Kardashians's hellish divorce

Attorneys for Kim Kardashian's estranged husband want to interview her mother and current boyfriend, Kanye West, before setting a trial to end the couple's 72-day marriage.

A judge says the legal maneuvering means it will likely be at least next year before the couple is granted a divorce or an annulment, as NBA player Kris Humphries desires.
The pace drew derision from Kardashian's attorney, Laura Wasser, who told the judge during a hearing Wednesday that her firm has already spent $250,000 on the case. Wasser says she will be billing Humphries for the work

Humphries' attorney, Marshall Waller, says he is encountering difficulty getting information from companies that produce Kardashian's reality shows in his effort to prove the couple's marriage was a fraud.
The couple's divorce was filed in October.

Most Liveable Cities

The annual survey of 140 cities uses more than 30 factors to gauge the state of healthcare, education, infrastructure, stability, culture and environment — rendering a score out of 100.

Top 10 cities

Melbourne, Australia — 97.5
Vienna, Austria — 97.4
Vancouver, B.C. — 97.3
Toronto, Ont. — 97.2
Calgary, Atla. — 96.6
Adelaide, Australia — 96.6
Sydney, Australia — 96.1
Helsinki, Finland — 96.0
Perth, Australia — 95.9
Auckland, N.Z. — 95.7
Vancouver lost marks only for petty crime rates, availability of quality housing and congested road networks, with report authors citing a series of infrastructure projects such as the new Evergreen transit line “that will no doubt have a long-term benefit, but in the short-term they can be disruptive.”

Toronto received a “Tolerable” rating (as opposed to Acceptable) for roads, public transit and housing while Calgary waned in temperature ratings.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi mused that his city’s spot on the ranking proves a “thriving business community, and a vibrant cultural scene that is attracting people from around the world” — echoing comments from Stephen Harper’s speech at the Stampede last month when the Prime Minister declared the Alberta metropolis as the greatest city in Canada.

The only other Canadian city to make the Economist list was Montreal in the 16th position.

Australia was the only country to outperform Canada, posting four cities in the top 10. The authors say the trend among the most liveable cities shows a preference for “mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density.” Canada’s density is 3.40 people per square kilometre, while Australia’s is 2.88.

The results vary little from the last ranking released six months ago, with Vancouver maintaining the third spot after slipping from first place in 2011.

Most of the top-tier countries are separated by fractions of a percentage — the first-ranked Melbourne is scored 97.5, only 1.8 points higher than 10th-place Auckland, N.Z. The Economist Information Unit uses the ranking to provide suggestions on how businesses should compensate employees working abroad in cities “where living conditions are particularly difficult.”

It’s one of several studies of its kind, but economic development experts in the listed Canadian cities say The Economist report’s catering to business communities could lead to tangible benefits.

“It’s certainly circulated to an audience of potential investors and investors that may be interested in relocating to our city,” said Randy McLean, a strategy director at the City of Toronto, adding good scores in categories like education will help attract top management talent and their families

Some Practical Ways To Improve Communication With Our Spouse.

•Never make assumptions. If you aren’t certain about something talk about it with your spouse. Assumptions break down communication in a destructive way. You may or may not be right. So ask when you don’t know.

•Don’t just talk about serious things. Enjoy lighthearted conversations as well. Growing your friendship makes it easier to talk about more important issues.

•Talk about what God is doing in your life. I have found that many couples experience difficulty discussing spiritual matters. Prayer and reading together are a good way to open up the spiritual lines of communication.

•LISTEN! So often we are concerned about being heard. Are you really hearing what your spouse is trying to communicate, or are you too preoccupied with your own agenda?

•Ask for clarification. “This is what I am hearing you say. Do I understand you correctly?”

•Don’t sweep problems under the rug. Talk about it, even if it is uncomfortable.

•If an important discussion gets heated or difficult, take a break. Sometimes we need a time out to calm down and be able to look at the situation objectively. Make sure to come back and resolve the issue if it warrants it (sometimes a break lets you realize the whole conversation was silly). A mistake couples often make when they take a time out is failing to come back and resolve the issue.

