US citizen killed by Afghan policewoman in Kabul

By Akbar Shinwari, NBC News

A U.S. citizen was killed inside Kabul?s police headquarters when a policewoman opened fire in apparent ?insider? attack, officials told NBC News on Monday.

The victim, a logistics adviser to the Kabul police, was severely wounded and died on Monday in the office of the local police chief, according to Mohammad Zahir, head of the criminal investigation department.

Zahir described the incident as an ?insider attack? in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western military they are supposed to be working with.?

What's leading Afghan troops to turn on coalition forces?

A spokesman for the NATO forces in Afghanistan told Reuters: ?A U.S. police adviser was killed in an attack by an Afghan policewoman.?

No further details were immediately available.

Earlier this year, U.S. military officials briefly suspended the training of Afghan Local Police (ALP) in the wake of a deadly series of insider killings, also known as ?green on blue? attacks.

A blast killed 10 Afghan girls who were collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan, according to government officials. In a separate incident, two Afghans died in an attack in Kabul. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/24/16119008-us-citizen-killed-by-afghan-policewoman-in-insider-attack?lite

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Police: NY gunman set 'trap' for firefighters

This image taken from video provided by WHAM13-TV, shows a wide view of homes on fire in an area where a gunman ambushed four volunteer firefighters responding to an intense pre-dawn house fire early Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Webster, N.Y., killing two before ending up dead himself, authorities said. Police used an armored vehicle to evacuate more than 30 nearby residents. (AP Photo/WHAM13-TV via AP video)

This image taken from video provided by WHAM13-TV, shows a wide view of homes on fire in an area where a gunman ambushed four volunteer firefighters responding to an intense pre-dawn house fire early Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Webster, N.Y., killing two before ending up dead himself, authorities said. Police used an armored vehicle to evacuate more than 30 nearby residents. (AP Photo/WHAM13-TV via AP video)

A house burns Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. An ex-con set a car and a house ablaze in his lakeside neighborhood to lure firefighters, then opened fire on them, killing two, engaging in a shootout with police and committing suicide while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

A house burns Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

Police officers move in to look for a man who set fire to a house, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

Lake Rd. residents are evacuated from the neighborhood, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Max Schulte)

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) ? An ex-con gunned down two firefighters after luring them to his neighborhood by setting a car and a house ablaze early Monday, then took shots at police and committed suicide while several homes burned.

Authorities used an armored vehicle to help residents flee dozens of homes on the shore of Lake Ontario a day before Christmas. Police restricted access to the neighborhood, and officials said it was unclear whether there were other bodies in the seven houses left to burn.

The gunman's sister, who lived with him, was unaccounted for. The gunman's motive was unknown.

William Spengler fired at the four firefighters when they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. at the blaze in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, town police Chief Gerald Pickering said. The first police officer who arrived chased the gunman and exchanged shots.

Spengler lay in wait outdoors for the firefighters' arrival, then opened fire probably with a rifle and from atop an earthen berm, Pickering said.

"It does appear it was a trap," he said.

Spengler had served more than 17 years in prison for beating his 92-year-old paternal grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980 at the house next to where Monday's attack happened, Pickering said. Spengler, 62, was paroled in 1998 and had led a quiet life since, authorities said. Convicted felons are not allowed to possess weapons.

Two firefighters, one of whom also was a town police lieutenant, died at the scene, and two others were hospitalized. An off-duty officer who was passing by also was injured.

Another police officer, the one who exchanged gunfire with Spengler, "in all likelihood saved many lives," Pickering said.

Emergency radio communications capture someone saying he "could see the muzzle flash coming at me" as Spengler carried out his ambush. The audio posted on the website RadioReference.com has someone reporting "firefighters are down" and saying "got to be rifle or shotgun ? high powered ... semi or fully auto."

Spengler lived in the house with his sister, Cheryl Spengler, and his mother, Arline Spengler, who died in October. He had originally been charged with murder in connection with grandmother Rose Spengler's death but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

A friend said William Spengler didn't seem violent but hated his sister. Roger Vercruysse lived next door to Spengler and recalled a man who doted on his mother, whose obituary suggested contributions to the West Webster Fire Department.

"He loved his mama to death," said Vercruysse, who last saw his friend about six months ago. "I think after his mama passed, he went crazy."

Vercruysse also said Spengler "couldn't stand his sister" and "stayed on one side of the house and she stayed on the other."

The West Webster Fire District learned of the fire early Monday after a report of a car and house on fire on Lake Road, on a narrow peninsula where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario, Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said.

