Sunday, December 27, 2009
9 dead, 300 arrested in Iran protests
The death toll continues to rise in Iran, as clashes between reformist activists and government security forces turned dramatically deadly Sunday, during the Shia holiday of Ashura. Demonstrators who reject the rule of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had planned widespread protests for the holiday, and the rallies have left more than nine dead and many more injured. In anticipation of the uprising, the government ordered a crackdown on opposition protesters and gave the OK to open fire. "The security forces began shooting at people. I saw one guy with his brains blown out," one witness said. The nephew of reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is among those reported killed. In return, demonstrators have retaliated forcefully; videos posted on YouTube show security agents being attacked and bloodied. The lethal actions of the security forces could lead to a cycle of mourning ceremonies, which may usher in an endless cycle of violence. Political analysts fear that the culmination of events could pave the way to the collapse of the Islamic regime and Iran's political system.
Terrorist once again confounds airport security
From 9/11 to the Christmas Day attack on Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit, terrorists have changed their tactics to get around airport security.
Police officers observe the scene inside the main terminal of Frankfurt's airport,
Sunday. Airports and airlines across Europe moved rapidly to tighten security
on US-bound flights on Saturday after a man tried to set off explosives on a
plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Corporate optimism highest in 6 years
Britain’s business leaders are more optimistic about the UK economy improving than at any point in the past six years, according to an annual survey of captains of industry.
In the yearly Ipsos Mori Captains of Industry poll of 100 company bosses, 36 per cent thought that the economic situation would improve, compared with just 4 per cent last year.
Separately, the total number of Boxing day shoppers was up 18.6 per cent against Boxing day 2008 – a record, according to Experian, the retail analysts.
But in spite of the positive outlook, almost three-quarters of the industry chiefs polled thought that the government’s policies would not boost the economy, with almost half identifying public debt as the most important issue facing the UK.
About 30 per cent felt the economy still had a way to fall, however, though that was a drop of more than two-thirds on the previous year and the first time the optimists have outnumbered the pessimists since 2003.
The findings of the poll, which was addressed to board-level directors at FTSE-500 companies, give a sense of the severity of the recession so far. However, they revealed a widespread belief at board level that the economy was set to turn a corner.
Captivating...from Paris
(our story continues) You've met those couples before. I know you have. They enter a room, splendid and elegant; compelling and captivating. Your eyes can't help but fall on them, and linger.The marketing executive and his wife were one of those couples. Both tall. Both beautiful. She with long strawberry blond hair, always carrying her little pompi-poo (Pomeranian poodle mix) in a Louis Vuitton bag, and he, in his perfect never scuffed Italian loafers and $250 jeans. They would float down the hallway, visiting his mother (hint: That's how I know him)
He understood trends in clothing and style like few men do. When he spoke about his new career path, I shook my head and pondered "Why didn't I think of that?!"
Look closely in the corner of this photograph and the corner of the photo from yesterday.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal what he realized before you and I did.
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