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This Thursday, 23 February, heads of state, Ban Ki-moon and other delegates will meet in London to discuss the security threats posed by Somalia and the future of its Government. My colleague Edward Pomfret looks at what needs to happen at the conference and why listening to concerns of ordinary Somalis is the key.
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Although the causes of the problems Somalia faces lies primarily in the country itself, where warring factions are accused of impeding and diverting aid flows, policies of other countries have also had a major impact. These policies focused more on international security concerns than on the needs, interests and wishes of the Somali people have inadvertently fuelled both the conflict and the humanitarian crisis.
You may remember seeing the pictures as people in Somalia tried to deal with the worst food crisis the country has faced for

Forget sex, bacon sells. And when it comes to selling bacon, there is no jumping the shark (Photo Credit: J&D’s).
Bacon bits, chocolate-covered bacon, bacon cupcakes, bacon pasta, bacon doughnuts, bacon ice cream, bacon frosting — there’s no limit to the ways people use and abuse bacon. Even the famous bacon explosion recipe (two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and slathered in barbecue sauce), which got a write-up in The New York Times, doesn’t seem to have put an end to the heights (or depths) that folks will go to when exploiting, er, using bacon. And that’s why there’s no end to bacon products being sold out there — many, absolutely ridiculous.
Slideshow: Ridiculous Bacon Products
And, hey, why not? Undeniably bad fast-food joints have long known that a key way to push their hockey pucks was to just add

The film:
The reason:
Gil (Owen Wilson in the best interpretation of chicken-legged Woody Allen since the man himself) believes there is nowhere finer than Paris, at night, in the rain. He and his fiance Inez thought they were just hitching along with her parents to the city of light. Instead, when the clock strikes midnight Gil gets whisked away to the Paris of writer’s and artist’s fantasies.
This Coq au Vin is exactly the kind of dish that could get me out of bed at midnight. The taste takes you straight to

Key & Peele, a sketch comedy show on Comedy Central, is peddling offensive comedy. I watched a variety of clips spanning 5 episodes. Not only were the subjects of their humor not ever any non-black group, but jokes solely focused on either parodying aspects of black culture (think black fraternities or soul food), or, worse, “black pathology,” an all-encompassing category for any negative behavior exhibited disproportionately in urban areas for which, apparently, blacks have been genetically predisposed for over 25 years (according to the media). And maybe that’s why Key and Peele feel the need to remind audiences they’re only

Every few months, the death of a celebrity sparks a new media maelstrom about drugs. But more concerned with spectacle than substance, much of the press ignores the real issues behind America’s deadliest epidemic, as well as its last famous victims.
Just minutes after Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton last Saturday at the age of 48, a caravan of network trucks began slowly encircling the plush hotel, morbidly eager to document her untimely demise. Since then, it’s been nearly impossible to turn on the TV or log on to the Web without witnessing a tribute to the singer, often including depressing video footage of her long, painful

Politico is a journal subscribed to by none but political junkies, and most of those are liberal. So, when this serious publication starts talking about a brokered convention for the GOP in Tampa next August, beware!
General Dwight D. Eisenhower won a first-ballot nomination in 1952. But there had been a prolonged and bitter floor fight over convention

Each year, a new generation of practitioners enters the fields of sports, entertainment and business. Everyone is looking for that golden opportunity of mentorship from someone special, someone who cares and someone who is willing to take you by the hand and potentially lead you to greatness.
By chance, retired Indy 500 driver Sarah Fisher’s dad, Dave Fisher, found me at the go-kart track as a 12-year-old kid and helped to start refining my craft as a racing driver. Not three years later, I was taken under the wing of Michael Andretti, a former IZOD IndyCar Series driver with the third most Indy car race wins (42) in history. He signed me to his team, Andretti Autosport, where he is the chairman, president and

Have you heard of William Dore, Foster Friess, Sheldon Adelson, Harold Simmons, Peter Thiel, or Bruce Kovner? If not, let me introduce them to you. They’re running for the Republican nomination for president.
I know, I know. You think Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney are running. They are — but only because the people listed in the first paragraph have given them huge sums of money to do

