US drops Gaza scholarships after Israel travel ban

In this Oct. 11, 2012 photo, Palestinian student Amal Ashour, 18, poses for a portrait with schoolbooks at her family house in Gaza City. Ashour had planned to study English literature this fall at a university in the West Bank through a U.S.-sponsored program, but was recently informed the scholarship was no longer available for Gaza students. Under Israeli pressure, U.S. officials have quietly canceled a two-year-old scholarship program for students in the Gaza Strip, undercutting a program that American diplomats say has been key in providing needed educational opportunities for students in the Palestinian territories. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

In this Oct. 11, 2012 photo, Palestinian student Amal Ashour, 18, poses for a portrait with schoolbooks at her family house in Gaza City. Ashour had planned to study English literature this fall at a university in the West Bank through a U.S.-sponsored program, but was recently informed the scholarship was no longer available for Gaza students. Under Israeli pressure, U.S. officials have quietly canceled a two-year-old scholarship program for students in the Gaza Strip, undercutting a program that American diplomats say has been key in providing needed educational opportunities for students in the Palestinian territories. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Amal Ashour, 18, loves Shakespeare and American pop music. One of the brightest students in the Gaza Strip, she studied her senior year of high school in Minnesota through a U.S.-government funded program.

She had planned to study English literature this fall at a university in the West Bank through another U.S.-sponsored program, but just a month before school started, she was informed the scholarship was no longer available.

"When you live in Gaza, you're a pawn in a greater political game," she said in a telephone interview. "There's nothing we can do about it." She is now enrolled at Islamic University, a stronghold of Gaza's ruling Islamic militant Hamas.

Under Israeli pressure, U.S. officials have quietly canceled a two-year-old scholarship program for students in the Gaza Strip, undercutting one of the few American outreach programs to people in the Hamas-ruled territory. The program now faces an uncertain future, just two years after being launched with great fanfare by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to the region.

The program offers about 30 scholarships to promising but financially challenged Palestinian high school seniors from Gaza and the West Bank to study in local Palestinian universities.

It is a rare opportunity for gifted students in Gaza, which has been constrained by an Israeli blockade since Hamas seized power five years ago. The blockade has made it harder for Palestinians to travel abroad. Both Israel and the U.S. consider Hamas a terrorist group because of its hundreds of attacks against Israelis, including suicide bombings, and frequent rocket attacks from Gaza.

After allowing the scholarship program to proceed in 2010, Israel this year refused to give permits for the Gaza students to travel to the West Bank. Hamas' rival, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, governs the West Bank.

Citing security reasons, Israel bans most Gazans from traveling to Israel or the West Bank. Exceptions are made for about 5,000 humanitarian cases each month.

Education is not considered a humanitarian concern. Israeli officials claim that West Bank universities are breeding grounds for militant groups like Hamas. Last month, Israel's Supreme Court upheld this travel ban on students.

Israeli military spokesman Guy Inbar said the policy is part of Israel's struggle against Hamas, an Iranian-backed group committed to Israel's destruction.

"Hamas makes great efforts to establish new affiliates of the terrorist infrastructure from Gaza to the West Bank, and to transfer knowledge to strengthen the existing infrastructure in the West Bank today," Inbar said. He noted that nearly 300 Gaza students have been able to leave the region to study abroad since 2010.

The Palestinians seek to turn Gaza and the West Bank, located on opposite sides of Israel, into an independent state. But since the Hamas takeover, the Palestinians have been torn between rival governments, and Israel has treated them separately. Israel maintains relations with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, while branding Hamas-run Gaza a hostile territory. Repeated attempts by the Palestinian rivals to reconcile have failed.

In a statement, the American consulate in Jerusalem said it decided not to grant the scholarships over the summer after Israel said it would not permit the students to travel. "Because of the timing and risk of losing funding, available scholarships were awarded to other applicants," it said. "We hope to include Gazan students in future programs."

The scholarship program, administered by the nonprofit group Amideast, is one of the few contacts between the U.S. and Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Sari Bashi, director of Gisha, an Israeli advocacy group dedicated to increasing the free movement of Palestinians, said the case reflected U.S. unwillingness to confront a strong ally.

"It's unfortunate and telling that the U.S. government cannot convince its closest ally in the region to allow its scholarship holders to travel from Gaza to Palestinian universities in the West Bank, for fear of clashing or making a diplomatic issue," she said.

Hamas, meanwhile, has also jumped in. Last year, it barred seven high school students from traveling to the United States for a year of study under a U.S. program, citing worries over their supervision.

Ashour said students like her are caught in the political battle and stand to lose the most.

"When I studied in America, I loved how you could travel from state to state without any borders. You live your life," she said. "I can't leave Gaza. Everyone ? Hamas, Israel, everyone ? is controlling us. We are just students. We don't have anything to do with politics."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-15-ML-Palestinians-Stranded-Students/id-8b42add5e28046bfb7833d59043666f6

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Natural and organic Meals within Nutrition stores: Tend to be These ...

