Egypt’s Hamdeen Sabahi vs. Islamists and Free Markets





CAIRO — Hamdeen Sabahi was the most popular leader in the fight against Egypt’s new Islamist-backed constitution. Now he is preparing for his next battle: against Islamist leaders’ plans for Western-style free-market reforms.




Do not listen to your allies in the Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Sabahi said he warned President Mohamed Morsi, of the Brotherhood’s political arm, in a private meeting a few weeks ago. “Because the Brotherhood’s economic and social thought is the same as Mubarak’s: the law of the markets,” Mr. Sabahi said he had told Mr. Morsi, referring to Hosni Mubarak, the former president. “You will just make the poor poorer, and they will be angry with you just as they were with Mubarak.”


Mr. Sabahi, a leftist in the style of another former president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, frightens most economists. He is an outspoken opponent of free-market economic moves in general as well as of a pending $4.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund that economists say is urgently needed to avert a catastrophic currency collapse.


But to the dismay of some Western diplomats, Mr. Sabahi is emerging as an increasingly salient voice in Egyptian politics, in part because of the bruising race to ratify the Islamist-backed charter. Both sides now expect the anti-Islamist opposition to reap big gains in the coming parliamentary vote, set to be held in two months against the backdrop of a simultaneous debate over the I.M.F. loan.


Among Egypt’s opposition figures, Mr. Sabahi has the biggest base of support in the streets. After campaigning as a dark horse in the spring’s presidential election, he missed the runoff by fewer than a million votes, finishing the first round almost neck and neck with Mr. Morsi.


Economic overhaul now poses a critical test of Egypt’s fragile democracy. Without enough trust in government, the changes to the systems of taxes or subsidies needed to reduce the deficit could easily stir new unrest in the streets, just as such moves have in the past. But if Mr. Morsi expects his opponents to hold their fire just because economists say the need is dire, Mr. Sabahi said, the president should think again.


“Why support him, for what?” Mr. Sabahi said in an interview in the borrowed offices of an Egyptian film director, decorated with pictures of President Nasser but also of Che Guevara. “Is he a democratic ruler, is he a revolutionary? Is he a model of a president, so I want him to succeed?”


Mr. Sabahi, 58, known for writing poetry and quoting Arab literature and for his blow-dried hair, was one of the few non-Islamist politicians willing to endure imprisonment alongside the members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the struggle against Egypt’s autocracy, giving him a unique credibility among more secular leaders.


But after missing the presidential runoff this year, Mr. Sabahi declined to endorse either Mr. Morsi or his opponent, Ahmed Shafik, a former Mubarak prime minister. It was a choice between “tyranny in the name of the state” and “tyranny in the name of religion,” Mr. Sabahi said at the time in a television interview.


Mr. Sabahi argued in the interview that although Mr. Morsi won election democratically, he has failed to govern as a democrat. “He is kicking away the ladder he climbed,” Mr. Sabahi said, arguing that Mr. Morsi’s decree setting his authority above the courts, if only for a month, ended his credibility as a democrat.


The resulting discord between the Islamists and their opponents has postponed the I.M.F. loan and helped bring Egypt closer than ever to economic collapse. State media on Tuesday described a “dollarization frenzy” gripping the country as people raced to sell Egyptian pounds. The currency is at its lowest level in the past eight years.


Since Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, Egypt’s hard currency reserves have fallen to $15 billion from $43 billion as it has struggled to prop up the pound, and economists say the government now urgently needs a cash infusion of about $14 billion in order to stay afloat. The $4.5 billion I.M.F. loan is expected to act as a seal of approval for others, after the I.M.F. concludes Egypt is at least on a path to greater balance.


If that loan does not come through soon, “the risk is a disaster,” said Heba Handoussa of the Economic Research Forum. “We can’t afford to wait.”


There are other more Western-friendly faces of the opposition, like Mohamed ElBaradei, the former United Nations diplomat, and Amr Moussa, the former foreign minister. But neither has Mr. Sabahi’s following at the grass roots, and he speaks for a segment of the Egyptian public deeply suspicious of free markets and, especially, the I.M.F. A popular singer, El Manawahly, has even recorded a song and music video opposing the loan. “Oh monetary fund / Show me how to industrialize, plant and kneel.”


Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting.



