Highlights of costs of war research

Major findings from the "Costs of War" study on the financial and human costs of US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2001 by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. FINANCIAL TOLL: * Congressional war appropriations to Pentagon since 2001: $1.3 trillion * Additions to Pentagon base budget: $362 billion to $652 billion * Interest on Pentagon war appropriations: $185 billion * Veterans' medical claims and disability: $33 billion * War-related international aid: $74 billion...

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Fifth Transformers: Dark of the Moon Trailer

This 4th of July, the fireworks are going to hit early as Michael Bay's trilogy ending sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon promises to bring more explosions than ever witnessed by the human eye all in one place, all at one time! Paramount Pictures has released the fifth trailer in anticipation of tomorrow's midnight launch of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Transformers: Dark of the Moon was released June 29th, 2011 and stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Julie White, Kevin Dunn, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Alan...

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Toy Story 4 in Works, says Tom Hankstom,hanks,

Buzz Light Year with Jessie from Toy Story 3. "Toy Story 4" might become a reality soon, according to Tom Hanks.  The series has become highly successful, with the most recent installment winding up the highest-grossing film of 2010, hitting profits of over $1.6 billion at the international box office. The original installment netted $300 million in 1995,...

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'Thriller' jacket sells for $1.8mln

A leather jacket worn by Michael Jackson for his "Thriller" video sold for $1.8 million at an auction on Sunday to a Texas gold trader who plans to use it to raise money for children's hospitals worldwide. The black and red calf leather jacket with winged shoulders was one of two used for the shoot. The other one, in scuffed condition, is owned by the Jackson estate. The one sold by Julien's auction house in Beverly Hills is in better shape and is signed on the sleeve by Jackson. It was designed by Deborah Landis, the wife of "Thriller"...

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Gas drilling might disappoint investors: NYT

While gas companies like ConocoPhillips and Chesapeake Energy Corporation are making big bets on wells to extract energy from shale formations, industry insiders have doubts that the companies will be able to deliver on their promises to investors. which prepared a report based on an investigation of e-mails and documents, energy executive, industry lawyers, state geologists and market scepticism question whether natural gas companies are exaggerating how productive their wells will be.  it researched well data and found that...

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LulzSec hackers say disbanding after last data dump

 The Lulz Security group of rogue hackers announced it was disbanding on Saturday with one last data dump, which included internal AOL Inc and AT&T documents. LulzSec, which gained wide recognition for breaching the websites of Sony Corp, the CIA and a British police unit among other targets, said in a statement that it had accomplished its mission to disrupt corporate and government bodies for entertainment. "Our planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance, leaving behind -- we hope -- inspiration, fear,...

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Egypt says will not need IMF, World Bank funds

img alt="File photo of Samir Radwan, minister of finance." class="imagecache imagecache-highslide_zoom" height="150" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uKV1P5WVPvD63Tm3tovP-905Fs5GahZKg-knzKkWA5xOryKfls4MdpJyY7WbrWrZIMOlmF9rxc7RP5JfwG0XFeACy9d40qCed9vNKPPJBAowNqEx-qdfTCnOCPU8DnPe_KdAdcnKBSx3J1CqJqvORiA7eehb4hg3HYkUo4cinmmpK4_x_SQK3QutAfue45-hbbkkKx3w=s0-d"...

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US ready to arm Philippines against rise of China

The United States has announced it is ready to provide hardware to modernise the military of the Philippines, which as vowed to "stand up to any aggressive action" amid rising tension at sea with China. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Philippines' Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario meet with reporters at the State Department in Washington...

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Ukraine ex-PM goes on trial

 Afp, KievUkraine's ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko yesterday went on trial for alleged abuse of power, denouncing her rival President Viktor Yanukovych as a coward fearing political competition. The former premier, known as the "Iron Lady", is accused of abuse of power in connection with a contract she signed with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir...

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Asia has more millionaires than Europe

The number of millionaires in Asia-Pacific has jumped sharply to overtake Europe, a study revealed yesterday, driven by the fast-rising super-rich of Hong Kong. watch now Millionaires in the region -- who have a total of almost $11 trillion -- became worth more collectively than their counterparts in Europe in 2009, but there are also now more of them, at 3.3 million, versus 3.1 million in Europe. The report on high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) -- defined as anyone with investable assets of at least $1 million --...

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Winklevoss twins end legal row with Facebook

The Winklevoss brothers, Harvard contemporaries of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, ended their legal battle with the social network yesterday. They reached a $65m settlement in 2008, after claiming that Zuckerberg stole their idea. A US appeals court ruled in April that they could not back out of the deal. The pair had...

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Obama sets in motion US pullout from Afghanistan

US President Barack Obama announced a phased pullout of troops to end a costly war in Afghanistan, but the country faced fresh turmoil after a court overturned results from last year's fraud-tainted election. Obama's plan to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of the year and a further 23,000 by the end of next summer won immediate support from France's president. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Washington's ally in an relationship made uneasy by allegations of incompetence and corruption, welcomed the plan and said...

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Tsunami warning for Alaska coast

  A major earthquake of 7.4 magnitude hit in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday 107 miles east of Atka, Alaska, at a depth of about...

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Hillary Clinton says Taliban outreach key to Afghan solution

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said that Washington's "preliminary outreach" to the Taliban was part of a necessary but unpleasant attempt to achieve a political solution in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mrs Clinton told the Senate that the US is backing...