•Don’t collect mistakes. Whenever your spouse is doing something that bothers you talk about it within a reasonable time frame. Don’t keep adding up everything they do, and one day bing them all in at once by informing your spouse of 34 things they are doing that grate on your nerves. Stay in the here and now.

•Don’t mind read or expect your spouse to read your mind. You spouse cannot be expected to know what you want unless you tell them. They cannot fix behaviors unless you let them know there is a problem.

•Don’t serve your spouse food on a garbage can lid. meaning When you approach your spouse with a problem or something that needs to be changed present the information in a positive way, not on a garbage can lid. Presentation counts for a lot. How appetizing is it if you have your favorite meal prepared and then it is served to you on a germ corvered garbage can lid? you come at your spouse blaming or condemning the conversation will probably not go well. Instead, approach them out of love and respect.

•Talk to your spouse the way you would like to be talked to. Call it the golden rule of communication…..

•Understand that communicating isn’t about being right. Sometimes it is good to ask ourselves, “Do we want to be right or do we want to be married?” Talk to fix, address, and change, not to win.

•Don’t just communicate about the bad. It is nice to be affirmed and told what you are doing right once and again too!

Everybody should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

The mysteries of the 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony

Is it Prince Henry or Prince Harry?
When Prince Harry made his grand entrance at the start of the Games, you might have done a double take when his name was announced. "Prince Henry," the announcer said.
Did somebody just make an epic mistake, calling the redheaded prince by the wrong name? Nope. While the English may know this already, for those who don't, the prince's official name is Henry Charles Albert David. Folks call him Harry for short.

Who was the guy playing Winston Churchill?
That was popular character actor Timothy Spall . The London-born actor has appeared in several " Harry Potter " flicks as well as " Sweeney Todd ," " Enchanted ," and " The King's Speech " (in which he played Churchill).
Spall wasn't quoting Churchill after he emerged from the top of Big Ben. The words were from Shakespeare's "The Tempest." "I dreamed of clouds opening up and dropping such riches on me that when I woke up, I cried because I wanted to dream again." Indeed, dreams and imagination came back again and again as themes of the Closing Ceremony.
What's with Batman and Robin?
At an early part in the Ceremony, Michael Caine's iconic voice echoed through the stadium. "Five, four, three, two, one," Caine said, a line from "The Italian Job." A small car in the middle of the stadium exploded, and out came rotund versions of Batman and Robin.
Great Scott! Had Christian Bale gone to seed? Negative, Alfred. Those were actors David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, reprising a famous moment from their sitcom, "Only Fools and Horses."

Why did they single out the marathon in the middle of the ceremony?
One word: Tradition . Every four years, the Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony also serves as a medal ceremony for the winner of the Men's City Marathon . The winner's national anthem is performed. Medals are awarded. The whole deal. Hey, after running 26.2 miles in August, they deserve something special, right?

Models
Why was Naomi Campbell there?
No clue.

Why don't the athletes march out behind their flags?
They used to. But then in the 1956 Melbourne Games, at the height of the Cold War, there was so much tension that organizers were worried about fights between athletes. A young Chinese man, John Ian Wing, who was an apprentice carpenter in Australia , suggested that the organizers mix the athletes together. It worked. And the Peace March has been a tradition ever since.

Who was that awesome dancer/street sweeper in orange near the end of the Ceremony?
That would be Renato Sorriso of Rio. Sorriso was an actual street sweeper from Brazil . He became famous for his spectacular dance moves during Rio's Carnival. Now, thanks to his performance in London's Closing Ceremony, he's gonna be really, really famous.

Culled:Y! News

Today Olympics will close with a thunderous party

London is preparing to close out a two-week festival of sports in Olympic style, with a thunderous celebration of British music, from the classical compositions of Elgar to the classic rock of The Who.

A star-studded closing ceremony Sunday night will be long on fun — a dancing, stomping, psychedelic exaltation of what Britain does best, exporting a head-shaking amount of talent to the
world.

The spectacle, which artistic director Kim Gavin promises will be "the best after-show party that's ever been," will have something for everyone — the Spice Girls, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Muse and many, many other stars mixed in.