The fire appeared from a distance as a pulsating ball of flame glowing against the early morning sky, flames licking into treetops and reflecting on the water, with huge bursts of smoke billowing away in a brisk wind.

Two of the firefighters arrived on a fire engine and two in their own vehicles, Pickering said. After Spengler fired, one of the wounded men fled, but the other three couldn't because of flying gunfire.

A police armored vehicle was used to recover two men, and eventually it removed 33 people from nearby homes, the police chief said. The gunfire initially kept firefighters from battling the blazes.

The dead men were identified as police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, the Webster Police Department's public information officer; and 19-year-old Tomasz Kaczowka, also a 911 dispatcher.

Pickering described Chiapperini as a "lifetime firefighter" with nearly 20 years in the department, and he called Kaczowka a "tremendous young man."

Kaczowka's brother, reached at the family home Monday night, said he didn't want to talk.

The two wounded firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, were in guarded condition in the intensive care unit at Strong Memorial Hospital, authorities said. Both were awake and alert and are expected to recover.

Hofstetter, also a full-timer with the Rochester Fire Department, was hit once in the pelvis, and the bullet lodged in his spine, authorities said. Scardino was hit in the chest and knee.

At West Webster Fire Station 1, there were at least 20 bouquets on a bench in front and a bouquet of roses with three gold-and-white ribbons saying, "May they rest in peace," ''In the line of duty" and "In memory of our fallen brothers."

A handwritten sign says, "Thanks for protecting us, RIP." Two candles were lit to honor the dead.

Grieving firefighters declined to talk to reporters. At an impromptu memorial vigil Monday evening, about 100 people stood in the cold night air, some holding candles. A fire department spokesman made a brief appearance, thanked them all and told them to go home and appreciate their families.

Cathy Bartlett was there with her teenage son, who was good friends with Kaczowka. Bartlett's husband, Mark Bartlett, has been a firefighter there for 25 years but missed the call this morning.

"Thank God my husband slept through the first alarm and didn't get up until the second one went off," she said.

The shooting and fires were in a neighborhood of seasonal and year-round homes set close together across the road from the lakeshore. The area is popular with recreational boaters but is normally quiet this time of year.

"We have very few calls for service in that location," Pickering said. "Webster is a tremendous community. We are a safe community, and to have a tragedy befall us like this is just horrendous."

O'Flynn lamented the violence, which comes on the heels of other shootings including the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"It's sad to see that this is becoming more commonplace in communities across the nation," O'Flynn said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the State Police and Office of Emergency Management were working with local authorities.

"Volunteer firefighters and police officers were injured and two were taken from us as they once again answered the call of duty," Cuomo said in a statement. "We as the community of New York mourn their loss as now two more families must spend the holidays without their loved ones."

Webster, a middle-class suburb, now is the scene of violence linked to house fires for two Decembers in a row.

Last Dec. 7, authorities say, a 15-year-old boy doused his home with gasoline and set it ablaze, killing his father and two brothers, 16 and 12. His mother and 13-year-old sister escaped with injuries. He is being prosecuted as an adult.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Carola, George Walsh and Mary Esch in Albany contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-24-Fire-Shooting/id-149833b4c1104b46918ccba0299e5646

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LG's 2013 Google TV sets to come in more sizes, fresher designs

LG only experimented with a Google TV lineup in 2012; for 2013, it's committing to the concept in earnest. The 47- and 55-inch sizes we know today should be joined by 42-, 50- and 60-inch models that cater both to frugal viewers and those who like to live large. We should also see the spruced-up designs that come with yearly updates, including newer zero-bezel frames and distinctive stands. We're less surprised by input and software updates -- all of the new screens will ship with voice-enabled Google TV and OnLive support from the get-go, and the company's multi-talented Magic Remote is making its return. LG is remaining coy on further details beyond promising a release sometime in the first half of 2013, although there's a good chance we'll know more in Las Vegas.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google, LG

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Source: LG (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/23/lg-2013-google-tv-sets-to-come-in-more-sizes-fresher-designs/

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Egypt's liberals decry "shadow" of the Brotherhood

CAIRO (Reuters) - Director Khaled Youssef took on the establishment with his films before Hosni Mubarak's police state was brought down and now believes the arts can challenge the Islamists ruling Egypt after the revolution.

"Art will contribute greatly, just as it did in overthrowing Mubarak's regime," said Youssef, who has joined the opposition campaign against a constitution drafted by an Islamist assembly that is on the verge of becoming the basis for Egypt's laws.

The constitution, fast-tracked to a referendum by President Mohamed Mursi, has exposed the deep rifts between Egypt's Islamists and a rival camp of leftists, liberals, Christians and more moderate Muslims, at odds about how to shape the new nation.