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Fil-Am leaders react to P-Noy's ratings dip

 President Benigno Aquino III has only been in office for barely a year, but more people in the Philippines are expressing their dissatisfaction over his performance. A recent Social Weathers Station (SWS) survey shows another 5 point-drop in Aquino’s ratings. The SWS says respondents in earlier surveys have been concerned with the rising inflation and slow progress in the justice system in the Philippines. Rodel Rodis led the Filipino-Americans who raised over a $100,000 for Aquino’s presidential campaign....

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Obama sets course for exit from Afghanistan

  President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday...

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Bristol Palin goes after McCain’s wife, daughter

   Bristol Palin is taking aim at ex-fiancee Levi Johnston, the father of her child, but has found two other targets in a just-published autobiography — the wife and daughter of Sen. John McCain. She doesn’t have much use for Cindy and Meghan McCain, respectively the wife and daughter of the Arizona senator...

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Video: Two cycles dance in the funniest wreck of the year

Yes, this is two wheels, not four, but it's two that makes four. Just watch:   Somebody turn a hose on those two cycles, quick! (And no, I don't know why there's Bugs Bunny performing square-dance music on there. Just bow to your partner and roll with it.).  this wreck was "Sur le circuit de Magny-Cours, épreuve du championnat Promosport : deux pilotes chutent et leurs motos s'entremêlent et continuent de tourner au sol!" Exactly what I was thinking. For those of you who don't read French, our  (didn't know we had that,...

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Japan cancels tsunami alert after 6.7 quake

People look through the ruins of Kamaishi, part of Japan devastated by the March's earthquake and tsunami. Japan has cancelled a tsunami alert issued after a 6.7 quake off the east coast of Honshu today. Japan Meteorological Service issued the tsunami warning...

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Why is June 21 Both the Summer and Winter Solstice?

The summer solstice occurred today at 1:16 p.m. EDT (17:16 GMT), the time the sun is at the highest point possible in the sky. In the Northern Hemphisphere, June 21 is the longest day of the year and marks the official beginning of summer. People attend the annual summer solstice at the Stonehenge monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, southern England June 21, 2010. ...

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Evangeline Lilly joins The Hobbit

Evangeline Lilly and Barry Humphries have joined the cast of 'The Hobbit' movies, director Sir Peter Jackson has confirmed.    Evangeline Lilly has joined the cast of 'The Hobbit' movies. The former 'Lost' actress has signed on to play a new character, Tauriel, but director Sir Peter Jackson refused to give any further details about the woodland elf. The filmmaker revealed on his Facebook page: "Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to...

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Luxury Cars That Don't Guzzle Gas

2011 BMW 528iThe terms “luxurious” and “economical” needn’t be mutually exclusive. Whether you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint or are just tired of having your pocket picked at the pump, there’s a growing number of top-shelf models on the market that boast top fuel efficiency. And we’re not talking about oddball six-figure hybrids that save a few...

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Bob Hoskins hates Super Mario Bros. film

Hoskins as Mario Bob Hoskins sports a resume that most actors would envy. Best known, perhaps, for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," he also played key roles in "Brazil," "Mona Lisa" and "The Cotton Club." He has appeared in nearly 100 films and television shows -- but there's one he'd like to erase from that list: 1993's Super Mario Bros. The Guardian spoke with the 68-year old actor, peppering him with a series of questions about his career, politics and life moments. And he doesn't hesitate to give his feelings on the role...

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Syria: cousin of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad given travel ban

A cousin of the Syrian president has been banned from traveling abroad as the government says it is investigated the violence gripping the country. Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President     The move appears to be an attempt by Bashar al-Assad to show that he is ...

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Australian flights disrupted by ash cloud again

An ash cloud from a volcano in Chile wreaked havoc on Australian flights again on Tuesday, with Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia cancelling domestic flights in and out of Sydney and other key cities from Tuesday afternoon. International flights were mostly operating but some flights were being diverted, delayed or canceled, Qantas said. Qantas diverted flights from Johannesburg and Singapore to Brisbane, and delayed two flights due from Los Angeles, and canceled six flights between Australia and New Zealand, the airline said, while...

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UN atom chief urges nuclear stress tests, inspections

The UN nuclear chief called on Monday for national safety tests on all the world's reactors within 18 months, followed by international inspections to help prevent any repeat of Japan's atomic crisis three months ago. Yukiya Amano, opening a ministerial meeting in Vienna on strengthening safety standards after the Fukushima emergency, said UN experts should be allowed to carry out random safety reviews of nuclear power plants. His proposals -- aimed at ensuring that nuclear plants can withstand extreme events such...

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Keith Olbermann’s New Show Makes TV Debut Tonight

Keith Olbermann returns to television Monday night in his new gig at Current TV. The show will air at a familiar time (8:00 p.m.) and with a familiar name, Countdown with Keith Olbermann.Olbermann left MSNBC, where Countdown had aired since March 2003, in January 2011. Olbermann joins the fledgling Current TV, not only as its marquee host, but...

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The longest day – Summer Solstice 21st June 2011

Solstice Sunset Credit:Adrian WestJune 21st, 2011 is Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year. This is the time when the Sun is at its highest or most northerly point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere and when we receive the most hours of daylight. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere it is the reverse, so you will be having “Winter Solstice.” Also known...

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