Monday, December 31, 2012

Lost Jewish Tombstones Found in Greece | Essentials

Lost Jewish Tombstones Found in Greece

Aircrew of No. 433 (Porcupine) Squadron, RCAF [graphic material] : en route to their Handley Page Halifax B.III aircraft before taking off to raid Hagen, Germany. / Les membres de l'équipage du 433e Escadron (Porcupine), ARC, se dirigent vers leur aéronef
Aircrew of No. 433 (Porcupine) Squadron, RCAF [graphic material] : en route to their Handley Page Halifax B.III aircraft before taking off to raid Hagen, Germany. / Les membres de l'équipage du 433e Escadron (Porcupine), ARC, se dirigent vers leur aéronef by BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Excerpt:

Police in northern Greece say they have recovered more than 600 marble headstones and other fragments from Jewish graves destroyed during the Nazi occupation in World War II — a find that local Jewish groups have described as highly significant. The 668 fragments were found buried in a plot of land in central Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, following a 70-year search for the remains of graves smashed when the city's main Jewish cemetery was destroyed. The head of the city's Jewish community, David Saltiel, said Thursday most of the gravestones found dated from the mid-1800s up until World War II. An estimated 60,000 Greek Jews, most of the country's prewar Jewish population, were killed in the Holocaust.

People:

David Saltiel

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.499192

Additional Info:

City: Thessaloniki

Overall Sentiment: -0.3372

Relevance: 0.848115

Country: Greece

Overall Sentiment: -0.0134528

Relevance: 0.799252

Disambiguation: Location | GovernmentalJurisdiction | WineRegionReferences:
Header Info

Pakistan's 'dynastic politics': Bhutto's son launches career | Essentials

Pakistan's 'dynastic politics': Bhutto's son launches career

Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto by liber(the poet);
License (according to Flickr): Attribution-ShareAlike License
Excerpt:

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, makes a speech to launch his political career during the fifth anniversary of his mother's death on Thursday. By Munir Ahmed and Sebastian Abbot, The Associated PressThe 24-year-old son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto launched his political career Thursday with a fiery speech before thousands of cheering supporters observing the fifth anniversary of his mother's assassination. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's speech comes several months before national elections are expected to be held. He is too young to participate in the elections himself — the minimum age is 25 — but is likely to be a key asset for the ruling Pakistan People's Party. The party's popularity has plummeted since it took power nearly five years ago as the country has struggled with a weak economy and bloody Taliban insurgency.

People:

Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto

Overall Sentiment: -0.21371

Relevance: 0.916202

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Overall Sentiment: -0.0705309

Relevance: 0.655711

Munir Ahmed

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.323772

Sebastian Abbot

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.249022

Additional Info:

Organization: Pakistan People's Party

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.31767

Webpage Tags Info

Secret war against Iran and its allies heats up | Essentials

Secret war against Iran and its allies heats up

The Hilton Hotel Baynunah in Abu Dhabi - The United Arab Emirates - November 2009 - Travel is a joy and the blue is here with love and hospitality!
The Hilton Hotel Baynunah in Abu Dhabi - The United Arab Emirates - November 2009 - Travel is a joy and the blue is here with love and hospitality! by || UggBoy♥UggGirl || PHOTO || WORLD || TRAVEL ||
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Excerpt:

A still image taken from Israeli Defence Forces video footage shows what they say is a small unidentified aircraft shot down in a mid-air interception after it crossed into southern Israel Oct. 6, 2012. WASHINGTON - From a suspected Israeli airstrike in Sudan to cyber warfare in the Gulf and a drone shot down over Israel, the largely hidden war between Iran and its foes seems heating up and spreading. Despite months of speculation, most experts and governments believe the risk of a direct Israeli strike on Tehran's nuclear program stirring regional conflict has eased, at least for now. But all sides, it seems, are finding other ways to fight. For the U.S. and European powers, the main focus remains on oil export sanctions that are inflicting ever more damage on Iran's economy.