“Meaning” is how things become intelligible. In addition to Kant’s method of unifying a manifold in accordance to the concept of an object, the point is to understand how things matter. It is not just that I connect and keep tack of different representations. More importantly, the question is about how I can care about any of it in the first place — why experience makes a difference to me, at all? To understand this difference, generally, I am partial to Heidegger’s approach advocating the centrality of

When Hu Jintao took over as the leader of China in 2002, U.S. companies welcomed his accession as a “good sign for American business.” Political analysts described Hu as a fourth-generation member of the Communist party leadership who might very well turn out to be a “closet liberal.” Playing it safe, the media tended to portray him as a pragmatic enigma. In the wake of 9/11 and high-level cooperation on counter-terrorism, Hu proved to be a reliable U.S. partner, prompting Colin Powell to remark in 2003 that U.S.-China relations were the best since 1972.
It didn’t take long, however, before the media and the punditry turned sour on

This year two actors from non-English speaking countries, Demi&aacuten Bechirfrom Mexico and Jean DuJardin from France, received best actor Oscar nominations. While DuJardin has received a lot of attention, Bichir’s uniquely nuanced performance of a father and undocumented gardener in “A Better Life” has not received the attention it deserves. Bichir’s Oscar nomination is the first nomination for a Mexican male actor in the lead acting category since Anthony Quinn was nominated for Zorba the Greek in 1964. While Bichir deserves to win, it is unlikely perhaps because Oscar voters are 94% Caucasian and Latinos are less than 2% of the Academy’s voting members.
In his portrayal of “A Better Life’s” main character, Carlos Galindo, Bichir gives what Rolling Stones Magazine calls “a monumental performance.” Other critics have recognized his performance as “pitch perfect.” Acknowledgment of Bichir’s talent is long

“Anyone who has thought about it realizes that liberty and equality are antithetical concepts … Equality is biologically impossible, and liberty is only obtainable in homogeneous populations very thinly spread.” – Former NRA Board Member (and ardent insurrectionist) Jeff Cooper
Last week, the National Rifle Association (NRA) launched its “Trigger the Vote” campaign, a superficially non-partisan get-out-the vote effort. The ad campaign features two men who sit on the organization’s Board of Directors: aging hard-rocker Ted Nugent and actor R. Lee Ermey of “Full Metal Jacket” fame; and NRA celebrity spokesman and martial artist/actor Chuck

Hispanics across America are deeply concerned about the 2012 presidential election campaign and we have every reason to feel this way. In fact, we Hispanics are now voicing our opinions more powerfully than ever before as our concerns mount for the future of our children and our own well-being.
Beyond concerns about the job market, the economy, education, healthcare and other policy driven initiatives, Hispanics are fighting to hold onto our cultural roots and their language – our unique immigrant perspective. This has come as a surprise to many Hispanics who thought that exceeding the 50 million-mark (in population) would help create new opportunities for our community. In fact, many Hispanics in the United States felt that the United States owed them something just because there were more of

I host and program a film series where the usual fare tends to be fairly serious, whether as a drama or a documentary. Occasionally, the patrons of my series will ask, “How about a comedy?”
And I try – I really do – to find comedies that will work for my audience. But I have one big problem: I find so few comedies that work for me. Two recent examples: last week’s This Means War and this week’s

When I think about the detritus post-divorce, I’m not talking about couples haggling over household property, the spat over who gets the cat, and the painful tug-of-war when a marriage goes south.
I’m thinking about parents of the divorcing couple who are left with the (for lack of a better word) memorabilia. The accumulation of stuff that must be hidden from view or ditched to prove one’s loyalty to one’s own.
Maybe it seems trivial to be talking about tangible remainders, but these things can present a

Since 2008, most of us have been walking budgetary tightropes — cutting a piece off of this, snipping some off of that. For a significant percentage, it’s been a steady slide into fiscal chaos, foreclosures, and fear. For some, it’s just the luxuries that have been eliminated: No more the extended vacation, the new car lease every year or two, or the $400 handbag spree. On all counts, it seems that we are a culture moving from decades of “Want It!” to the more realistic “Need It?” Coupon clipping is in again and most people are more worried about whether they’re going to have a roof over their heads than whether they’re sporting the latest

