would have never been possible without government involvement.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
According to glamour girl turned dating expert Kezia Noble, she can teach any man how to trick a woman into bed.
What's more, she doesn’t see anything unsisterly in sharing her seduction technique. Nor does she feel she’s ‘rinsing’ men by taking N1 million (£4,000) a week for her 'wisdom' (her courses have made her a millionaire).
Instead, says Kezia, she is helping women find love and happiness by making hapless men 'dateable' and says she can turn any oafish slob into Prince Charming.
Kezia claims she is the saviour of the 'Brian Jones' generation – the late 20s and 30 something guys who have found themselves left on the shelf. As they find themselves alone and staring into their pints, men are turning to the 29-year-old relationship expert in a last ditch attempt to find love.
Kezia said: 'If women want to slag me off for what I do that’s fine. I don’t care. And I’m not forcing men to hand over their money. They do it because they are desperate.
'I’m helping men get the balls they need to approach women so if anything they should thank me. It’s not like I’m teaching them to hypnotise a woman into jumping into bed. Yes, ultimately, my technique will mean they get sex but not straight away. It’s about relationships.
'People talk about women being like Bridget Jones who feel the pressure to settle down and have a husband and family but men are feeling it too.
'I would say 80 per cent of my clients are aged 27 to 35. They’ve watched their friends settle down, marry and have children.
'They no longer have their 'wing-man' who would help them pick up girls and do the charming for them. When they’re left to their own devices, they simply don’t have the skills to pick up women.'They are, by their own admission, undateable. I’ve had guys come to me who haven’t slept with a woman for 10 years then they’ve got themselves a date.'
Kezia, a former singer and property developer, is the UK’s only 'Female Pick Up Coach' and says she has helped 7,000 men through her bootcamps, which cost £350 for a day or £4,000 for a seven day residential.
The slim brunette left school in Mayfair St Georges in London aged 15 with just five GCSES and went to work with her father, Haydon, 62, in his property developing business.
Her big break came in 2006 when she had a chance meeting with a male pick up artist named Anthony in a nightclub, who gave her a job as one of his coaches.
Two years later, Kezia, who is single, set up on her own and now gives her clients a full makeover, not just of their appearance but their personality and the way they deal with women.
'The secret to success with women is not just about confidence and chemistry as many people believe,' she explains.
'The first thing we do is look on them as a potential date might, so things like scruffy clothes, and dated hair styles need to be ironed out, and sloppy posture.
'Next, we work on their inner confidence; their ability to approach women. Men who come on my courses think this is limited to bars and clubs. But they can meet potential dates in parks, museums, coffee shops, anywhere where they can engage in conversation.
'They have approach anxiety, where they are just scared of talking to women. They think good-looking women are total bitches. I shatter those myths, make them more capable of approaching girls, and give them the skills to engage them when they do.
'In conversation, most men freeze up after asking where someone is from and what they do for a living, and if they like it. 'Instead, I guide them to more open questions, for example, "Is your job what you have always wanted to do?" "Does it put a smile on your face every day?"
'It’s not about being sleazy or telling lies. In fact, one client, an accountant, would boast about how much money he earned to girls in a bid to win them over.
'When I broke down how he really felt, it transpired that he hated his job, but it gave him the money to go on lots of trips and holidays.
'I said to him, "Well say that! That is what a girl wants to hear!" It’s about being honest and refreshing and standing out from the other guys who go on about the same dull things.
'We live in a shallow society where men can be brash and boast about material things like cars, houses and salaries, or feel inferior if they can’t show the material signs of success.
'But rich or poor, intelligent or not, there is someone out there for everyone and that’s what my classes are about.'
KEZIA'S KOMMANDMENTS: FIVE WAYS TO REVOLUTIONISE YOUR LOVE LIFEOverhaul your look: 'We look on them as a potential date might, so things like scruffy clothes, and dated hair styles need to be ironed out, and sloppy posture,' says Kezia.