There'll be plenty of fireworks and colored lights, acrobats, gymnasts, drummers, supermodels and other surprises to keep the crowd — and a television audience of tens of millions — entertained late into the night.

Amazing courage of 12yr old Cancer patient

An incredible girl is teaching hundreds of thousands of Internet followers what courage means. Talia Joy Castellano, who turns 13 August 18, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that forms in the nerve cells, in 2007. Numerous rounds of chemotherapy left her bald, and about a year and a half ago, she started a video blog channel featuring make-up tutorials and has uploaded over 150 videos. "I love makeup," she says, "using it as my wig"-- which she isn't a fan of. Her mom, Desiree, beams that her daughter "has made bald beautiful."

Castellano appears to be a normal, slightly hyper 'tween excited about her latest "fashion haul" and achieving the perfect "smoky eye" but she's also an exceptionally poised individual who speaks with candor and soulful intelligence about her disease. On Tuesday, through a blog entitled "idk what to say" she delivered the heartbreaking news that she's also just been diagnosed with preleukemia, a bone marrow cancer, which may not be curable.

"I'm only 13, I shouldn't have to be doing this," she says. "No one should have to be doing this." Facing a choice that would leave most adults shattered, she calmly explains, "I'm going to decide whether or not I want to do the bone marrow transplant, or whether or not I just don't do it and live the time I have remaining." In addition to chemo, Castellano has already endured numerous surgeries, radiation, and a stem cell transplant. Recovering from a bone marrow transplant is an excruciating process. If it doesn't work, the bombardment of medical procedures can leave your immune system destroyed. However, forgoing treatment would mean she has only a few months to a year to live.

Castellano shares her news with grace and wisdom. There are no tears (from her at least, for the viewer its another story). "Having cancer has been a gift--but a horrible, horrible terrifying thing," she says. "But I've gotten so many benefits from it" -- from using make up to boost her self-confidence so she "could go out to the grocery store with out a wig" to inspiring fans of her videos.
She gently explains that while she's going to keep making videos, she's leaning toward living out the rest of her life without treatment. "The journey of having cancer was amazing. But, every journey has an end."

Talia Regrets actions in the Bigbrother house

Finally! After hosting Africa’s biggest reality show Big Brother Africa for good seven years without a win, South Africa can now boast of being on the winners’ list after Keagan popularly known as the ‘Legend’ did the host nation that honour.

It was all jubilation at the colourful grand finale in Johannesburg South Africa as most former South African housemates that included Barbz, Lee, and the Amplified season hopeful Nkuli came in front to share the joy with Keagan who was dumb-founded with the win. 

 “All I can say its thank you to the people who voted for me thank you.” Those were the only words from Keagan.

Keagan was closely followed by Kenya’s rap luminary Prezzo who was the second runners up but got away with relatively a big deal of going to USA to join one of the worlds acclaimed Rap luminary J- Zee at a humger concert.

Prezzo has been chosen as an ambassador for the One campaign. Although the president Prezzo did not get the USD 300,000, he might have one of the best chances of reaching cloud nine as he will be sharing a stage with J-Zee.

Now speaking in an exclusive interview with the Times of Zambia after the show, Zambian finalist Talia, says she regrets having allowed emotions of love sweep her,compormising her winning chances.

Talia says it was so difficult to make a decision she made but accepts any negatives it would have brought in her game but says takes full responsibility of it all.

“I did not have an idea that I had huge chances of winning but even though I am only human, I was pressurised and went with my feelings.”

I cannot also blame alcohol on whatever I did because I am one person who knows what I do even under the influence of liquor.

On the future plans outside the Big Brother walls with Keagan, the Zambian beauty says she hopes for the best to happen because she sees Keagan to possess a lot of positives as opposed to negatives as seen on continental television.

She feels Keagan will be the right person to answer whether the two should deepen their relationship or not but on her side she hopes for the best.

Upon meeting Seydou at the after-party, Talia had less to say to Seydou as the two just greeted each other. But commenting on Seydou Talia says she really feels for Seydou and that she will definitely
find time to meet with the Angolan to formally apologise to the young man for making him undergo an emotional trauma.

