Bodies in trunks raise honour killing spectre - The Times of India

Bodies in trunks raise honour killing spectre - The Times of India: "CHANDIGARH: In a horrific incident, an unidentified couple was found brutally murdered in a park in Murthal (Sonipat), 15 kilometres from Delhi on Monday morning. With no clothes on, the bodies were stuffed in two separate steel trunks lying abandoned in the Devi Lal Park of Murthal on Ambala-Delhi National Highway 10. Police officials suspect yet another case of honour killing in Haryana. "



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Honour killing : Married man, minor girl roasted in Gaya village - The Times of India

Honour killing : Married man, minor girl roasted in Gaya village - The Times of India: "According to reports reaching the district head quarters, the marauders were the immediate family members of the victim girl. The killed man has been identified as Jai Ram. Identity of the honour killing victim girl is being withheld for reasons of propriety.

As per the story, the 25 years old man, a father of three, fell for a class nine student, daughter of his Sala ( brother in law). The two eloped a couple of days back. Family members tracked the Cupid duo at Paharpur railway station early morning. The two were dragged and dumped in a three wheeler that brought them to the village.

Back home, members of the girl's extended family gathered and after giving a sound thrashing to the man as well as the girl, put the two on the same pyre and roasted them. What infuriated the girl's family the most was the Incestuous nature of the relationship within the socially forbidden group. "



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Foreign Money Is Pouring Into U.S. Real Estate, and It's Not Just Houses - Yahoo Finance

Foreign Money Is Pouring Into U.S. Real Estate, and It's Not Just Houses - Yahoo Finance:



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Rohingya Refugees From Myanmar Have Been Persecuted for Decades - NYTimes.com

Rohingya Refugees From Myanmar Have Been Persecuted for Decades - NYTimes.com: "The refugees fleeing Myanmar, from the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority, have been persecuted for decades. They have been evicted from their homes and kicked off their land, and attacked by the military and by Buddhist extremists in Rakhine, the western coastal state where they live. Their voting rights were effectively revoked in February. Their government insists that they are in the country illegally, and most neighboring countries refuse to accept them.

In effect, they are stateless.

President Thein Sein denies that the Rohingya, with a population estimated at 800,000 or more, exist as an ethnic group, and he refers to them as Bengalis, suggesting that they are from Bangladesh and therefore subject to deportation.

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Many Rohingya came to Myanmar, then known as Burma, in the 19th century, when the country was under British rule. The Rohingya themselves, and some scholars, say they are indigenous to Rakhine State. Muslims have lived in Rakhine, once known as Arakan, for centuries, although it is not clear whether the Rohingya of today descend directly from those Muslims.

The latest wave of migration is part of a huge exodus that began in the fall after the Myanmar government, which had long denied citizenship to the Rohingya, gave them a difficult choice: They could qualify for second-class citizenship by proving that their families had been living in Burma since 1948, the year of independence, or be placed in camps and face deportation. Many lacked the paperwork to prove residency or did not meet the long residency requirement, human rights advocates said.

Although the Myanmar government has not followed through on the plan, it prompted many Rohingya to flee. In October and early November, 14,500 people went to Thailand in hopes of ultimately reaching Malaysia, which has quietly accepted refugees in the past."



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Muslims Flee to Malaysia and Indonesia by the Hundreds - NYTimes.com

Muslims Flee to Malaysia and Indonesia by the Hundreds - NYTimes.com: "Attacks on Rohingya villages in 2012 and 2013 by Buddhist mobs in Myanmar forced more than 100,000 Rohingya into refugee camps, where most remain. The violence has abated, but anti-Muslim sentiment remains potent in Myanmar and is linked to a large political movement known as 969 that portrays Muslims as a threat to Buddhism.

The Rohingya pay smugglers to take them to Malaysia, which in recent years has turned a blind eye to their clandestine immigration.

“This is a ruthless business where smugglers will let them die to set an example for others,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, the head of the Thailand operations of the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental organization that is helping the refugees. “They are subject to extortion, to rape, sometimes to murder.”