Cast your net wider: 'Men who come on my courses they are limited to bars and clubs,' reveals Kezia. 'But they can meet potential dates in parks, museums, coffee shops, anywhere where they can engage in conversation'
Ask open questions and be yourself: Kezia explains: 'It’s about being honest and refreshing and standing out from the other guys who go on about the same dull things.'
Take tips from the bad boys: 'A bad boy is never too available, or predictable, and will put other people or his work before the girl in the early stages,' says Kezia. 'This shows he values himself and his own life and that he has a lot to give.'
Use the 'upside down triangle' to see whether she likes you: 'The gaze should move naturally between each eye and the mouth,' says Kezia. 'If the girl looks away or shifts uncomfortably, it’s a no, but if they are relaxed with this or mirror this behaviour, there’s attraction.'
Next comes body language where the client is taught how to gauge whether a woman sees him as a potential date, which Kezia terms 'sexual escalation'.
'I call this technique the upside down triangle,' explains Kezia. 'The gaze should move naturally between each eye and the mouth. If the girl looks away or shifts uncomfortably, it’s a no, but if they are relaxed with this or mirror this behaviour, there’s attraction.
'It’s simply a subconscious reaction in the same way that if you like someone and they touch your arm, you don’t mind, but if you don’t you’d pull away.'
Kezia says she has had men with wives and girlfriends come on her course in a bid to escape the monotony of their lives and find a new partner.
She said: 'I have had a few clients drop that bombshell on me, they’ve come along in the hope they’ll find the skills to get a mistress, but that’s not what it’s about.
'I’ve sent them away and told them to apply what they’ve learned with their wife or partner and it’s given them the spark back.'
Kezia says her youngest ever client has been 18 and the oldest 62 and she’s had bi-sexual girls and lesbians come along to her talks too, as well as female friends who want to learn more about the psychology behind their failed relationships.
She also has a theory on why women like 'bad boys' and what positive attributes regular 'nice guys' can learn from them.
Kezia explains: 'A bad boy isn’t one dimensional. The reason girls love him is because he’s a challenge, he keeps them guessing.
'Like Christian Grey in the book Fifty Shades of Grey, he will have that flicker of sadness and vulnerability. The girl will want to be the one to tame him, to be his 'fixer' and melt his heart.
'But a bad boy is never too available, or predictable, and will put other people or his work before the girl in the early stages.
'This shows he values himself and his own life and that he has a lot to give. Like most girls, when I’ve liked a guy, I’ve made myself totally available, and they back off.
'When I’ve not been so keen and have been more aloof, guys can’t do enough. You can be a nice guy, but keep a bit back, and keep women keen and guessing. It works in exactly the same way for women.'
Kezia says she learned a lot about men by reading Jackie Collins' novels such as Lucky Chances as a teenager.
She said: 'It was all about these awful men and these strong women who were total bitches and I was hooked on the dynamics of the relationships.
'Then, when I was 16, I dated an older guy who really messed me around. I went into it totally blind. It was purely down to attraction and he treated me badly.
'I was badly burned and after that I found I wanted to psychoanalyse the reasons why I liked men, more to protect myself than anything else.
'As I moved forward I tried to work out the reasons why certain men appealed and by trying to decipher my own feelings and behaviour, I unwittingly learned a lot about how men act too.'
Eventually she does want to find Mr Right. 'My longest relationship was with a French guy who I broke up with recently and we were together for four years on and off,' remembers Kezia. 'But if I’m honest, I get bored quite easily with guys. I do want to settle down one day. I’d love to have two children of my own and adopt too.'I feel that will only come when I feel at the right place in my life where I want to be with one person forever. I believe in fidelity and to me, marriage is a lifetime commitment.'
Kezia whose sister Hadassa, 22, works with her as a coach, says her mum Pauline, 52, a housewife, and her dad Haydon are proud of what she does.
She has only faced criticism from one family member who accused her of trying to get men to trick women.