Talia says she logically got more attached to Keagan who she spent more time with in the house than Seydou Keagan is now USD 300,000 richer after a good triumph over five of his fellow finalists that included Zambia’s Talia who actually ruined her chances after getting trapped in a love triangle with the winner Keagan and ditching Seydou who she promised while in the Downville that she would love.

On the money won by her love interest, the Zambian beauty is quick to mention that she is not after his money but his heart. She says yes it gives her joy that her love interest got the ultimate life changing prize that she would have gotten herself but that it is his money and not hers.

Talia is expected back home today around midday aboard South African Airways. She walks away with a scooter, PRV decoder and a smart phone for making it to the top six.

Culled: Times of Zambia

Mother selling letter from Obama to help military son start new life

A Pennsylvania mother is parting with a prized note penned by the president to help her son start a new life.

Cynthia Arnold wrote to Barack Obama in January of 2009 after a call from her son, Matthew, who was then a private in the Army as he was filling out required paperwork, NBCNews.com reported. One thing Matthew asked his mother was if she or his father would handle funeral arrangements for him if he should he die while on duty, Cynthia Arnold told NBC.

In her letter, Cynthia Arnold pleaded to the president, "I beg you to spare other Mothers from taking a call such as mine from their sons and daughters. Use the power that has been given to you to bring our troops home as quickly and safely as possible."

A few weeks later Cynthia Arnold got a handwritten note from Obama.

"I will do everything in my power to make troops like Matthew my priority," the president wrote on a card with a seal from the White House.

He ended it with: "Please tell him 'thank you for your service' from his Commander-in-Chief!"

Cynthia Arnold treasured the note, NBC reports. But now she's decided to sell the note for $8,500 to help Matthew buy a car for his family as he transitions into civilian life.

Culled: NBC News

Seven Cameroonian athletes have gone missing from Olympic camp

Seven Cameroonian athletes have gone missing from their delegation in London. Five boxers, a swimmer and a soccer player are gone. The reason? Officials expect they are staying in Europe to look for jobs.

"What began as rumor has finally turned out to be true. Seven Cameroon ian athletes who participated at the 2012 London Olympic Games have disappeared from the Olympic Village," David Ojong, the mission head said in a message sent to the ministry.

Boxers Thomas Essomba , Christian Donfack Adjoufack , Abdon Mewoli, Blaise Yepmou Mendouo and Serge Ambomo left after being eliminated from competition on Sunday. Swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue left after competing in heats in the 50m freestyle, and soccer player Drusille Ngako left the delegation after not being selected to the team's final roster.

The lack of surprise from officials comes from two things. For one, it's happened before. During Commonwealth and Francophonie games in the past, members of the Cameroon delegation have left without permission.
Secondly, unemployment is a persistent problem in Cameroon. According to a report from 2011, the country of 20 million has 12 million unemployed.

NASA rover Curiosity lands on Mars

In a show of technological wizardry, the robotic explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of Mars, steering itself to a gentle landing inside a giant crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet's past.

Cheers and applause echoed through the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory late Sunday after the most high-tech interplanetary rover ever built signaled it had survived a harrowing plunge through the thin Mars atmosphere.

"Touchdown confirmed," said engineer Allen Chen. "We're safe on Mars."

Minutes after the landing signal reached Earth at 10:32 p.m. PDT, Curiosity beamed back the first black-and-white pictures from inside the crater showing its wheel and its shadow, cast by the afternoon sun.

"We landed in a nice flat spot. Beautiful, really beautiful," said engineer Adam Steltzner, who led the team that devised the tricky landing routine.

It was NASA's seventh landing on Earth's neighbor; many other attempts by the U.S. and other countries to zip past, circle or set down on Mars have gone awry.

The arrival was an engineering tour de force, debuting never-before-tried acrobatics packed into "seven minutes of terror" as Curiosity sliced through the Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph.

In a Hollywood-style finish, cables delicately lowered the rover to the ground at a snail-paced 2 mph. A video camera was set to capture the most dramatic moments — which would give Earthlings their first glimpse of a touchdown on another world.