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Huawei shows off 6.1-inch Android phablet ahead of CES [video]









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Giada De Laurentiis: My Daughter Still Believes in Santa

Giada De Laurentiis Jade Still Believes in Santa
Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis


The tree’s done. The stockings are hung. Giada De Laurentiis and her family — husband Todd Thompson and their daughter Jade Marie — are officially ready to host the holidays.


“Christmas Eve is the big tradition in an Italian family. It’s when my entire family gets together,” the newest face of Clairol tells PEOPLE exclusively.


“This year, for the first time, it will be held at my house … so Jade and I and my husband are very excited.”


On the menu for the family festivities is “a big fish dinner,” one that no doubt Jade will help her mother to prepare. After all, adds the celebrity chef, she is the unofficial taste tester.


“My daughter loves to cook. We have a lot of laughs together. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and she loves hanging out with me,” De Laurentiis, 42, shares. “The reason she loves it so much is because she can stick her finger in everything and taste it as she goes along.”

Once the big dinner is done with, and the evening starts to wind down, De Laurentiis and Jade will start to prepare for the night’s biggest guest to arrive: Santa Claus. At 4½-years-old, her little girl is still a strong believer in the magic of it all, notes her proud mama.


“She leaves him little treats — for the reindeer and for him too — and she’s very much a believer in Santa,” De Laurentiis says. “I hope she’ll be a believer for a long time, I think it’s really fun for kids to be able to do that.”


Recently, the pair sat down to write out Jade’s wish list, but after much pleading on Jade’s part over the past few weeks, it’s no surprise as to what she hopes to find under the tree this year.


“The one thing she keeps asking me for over and over again is clip-on earrings. She must have seen them on somebody else, but she has asked me for clip-on earrings for the past month,” De Laurentiis notes. “I am on a mission to find clip-on earrings for her because I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me if I don’t.”


But based on her newly transformed play space, the “girly girl’s” specific accessory request should come as no surprise.


“She’s opened up her own little salon in her playroom. She gives free makeovers, she curls people’s hair and gives them little manicures as well,” De Laurentiis says. “I’ve always been a girly girl my whole life — maybe she will, maybe she won’t — but it’s a lot of fun to play with her right now.”


– Anya Leon with reporting by Kate Hogan


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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy


CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.


Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including drug use and easy access to guns can increase the likelihood of violence, experts say.


But warning signs "only become crystal clear in the aftermath, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminology professor who has studied and written about mass killings.


"They're yellow flags. They only become red flags once the blood is spilled," he said.


Whether 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who used his mother's guns to kill her and then 20 children and six adults at their Connecticut school, made any hints about his plans isn't publicly known.


Fox said that sometimes, in the days, weeks or months preceding their crimes, mass murderers voice threats, or hints, either verbally or in writing, things like "'don't come to school tomorrow,'" or "'they're going to be sorry for mistreating me.'" Some prepare by target practicing, and plan their clothing "as well as their arsenal." (Police said Lanza went to shooting ranges with his mother in the past but not in the last six months.)


Although words might indicate a grudge, they don't necessarily mean violence will follow. And, of course, most who threaten never act, Fox said.


Even so, experts say threats of violence from troubled teens and young adults should be taken seriously and parents should attempt to get them a mental health evaluation and treatment if needed.


"In general, the police are unlikely to be able to do anything unless and until a crime has been committed," said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, a Columbia University professor of psychiatry, medicine and law. "Calling the police to confront a troubled teen has often led to tragedy."


The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says violent behavior should not be dismissed as "just a phase they're going through."


In a guidelines for families, the academy lists several risk factors for violence, including:


—Previous violent or aggressive behavior


—Being a victim of physical or sexual abuse


—Guns in the home


—Use of drugs or alcohol


—Brain damage from a head injury


Those with several of these risk factors should be evaluated by a mental health expert if they also show certain behaviors, including intense anger, frequent temper outbursts, extreme irritability or impulsiveness, the academy says. They may be more likely than others to become violent, although that doesn't mean they're at risk for the kind of violence that happened in Newtown, Conn.


Lanza, the Connecticut shooter, was socially withdrawn and awkward, and has been said to have had Asperger's disorder, a mild form of autism that has no clear connection with violence.


Autism experts and advocacy groups have complained that Asperger's is being unfairly blamed for the shootings, and say people with the disorder are much more likely to be victims of bullying and violence by others.


According to a research review published this year in Annals of General Psychiatry, most people with Asperger's who commit violent crimes have serious, often undiagnosed mental problems. That includes bipolar disorder, depression and personality disorders. It's not publicly known if Lanza had any of these, which in severe cases can include delusions and other psychotic symptoms.