The smuggling and trafficking were long aided by weak law enforcement in Thailand, a major transit point in Southeast Asia for the Rohingya and other migrants. But Thailand has responded to pressure from Europe and the United States by cracking down on officials suspected of complicity in the human-smuggling business and by raiding remote jungle camps where Rohingya were kept in bamboo cages while their families were extorted for money, Thai officials say."



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Markets unsettled by speed of global bond selloff - Yahoo Finance

Markets unsettled by speed of global bond selloff - Yahoo Finance:



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Book and Weblog – Authored by Garth Turner — Greater Fool – Authored by Garth Turner – The Troubled Future of Real Estate

Book and Weblog – Authored by Garth Turner — Greater Fool – Authored by Garth Turner – The Troubled Future of Real Estate: "Consistently people underestimate the cost of ownership, because they’re blinded by trumped-up gains in house prices in a narrow slice of markets, and baffled by realtor BS. For example, RBC routinely spells out the shocking truth. Its ‘housing affordability index’ measures the amount of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a house that you bought with a (for most people) massive 25% downpayment.

Nationally that number is 42.7%, which works out to 58% of the take-home pay for the average family. That leaves 42% for food, cars, transit, clothes, kids, saving and investing. But look at the numbers in Canada’s two bubble markets: in Toronto it’s 57% of pre-tax income (73% of actual cash flow) while in Vancouver it’s 82.4% (which, astonishingly, is 97.3% of take-home pay).

It gets worse. Even once people get houses, they can’t stop dicking around with them. Inflating them. HGTVing them. Throwing their remaining cash flow at them. Borrowing to aggrandize them. Using cash that could be earning money and elevating their income, and piling it into the same asset. In other words, penalizing themselves.

Here’s some proof. The average homeowner (and remember, this includes 70% of Canadians, and virtually all of the downtrodden middle class) plans on spending $17,142 this year on home renovations. The top three expenditures are on painting, laying flooring and upgrading appliances. In contrast, the average RRSP contribution – despite the fact eight in ten people have no defined benefit pension planes – was just under $3,600. The average TFSA contribution, which allows people to invest for tax-free growth now and untaxed increases in income, is $4,800."



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Mad as hell — Greater Fool – Authored by Garth Turner – The Troubled Future of Real Estate

Mad as hell — Greater Fool – Authored by Garth Turner – The Troubled Future of Real Estate: "To be a 1%er in Canada, you need an income of slightly more than $200,000 – about half what it takes to join the elite in the US. BORW guys earning over this level are taxed at a 48% marginal rate in Ontario (a surtax is boosting that above 50%), at 46% in BC and 39% in Alberta. (Expect this last number to soon change.)"



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America’s Epidemic of Unnecessary Care - The New Yorker

America’s Epidemic of Unnecessary Care - The New Yorker: "In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that waste accounted for thirty per cent of health-care spending, or some seven hundred and fifty billion dollars a year, which was more than our nation’s entire budget for K-12 education. The report found that higher prices, administrative expenses, and fraud accounted for almost half of this waste. Bigger than any of those, however, was the amount spent on unnecessary health-care services. Now a far more detailed study confirmed that such waste was pervasive."



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Why cutting-edge healthcare will help the rich live longer - Yahoo Finance

Why cutting-edge healthcare will help the rich live longer - Yahoo Finance: "Lifespan tells only part of the story, though.

"We also have people dying longer," says Dychtwald. "We are able to keep people alive without much quality of life in many cases. We haven't done a great job of making healthspan match up with lifespan, which is both miserable and unbelievably costly - and frightening."

The biggest healthspan concern is Alzheimer's, which strikes at a 47 percent rate among the over 85 population."



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'Gang rape' on Florida beach witnessed by hundreds who did nothing, sheriff says | OregonLive.com

'Gang rape' on Florida beach witnessed by hundreds who did nothing, sheriff says | OregonLive.com: "The woman appeared to be incapacitated during the attack by several men on a chair behind the Spinnaker Beach Club. a popular hangout for students on spring break. The incident went unreported even though hundreds of people were around to see it occur during daylight, police said.