Celebrations by the mission team were so joyous over the next hour that JPL Director Charles Elachi had to plead for calm in order to hold a post-landing press conference. He compared the team to athletic teams that participate in the Olympics.

"This team came back with the gold," he said.

Over the next two years, Curiosity will drive over to a mountain rising from the crater floor, poke into rocks and scoop up rust-tinted soil to see if the region ever had the right environment for microscopic organisms to thrive. It's the latest chapter in the long-running quest to find out whether primitive life arose early in the planet's history.

Oscar Pistorius-The man with no feet ran second in his 400-meter heat.

How many Olympics do you get to write that? Never before. Which is why this moment belonged to Oscar Pistorius.

At 10:35 a.m. on a cloudy London Saturday morning, a South African man with two prosthetic carbon legs took his place in Lane 6 and history. Every other competitor in the 400 meters had two feet. A double amputee since 11 months, Pistorius had none.
How emotional was his? "I didn't know whether to cry," he said later.

How happy was he? He mentioned he had "cramping in his cheeks from smiling so much."

How fast was he? His 45.44 was the 16th-best time. On to the semifinals.

This is one of those tales that is not a simple one. Some have suggested that technology has given him an edge. Some have suggested this is getting uncomfortably close to the bionic man, and anyone nicknamed "the Blade Runner" belongs more to Hollywood than the Olympics.

Some have wondered what the intensity of the storm would be, if he actually had a chance to win.

Four people we should meet, all with a reason to appreciate what Saturday meant.

First, the American 400-meter man who at 19 had his legs shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.

"He motivates all of us," Bryshon Nellum said. "I have two legs, but there was once a time when I didn't have them. To not have them is, like, one of the worst feelings ever."

Next, the 31-year-old London man walking into the stadium on two crutches Saturday morning to watch the track session. William Swift lost his right leg seven years ago in a motorcycle accident.

"The whole part of recovery is adapting to whatever you've got to deal with. When you see what he does, you think anything is possible.

"I'll be cheering him on louder than pretty much everyone else there."

Now, the 50-year-old multiple sclerosis victim, sitting in his wheel chair in the grandstands.

"I think it's a double-edged sword. It's fantastic because it's breaking down barriers," Anthony Stone said. "But it also sets the bar incredibly for people to think 'I can do that,' when I likely never will."

No. Stone's challenges are everyday life, not a 400 heat. And yet, there was a connection felt with the man moving toward the starting block.

"It's trying to put your trousers on. It's brushing your teeth. The 400 meters is a lovely aspiration, but if you set the bar that high, then it makes things like brushing your teeth that much easier, in a peculiar way."

Lastly, the doctor at Mayo Clinic who spends her life working with the rehabilitation of amputee victims. Karen Andrews has been encouraging her patients to watch Pistorius.

"He's a big story. Just for people to be able to see that one of our patients was able to swim was very inspirational to them. So to see somebody reaching such an elite athlete status is incredible.

"It's incredible because of the demographics. More people have diabetes, so more people are having amputations. Also the wounded warriors. There are such a lot of people with amputations. When I speak to someone to tell them they're going to have an amputation, all they can think of is a devastating loss.

"Now people are aware of him."

Pistorius was thinking of family on this landmark day. His 89-year-old grandmother was here, holding a South African flag. He was 15 when he lost his mother, the one who in the mornings would "tell my brother, Carl, 'You put on your shoes and Oscar, you put on your prosthetic legs, and that's the last I want to hear about it.'

"I grew up not really thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes."

So this is the guy who supposedly has an edge.

Back to our four.

Swift: "I think it's sour grapes."

Andrews: "I find it hard to say that somebody that has achieved his level of function without feet has an unfair advantage."

Stone: "This is the entry level. Fast-forward 50 years when you've got super duper titanium. Then it'll be a real issue."

Nellum: "I'm not sure. I'm not positive. I have my legs so I can't relate to it. He's out there running the same as we are. We're all human."

But not all on two legs. When the starter's pistol went off Saturday at the Olympics, that didn't matter.

You think Oscar Pistorius has an unfair advantage?

Care to trade places?

Culled: USA Today

Crown King Keagan-BBA winner

So keagan won the bigbrother stargame 2012, congratulations bro!