Young adulthood is when psychotic illnesses typically emerge, and Appelbaum said there are several signs that a troubled teen or young adult might be heading in that direction: isolating themselves from friends and peers, spending long periods alone in their rooms, plummeting grades if they're still in school and expressing disturbing thoughts or fears that others are trying to hurt them.


Appelbaum said the most agonizing calls he gets are from parents whose children are descending into severe mental illness but who deny they are sick and refuse to go for treatment.


And in the case of adults, forcing them into treatment is difficult and dependent on laws that vary by state.


All states have laws that allow some form of court-ordered treatment, typically in a hospital for people considered a danger to themselves or others. Connecticut is among a handful with no option for court-ordered treatment in a less restrictive community setting, said Kristina Ragosta, an attorney with the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national group that advocates better access to mental health treatment.


Lanza's medical records haven't been publicly disclosed and authorities haven't said if it is known what type of treatment his family may have sought for him. Lanza killed himself at the school.


Jennifer Hoff of Mission Viejo, Calif. has a 19-year-old bipolar son who has had hallucinations, delusions and violent behavior for years. When he was younger and threatened to harm himself, she'd call 911 and leave the door unlocked for paramedics, who'd take him to a hospital for inpatient mental care.


Now that he's an adult, she said he has refused medication, left home, and authorities have indicated he can't be forced into treatment unless he harms himself — or commits a violent crime and is imprisoned. Hoff thinks prison is where he's headed — he's in jail, charged in an unarmed bank robbery.


___


Online:


American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org


___


AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner


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Roots of pot cultivation in national forests are hard to trace









WELDON, Calif. — A few minutes after 4 a.m., agents in camouflage cluster in a dusty field in Kern County. "Movement needs to be slow, deliberate and quiet," the team leader whispers. "Lock and load now."


They check their ammunition and assault rifles, not exactly sure whom they might meet in the dark: heavily armed Mexican drug traffickers, or just poorly paid fieldworkers camping miserably in the brush.


Twenty minutes later, after a lights-off drive for a mile, the agents climb out of two pickup trucks and sift into the high desert brush.





The granite faces of the Southern Sierra are washed in the light of a full moon. Two spotters with night-vision scopes take positions on the ridge to monitor the marijuana grow, tucked deep in a cleft of the canyon.


The rest of the agents hunker down in some sumac waiting for the call to move in. The action has to be precisely timed with raids in Bakersfield, where they hope to capture the leaders of the organization.


They have no idea how many people are up here. Thermal imaging aircraft circling high above was not detecting anyone on the ground. And trail cameras hadn't captured images of men delivering supplies for more than a week. Maybe the growers have already harvested and cleared out.


Word comes on the radio to go into the site.


The agents fan out in the gray of dawn. A U.S. Forest Service agent unleashes a German shepherd and follows it up a piney slope. After several minutes, the dog begins barking furiously.


"We have movement," shouts the Forest Service officer. "Hands up."


::


Such raids have become commonplace in California, part of a costly, frustrating campaign to eradicate ever-bigger, more destructive marijuana farms and dismantle the shadowy groups that are creating them.


Pot cultivated on public lands surged in the last decade, a side effect of the medical cannabis boom. In 2001, several hundred thousand plants were seized in the state. By 2010, authorities pulled up a record 7.4 million plants, mostly on public land.


Law enforcement long called these grows on public land "cartel grows," and hoped to work from the busts in the forest up the drug hierarchy, maybe all the way to the Sinaloa Cartel or the Zetas.


But after years of raids and work with informants and wiretaps, agents realize the operations seemed to be run by independent groups of Mexican nationals, often using undocumented fieldworkers from their home regions.


Tommy Lanier, director of the National Marijuana Initiative, part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said there was scant evidence that the cartels exerted much control over marijuana growing in the national forests.


"Based on our intelligence, which includes thousands of cellphone numbers and wiretaps, we haven't been able to connect anyone to a major cartel," he said.


Lanier said authorities have long mislabeled marijuana grown on public land as "cartel grows" because Mexican nationals are arrested in the majority of cases, and the narrative of fighting drug cartels helps them secure federal funding.


He doesn't rule out that some of the cash flowing south of the border makes its way to members of those groups. He just doesn't believe they are actively directing activities up here.