She said: 'My mum is happy that I’m successful and my father is proud that I’ve become a successful businesswoman. They don’t see any shame in what I do.
'I’ve had people tell me it’s not very sisterly to be teaching men how to seduce women but I don’t see it that way at all.
'I’m helping them to become more appealing to women and more truthful and self-aware as well. The guys leave as more sensitive, well-adjusted men. I’m doing women a favour!'
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
In September 1961, Lucy Johnson shared a home with her husband and young daughter near Vancouver, Canada.
Then she vanished.
Sheila Reynolds of The Surrey Leader reports that Johnson's daughter, Linda Evans, discovered that her mother currently lives in the Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada — 1,000 miles from their former home in Surrey, British Columbia.
Johnson is reportedly alive and well. Now 77, she has four other children: three sons and a daughter.
Back in 1965 the Surrey Royal Canadian Mounter police dug up the family's yard after learning she had gone missing years earlier than her husband had claimed.
Since then she became one of world's oldest missing person cases.
Evans, now now in her late 50s, attempted to solve the mystery after reading a recent Leader story about Johnson’s disappearance.
Knowing her mother was born in Alaska, she placed an ad in the Yukon News detailing Lucy’s name, place and date of birth, and her grandparents’ names.
She received a phone call from a woman who said that she was pretty sure the woman Evans was searching for was her mother also, which would make her and Evans half-sisters.
“I have a lot of questions. And they’re all ‘Whys?' Evans told the Leader.
Below is a map showing where Surrey is in relation to the Yukon. The city (population: 468,251) is 1,218 miles from the Yukon territorial capital of Whitehorse. Google estimates that it would be a 29 hour drive.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
WASHINGTON (CAP) – A new bill introduced in the Senate takes a drastically different approach to gun control by applying some of the same criteria to semi-automatic weapons as to criminal behavior itself, a compromise both sides of the aisle could agree on.
"Bill S.150a applies a level of personification ramification justification to gun control," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). "Guns, like people, need to be innocent until proven guilty."
Under the new legislation, an assault weapon will only be banned from legal sale in the United States if that weapon has been proven to be used in the commission of a crime.
For cases where trial is pending, the identified weapon will be placed on suspension and the public will be asked to refrain from using that weapon until its fate is determined.
"There are many makes and models of guns that have never been used to commit a crime," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). "It is unAmerican to punish those guns – and by extension, gun manufacturers and gun owners – for a crime that has not taken place.
"If a Pit Bull mauls a child, do we ban every dog in the country?" Graham added. "No, we punish the guilty Pit Bull, not the thousands of dogs making thousands of children happy every day."
A previous version of the legislation had recommended a so-called three-strike rule to be implemented for assault weapons, but it was removed in a later iteration of the bill when ranking Republicans protested the use of a baseball euphemism in a non-sports scenario.
"Three strikes means that at least three people would likely die before anything is done," said Feinstein. "For this measure to be effective, we really need to take decisive action after the first person is killed."
A House version of the bill offers a slightly different solution by leaving current gun laws intact but requiring those purchasing ammunition to sign a waiver stating they understand the risks associated with owning a weapon and that they promise to be very careful.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
WASHINGTON (CAP) – President Obama has announced his support of the Pentagon's latest plan to provide a missile defense system for the United States, even though it does not include lasers, invisible jets, or invisible jets with lasers.
The Strategic Dome Initiative offers $1 billion in funding to erect a translucent, impenetrable dome over the continental United States that would not only deflect missiles launched from anywhere in the world, but also meteors falling from the sky and other as yet unidentified apocalyptic events.
"I prefer to think of it as more of a, uhh, force field than a dome," Obama told reporters. "Think Star Wars, not New Orleans Saints."
He demonstrated by tossing a dart at an upside-down glass salad bowl and shushing everyone to listen to the resulting plink as the dart bounced off the glass.
"That's the sound of American lives being saved," he added.