People:

Benjamin Netanyahu

Overall Sentiment: 0.0391273

Relevance: 0.237325

Covert

Overall Sentiment: -0.47352

Relevance: 0.207056

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Overall Sentiment: -0.173263

Relevance: 0.197449

Andrea Mitchell

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.193016

Disambiguation: Celebrity | Journalist | TVPersonality | TVActorReferences:

Henry Smith

Overall Sentiment: 0.248186

Relevance: 0.188475

SentimentQuote
0.214893"It's very easy to look at these events and tie them together in some kind of straightforward narrative," says Henry Smith, ...
0.173104"It's very easy to look at these events and tie them together in some kind of straightforward narrative," says Henry Smith, Middle East analyst for London-based consultancy Control Risks. "But in reality, things are likely to be far more complex."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.387997
  • Mean: 0.1939985
  • Standard Deviation: 1.7320508075689

Hayat Alvi

Overall Sentiment: -0.551693

Relevance: 0.186576

SentimentQuote
-0.157517"In many ways, it's reminiscent of the Cold War, particularly the proxy conflicts," says Hayat Alvi, ...
-0.159494"In many ways, it's reminiscent of the Cold War, particularly the proxy conflicts," says Hayat Alvi, lecturer in Middle Eastern politics at the U.S. Naval War College. "But unlike in the Cold War, there are now a much larger number of asymmetrical warfare techniques. Most of this is happening behind the scenes, but in the modern world we are finding it difficult to keep them secret for that long."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.317011
  • Mean: -0.1585055
  • Standard Deviation: 1.7320508075689

Bashar al-Assad

Overall Sentiment: 0.0396987

Relevance: 0.184103

Ariel Ratner

Overall Sentiment: -0.0828237

Relevance: 0.167184

SentimentQuote
-0.0818368"The cyber attacks and Hezbollah drone both represent an escalation from the Iranian camp," says Ariel Ratner, ...
-0.0647486"The cyber attacks and Hezbollah drone both represent an escalation from the Iranian camp," says Ariel Ratner, a former Obama administration political appointees at the State Department and now fellow for the Truman National Security Foundation. "But a lot of what is going on here is a matter of signaling to each other."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.1465854
  • Mean: -0.0732927
  • Standard Deviation: 0

Bilal Saab

Overall Sentiment: 0.0876411

Relevance: 0.158548

SentimentQuote
0.0178098"Israel is flexing its muscles militarily and also sending a message to Tehran and Washington that it will not hesitate to use force to defend itself," says Bilal Saab, ...
0.0342764"Israel is flexing its muscles militarily and also sending a message to Tehran and Washington that it will not hesitate to use force to defend itself," says Bilal Saab, director of the Institute for near East and Gulf Military Analysis based in the United Arab Emirates and Washington D.C.. "It was a show of force meant to send political messages and achieve precise and immediate military objectives, those being the prevention of Iranian shipment of sensitive hardware to its proxies."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.0520862
  • Mean: 0.0260431
  • Standard Deviation: 0

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

Country: Iran

Overall Sentiment: -0.204116

Relevance: 0.823743

Country: Israel

Overall Sentiment: -0.159174

Relevance: 0.723059

Disambiguation: Location | GovernmentalJurisdiction | FilmArtDirectorReferences:

Country: United States

Overall Sentiment: -0.245183

Relevance: 0.465092

Disambiguation: Location | Region | AdministrativeDivision | GovernmentalJurisdiction | FilmEditorReferences:

Country: Sudan

Overall Sentiment: -0.208178

Relevance: 0.306613

Disambiguation: Location | GovernmentalJurisdiction | BoardMemberReferences:

City: Tehran

Overall Sentiment: -0.232055

Relevance: 0.529691

City: Washington D.C

Overall Sentiment: -0.272688

Relevance: 0.365733

Disambiguation: AdministrativeDivision | GovernmentalJurisdiction | MilitaryPost | PlaceWithNeighborhoods | USCountyReferences:

Organization: Hezbollah

Overall Sentiment: -0.388431

Relevance: 0.403697

Meta Details

Former New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman dies at 82 | Redux

Former New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman dies at 82

consensual congress
consensual congress by /\ \/\/ /\
License (according to Flickr): Attribution-ShareAlike License
Excerpt:

Former Sen. Warren B. Rudman, who co-authored a ground-breaking budget balancing law, championed ethics and led a commission that predicted the danger of homeland terrorist attacks before 9/11, has died. He was 82. He died Monday night, according to his Washington, D.C., firm, the Albright Stonebridge Group. The feisty New Hampshire Republican went to the Senate in 1981 with a reputation as a tough prosecutor, and was called on by Senate leaders, and later by presidents of both parties, to tackle tough assignments. He is perhaps most well-known from his Senate years as co-sponsor of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget-cutting law. He left the Senate in 1993, frustrated that the law never reached its potential because Congress, President Ronald Reagan and the President George H.W. Bush played politics instead of insisting on spending cuts.

People:

Sen. Warren B. Rudman

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.906121

SentimentQuote
0"No one seemed to take it seriously, and no one in the media seemed to care," Rudman said ...
0"No one seemed to take it seriously, and no one in the media seemed to care," Rudman said in 2007. "The report went into a dustbin in the White House."
0.278167"Had we stuck to that plan, had the Congress not failed to follow it through -- in fact, had presidents not failed to follow through -- we would not be where we are today," Rudman said. ...
-0.19496Rudman called the defense "arrogant, unrepentant, and a smear on this institution."
0.145484"It isn't a vote I'm proud of, but it's a textbook example of how our system works," Rudman wrote ...
0.0605668"It isn't a vote I'm proud of, but it's a textbook example of how our system works," Rudman wrote in "Combat: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate."
0He said he didn't think Thomas was "even close to being" ...
0"Finally, I grabbed his shoulders," Rudman wrote. ...
0"The architects had no idea the building would be in Senator Rudman's name or they wouldn't have built such a small building," he joked. ...
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 9
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.2892578
  • Mean: 0.032139755555556
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731
Disambiguation: Politician | BoardMember | MilitaryPerson | Senator | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

George H.W. Bush

Overall Sentiment: -0.148729

Relevance: 0.190583

SentimentQuote
-0.177578"People are willing to risk their lives for their country in times of war," he said ...
-0.168801"People are willing to risk their lives for their country in times of war," he said at the time. "They ought to be able to risk an election in a time of economic trouble."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.346379
  • Mean: -0.1731895
  • Standard Deviation: 0
Disambiguation: FilmCharacter | Politician | President | Appointer | BoardMember | ChivalricOrderMember | MilitaryPerson | PoliticalAppointer | U.S.Congressperson | USPresident | USVicePresident | FilmActor | TVActorReferences:

David Souter

Overall Sentiment: 0.0633214

Relevance: 0.18944

Disambiguation: Politician | JudgeReferences:

Ronald Reagan

Overall Sentiment: -0.181295

Relevance: 0.173106

Disambiguation: Politician | President | AwardWinner | ChivalricOrderMember | MilitaryPerson | PoliticalAppointer | USPresident | FilmActor | TVActorReferences:

Clarence Thomas

Overall Sentiment: 0.0796898

Relevance: 0.17267

SentimentQuote
0"If my vote had been the deciding one, I would have voted against Thomas, no matter what the consequences," he wrote. ...
0.0602552"If my vote had been the deciding one, I would have voted against Thomas, no matter what the consequences," he wrote. "But once it was clear that he would be confirmed, I made a political decision."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.0602552
  • Mean: 0.0301276
  • Standard Deviation: 0

President Bill Clinton

Overall Sentiment: 0.0126912

Relevance: 0.136403

Disambiguation: MusicalArtist | Politician | Appointer | AwardWinner | Celebrity | MusicalGroupMember | OfficeHolder | PoliticalAppointer | TVPersonality | FilmActor | FilmWriter | USPresidentReferences:

Sen. Gary Hart

Overall Sentiment: -0.22577

Relevance: 0.132758

Disambiguation: Politician | Senator | U.S.Congressperson | TVActorReferences:

Alan Cranston

Overall Sentiment: -0.17703

Relevance: 0.126708

Disambiguation: Politician | OfficeHolder | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North

Overall Sentiment: -0.117538

Relevance: 0.122026

SentimentQuote
-0.269049"The American people have the constitutional right to be wrong," he told ...
-0.0837233"The American people have the constitutional right to be wrong," he told North. "And what Ronald Reagan thinks or Oliver North thinks or what I think or what anybody else thinks makes not a whit."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.3527723
  • Mean: -0.17638615
  • Standard Deviation: 0

Charles Keating Jr

Overall Sentiment: -0.167192

Relevance: 0.118705

John Durkin

Overall Sentiment: -0.135205

Relevance: 0.116175

Sen. Paul Tsongas

Overall Sentiment: 0.195065

Relevance: 0.115375

Disambiguation: Politician | Senator | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

Anita Hill

Overall Sentiment: -0.656544

Relevance: 0.112322

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

Organization: U.S. Senate

Overall Sentiment: -0.0458326

Relevance: 0.328412

Meta Tags

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Facing terminal illness: Financial planning for his survivors | Synopsis

Facing terminal illness: Financial planning for his survivors

steve and mom
steve and mom by chadmagiera
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Excerpt:

Steve West spends mornings with his granddaughter, Gracie, 2, who has learned to hug him even though he can't hug back. Steve West cheated death once. In the summer of 1969, when he was 17, Steve and a friend were camping in Tennessee when they wandered down a nearby path. The trail hugged the side of a cliff on one side, with a 100-foot drop on the other. This story is part of a three-part series on the financial challenges families face when a loved one is dying. Part One tackled funeral costs, Part Two, the costs and options to make the end of life as comfortable as possible. Steve lost his footing. The fall would have killed him if some branches hadn't broken his descent. As it was, it took 10 hours for rescue workers to reach him.

People:

Steve

Overall Sentiment: -0.0366488

Relevance: 0.824821

SentimentQuote
-0.513513Steve began to feel that his left leg wasn't quite right -- he had "tingling sensations," ...
0"The distances kept getting shorter and shorter," he says. ...
0"I can whip their asses," he says. ...
0"There were hundreds of decisions to make," Steve recalls. ...
-0.305031"There was sadness early on, in recognizing what it meant, but it didn't really last that long," he says. ...
-0.209246"There was sadness early on, in recognizing what it meant, but it didn't really last that long," he says. "There was also anxiety, not so much over the prospect of dying, as getting things situated for the rest of our lives."
-0.0410844"With a ventilator and a feeding tube, your life can be significantly prolonged," says Steve.
-0.243992"With a ventilator and a feeding tube, your life can be significantly prolonged," says Steve. "But it's not very pleasant for anybody, family or patient."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 8
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -1.3128664
  • Mean: -0.1641083
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

Pam

Overall Sentiment: 0.018841

Relevance: 0.550801

SentimentQuote
0Pam recalls, "It was so mild I said to him, 'You're just getting old. Start walking.'"
-0.248649"I would wrap my arms around him, and I could feel these little chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi movements in his muscles," says Pam.
-0.228237"I would wrap my arms around him, and I could feel these little chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi movements in his muscles," says Pam. "It was like holding twinkling stars."
0.0510167Pam would respond, "There is no cure."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 4
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.4258693
  • Mean: -0.106467325
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

Steve West

Overall Sentiment: -0.0488892

Relevance: 0.323772

Pamela Learned

Overall Sentiment: -0.033859

Relevance: 0.163651

Lou Gehrig

Overall Sentiment: 0.187762

Relevance: 0.156035

Gracie

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.152643

Pam.