The basic law won 57 percent of the vote in the first round and is now expected to pass through a second round on Saturday. The opposition camp says the document's failure to win a ringing endorsement shows just how divisive it is.

"No constitution is forced on half of a nation oppressively and forcefully," said Youssef, 48, a leftist member of the opposition Popular Current party.

Islamists, who have won every vote since Mubarak was ousted in February 2011, although by shrinking margins, say the constitution must be passed to complete the transition to democracy and Egypt's laws and codes should be based on Islamic principles to reflect the wishes of a Muslim-majority nation.

For liberal-minded Muslims like Youssef, whose camp has struggled to organise against the disciplined ranks of Islamists, that vision means sidelining the rights of Christians, who make up a tenth of Egypt's 83 million people, women and others who see Egypt as a diverse nation and a cultural leader in the Arab world.

"This constitution is heading to the dustbin of history," said the director whose films sought to highlight the nation's slide into poverty under Mubarak and have annoyed Islamists with plots that tackle taboo issues such as sex.

FIGHT ON ITS HANDS

Rights groups say the constitution does not include enough explicit protection for women's rights and point to vague language, such as references to "national" morals. Liberals fear this means religious conservatives will use it to impose social restrictions that could hurt women, minorities and the arts.

The document has a distinctly Islamist flavor. While the source of legislation remains "the principles" of Islamic sharia as in the old text, a new provision adds further details on what that would mean. Another article says Al-Azhar mosque and university, a seat of Sunni Muslim learning, must be consulted on "matters related to the Islamic sharia".

"Under the shadow of the Brotherhood and extremist groups the future of all Egyptians will no doubt be dark," said Fatma Naoot, 48, a poet and columnist, who often speaks out on women's issues and defends the arts against censorship.

Naoot, a liberal Muslim, refers to some of the radical preachers who are now common faces on television as "strangers" to Egyptians, adding: "But I am confident that Egypt will return to us soon."

Defeating the constitution in the referendum now looks beyond the opposition. Their next battle will be a parliamentary election likely in early 2013. The last parliament, dissolved in June, was dominated by Islamists.

Islamists bore the brunt of Mubarak's repressive police state, but liberals and leftists fared little better. Some groups were co-opted, others were harried and their anti-Mubarak protests were routinely crushed by baton-wielding police.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, can draw on a social support and charity network it built up over eight decades, even as its members were jailed. The opposition have not yet matched that, even if groups like the Popular Current and Mohamed ElBaradei's Constitution Party are expanding their reach.

"The Brotherhood faction and the extremist religious groups, are unfortunately only ruled by a sense of revenge for the 80 years (they spent) visualizing and longing for power," said Naoot.

Like Youssef, she has become a regular guest on fiercely argumentative talk shows, lining up against Islamists. The shows have become nightly battle grounds on Egypt's future.

"A woman in the eyes of those seated on the chair of power now is merely a 'thing' that has no decision or will," she said, pointing to Egypt's ancient history with its women leaders and female goddesses, and mentioning that in more modern times one of the earliest female aviators was Egyptian.

DIVISIONS

"Egypt will move on the right path if people stay strong and united in the face of Brotherhood fascism," she said, using the kind of fierce language that has become more common as the political battle lines have hardened.

Both sides employed fiery terms. In a call for a protest in Alexandria this Friday in response to clashes between Islamists and their opponents last week, a Brotherhood official referred to the "ugly face of secularism with its animosity to Islam."

Islamists also say their actions are not seeking to smother the views of others but claim they reflect majority opinion, in a nation where most women are veiled, although that dress code does not indicate political allegiance.

Divisions, they say, are the normal way of politics.

"The whole world is divided and that does not mean the world will enter into global wars," Brotherhood official Essam el-Erian told Reuters after the first-round vote. "Division in any vote doesn't mean the start of a civil war or chaos."

But the Brotherhood's opponents say a constitution should not drive a wedge through a nation because it is meant to reflect the principles of governance not partisan politics.

They also say support for Mursi and his group may be ebbing away. A referendum on a temporary constitution, a parliamentary vote and a presidential election in the past two years suggest at least some slippage in support for Islamists.

The National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed through the constitution, has drawn tens of thousands on to the streets to oppose the referendum, although has not managed it with the regularity of Islamists.

Hassan Nafaa, a liberal activist and political science professor, was among voters who plumped for Mursi in the presidential run-off race in June when the alternative was Ahmed Shafik, an ex-military man and former prime minister under Mubarak. Mursi won with 52 percent of the vote.