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Source: http://www.healthuse.com/natural-and-organic-meals-within-nutrition-stores-tend-to-be-these-types-of-safe-as-well-as-healthy.html

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iPod Nano review: Still the best plain Jane media player around

6 hrs.

Rosa Golijan , NBC News

In a world full of feature-rich smartphones doubling as media players, the iPod Nano seems like a throwback to older days. But if you just want a tiny, well-designed stick of gum that plays your tunes and videos, it's your best bet.

Unlike the sixth-generation iPod Nano, the seventh-generation of Apple's itty-bitty media player isn't a square slab that doubles as a super-chunky watch. Instead it's a nod to the very first generation's design?? tall and skinny. It has the biggest screen seen on an iPod Nano so far, one that Apple thinks is legit enough to watch movies and TV shows on. (It's 2.5?inches, so I beg to differ on that, but at least the video playback?capability has returned to the Nano.)

While the Nano does have Bluetooth technology built in, it doesn't offer our most beloved wireless capability: Wi-Fi. You can't stream music straight from the cloud. You can't set it up without a computer. You can't randomly download songs on impulse as you walk down the street.?

You're stuck tethering this thing to your computer whenever it needs a file refresh (even songs from iTunes in the Cloud)?or a software?update. But, hey?? at least the new Lightning connector makes syncing a quicker task than ever.

The Nano's always been?great for gym rats?? and now it's even better.?The FM capabilities mean that you can tune into a gym's funky ol' school?TV system (and actually hear what's going on in the latest episode of "Girls") and its built-in pedometer and Nike+ support?mean that you don't have to shell out an extra twenty bucks for a shoe sensor.

The Nano's featherlight anodized aluminum body will likely?make you slide the device between your fingers, marveling at how something so aesthetically pleasing and dainty can possibly feel so solid. Perhaps this excellent physical design will even make you overlook the Nano's biggest drawback: Its old-school software.

Unlike its big brother, the iPod Touch, the Nano doesn't run a full-blown version of iOS. Instead it has?its own, simple operating system. This means no extra apps or games. The Nano's interface does?look and feel a lot like iOS at first touch swipe and tap though, but?you'll quickly notice all the little missing details (like lengthy menus, consistent on-screen "back" buttons, and so on). You're basically getting a slightly slicker, breezier version of the interface seen on the square iPod Nano we've loved to hate in the prior two years.

By now you've noticed the pattern when it comes to the Nano: It does a couple of things well, but lacks any bells and whistles. That's really the takeaway. This thing's a great music player?? the best one you'll encounter. For some, it might even be a great cheap little movie player (at least until the cost of buying and renting movies adds up).?It has all the things you love about Apple's design without many extra thrills.

For $149, the Nano's a solid choice for?folks who don't want to fuss around with a phone while in the gym or running around the city,?for parents who want to pick up the equivalent of My First Media Player for their youngsters, and for those who just want to listen to some music.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/ipod-nano-review-still-best-plain-jane-media-player-around-1C6427714

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Ribbun.com Celebrates Second Year Helping Clients with SEO | Oct ...

Jaipur, Rajasthan -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/11/2012 -- Rapidly growing SEO firm helps clients with their Internet marketing and celebrates second successful year by providing One Way Links and other new services.

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Source: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/ribbuncom-celebrates-second-year-helping-clients-with-seo-171194.htm

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Is the Silva-Bonnar fun fight enough reason to buy UFC 153?

Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White called the hastily thrown-together bout between Stephan Bonnar and UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva a fun fight.

Asked earlier this month in Nottingham, England, if those ripping the matchup should relax a bit, White said certainly.

"You're absolutely, 100 percent right (that it's OK to have fun fights sometimes)," White told MMAjunkie.com. "The fact that the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world steps up and says, 'Somebody's hurt? I'm in'? Second time he's done it, too ??he came in late after i'd already canceled the Jones fight. It's weird (fans are down on it)."

I like fun fights. Who doesn't like a fight that just exists for entertainment? But when you're talking about the pound-for-pound king who is 37 years old, you have to consider how many fights he has left in him. Is a fun fight at a bigger weight class the best way to use him?

Another problem is with putting a fun fight as the main event of a pay-per-view. $54.95 is a lot of money to spend to watch the world's best fighter go against someone who is not considered a challenge, by oddsmakers or anyone else in the sport.

Yes, Silva saved UFC 153 from going down in flames like UFC 151 before it, but White shouldn't be surprised when people aren't over the moon about a "fun fight."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/silva-bonnar-fun-fight-enough-reason-buy-ufc-140916648--mma.html

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Gulf oil sheen blamed on 2010 wreckage, not well (Providence Journal)

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