As the moon rises over Mardi Gras 2012, I’m recovering from a day in which we met Mayans with End of the World 2012 signs, a honey badger and a Dogs Against Romney mascot, all within a block. The Krewe of Ragnarok upped the ante on spectacle, with its two-story tall steam punk Trojan horse rolling into the French Quarter. Sights were eye-popping, and my eyes were fairly popped already after riding in Orpheus with the Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Maxim Magazine float the night before.
Jim Beam’s great-grandson Fred Noe told me he came up with the idea from the tradition of sweating the

A Conversation with Wounded Warriors During Grammy Rehearsals
During Grammy rehearsals, I had the privilege of interviewing four veterans who were at the event courtesy of the Wounded Warriors organization, their host being Annie Nelson from American Soldier Network. Here is our conversation that occurred on February 11, 2011. FYI, we were informed that Whitney Houston died just minutes after the interview concluded.
L-R: Richard Gonzales, Jake Henry, Sara Bryant, Chairperson Annie Nelson, Ryan Seacrest, and Blake Bibbins / photo credit: Mike Ragogna / engineered by Theo Shier
Mike Ragogna: Okay, “Fireflies” was a major hit for a certain group we like to call Owl City except the group is a “he” named Adam Young. Fair introduction?
Adam Young: That was good, yeah, that

Pardon me for laughing at the so-called GOP establishment whispering to us their fear of Rick Santorum’s religious authenticity. Oh, they say, if he wins Michigan we must find another candidate. Huh? Sorry folks but this is what you get after years building a coalition based on a block of voters who only get your lip service.
These party leaders who would shun Santorum are those who eagerly harvested evangelicals for 30 years with phony appeals. Now a candidate who means it appears and they’re suddenly afraid?
This is what you get after decades of pandering to voters who have finally wised up to your scam and flock to a potential nominee who doesn’t just wink and nod but who would actually run as a pious unelectable Christian.
George

Source:Associated Press
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MIAMI — The Miami Heat knew what was coming from Sacramento. Eventually, they handled the Kings’ challenge.Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 10 assists, Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh each scored 20 points and the NBA-leading Heat stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 120-108 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.”It was a good game for me, just trying to be aggressive and was able to get my teammates some shots,” said Wade, who shot 11 for 16 and has tied his career-best with 11 straight games of shooting 50 percent or better, matching a run from his rookie season. “And I was also able to continue do what I’ve been doing the last couple games, just taking high-percentage shots and making them.”
Daily Dime: Windhorst on Heat’s streak
The Heat will carry a seven-game win streak into Thursday’s matchup with the Knicks. Brian Windhorst takes a closer look at Miami’s streak. Dime
• Heat Reaction | Heat Index
LeBron James scored 18 points, Norris Cole had 12 and Udonis Haslem added 10 for Miami (26-7), which has won each of its games during this streak by at least 12 points.Next up for Miami: The New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin come to town Thursday.”It’s going to be fun,” James said. “It’s going to be electrifying. … It could be one of the most-watched games that we’ve had in a long time.”Isaiah Thomas scored 20 of his 24 points in the third quarter for Sacramento, which dropped its sixth straight. Marcus Thornton scored 23, Tyreke Evans finished with 21 points and 10 assists, and Jason Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.The Kings were without guard John Salmons, a late scratch with a sore right hip.”You needed to play a perfect game to win this game against this team and we were pretty close to the perfect game,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “We had moments, but when you give up 25 points off turnovers, you’re not going to beat many teams.”Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he didn’t expect Sacramento to come out and play like a team with one of the NBA’s worst records, and he was right. Thompson had 10 points and six rebounds in the opening quarter and Evans’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer from near midcourt gave Sacramento a 32-26 lead after 12 minutes.Maybe the biggest surprise of the first half was that it took Miami — a team that had led by 20 points at some time in each of its six previous outings, but never enjoyed better than an 18-point margin Tuesday — nearly a full hour after tipoff to get the highlight reels cranking.”I don’t think we came out flat,” said Chalmers, who matched a career-best with six 3-pointers. “I just think they knew how to get out early on us.”Late in the second quarter, James blocked a drive by Thomas, the Heat controlled the rebound, and took off running. James got the ball to Wade, who leaped, stayed airborne long enough to draw contact from Cousins and then made an acrobatic layup while falling to the floor. The three-point play put Miami ahead 49-47 and the Heat kept the lead — such as it was — the rest of the half.Another spectacular James-to-Wade connection helped.Wade forced Donte Greene into a miss, and Francisco Garcia grabbed the rebound and tried to lay the ball in, all in the same motion. James blocked Garcia’s shot — the Kings wanted goaltending — and moments later threw a 70-foot chest pass to Wade for an alley-oop layup at the other end, part of a late mini-flurry that sent Miami into halftime leading 57-53.”They played very well and they have some weapons, some young weapons on that team that you saw,” Spoelstra said.The Heat kept the lead for the entirety of the third quarter, despite Thomas’ best efforts.Thomas’ 20 points came in a 10-minute span of that quarter, a 5-for-6 effort from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the foul line, the last three there coming when he was fouled by Cole while trying about a 25-footer in the final seconds of the third and getting Sacramento to 93-88.”I’ve always been a scorer my whole life,” Thomas said. “I score in bunches but we didn’t get the win. That’s the most important thing.”Early in the fourth, the Heat seemed to decide enough was enough.A 15-5 run, mostly from the Heat reserves, provided the long awaited breathing room. Cole had four points and an assist in the early stages, and after Mike Miller missed a 3-pointer, Haslem capped the flurry with a one-handed putback dunk that sent Wade running about 15 feet onto the court at the other end in celebration.”We know teams are going to play better than they usually play against us and that’s OK,” James said. “If it takes four quarters, which we’re capable of playing, we just continue to weather the storm and continue to do what we need to do.”Game notes Haslem (now with 4,549) passed Rony Seikaly (4,544) for second place on Miami’s all-time rebounding list. At his current pace, Haslem would have a chance to catch Alonzo Mourning (4,807) by the end of the season. … Thomas’ third-quarter barrage was the biggest one-quarter scoring effort by a Kings player since Kevin Martin scored 24 in the fourth against New Orleans on Feb. 23, 2009. … A number of fans chanted throughout the night that they wanted to see Jimmer Fredette in the game. Fredette did not play. … Boxer Floyd Mayweather was in attendance, seated near the Kings’ bench.
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Source:espn.go.com