"We've had undercover agents at the highest level of these groups, breaking bread and drinking tequila," says Roy Giorgi, commander of the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team, a multi-agency organization headquartered in Sacramento. "Even at their most comfortable, the leaders never said, 'Hey, we're working for the Zetas.' "


In Giorgi's jurisdiction, the majority of the people arrested or investigated are originally from the state of Michoacan, where marijuana growing and immigration to the U.S. are entrenched.





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India Ink: Adding Indian Spice to Christmas

For those who celebrate Christmas, the meal eaten to mark the holiday can be as important as the ritual of exchanging gifts or decorating a green tree.

South Asians, of course, make food center stage at any occasion, and many have come to embrace the tradition of Christmas dinner, whether they’re Hindu, Muslim or Christian. But just as Indians adjust Western dishes to their tastes – like adding cilantro to pasta or green chili to grilled cheese – so do they “Indianize” Christmas food classics.

NYCDesi

The Indian Scene, as Seen From New York

Saira Malhotra, a recipe developer based in New York and founder of the food site Passport Pantry, recalled how many Indians in her hometown of London would use tandoori masala and ginger to marinate the traditional British meal of turkey, fearing the traditional holiday recipes might not stand up to a palate accustomed to spice.

A plate of meat with mint jelly and roasted potatoes might sound like a nice enough meal, but for many South Asians it can be a bit bland. An Indian chef might add roasted cumin to the potatoes, chilies in the chutney and a crust of mango powder on the meat.

It’s easy to get creative with Indian-fusion renditions of Christmas dishes, and Ms. Malhotra has a few recipes she recommends to bring the two cultures together on one plate.

Habanero Savory Cheesecake
This cheesecake, served as an appetizer or side dish, combines Christmas elements, like the rosemary crust, with plenty of heat.

Ingredients

1 packet of rosemary crackers (1½ cups crushed)
1 stick softened butter
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
5 ounces sour cream
16 ounces cream cheese (2 regular-sized packs)
5 ounces blue cheese
2 eggs
4 tablespoons habanero jelly (or any other chili jelly)
Fresh cracked pepper

Method

For the crust:
As the oven heats to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, crush the crackers with the butter and pack tightly against the base of a nine-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the cheese filling:

1. Beat the salt, sour cream, cream cheese and cornstarch. Add the blue cheese and combine well. Add the eggs one at a time, combining thoroughly each time. Swirl in half the habanero jelly and black pepper.

2. Pour mixture over the cooled crust and bake for one hour. Do not overcook the cheesecake or it will lose its creaminess. Once the cheesecake is set on the sides and wobbly in the middle, it is done.

3. Remove and cool completely. It will continue to stiffen as it cools. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least four hours. Spread remaining habanero jelly on top before serving.

Mango and Ginger Chutney
The sweetness of the mango works well with savory dishes, and the sharpness of the ginger and spices balances the richness of a roasted ham or a charcuterie and cheese plate.

Ingredients

3 pounds ripe Mexican mangoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 fresh red or green chilies, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
14 ounces rice wine vinegar
14 ounces jaggery, broken into small pieces (if you can’t find jaggery at your ethnic specialty store, substitute brown sugar)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon each of cumin seeds, coriander powder (or crushed coriander seeds), fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds
4-6 cloves
6 whole peppercorns

Method

1. Sterilize the pickling jars in boiling water.

2. Heat the cooking oil in a pan. Add the cumin, fenugreek and nigella seeds, coriander, cloves and whole peppercorns. Allow the spices to turn a couple of shades darker.

3. Sauté the onions and fresh chilies in the same pan until the onions are translucent. Add the jaggery/sugar and vinegar and allow the sweetening agent to fully dissolve.

4. Add the mangoes, bring to a boil and turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook for approximately 1 hour or until the chutney has thickened. The mango will have become translucent at this point and will have a sheen to it.

5. Fill the sterilized jars while the chutney is still hot and seal them.

Roasted Yams with Spice Crust
The spices provide complexity to this typically one-toned side dish, thanks to the contrasting components of flavor.

Ingredients

3 pounds yams
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 whole dried red chilies or ½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup of olive oil

Method

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In the meantime, boil water in a large pot and add the whole yams with the skin. Boil yams until halfway tender (approximately 10 minutes). (Be careful not to overcook the yams as they will swell with water and not hold their shape.) Cut into wedges with the skin on and cool.

2. To toast the spices, heat a pan and add the coriander, cumin seeds and red chilies. Toast until the essential oils release and an aroma emerges. Break down the spices and chilies with a mortar and pestle.

