Polemical journalist and atheist Christopher Hitchens dead at 62 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62.

Hitchens died in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of cancer of the esophagus, Vanity Fair magazine said.

"Christopher Hitchens - the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant - died today at the age of 62," Vanity Fair said.

A heavy smoker and drinker, Hitchens cut short a book tour for his memoir "Hitch 22" last year to undergo chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer.

As a journalist, war correspondent and literary critic, Hitchens carved out a reputation for barbed repartee, scathing critiques of public figures and a fierce intelligence.

In his 2007 book "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," Hitchens took on major religions with his trenchant atheism. He argued that religion was the source of all tyranny and that many of the world's evils have been done in the name of religion.

The son of a British naval officer, Hitchens studied at Oxford University and worked as literary critic for the New Statesman magazine in London before moving to New York to work as a journalist in 1981. He settled in Washington the following year, initially as correspondent for the left-wing magazine The Nation. He retained his British citizenship when he became an American citizen in 2007.

Hitchens was not one to mince words. In his book on Bill Clinton "No one left to lie to", he called the former U.S. president a "rapist" and a "con man." He once referred to Mother Teresa of Calcutta as a "fanatical Albanian dwarf."

The author of 25 books - including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and George Orwell - and countless articles and columns, Hitchens never lost his biting humor.

"I'm a member of a cancer elite. I rather look down on people with lesser cancers," Hitchens said in an interview with CBS "60 Minutes" aired on March 6, 2011.

In a 2010 interview with Reuters, Hitchens dismissed criticism that he moved from left to right and helped former U.S. President George W. Bush sell the 2003 war with Iraq to the American public with what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

"Saddam was an enemy of the civilized world and he should have been taken out a long time before," Hitchens said of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I have no regrets about that at all."

The 2001 attacks on the United States by Islamic fundamentalists in hijacked passenger planes made Hitchens ever more critical of the role of religion in the world, and led him to appreciate the merits of American democracy.

"I am absolutely convinced that the main source of hatred in the world is religion, and organized religion," he wrote.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/people_nm/us_christopherhitchens

hurricane tracking flat tax flat tax divine bettie page harry caray northern lights

Obama, pushing back at Republicans, vows support for Israel (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama assured Jewish voters on Friday he remains committed to Israel's security and a two-state solution with the Palestinians as he defended himself against attacks on his policy from Republican presidential challengers.

Obama, who has been criticized by Republicans and some in the American Jewish community for being too tough on a close ally, insisted his administration has done more than any other to protect Israel and called his commitment "unshakeable."

"So don't let anybody else tell a different story," Obama told a cheering crowd at a conference of the Union for Reform Judaism, a politically liberal group. "Those are the facts."

Obama did not name names but left little doubt he was responding to Republican candidates who have recently tried to outdo each other in criticizing his policy toward Israel as they seek to cut into his support among Jewish voters.

Mitt Romney said recently Obama has "repeatedly thrown Israel under the bus," and Newt Gingrich thrust himself into controversy last week by declaring that the Palestinians are an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel.

Obama, in a pointed reference to his Republican opponents, said the bonds between Israel and the United States "transcend partisan politics -- or at least they should."

The White House wants to shore up support among Jewish voters for Obama's 2012 re-election bid. He won nearly eight of every 10 Jewish voters in 2008, but a slip would jeopardize his re-election drive in battleground states like Florida and Pennsylvania, where Jews are an important swing bloc.

Obama faced criticism from some Jewish leaders earlier this year when he insisted any negotiations on borders of a future Palestinian state begin on the basis of lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967.

He has also had a strained relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his Middle East peace efforts have mostly stalled.

But Obama won praise from Israel and its backers for his opposition to a Palestinian push beginning in September to win U.N. statehood recognition, and he has also been credited for taking a tough line with Iran, Israel's arch enemy.

"We're going to keep standing with our Israeli friends and allies," Obama said. He called Iran's nuclear program a threat not only to Israel but to the world and reiterated Washington "will take no options off the table" in the standoff.

