USA Today - White House denounces leak of Afghan war reports / White House

The White House condemned the leak of about 900,000 classified U.S. military records posted online by Wikileaks Sunday.

The documents, which cover a time period from January 2004 to December 2009, contain information about U.S. military efforts on the ground in Afghanistan, including information about civilian deaths and details about Taliban use of heat-seeking missiles, according to The New York Times, which received early copies of the reports along with London’s the Guardian newspaper and Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

In a statement released Sunday, President Obama’s national security advisor, Gen. James Jones, said the disclosure of these documents could put the lives of Americans and U.S. partners at risk and threaten the nation’s security.

“These irresponsible leaks will not impact our ongoing commitment to deepen our partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan; to defeat our common enemies; and to support the aspirations of the Afghan and Pakistani people,” he said.

The reports cover a time period before Obama announced a new strategy on Dec. 1, 2009 to increase resources in Afghanistan and increase focus on al Qaeda and Taliban safe-havens in Pakistan. While challenges lie ahead, Jones said Obama’s strategy aims to address conflicts presented by violent extremist groups, increase bilateral efforts, and support the local people.

“We are now focused on breaking the Taliban’s momentum and building Afghan capacity so that the Afghan government can begin to assume responsibility for its future,” he said. “The United States remains committed to a strong, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.”

Carl Edwards Is NASCAR's Eddie Haskell / nascar / nascar game

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Grinning from ear to ear and sporting a new crew cut, Carl Edwards cheerily sat down to face a crowd of reporters even larger than the group waiting across the room to interview NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After making himself comfortable, Edwards leaned in to the microphone and with a huge smile, dead-panned, "You guys see that race last week?''

Everyone laughed.

Good ol' Carl -- NASCAR's Eddie Haskell.

Like Haskell, the too-good-to-be true kid next door from the 1950s and 1960s TV show 'Leave It To Beaver,' who was mischievous when the grown-ups left the room, Edwards is proving more complicated than he lets on, too.

Edwards has endeared himself to fans with his trademark victory back flips, smooth style and up-for-anything disposition. He's articulate and charming -- a sponsor's dream with made-for-TV good looks and personality. And he knows how to get around a race track, winning the 2007 Nationwide Series championship and collecting 16 wins in the Sprint Cup Series.

Lately though, Edwards is making headlines as NASCAR's new "bully" who wrecks his rivals in the name of a win, prompting fans to wonder if he is really the gentlemanly sports hero atop the white horse, or NASCAR's new villain.

This week Edwards was put on season-long probation, fined $25,000 and docked 60 Nationwide Series championship points for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski on the last lap of Saturday's Nationwide race. Keselowski was also put on season-long probation.



The two banged fenders while fighting for the lead. Yards in front of the finish line, Edwards punted Keselowski's Dodge, sending it into the outside wall where it careened across the track and hitting the inside wall an instant before it was slammed by two other cars in a frightening melee of wreckage.

Edwards, meanwhile, took the checkered flag and boldly declared from victory lane a few moments later, "I was not going to let him take that win from me."

"I walked out of that race track, head held high,'' Edwards said Friday before opening practice for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I went home and had a really good week. I rode my bike and hung out with with my daughter and my family and to a person, every single person that I talked to thought it was the right outcome for that race.''

Edwards insisted the on-track troubles aren't personal, as Keselowski had said earlier in the day.

"I have a lot of respect for him and what he does on the race track," Edwards said, "but the problem is that he can't just run into me to get an advantage, especially for wins.

inception flim / Inception / inception 2010 / inception movie / inception wallpaper

Inception

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Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe

Director: Christopher Nolan

Release Date: 16th July 2010



Nothing else could have been number one, not after 2008, not after The Dark Knight. It. Was. Awesome. Due in no small part to the genius of Christopher Nolan, a director with an enviable track record, who now turns his attentions to the sci-fi genre with Inception, a movie shrouded in Cloverfield-levels of mystery.



We know Ken Watanabe is blackmailing Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s married to Marion Cotillard and works with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page, but that’s it. Oh, and, it’s set within ‘the architecture of the mind’, which could mean anything at this point. Inception makes number one sheerly on the basis of the talent involved, the mega cast, the phenomenal director, and, again, because of 2008, which as our top two shows, was quite a good year for movies.



Note: Leonardo di Caprio and Ken Watanabe sold this one out for me. I mean, I didn’t actually fell in love with Jack, but I must admit and surrender to the undeniable fact – that Leonardo di Caprio is one of the most talented and versatile actors in the world today and I just love this movies. And Ken Watanabe was simply one of my favorite Japanese actors…well, next to Takizawa Hideaki of course.