Monday, December 31, 2012

Adam Lambert Doesn't Have Nice Things to Say About the 'Les Mis' Cast


The *American Idol* alum says the film is filled with "great actors PRETENDING to be singers." Burn.

Here's What New Year's Eve on TV is Like


Ryan Seacrest, Carson Daly, and Anderson Cooper are all hosting very well televised parties. Plus our tips on virtual party crashing via webcam.

'Till the Credits Do Us Part


When our favorite stars don't get together in real-life, there's always the movies.

Madonna and a Bunch of Other Oldsters Dominated This Year's Top 10 Tours


Justin Bieber didn't even crack the top 20!

'Django' vs. 'Les Miserables': Which Team Are You On?


Pick a side on the holiday season's most heated box office battle inside!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Syria acting to safeguard chemical weapons, says Russia

Syria has acted to consolidate its chemical weapons into "one or two" places to prevent rebels capturing them, Russia's foreign minister says.

Sergei Lavrov said the weapons had previously been "scattered" across the country and they were "under control" for the time being.

Mr Lavrov also said President Bashar al-Assad had no plans to leave Syria.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20825820

Pope Pardons Butler Jailed In Vatican Leaks

Pope Benedict XVI has granted a Christmas pardon to his former butler, who was convicted and jailed in the VatiLeaks scandal.

The Pope visited Paolo Gabriele in the Vatican police barracks to tell him personally of the pardon, the Vatican said.

Gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three, was subsequently freed and has returned to his family.

http://news.sky.com/story/1029075/pope-pardons-butler-jailed-in-vatican-leaks

O King of the Gentiles - Antiphon for December 22







O King of the Gentiles and the Desired of all, you are the cornerstone that binds two into one. Come, and save man whom you fashioned out of clay.


Isaiah 28:16: "Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation".

Ephesians 2:14: "He it is who is our peace, and who made the two of us one by breaking down the barrier of hostility that kept us apart".

The earlier antiphons have already alluded to the Messiah coming not only to Israel but to convert the gentile nations and redeem them for his own. Now this sixth antiphon clearly addresses the savior as the king of the gentiles (Jer.10:7) and the Desired One of the nations. The Messiah is the cornerstone on whom our spiritual foundations are laid, but on whom unbelievers stumble (Matt. 21:42). This cornerstone unites and binds Jew and gentile into one, making peace between them.

The plea is that God save all humanity, all his creation that he formed from the dust of the earth (Gen.2:7). We yearn for him once again to breathe the breath of his new life into us.

Pakistan mob burns man Alive after he was accused of desecrating Koran

A mob broke into a Pakistani police station and burnt a man accused of desecrating the Koran alive, police said Saturday, in the latest violence focusing attention on the country's blasphemy laws.

The man was a traveler and had spent Thursday night at the mosque, said Maulvi Memon, the imam in the southern village of Seeta in Sindh province. The charred remains of the Koran were found the next morning.

"He was alone in the mosque during the night," Memon said. "There was no one else there to do this terrible thing."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/22/us-pakistan-blasphemy-idUSBRE8BL03R20121222

Car bomb kills five in Damascus: Syrian Observatory

A car bomb killed five people and wounded dozens in the eastern Damascus district of Qaboun on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Another activist group in Damascus gave no figures for the number of people killed in the blast but said bodies were still being recovered from wreckage caused by the explosion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/22/us-syria-crisis-bomb-idUSBRE8BL06W20121222

Turmoil in Slovenia after corruption charges

The walls of the picturesque Slovenian city of Maribor on the banks of the Drava river are covered with graffiti reading "Gotof je!" - "He's finished!".

They are a vivid illustration of the startling crisis that has hit a small country hailed until recently as the star of post-communist transition in eastern Europe and a promising new member of the euro zone.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-slovenia-protests-idUSBRE8BJ0UU20121220

Tougher EU sanctions against Iran come into force

Rigorous new sanctions against Iran's banking, shipping and industrial sectors took effect on Saturday, as part of the European Union's effort to force Tehran to scale back its nuclear program.

The sanctions, agreed in October, entered EU law with their publication in the European Union's Official Journal on Saturday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/22/us-eu-iran-sanctions-idUSBRE8BL04L20121222

Professor Gavin Mooney and Dr Delys Weston Found Murdered in their Tasmania home

An eminent British economist and his wife have been murdered at their home in Australia.

Professor Gavin Mooney, 69, and Dr Delys Weston, 62, were found at the property in Tasmania on Wednesday and are thought to have been bludgeoned to death.

The retired Briton was previously the director of the Social and Public Health Economics Research Group in Australia and held a number of senior positions at universities in the country.

http://news.sky.com/story/1028938/gavin-mooney-british-economist-beaten-to-death

India: Tear Gas Fired At Gang Rape Protesters

Indian police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who were demanding justice and safety for women following the brutal gang rape of a student on a bus.

Thousands of demonstrators in New Delhi surged towards the president’s palace chanting "we want justice" and carrying banners reading "hang them now".

Clashes between the protesters and riot police erupted when a group tried to break through barricades and some started throwing stones.

http://news.sky.com/story/1029032/india-tear-gas-fired-at-gang-rape-protesters