3. Coat yam wedges with the oil and spices. Fully cook the yams in the oven, approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown with a nice crust.

Warm Potato and Bacon Salad
This spin on classic potato salad benefits from the zing from smoked paprika. It works well as a side dish but also is a nice accompaniment to cold cuts.

Ingredients

1½ pounds new potatoes
½-pound slab of bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 shallots, finely diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Method

1. Bring the potatoes to a boil, starting them off in cold water. Sauté the bacon, then remove with slotted spoon. In the bacon fat, sauté shallots until translucent.

2. For the dressing: Shake the vinegar, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper and paprika in a bottle. (The bacon can be quite salty so use a light hand with the salt.)

3. Once potatoes are tender (10-15 minutes), cut them in half and toss the potatoes with the dressing while they are still warm. Combine the crème fraîche, shallots, bacon and 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat with the warm potatoes. Sprinkle chives before serving.

Sticky Toffee and Cardamom Pudding
Cardamom adds a floral note to a British classic.

Ingredients

For sticky toffee and pecan sauce:
1 ounce chopped pecans
6 ounces soft brown sugar
6 tablespoons double cream
4 ounces margarine

For date and cardamom cake:
3 ounces margarine, room temperature
5 ounces sugar
6 ounces self-raising flour
2 eggs
2 ounces finely sliced dates
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
2 teaspoons coffee essence, like Camp Coffee
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
9 cupcake cups

Method

For the sauce:
Combine sugar, margarine, double cream and pecans in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the margarine has completely melted.

For date and cardamom cake:

1. As the oven warms to 350 Fahrenheit, beat margarine and sugar in a bowl, until fluffy.

2. In a separate bowl, add eggs and slowly whisk in the creamed margarine and sugar. Then fold in the flour (to incorporate air).

3. In a separate bowl, mix 6 fluid ounces of boiling water with vanilla essence, cardamom powder, bicarbonate of soda and coffee essence. Don’t be alarmed if the liquid becomes fizzy.

4. Stir the liquid into the butter, sugar, egg and flour mixture so that it forms a batter. Pour the batter into cupcake cups to about three-fourths full.

5. Sprinkle 4 slivers of dates on each pudding, then bake for approximately 15 minutes. Insert a skewer in the center, and if it comes out clean, your pudding is ready. Pour the toffee and pecan sauce over the pudding just before serving.

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Dozens of Android Games, Apps Discounted for Google Holiday Sale






The Google Play store — that’s the name of the Android “app store,” or the “Android Market” for those of you new to the change — is featuring dozens of game and app sales for Android smartphones and tablets. Well, actually, it’s not; you can see some of the discounted apps on the front page, but there’s no special section of the website or on-device market that says where the ones on sale are, or even how to find them. And the “Holiday Surprise” feature is only a handful of deals picked by Google itself.


Here’s a look at some of the major game publishers’ Android sales, along with discounted creativity apps and where to find more details.






Gameloft‘s “Android Christmas” sale


It may be too late for Hanukkah this year, but top-tier Android publisher Gameloft has put a dozen of its titles up for sale for Christmas just $ 0.99 . These games are normally in the $ 5-7 range, making them among Android’s priciest.


Besides its licensed games based on movies — like superhero films “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and (inexplicably) “The Adventures of Tintin” — Gameloft is best known for creating mobile versions of popular PC and console games. Not in the sense that they are official ports, so much as that they’re remarkably similar, to the extent that they arguably could be official ports if the serial numbers were filed off. With that in mind, several of its Modern Combat (which are totally not Modern Warfare) and N.O.V.A. first-person shooters (which are totally not Halo) are included in the sale, although the most recent installment of the former — Modern Combat 4 — is not.


Superhero fans may also want to check out Marvel Games’ Avengers Initiative, which isn’t a Gameloft title but is also on sale for $ 0.99 .


Square-Enix’s “Winter of Mobile” sale


Best known for having invented the jRPG genre, Square-Enix has brought several of its most popular titles to Android, and most of them are discounted (from their extremely high launch prices) for the holidays.


Crystal Defender, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy have all received numerous 1-star reviews on Google Play for technical issues, and reviewers complain that the titles haven’t been optimized for Android hardware. The Chaos Rings titles, however, fare much better with reviewers, and are much more steeply discounted as well, at $ 3.99 each compared to their usual price of $ 12.99. They’re ports of the iOS originals, which were Square-Enix’s first attempts at making “real” jRPGs for mobile devices.