Authorities didn't learn about the incident until, while investigating an unrelated shooting, Troy, Alabama, police came across a cellphone video of the attack, CNN reported. Troy police turned over the video to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Troy University students Ryan Calhoun, 23, and Delonte' Martistee, 22, were charged with sexual battery by multiple perpetrators in connection with the attack, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

The rape occurred sometime between March 10-12, authorities said.

The woman seen in the video was identified by authorities, who told them she didn't report this incident because she was possibly drugged and didn't recall it"



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Canada's political landscape undergoes seismic shift with election in Alberta | World news | The Guardian

Canada's political landscape undergoes seismic shift with election in Alberta | World news | The Guardian:



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Five charts that show work-life balance is dead - Yahoo Finance

Five charts that show work-life balance is dead - Yahoo Finance: "The U.S. is one of the few developed countries in the world that doesn't require companies to offer paid parental leave to workers. "



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French soldiers accused of raping and abusing refugee children in Central African Republic in exchange for food in 'leaked UN report' - Africa - World - The Independent

French soldiers accused of raping and abusing refugee children in Central African Republic in exchange for food in 'leaked UN report' - Africa - World - The Independent:



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‘Depressed’ over poor grades, IIT Bombay student kills self - The Times of India

‘Depressed’ over poor grades, IIT Bombay student kills self - The Times of India: ""Initially he had fail grades in his first year and he was given a mentor. He had shown improvement after that. His head of department and family had extended great support to him," said the spokesperson. Though the authorities claimed that he was depressed due to his poor academic performance, his hostelmates said that he did not show any signs of depression.

According to sources, Sharma has been a loner but took part enthusiastically in extra-curricular activities. "He was very active on campus in extra-curricular activities but he did not have many friends. He shared his room with a senior student last year but he moved into a single room, he (Sharma) was living alone," said a student. He was working with the institute's placement cell as the associated placement co-ordinator and also actively participated in cultural events. He even submitted a script on a film on their hostel in the past."



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Teen posts ad for "Gay Best Friend," leads to interaction with luring suspect | KATU Investigators | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon

Teen posts ad for "Gay Best Friend," leads to interaction with luring suspect | KATU Investigators | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon: "MD Shahidul Islam, 26, was arrested Saturday Jan. 10 by St. Helens Police on charges that ranged from attempted rape and online sexual corruption of a child to luring a minor. In his first court appearance in Columbia County Circuit Court last week, Islam pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has since been released from jail.

"This can happen to anybody," the victim's dad said, who did not want to be identified for this story. "I never imagined this would have happened to one of my children."

Islam began an online relationship with the 14-year-old girl in mid-July, according to court documents and police records. The teen's parents didn't know it at the time, but she and her friends posted the ad for a "Gay Best Friend," or "GBF."

"I don't know the rationalization behind that except some of the things that is on TV nowadays," the dad continued. "I believe it was just kids being kids."

The teen's mom told investigators that someone responded to the ad, which sparked online and text conversations. In some cases, the conversations happened through Kik, a messaging app popular with teens and tweens.

In one conversation, the person stated that he was going to New York and wanted to know if the teen needed anything. She responded, "Clothes, shoes, money." The person said he could bring the teen clothes and shoes once he returned from New York, but could deliver the money now.

A few weeks later, the teen told investigators Islam drove to meet her, and her three friends, at a Scappoose Dairy Queen. When he arrived, the teen said Islam texted the group to meet him at his car. Islam then asked the teen to get into his car "so they could talk," but it must have scared the 14-year-old because court records state she ran away.

The teen's friends stayed behind and, she later told investigators, Islam gave them $40.

At some point, the teen told her parents about the online and text conversations that sprang from the Craigslist ad.

"She was pretty open and honest -- didn't try to hide anything," the dad said. "I think having that line of communication has really helped, at least through the first part of this process."

The dad said he and his ex-wife called multiple agencies, starting with Scappoose police, but said their concerns didn't go far since the initial conversations were not sexual in nature. Dad said he also called the FBI and St. Helens police, the latter agency was finally able to push the investigation forward.