Obama also reaffirmed U.S. support for the eventual creation of "an independent Palestine alongside a secure Jewish state of Israel" and pledged not to waver from that goal.

(Additional reporting by David Alexander; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/pl_nm/us_obama_israel

bowl games idaho potato bowl tim tebow cagayan de oro cagayan de oro bowl schedule 2011 sugar cookie recipe

French court convicts Chirac of corruption

PARIS (AP) ? A French court found former President Jacques Chirac guilty of embezzling public funds to illegally finance the conservative party he long led, in a historic verdict Thursday with repercussions for his legacy and France's political elite.

Chirac, a savvy world diplomat and icon of France's ruling establishment for decades, will not go behind bars but was handed a two-year suspended sentence that goes on his criminal record. Anti-corruption crusaders, long frustrated by dirty dealings in the French political machine, rejoiced at the conviction.

He's the first former French head of state to face prosecution since the World War II era. But the 79-year-old former leader did not take part in the trial, after doctors determined that he suffers severe memory lapses.

The court said Thursday it had found Chirac guilty in two related cases involving fake jobs created at the RPR party, which he led during his 1977-1995 tenure as Paris mayor. He was convicted of embezzling public funds, abuse of trust, and illegal conflict of interest.

Chirac repeatedly denied wrongdoing. It took years to get him to trial because he enjoyed immunity from prosecution during his 1995-2007 presidential tenure, during which he led France into the shared euro currency and became the global champion of opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The court said it took into account his age, health and status as a former head of state when determining the light sentence.

Unusually, the prosecutor had requested that Chirac and the nine other defendants in the complex two-part case be acquitted, saying not enough evidence proved intentional corruption. The court disagreed, saying his guilt results "from long-standing and reiterated practices" of illegal party financing.

Chirac's adopted daughter fought back tears as she lamented the ruling.

"The justice system has been very severe, but this is a fair and independent justice system. For the family, it's a great pain we have to accept," said Chirac's adopted daughter Anh Dao Traxel, her voice cracking with emotion as she spoke to reporters outside the courtroom.

"I think this decision is too, too severe for him and our family has more than ever to show solidarity and be supportive, for his health for the rest of his life," said Traxel, a former Vietnamese boat person. Chirac and his wife formally adopted Traxel after she came to Paris in 1979.

Chirac spokeswoman Benedicte Brissart declined to comment immediately, saying time was needed to go over the decision.

Chirac lawyer Georges Kiejman called the ruling disappointing and said he expected a decision later Thursday on whether Chirac would appeal.

"We have to take a step back and read this ruling, we have to speak of course with the main person involved (Chirac), and we will know tonight if he accepts this decision," Kiejman said. "What I hope is that this ruling doesn't change in any way the deep affection the French feel legitimately for Jacques Chirac."

The ruling is certain to bruise Chirac's public image. Leaving office in 2007 did wonders for his popularity: while polls showed that he was unpopular in his final years as president, those numbers soared afterward ? and even today, the avuncular former leader, who now focuses on charitable work, has been one of France's most popular public figures.

Critics had pushed for years to see Chirac answer charges of illegal party financing, frustrated by his presidential immunity and a sense that the political machine would never let the sensitive trial come to pass.

Jerome Karsenti, a lawyer for the anti-corruption group Anticor, which had argued against Chirac as a civil party to the case, said the reverberations could be widespread for France's political elites.

"This is a strong message from the court ? a message to all politicians of responsibility. It's also proof of a mature and transparent democracy that is today able to make a distinction and try a former president," Karsenti said.

"I see it as a historic and very important decision for the future of French democracy," he said.

The latest baring of France's underworld of back-room cronyism, corruption and political wrongdoing could loom large in voters minds as the French cast ballots in presidential and legislative elections next year.

The party that succeeded the RPR, President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party, and the opposition Socialist Party have seen their share of scandal recently. Two longtime Sarkozy allies have been targeted since September in a case of suspected kickbacks in a 1990s French defense deal with Pakistan. Sarkozy served as budget minister at the time, but his office and allies insist he was not involved.