Here's how Africa voted-
Angola: Keagan
Botswana: Keagan
Ghana: Keagan
Kenya: Prezzo
Liberia: Keagan
Malawi: Wati
Namibia: Lady May
Nigeria: Keagan
South Africa: Keagan
Sierra Leone: Talia
Tanzania: Prezzo
Uganda: Kyle
Zambia: Talia
Zimbabwe: Lady May
Rest of Africa: Keagan

Total: Keagane = 7; Lady May = 2; Prezzo =2, Talia = 2, Kyle = 1, Wati = 1. (Total: 15 Votes)

Hell No Talia!!!!

In case you need lessons on "how to lose a competition",please contact Talia of Zimbabwe in the ongoing bigbrother Africa stargame reality show. I honestly wonder why she chose the final week to show the whole of Africa, that she is vulnerable to the Keagan attack.

Having spent all these days believing she is in love with Seydou (who have long been evicted),some viewers are confused and need I say she may not be getting the last minute votes, which really matters.

Earlier on in the game,she confessed her undying love for Seydou and said "i would marry him". Next thing she's making out with Keagan of Southafrica. She has had such a good run, until now and I believe she should know better than throw it away.The truth is no one would remember how good she was in the past,just that she is warming up Keagan's bed now.

We are not against relationships in the Bigbrother house,but the irony of this particular one is the fact that $300,000 is at stake, having come this far in the competition. This is a competition,a game and that is the way it should be played.No lady has ever won by making out with any guy. The guys get a way with it because it's either a Man's world or it's a macho thingy to do.

Well the show isn't over until tomorrow.

Couple sentenced for killing Daughter

A couple who killed their "Westernised" teenage daughter because they believed she brought shame on the family have been jailed for life - nine years after the brutal killing.

Iftikhar Ahmed, 52, and his wife Farzana, 49, were told they would both serve a minimum of 25 years in prison after a jury at Chester Crown Court convicted them of the murder of their 17-year-old daughter Shafilea.

The trial heard that they suffocated the teenager with a plastic bag at the family home in Warrington, Cheshire, in September 2003.

Shafilea's father showed no emotion as he was sentenced but his wife sobbed loudly.

Trial judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans told them: "Your concern about being shamed in your community was greater than the love of your child."

Katherine Jackson was unaware she had been reported missing

Katherine Jackson was unaware she had been reported missing or that her pop star son's three children were trying to contact her during a stay in Arizona last month in which she was unable to communicate with the outside world.

The Jackson family matriarch, who on Thursday was reinstated as guardian of the "Thriller" singer's children, said in a court document that she was told the kids were fine.

Her 10-day absence at a luxury resort in Arizona came as a power struggle erupted within the large Jackson clan over control of the pop star's multi-million dollar estate.

Katherine Jackson, 82, agreed on Thursday to share guardianship of Prince, 15, Paris, 14 and Blanket, 10, with TJ Jackson, the 34-year-old son of Michael Jackson's brother Tito.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Mitchell Beckloff will hold a further hearing on August 22 to consider making the shared guardianship arrangement permanent.

Katherine returned to the family compound near Los Angeles last week after publicly denying rumours she had been kidnapped by some of her adult children.

But in a declaration submitted to the court on Thursday, she said an iPad was taken away from her, her room telephone was not working and her television had sound, but no picture. Had she known her grandchildren were trying to contact her she would not have been gone so long, she added.

"At the time, I trusted the people I was with to be honest with me," she wrote, without specifying who she was referring to.

Passenger finds needle in sandwich on flight-yuck

Air Canada says a passenger found what appears to be a sewing needle in a catered sandwich on board a flight from Victoria, British Columbia, to Toronto.


Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the airline, said late Tuesday that the airline is "working closely with our caterers to ensure heightened security measures have been put in place."

Fitzpatrick says the airline contacted the caterers immediately after Monday's discovery. He says a police investigation is under way and they have not received any further reports of similar incidents.

Dutch police said earlier in July they were investigating how needles got into six sandwiches on Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam to Minneapolis, Seattle and Atlanta. Passengers discovered four of them.



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