SEGA’s Holiday Sale


SEGA’s games are on sale for the holidays across the board, on pretty much every platform. On Android, that mostly amounts to Sonic 4 (episodes 1 and 2) and Sonic CD, all of which are on sale for $ 0.99 . Strategy title Total War Battles and rollerblade platformer Jet Set Radio, meanwhile, are on sale for $ 1.99.


Creativity / productivity apps on sale


Android phones and tablets aren’t just for gaming. If you didn’t pick up Microsoft Office-compatible OfficeSuite Pro 6+ during Google‘s earlier $ 0.25 sale, it’s discounted to $ 0.99 now from its regular price of $ 14.99. Autodesk’s professional drawing apps, SketchBook Mobile and SketchBook Pro for Tablets, are $ 0.99 and $ 2.99 compared to $ 1.99 and $ 4.99 regularly, and the Jotter handwriting app — which requires a Samsung Galaxy Note — is half-off at $ 1.99.


Stay up to date


Many more Android games and apps are being discounted for the holidays. Apps such as (the aptly-named) AppSales can help keep you apprised of the latest additions. Meanwhile, the Android Police blog is maintaining an up-to-date “Enormous List” of all holiday sales.


Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.


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Jack Klugman, Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. Star, Dies















12/24/2012 at 07:35 PM EST



Jack Klugman, The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. star beloved by TV, movie and theater audiences for five decades, died in Los Angeles on Monday, one of his sons told the Associated Press. He was 90.

"He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it and he would encourage others to do the same," son Adam Klugman said of his father, who had lost his voice to throat cancer in 1980 and then taught himself to speak again through breath control.

With Tony Randall on ABC's adaptation of the smash Neil Simon play and movie of the '60s, Klugman played sloppy Oscar Madison from 1970 to 1975 to Randall's Felix Unger, and though they really were an odd couple, offscreen they were adoring friends. Randall died in 2004.

Born in Philadelphia, Klugman started acting in college, and his film credits included the all-star courtroom drama 12 Angry Men. On Broadway he starred as the love interest Herbie in the original production of the quintessential backstage musical, Gypsy, with the legendary Ethel Merman.

Klugman's wife, actress-comedian Brett Somers, costarred on The Odd Couple as his ex-wife Blanche. According to the AP, they married in 1953 and had two sons, Adam and David, and had been estranged for years at the time of her death in 2007.

Besides their sons, Klugman is survived by Peggy Crosby, whom he married in February 2008.

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy


CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.


Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including drug use and easy access to guns can increase the likelihood of violence, experts say.


But warning signs "only become crystal clear in the aftermath, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminology professor who has studied and written about mass killings.


"They're yellow flags. They only become red flags once the blood is spilled," he said.


Whether 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who used his mother's guns to kill her and then 20 children and six adults at their Connecticut school, made any hints about his plans isn't publicly known.


Fox said that sometimes, in the days, weeks or months preceding their crimes, mass murderers voice threats, or hints, either verbally or in writing, things like "'don't come to school tomorrow,'" or "'they're going to be sorry for mistreating me.'" Some prepare by target practicing, and plan their clothing "as well as their arsenal." (Police said Lanza went to shooting ranges with his mother in the past but not in the last six months.)


Although words might indicate a grudge, they don't necessarily mean violence will follow. And, of course, most who threaten never act, Fox said.


Even so, experts say threats of violence from troubled teens and young adults should be taken seriously and parents should attempt to get them a mental health evaluation and treatment if needed.


"In general, the police are unlikely to be able to do anything unless and until a crime has been committed," said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, a Columbia University professor of psychiatry, medicine and law. "Calling the police to confront a troubled teen has often led to tragedy."


The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says violent behavior should not be dismissed as "just a phase they're going through."


In a guidelines for families, the academy lists several risk factors for violence, including:


—Previous violent or aggressive behavior


—Being a victim of physical or sexual abuse


—Guns in the home


—Use of drugs or alcohol


—Brain damage from a head injury


Those with several of these risk factors should be evaluated by a mental health expert if they also show certain behaviors, including intense anger, frequent temper outbursts, extreme irritability or impulsiveness, the academy says. They may be more likely than others to become violent, although that doesn't mean they're at risk for the kind of violence that happened in Newtown, Conn.