In Thursday's ruling, the court found that 19 totally or partially fake jobs were created to benefit Chirac. "The case and the debates established that Jacques Chirac was the initiator and principal author of crimes of abuse of trust, embezzling and illegal conflict of interest," the ruling said.

A career politician, Chirac was a debonair master of the workings of public office. He modeled himself after longtime French leader Charles de Gaulle and was nicknamed "Le Bulldozer" early in his career for his determination and ambition.

France's last leader with memories of World War II, Chirac was the first to acknowledge the nation's responsibility for the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust. But he struggled to achieve reforms to the regulated economy and failed to defuse tensions between police and minority youth that exploded into riots in 2005.

___

Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-15-EU-France-Chirac-Trial/id-c6650f94716b47dab4a461ea305a9a18

happy halloween history of halloween eagles cowboys eagles cowboys trick or treat times trick or treat times madoff

ASA Announces New Communications Director | Washington ...

American Soybean Association (ASA) CEO Steve Censky announced Thursday that Patrick Delaney has assimilated ASA as Communications Director, effective Dec. 15. Delaney is formed in Washington, D.C. within ASA?s Washington Policy Representative Office of Gordley Associates.

?ASA is gratified to acquire Patrick to a team,? Censky said. ?His knowledge in ag process communications will offer him good in his purpose with ASA, where he will qualification timely communications on process decisions and issues function in Washington, as good as articulate points and research to keep ASA?s farmer-leaders and state affiliates informed.?

Delaney comes to ASA from a United Fresh Produce Association, where he managed staff, suggested care and communicated to pivotal audiences and stakeholders on all broadside matters, including advocacy and predicament communications on nutrition, labor, food safety, immigration, trade, sustainability and plantation policy. He has worked in several open family roles with agencies and a radio promote industry.

Delaney is from a Kansas City area. He has a bachelor?s grade in Persuasive and Political Communication from George Mason University and is operative toward a master?s grade in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University.

Bob Callanan, who has served as ASA Communications Director formed in St. Louis, moves into a new position as ASA?s Project Development Director, where he?ll rise module concepts and proposals to be presented to state soybean affiliates, competent state soybean boards, and attention partners.

Communications Coordinator Cassandra Langley will have an stretched purpose during ASA?s domicile in St. Louis, aiding Delaney in a doing of communications grown there.

ASA represents all U.S. soybean farmers on domestic and general issues of significance to a soybean industry. ASA?s advocacy efforts are done probable by a intentional membership in ASA by over 21,000 farmers in 31 states where soybeans are grown.

Source: ASA

Source: http://www.washingtoninvestment.net/policy/asa-announces-new-communications-director/

cain accuser aesop rock take care track list michael jackson trial carlos the jackal namibia namibia

[OOC] Monsters

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Gods; A New Age.?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

Monsters:

While the technology of the world has taken a steep dive, and much of the former knowledge lost, it doesn?t mean that the horrors of every child?s fantasies remain as stories and fairy tales.
This Thread classifies the various monsters by their nature and size.

Humanoid:
Humanoid monsters stand on two feet, and they are roughly the height of an average human. They are able to think for themselves (somewhat at least); this category varies from elves to orcs to fey and many others.

Large:
Large monsters varies in shapes. From the large Oozes, werebears, ogres and so on. Such monsters stand at least eight feet (243.8 cm) tall, and the vast majority of such creatures are carnivores.
Large monsters aren?t particularly clever, many has significantly small brains which sets their temper and understanding back severely. It is hard to train larger monsters as they rely more on their instincts, making them an unstable weapon/ally.

Colossal:
Colossal monsters are by far the rarest. Full grown dragons, titans even mountain giants are considered to be a part of this category, and unlike the large monsters, colossal monsters do have the brains and independence to know what they?re doing.

To see these beings outside their domain is beyond rare. Having them as an ally for another nation/kingdom is maybe seen once every fifth generation.