The dad handed over his daughter's cellphone to a St. Helens police detective who then used the phone, posing as the teen, to send Islam a text message. According to the police report, when the conversation turned sexual, the officer asked Islam to meet him at the St. Helens Wal-Mart.

About an hour later, Islam drove into the parking lot driving a dark gray Toyota Prius, police said. Officers were standing by to arrest him. Inside his jacket pocket, the report states, police found two condoms."



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How much does it cost to cook in my wall oven?

Including the usage charge, transmission charge, and distribution charge, the cost of each kWh of electricity consumed is about 11 cents.

Let's say that your oven consumes an average of 3500 watts of power. If you run it for an hour, it will consume 3.5 kWh of power, or about 40 cents/hour.

Towards a Black Muslim Ontology of Resistance – The New Inquiry

Towards a Black Muslim Ontology of Resistance – The New Inquiry: "Around the same time three young Arab Muslims were murdered in their Chapel Hill home, a Somali Muslim man was shot through the door of his apartment in Fort McMurray, Alberta. While Deah, Yusor, and Razan’s deaths trended worldwide, Mustafa Mattan’s murder was barely a passing blip outside of the Somali community. In a thought-provoking article co-written by UCLA Professor Khaled Beydoun and Muslim Anti-Racist Collaborative cofounder Margari Hill entitled “The Color of Muslim Mourning,” the authors pointedly ask the Muslim community who they prioritize and why. “Deah’s fundraiser for dental supplies for Syrian refugees went from $20,000 before his death to $380,000. In contrast, Mattan’s family still is struggling to raise $15,000 for his burial costs,” they write. The reality for today’s Black Muslims is bifurcated into a war fought on two fronts: a battle with one’s own community to be seen and respected as well as a battle to resist targeted state and vigilante violence. Black Muslims are also being surveilled, detained, and harassed by state operatives with increasingly alarming regularity. As Muslims, and as politically concerned citizens, we know the name of someone like Omar Khadr. How many of us can say the same of Mahdi Hashi, a Somali British national who has been stripped of citizenship and currently rots away in detention in Manhattan after refusing to spy on other Muslims? The Muslim community’s disinterest in his case speaks to the violence of what Frank B. Wilderson has termed “anti-Black solidarity.” Even when protecting his community, Hashi remains invisible."



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Buddhism attracts new converts in China - CNN.com

Buddhism attracts new converts in China - CNN.com: "However, it's not always easy to combine Buddhist beliefs with the demands of modern life.

Zhao works as an assistant to the boss of an environmental company. His religion means it's difficult to entertain clients and partners -- a key part of the role.

"Not drinking, smoking or eating meat affects my socializing. So the company has to send someone else to go with me, which creates extra expenses," he says.

Zhao has not told his family about his desire to become a monk yet, fearing that they might oppose it."



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China Passes Mexico as the Top Source of New U.S. Immigrants - Real Time Economics - WSJ

China Passes Mexico as the Top Source of New U.S. Immigrants - Real Time Economics - WSJ: "Move over, Mexico. When it comes to sending immigrants to the U.S., China and India have taken over, research being presented Friday at the Population Association of America conference shows.

China was the country of origin for 147,000 recent U.S. immigrants in 2013, while Mexico sent just 125,000, according to a Census Bureau study by researcher Eric Jensen and others that analyzed annual immigration data for 2000 to 2013 from the American Community Survey. (An “immigrant” here is any foreign-born person in the U.S. who lived abroad a year prior, regardless of legal status, though undocumented immigrants may be undercounted in the survey.) India, with 129,000 immigrants, also beat Mexico, though the two countries’ results weren’t statistically different from each other.

A year earlier, in 2012, Mexico and China had been basically tied for top-sending country—with Mexico at 125,000 and China at 124,000.

It’s not just China and India. Several of the top immigrant-sending countries in 2013 were from Asia, including South Korea, the Philippines and Japan.

For a decade, immigration to the U.S. from China and India, which boast the world’s biggest populations, has been rising. Meanwhile, immigration from Mexico has been declining due to improvements in the Mexican economy and lower Mexican birth rates. More recently, the Great Recession also reduced illegal immigration from Mexico."



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