But Nafaa said Mursi had turned to his own group and ignored other Egyptians, even members of the opposition who had backed him in his election. He said the president was simply dismissing the opposition as "liberals (who) do not have any real weight among the population".

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-liberals-decry-shadow-brotherhood-123941343.html

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Occupy LA sues city over mass detentions

Mark Boster / Pool via Reuters

Los Angeles Police Department officers arrest an Occupy LA protester at the encampment at City Hall on Nov. 30, 2011.

By Jason Kandel, NBCLosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES -- Occupy Los Angeles demonstrators are suing the city for what they said was an unlawful ?shock and awe? attack on their civil rights when 1,400 police officers swept nearly 300 demonstrators from City Hall grounds more than a year ago.

The Nov. 30, 2011 arrests at Los Angeles City Hall came after an eight-week encampment aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement calling attention to ?bailouts for Wall Street and foreclosures for Main Street.?

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Five people are suing in a class action lawsuit that represents 292 people detained by officers in the raid. Court documents said those arrested were denied food and water for hours while being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, at a jail in Van Nuys or on a bus en route to the lockup.

Some were forced to urinate on themselves after being denied access to restrooms, court documents allege.

Three of the five people suing are members of or participants in the Occupy Los Angeles movement. One person was a videographer not associated with the Occupy protests but who was videotaping the officers during the incident. He claims he was arrested even after he said he complied with officers? orders to disperse.

The fifth person is a reporter for the left-wing radio station KPFK who was detained when he decided to stay with the protesters during the arrests, court records said.

More from NBCLosAngeles.com:?
Floral Farms Rally to Bring Rose Parade Back to its Roots

One of the women suing claimed in court papers that an officer pinched her nipple and inner thigh as part of a ?pain compliance? technique during the arrests and she suffered bruises to her body.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday, said arrestees were forced to urinate and defecate on themselves while handcuffed while en route on a bus to the lockup.

The lawsuit names the city and county of LA, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

The Mayor?s Office did not return a message on Saturday. An LAPD spokeswoman said the department doesn?t comment on pending litigation.

Court documents: Read the complaint

The case stems from the sweep on Nov. 30 of City Hall by some 1,400 police officers, that the protesters said in court documents was dubbed by Beck ?shock and awe,? a reference made famous by former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Jason Redmond / Reuters

Police stand guard after removing protesters from the Occupy LA encampment outside City Hall in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2011.

The protesters said they were ejected from City Hall lawn in an ?unprecedented show of force by the LAPD.?

?The only weapon plaintiffs had in this instance was the First Amendment,? wrote Carol Sobel, in the lawsuit. She was part of a law firm that won a nearly $13 million settlement against LA for a police response to an immigrants' rights march on May Day 2007 at MacArthur Park.

The Occupy demonstrators were swept off the City Hall lawn after a two-month encampment and growing fears by city officials of crime and public health threats. Villaraigosa made references during a press conference days before the raid to the presence of children at the protest site as a reason to sweep the demonstrators out.

As many as 500 men, women and children were estimated to have camped out on the City Hall lawn, some in tents and other makeshift homes, city officials said.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/23/16108786-occupy-la-sues-city-over-mass-detentions-by-police?lite

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lern2play Resources and Information. This website is for sale!

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Turn your iPad into a games console with Joypad ... - iMore.com

If you yearn for the days when you had a console plugged into your TV and a gamepad to play it with then this particular app combo may be for you. The guys at Joypad have released two apps that work hand in hand to deliver a console like experience to iPad and iPhone or iPod touch users. You install the Joypad Game Console on your iPad and the Joypad Game Controller on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Joypad Game Console is your dashboard for all Joypad Enabled games. Joypad Enabled games can be played on your iPad using your iPhone as the game controller. Install this app on your iPad, then install "Joypad Game Controller" on your iPhone. The two applications will find each other over WiFi and sync up. A controller will appear on your phone, which you can use to navigate the dashboard. When you launch a game, a controller specifically built for that game will appear. Plug your iPad into a TV for an even better experience.

Once you have the two free apps installed you can scroll through a number of games using your iPhone and then you will have to buy them within the app if you want to play them. The list isn?t too bad at launch with a good selection of playable games. The developers of the Joypad app combo have also released an SDK to allow game other developers to offer support for the Joypad Game Console and Joypad Game Controller. This is where the success of the apps will be determined; if there is a good take up and other developers support the apps then this could be an excellent solution.

Can you see yourself using a system like this? If you try it out, let us know what you think!

Source: http://www.imore.com/turn-your-ipad-games-console-joypad-games-console-and-controller

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