Lanza, the Connecticut shooter, was socially withdrawn and awkward, and has been said to have had Asperger's disorder, a mild form of autism that has no clear connection with violence.


Autism experts and advocacy groups have complained that Asperger's is being unfairly blamed for the shootings, and say people with the disorder are much more likely to be victims of bullying and violence by others.


According to a research review published this year in Annals of General Psychiatry, most people with Asperger's who commit violent crimes have serious, often undiagnosed mental problems. That includes bipolar disorder, depression and personality disorders. It's not publicly known if Lanza had any of these, which in severe cases can include delusions and other psychotic symptoms.


Young adulthood is when psychotic illnesses typically emerge, and Appelbaum said there are several signs that a troubled teen or young adult might be heading in that direction: isolating themselves from friends and peers, spending long periods alone in their rooms, plummeting grades if they're still in school and expressing disturbing thoughts or fears that others are trying to hurt them.


Appelbaum said the most agonizing calls he gets are from parents whose children are descending into severe mental illness but who deny they are sick and refuse to go for treatment.


And in the case of adults, forcing them into treatment is difficult and dependent on laws that vary by state.


All states have laws that allow some form of court-ordered treatment, typically in a hospital for people considered a danger to themselves or others. Connecticut is among a handful with no option for court-ordered treatment in a less restrictive community setting, said Kristina Ragosta, an attorney with the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national group that advocates better access to mental health treatment.


Lanza's medical records haven't been publicly disclosed and authorities haven't said if it is known what type of treatment his family may have sought for him. Lanza killed himself at the school.


Jennifer Hoff of Mission Viejo, Calif. has a 19-year-old bipolar son who has had hallucinations, delusions and violent behavior for years. When he was younger and threatened to harm himself, she'd call 911 and leave the door unlocked for paramedics, who'd take him to a hospital for inpatient mental care.


Now that he's an adult, she said he has refused medication, left home, and authorities have indicated he can't be forced into treatment unless he harms himself — or commits a violent crime and is imprisoned. Hoff thinks prison is where he's headed — he's in jail, charged in an unarmed bank robbery.


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Online:


American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org


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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner


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Gov. Jerry Brown issues 79 pardons









Prison chaplain Leonard Wilson-Banks often tells the inmates he counsels to heed his life and the successes he accomplished after serving time behind bars.


But Wilson-Banks once gave up on the one part of his redemption — a pardon.


"I lost confidence," he said. But then a few years later he started pushing for it again.





More than 30 years and five governors after first applying, Wilson-Banks on Monday learned his perseverance had paid off. "Thank you so much! Thank you!" he said to a reporter who called him at an Arkansas prison to tell him that Gov. Jerry Brown had given him clemency.


Wilson-Banks, 77, was among 79 people for whom the California governor on Sunday signed full pardons, giving clemency to more people in a single day than some California governors have in their entire tenure.


The list was released Monday, but word had not yet reached all recipients. Wilson-Banks said his hopes lifted recently, when he heard Brown's office had called the warden at the Cummins Prison Unit in Arkansas, where he is chaplain.


His road to clemency started with release from prison in 1974, after serving time for a robbery in Alameda County in which he drove the get-away car. He began to work for criminal justice programs, from a university program for parolees to working as a chaplain and advisor in California prisons. An Alameda County court in 1980 endorsed him for a pardon, and when that wasn't enough, Wilson-Banks began soliciting letters of endorsement, including those from a judge and a congressman.


By 1988, Wilson-Banks gave up the quest, only to resume it a few years later, calling the governor's office so often that he came to know the staff by name. Still, Monday's news caught him off guard. "I only wish I got it before my mother went on, three years ago," he said.


For the most part, those pardoned were small-time drug offenders. Many who served little to no time in prison had secured pardon recommendations years ago from their local courts. One Sacramento man, who served a year in jail on a 1968 grand theft charge, had been eligible for pardon since 1973. The most serious case involved a Los Angeles woman, 80-year-old Bertha Fairley, who received clemency for a 1971 involuntary manslaughter conviction.


Brown's acts of clemency grace only a small set of those who become eligible every year. The majority of those pardoned had persuaded local Superior Courts to award them a certificate of rehabilitation. The service is free through the county public defender's office.


From January through November, the Los Angeles County Superior Court sent the governor's office the names of 60 people recommended for pardons. John Garbin, the paralegal who handles pardon applications for the county public defender's office, said he's seen only six granted in his career.


paige.stjohn@latimes.com





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