Undead:
Necromancers have the ability to bring back spirits and trap them within a body. These animated corpses has no will other than that of their master; their body may decompose as normal but until the spirit is released from its prison, it will find no rest.

Ghouls, wights, liches, ghosts, etc. are all a part of this category, however they vary in strength and immunity; some are easily banished while others require much more preparations.
Ghouls, skeletons and zombies are by far the weakest. A simple hit to their head with a weapon, or a stab to their heart, will destroy them.
Wights, ghosts, and vampires will require more holy measures.
Liches and Vampire Lords are by far the hardest to destroy. Not only will holy measures be needed, but also precautions to ensure that they never return after they?re ?killed?.

Out-Worlders:
Demons and angels. Creatures that are not from the world originally are considered to be Out-worlders and depending on their intentions, they will be marked as demons or angels. They can come in all forms of sizes.

Magical:
Magical monsters come in of creation through arcane or divine powers. A most common example is the Djinnies, Efreets and golems who are (in nature) magical. Only powerful wizards are capable of making/calling forth such creatures and even then it can be a fickle job as a simple mispronounced word can spell doom on everyone within the area.

Mounts:
For some leaders, it isn't enough to have a normal horse or camel as their mount when they have to cross vast distances. They need a monstrous steed, one which inspires fear by the enemy and one which they know can save their lives if needed.

Such creatures needs years of training, from when its born till its adulthood. It can be varied from the noble griffons to the fierce hydras that a powerful warlord can ride. Though, depending on the nature of the beast, it can also vary in temper; griffons are known to be fierce, easily biting a man in half if its displeased, yet they are loyal to those whom earn their trust, whereas the demonic nightmare steeds are known to born those who doesn't savor its appetite for death and destruction.
Keep such steeds happy, or else you'll find its claws and teeth in the wrong flesh!

Saxious

Member for 3 years

---

---

Return to Out of Character

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: Abraxas*, Acedude58*, ?SIR Society, Amigamaru, Andreis, Archlkan*, Armageddon, Aufeis*, AugmentationAudit, AzricanRepublic*, barney_fife*, Bashie L. Craft, BekaL101, Beta Type Jakuri, Bosnaface, brigitteanncastro*, Censored69*, ChinaSorrows, Chulance*, Cloasse*, codemaster23, dawnfox07*, Diavola*, Duskhorse, Eddy V. Sovorov, Eleera Cain*, Emma_Nems, Exabot [Bot], Fallen*, Forensic_Anthro, Gigabot [Bot], Giggles1245, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, hawk10002002, hayleymaee, Hazezon*, ichiro [Crawler], Iggi*, IgnisHeart, Ikiros, Jadeling Hawkins, Jo_Tunn*, jukuma*, Kestrel, Kirinak*, KrazyTigger, Krisuvial, LeeHitsugaya, LeiaHair, Lither, Loxley, Magix, Majestic-12 [Bot], Marcus, MaxStokes*, Metal4Life*, Milady, Missing Link*, Mojito*, MoonlightSonata, MSNbot Media, Murmur, NekopirePrincess, Nemo, Nevan, Ninja-Cadillac, Nivosity, Outlaw, Patcharoo*, Phoenix6000, PirateofPie*, PixieCP, Planter777*, Princess Awinita*, Pseudosyne, Rarikou*, Rem?us*, Saint Crash, Saken, SamuraiMaster, Saxious, Seathen, Shyan Kalyssa, Slorfae*, SoftDusk, Spanner, sparkleshine, Specialist443, Spiral Thoughts, Starsailor, Stilts*, sweet_angle66, Terrus, The Illusionist, The Painkiller, Tiko*, triblade*, TwiliXDragon, Tyliana*, utahann, ValaunDae'Voth, vampyre_smiles, Vestiline*, Vio-Lance, Violentious, Vlashneer, wednesdaysun, Wing06Twilight, Wudgeous, Xephos, XianEvermor*, Yahoo [Bot], Ylanne*, Yukawa, Zero Reaper, Zetta*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/byPonHghBxA/viewtopic.php

gwar gwar san diego weather tropic thunder justin bieber baby justin bieber baby credit unions

Democrats' tough choice: shut down government or swallow GOP's bills (Christian Science Monitor)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/175039884?client_source=feed&format=rss

dan quayle brett favre packers stock packers stock mastectomy st. nicholas st. nicholas

Blasts across Afghanistan target Shi'ites, 59 dead (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? A suicide attack killed dozens of Shi'ite Muslims at a crowded Kabul shrine on Tuesday, and four others died in a smaller blast in a key northern city, in the worst sectarian violence Afghanistan has seen since the fall of the Taliban.