Overall Sentiment: -0.344993

Relevance: 0.110229

SentimentQuote
-0.468474"Doing battle with insurance was the biggest nightmare until we got into Medicare," says Pam. ...
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.468474
  • Mean: -0.468474
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

Mark

Overall Sentiment: 0.15054

Relevance: 0.104796

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

Company: ALS

Overall Sentiment: -0.144924

Relevance: 0.32171

Site Meta

Brazile: GOP, break Grover Norquist's grip on you | Essentials

Brazile: GOP, break Grover Norquist's grip on you

Back off Grover, there's a new Ogre in town!
Back off Grover, there's a new Ogre in town! by DonkeyHotey
License (according to Flickr): Attribution-ShareAlike License
Excerpt:

Editor's note: Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor and a Democratic strategist, is vice chairwoman for voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of "Cooking with Grease." She was manager for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000. (CNN) -- Who is Grover Norquist? He's a private citizen, a conservative lobbyist, the author of the Taxpayer's Protection Pledge and president of Americans for Tax Reform. His idea of tax reform is no more tax increases ever again. And no closed loopholes unless matched by cuts in government spending. In the 113th Congress, the one just elected that will begin in January, 219 of 234 Republicans in the House signed his tax pledge; in the Senate, nine of 41 Republican senators signed it.

People:

Grover Norquist

Overall Sentiment: 0.186779

Relevance: 0.774559

Barack Obama

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.529379

Disambiguation: Politician | President | Appointer | AwardWinner | Celebrity | PoliticalAppointer | U.S.Congressperson | USPresident | TVActorReferences:

Rep. Peter King

Overall Sentiment: 0.199682

Relevance: 0.367854

SentimentQuote
-0.431593King replied that Norquist was "being a lowlife," ...
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.431593
  • Mean: -0.431593
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

John Boehner

Overall Sentiment: 0.320669

Relevance: 0.350453

Disambiguation: Politician | OfficeHolder | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

Donna Brazile

Overall Sentiment: 0.0761111

Relevance: 0.34398

Mitch McConnell

Overall Sentiment: 0.122831

Relevance: 0.290844

Lindsey Graham

Overall Sentiment: 0.6397

Relevance: 0.260962

Disambiguation: Politician | MilitaryPerson | Senator | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

Rep. Tom Cole

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.248806

Disambiguation: Politician | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:

Harry Truman

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.244562

SentimentQuote
0Harry Truman used to say, "The president is the only elected official who represents all the people."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0
  • Mean: 0
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731
Disambiguation: Politician | President | MilitaryCommander | MilitaryPerson | PoliticalAppointer | U.S.Congressperson | USPresident | USVicePresident | ElectionCampaign | TVActorReferences:

Cole

Overall Sentiment: 0.256757

Relevance: 0.238768

SentimentQuote
0.314305Cole said, "It's the right thing to do."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.314305
  • Mean: 0.314305
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731
Disambiguation: Actor | TVActorReferences:

President Bill Clinton

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.222838

Disambiguation: MusicalArtist | Politician | Appointer | AwardWinner | Celebrity | MusicalGroupMember | OfficeHolder | PoliticalAppointer | TVPersonality | FilmActor | FilmWriter | USPresidentReferences:

John Podesta

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.220932

SentimentQuote
-0.153976John Podesta, President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, in writing about the fiscal cliff, said, "Obama didn't win just because of demographics: He won on the economy. ... The electorate understood that a vote for Obama was a vote for policies that would help the middle class and the working poor."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.153976
  • Mean: -0.153976
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731
Disambiguation: Politician | CompanyFounder | OfficeHolderReferences:

Peter Kings

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.196627

Lindsey Grahams

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.186204

Tom Coles

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.179836

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

Organization: Senate

Overall Sentiment: 0.0490467

Relevance: 0.334253

Organization: House

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.320984

Company: Twitter

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.315603

Disambiguation: Website | VentureFundedCompanyReferences:
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