Obama pointed out that not only will SDI provide a defense system unparalleled in American history, but also a multitude of jobs to design, create and maintain what's being dubbed Operation Freedome.
"Let's just say the window washers union had better start posting help wanted ads now," he noted.
Critics are calling the plan's feasibility into question – most notably the fact that the dome won't cover either Alaska or Hawaii, instead using the two outlier states as an "early warning system" so the Pentagon knows when to activate the Freedome over the mainland.
"Come on, let's be serious: a dome that reaches all the way out to Hawaii would have to be ginormous," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. "There's no way we could build something that big.
"Besides, Alaska has that really odd shape that just doesn't lend itself to good orbicular qualities," Panetta added.
Panetta acknowledged that future defense plans could include mini domes for Hawaii and Alaska, "assuming they don't get blown out of the water before we can get them built."
The White House has commissioned a number of environmental impact studies and has promised to publicize all the favorable ones before construction gets underway later this year.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
AUSTIN, Tex. (CAP) – As President Obama marked the first stop on his Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour with rhetoric about boosting jobs and opportunities, he waited until the cameras stopped rolling to get down to brass tacks with the residents who had gathered to hear him speak.
"Listen, you told me you needed help getting jobs, I told you to wear slacks," Obama said. "You told me it was raining out, I got you ponchos.
"Now you're worried about everything you've worked for all falling apart, so I have a simple solution," he added. "Taco Tuesdays."
He explained that from a practical standpoint, taco dinners are cheap and easy to put together, cover a wide range of food groups, and provide quality family time as everyone eats around the table and discusses their day with each other.
"And when you're unemployed, that quality family time is really all you have to hold onto," Obama said. "Because let's face it: chances are you're going to be unemployed for so long that we'll stop counting you in the jobless numbers."
From a metaphorical angle, he pointed out that when that taco falls apart, which it invariably will do, it's just a matter of picking up the pieces and continuing on with dinner. He told the crowd that not only does it still taste great, but "you get to lick your fingers afterwards."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
London — The public got its first view of the new heir to the British throne Tuesday as Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, left a London hospital hospital with their newborn son.
"It's very special," said William, who emerged from St. Mary's Hospital with his wife a day after the birth of their still-unnamed son. Catherine held the child, wrapped in a cream-colored blanket, as the couple waved to well-wishers outside.
"He's got her looks, thankfully," the prince added.
The couple left the hospital Tuesday evening with William carrying the boy out in a car seat and installing him in the back of a black SUV for the trip to Kensington Palace.
"Their Royal Highnesses would like to reiterate their thanks to the hospital for the care and treatment they have all received," a statement from the palace read.
The boy was born at 4:24 p.m. Monday, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. The new parents remained in the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London overnight.
William's father, Prince Charles, came to the hospital for a brief visit with his first grandchild Tuesday evening, accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. He told reporters it was "marvelous."
Catherine's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, visited earlier, with Carole Middleton telling reporters the royal baby is "absolutely beautiful."
She said both mother and baby are doing "really well" and that she and her husband were "so thrilled" at being grandparents.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "Mother, son and father are all doing well this morning." Queen Elizabeth II's gynecologist, Marcus Setchell, is at the hospital carrying out medical assessments of Catherine following the birth, the palace said earlier.
Bells, gun salutes
Meanwhile, guardsmen at Buckingham Palace, the queen's residence, played the Cliff Richard song "Congratulations" to mark the birth of the royal baby at the Changing of the Guard. The military ceremony, much beloved of tourists, involves a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard in the palace forecourt.
Crowds were gathered again outside Buckingham Palace, a day after they thronged there to see the formal notice announcing the baby's birth.
Multigun salutes were also staged Tuesday afternoon to welcome the new royal heir. The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park released 41 rounds, while the Honorable Artillery Company at the Tower of London fired 62 rounds.
At the same time the bells of Westminster Abbey, where William and Kate were married in April 2011, began to peal, in keeping with royal tradition, and were set to continue for more than three hours.