The Kabul bomb was the deadliest in the capital since 2008, and punctured any lingering sense of optimism from a conference on Monday where Western allies made firm but not specific promises to support Afghanistan after troops leave in 2014.

Bodies and blood were scattered down a street in the heart of old Kabul where a crowd of hundreds had gathered to mark the festival of Ashura, with chanting, and self-flagellation. At least 55 were killed and 160 wounded, some critically.

Afghans, who have previously been spared the large-scale sectarian attacks that regularly trouble Iraq and neighboring Pakistan, now face the grim prospect of a new type of bloodshed being added to the dangers of daily life.

"This is the first time on such an important religious day in Afghanistan that terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place," Afghan President Hamid Karzai told journalists in Germany, where the conference on Afghanistan's future was held.

Outside a Kabul hospital, mourners cried near a pile of bloody clothes and shoes. A woman in a dark headscarf clutching a bloodstained sports shoe said her son, in his early 20s, had died. "They killed my son ... this is his shoe," she wailed.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Kabul and northern Mazar-i-Sharif. The Taliban strongly condemned the bombings and blamed "invader enemies."

Afghanistan has a history of tension and violence between Sunnis and the Shi'ite minority. But since the fall of the Taliban the country had avoided the large scale sectarian attacks that have troubled neighboring Pakistan.

"Afghanistan has been at war for 30 years and terrible things have happened, but one of the things that Afghans have been spared generally has been what appears to be this kind of very targeted sectarian attack," said Kate Clark, from the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

"We don't know who planted the bomb yet and it is dangerous to jump to conclusions but if it was Taliban, it marks something really serious, and dangerous, and very troubling."

ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Shortly after the Kabul blast, a bicycle bomb exploded near the main mosque in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city, killing four, injuring 17 others, and sparking a fight at a university mosque where Shi'ites and Sunnis were both praying.

"Enemies wanted to target the Muslim precession attending prayer, but because of tight security they failed," the city's senior police detective Abdul Raoof Taj, told Reuters.

Four people were injured in the mosque scuffle, which broke out when worshippers began arguing about the blast.

Police later defused a mine, found near the site of the explosion and likely intended to target rescuers and security forces attending to victims of the bomb.

A motorbike bomb also appeared to be aimed at Shi'ite worshippers in southern Kandahar city, the Taliban's spiritual home and centre of a strong push by NATO-led troops to push the insurgents out of their stronghold.

It exploded prematurely, injuring two policemen and three civilians, but causing no deaths.

"We cannot say for certain who the bomber's target was, but it was probably the Ashura (ceremonies)," said Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq.

"We have 100 per cent security. The enemies cannot enter the prayer sites. With such actions they want to show they exist."

The Shi'ite Muslim festival of Ashura marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein in the battle of Karbala in Iraq in the year 680.

Ashura is the biggest event in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, when large processions are vulnerable to militant attacks, including suicide bombings. Pakistan has deployed tens of thousands of paramilitary soldiers and police during Ashura.

Blood has spilled between Pakistan's majority Sunni and minority Shi'ite militants for decades.

Sectarian strife has intensified since Sunni militants deepened ties with al Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban insurgents after Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against militancy after the September 11 attacks.

(Additional reporting by Omar Sobhani, Daniel Magnowski and Jan Harvey, writing by Emma Graham-Harrison, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111207/wl_nm/us_kabul_blast

guile alton brown weather los angeles caleb hanie nascar bcs standings 2011 rhodes scholarship