In 1967, Harold Cruse wrote the fabled book, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. In the book, Cruse mapped the unsettled space between intellectuals and an increasingly fragmented set of social movements. I argue here we are at such a place, as we have on one hand a pragmatic Obama administration under siege from right wing forces and on the other hand black intellectuals trying to articulate the voices of what are absent mass social movements. This creates a crisis that plays itself out in peculiar

Japan has been good to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Scene of such crimes as 2003′s knockout of Kevin Randleman and 2004′s epic slam victory over Ricardo Arona, as well as a series of Grand Prix showings, Yokohama, Saitama and Tokyo were offered a taste of Rampage long before he became one of America’s most famous fighting figures.
In fact, depending on who you talk to, many believe the foundations and soul of the true Rampage — of raw, visceral and violent tendencies — remained in Japan when PRIDE merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2007. What American fans have since witnessed is beyond question a superior product — refined, mature and calmer — but many long for the days when a shackle-free Jackson power-bombed with abandonment in

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 3, Episode 14 of Fox’s “Glee,” entitled “On My Way.”
For an episode that was supposed to be all about Regionals, “Glee” flipped a switch on its audience and, instead, turned out an episode that I don’t think anyone saw coming.
Suicide attempt? Check. A potentially fatal car accident? Check. Regionals win? Who cares!
“On My Way” managed to fit several important story lines into about 42 minutes, and while I wish they would have trimmed some of the Regionals fat (I mean, does anyone really care about Regionals anymore?), I’m happy that Dave Karofsky was brought back from oblivion, bringing to light one of the more tragic realities that gay teenagers

At a time when many doubt our national commitment to human exploration of space, it is important to reflect on where we have been, where we are going and most importantly, why.
There can be little doubt that humanity is destined to live beyond the confines of our Earth and even our solar system. But this expansion is far more than mere adventure, more even than a survival necessity in the great span of time. Human expansion into space will continue to bring radical benefits right here on Earth in the very short term, just as it has already done.
Today we are at a new dawn, the beginnings of the new Space Race! With the retirement of the Space Shuttle and all the budget and planning cutbacks, many have proclaimed the end of the U.S. manned space program, ceding our leadership to Russia and