The news of the boy's birth, announced about four hours after the event Monday, prompted cheers and celebrations among the crowds of well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace. At least one group of well-wishers brought flowers, champagne and a card for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Photos: Reaction to royal baby
Social media networks were also abuzz with the news, which made headlines around the world.
'We could not be happier'
The new parents spent some time with their baby before calling family members — starting with the queen — to announce the birth, a Kensington Palace source told CNN royal correspondent Max Foster.
"We could not be happier," said Prince William, according to the Kensington Palace source.
Prince William remained at Catherine's side throughout the labor, and the baby was born naturally. An official bulletin was placed on a gilded easel outside Buckingham Palace.
The celebrations for the arrival of the new prince — whose title will be His Royal Highness Prince (the baby's name) of Cambridge — were hard to miss in the capital.
The fountains at Trafalgar Square were dyed blue; the BT Tower, a London landmark, flashed the words "It's a boy;" and the London Eye was illuminated in patriotic red, white and blue.
Further afield, Canada — where the British monarch is head of state — turned its side of the Niagara Falls blue to mark the birth, and the CN Tower in Toronto was lit up the same color.
Betting on a name
It was a long wait for the media camped outside St. Mary's Hospital, but when the news of the birth finally came, the excitement of the moment was huge.
The Sun newspaper, Britain's best-selling tabloid daily, changed its masthead Tuesday to "The Son" to mark the occasion, above a picture of the official birth announcement, while the Daily Express and Telegraph emblazoned "It's a boy" across their front pages.
Recognizing that excitement over the prince's arrival is not universal, the Guardian newspaper's website lets users switch to a royal baby-free version of the home page. The front page of UK satirical magazine Private Eye simply says: "Woman has baby."
What will royal baby's name be?
Many bets are being placed as the wait continues for the baby's name to be announced. British bookmakers Ladbrokes have James as favorite, followed by Henry and George, Philip, Alexander and Richard.
The baby's name may be announced when the family leaves the hospital, CNN's Foster reported. William's name was announced a few days after birth, his brother Harry's on departure from hospital.
Some British parents have delayed naming their newborns in recent days in hopes of either copying or avoiding the royal name, he said.
The baby is third in line for the throne now occupied by the queen. Her son, Charles, will succeed her, followed by his son, William.
Royal joy
Members of the royal family expressed their happiness at the safe delivery.
"Both my wife and I are overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild. It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine, and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," Prince Charles and wife Camilla said in a statement.
The official British Monarchy Twitter feed said: "The Queen and Prince Philip are delighted at the news of the birth of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby."
Charles Spencer, brother to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, welcomed the birth of the baby. "We're all so pleased: it's wonderful news," he said in a statement.
"My father always told us how Diana was born on just such a blisteringly hot day, at Sandringham, in July 1961. It's another very happy summer's day, half a century on."
British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "It is an important moment in the life of our nation, but I suppose above all, it's a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who got a brand new baby boy."
Tributes around the world
Thanks to a change agreed by the leaders of the Commonwealth countries in 2011 and passed into law this year, the baby's place in the order of succession would have been the same regardless of gender. Previously, boys automatically trumped female siblings, so a first-born daughter could be pushed out of line by a younger brother.
The British monarch is also head of state in 15 Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belize and Jamaica.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered his country's congratulations on the birth of a future king.
"The arrival of the newest member of the Royal Family, a future Sovereign of Canada, is a highly anticipated moment for Canadians given the special and warm relationship that we share with our Royal Family," he said in a statement.
Barack and Michelle Obama also gave their best wishes.
"The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations," the president and first lady said in a statement. "Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince."
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also sent their congratulations.
On Twitter, topics related to the royal baby jumped to the top of the trending list in the United Kingdom on Monday morning. Worldwide, hashtags such as #RoyalBabyBoy and #Will & Kate were trending later Monday.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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