Palestine is synonymous with violence, but politics takes a back seat on this extraordinary new walking route where the people are welcoming and the countryside stunning There was a moment of silence. Then the Palestinian youngsters marched in front of us and I thought to myself, this is where they sing about being martyrs and dying glorious deaths. A gentle breeze swayed the mulberry tree. On the far ridges of the mountains around Nablus, the lights of the illegal Israeli settlements twinkled. This village, I knew, had seen 2,000 acres of olive groves taken by those settlers, plus several lives. An older girl called the group to order then, in English, they launched into their chant. “I’m a red tomato, you’re a green tomato. You’re a little cucumber…” Everyone started to laugh. A walking holiday in Palestine. You’ve got to laugh really. I laughed a lot on that walk. And this in a part of the world where something horrible is always happening, be it shootings in Hebron, attacks on aid flotillas, or separation walls and rocket attacks. In the middle of such madness, laughter is the most unexpected and valuable pleasure, one that people seize at every opportunity. It was perhaps appropriate that I started my hike in the far north of the West Bank, within a few miles of a hill called Megiddo, where Pharoah Thutmose III overwhelmed the Canaanite king Durusha in about 1457BC, thus beginning the legend of Armageddon, the site of the Last Battle. With my guide Hejazi, I walked through peaceful fields of wheat past other ancient sites, exploring Roman tombs lost in undergrowth and watching storks circling overhead on their migration north. Our first major stopping point was Jenin, a town whose name is tied inextricably to violence and death. Despite its reputation, however, Jenin turned out to be a friendly market town of Palestinian farmers, a place to gorge on strawberries and almonds, washed down with carob juice sold from huge ornamental brass urns. I walked around the souk in a bit of a daze. How could reality be so different from expectations? Certainly, the walls were pockmarked with bullet holes from the second intifada, but the martyrdom posters were all faded by the sunshine and people wanted to shake hands. The carob-juice seller adjusted his Ray-Bans and grinned: “Why not join me on Facebook?” There are several long distance footpaths in Palestine, but the one I was following was the Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil – literally Path of Abraham the Friend of God, simply the Masar for short. This new route stretches across the Middle East, starting at Abraham’s birthplace in Sanliurfa, south-east Turkey, and winds south through Syria, Jordan and Israel. Eventually, it could stretch all the way to Mecca, linking existing paths associated with Abraham, and new routes. Its purpose is to promote understanding between different faiths and cultures; it’s also intended “as a catalyst for sustainable tourism and economic development”. In places the path barely exists yet, in others it is well-worn, but everywhere it needs a guide. Hejazi was my man in Palestine, a person of unending cheerfulness and optimism. For a Muslim, Hejazi tells me, the idea of a path named after Abraham is attractive since the great patriarch is revered as the “father of hospitality”. To Jews and Christians, he is equally important – the starting point for monotheistic worship. The Masar, I discovered, is not some do-gooder peace initiative, but simply a great way to see the landscape and meet people. The path makes no attempt to follow Abraham’s original route, even if such a path could be discovered; rather it links sites that bear legends and folk tales about the man. Our first major site was south of Jenin at Jebel Gerazim, a mountain that stands above the ancient town of Nablus and affords astonishing views west to the Mediterranean and east to the hills of Jordan. On the summit of the mountain is a tower built by Saladin and some fine, if neglected, Byzantine mosaics guarded by a group of Israeli teenage soldiers. Further down the hillside, we could see the houses of that renowned Jewish sect the Samaritans, a group that still has more than 700 followers. “The reason the Samaritans revere this place,” Hejazi explained, “is because they believe Abraham came here and built his first altar in Canaan.” It was a well-chosen spot to view what Abraham wanted: territory. “Unto thy seed,” said his God, “will I give this land.” And that was very generous of the Lord, all things considered. Except, of course, that all things had not been considered: previous inhabitants and the sheer fertility of Abraham’s seed, which includes not only the 12 tribes of Israel but the prophet Muhammad via Ishmael, fruit of Abraham’s union with the serving wench Hagar. And what about all those cousins from Noah’s brothers? If Abe’s God had spent a few moments considering, he might have foreseen problems. That evening we stayed in Awata, a village near Nablus where the children sang about red tomatoes. There were tales of horror and violence too – there is no escaping the bloodied history in this land – but it never became overwhelming, as I’d expected. Hassan, our host, was keen to enthuse about the Masar: “It was like a light coming on here,” he said. “We got connected to the outside world and that makes us feel hope. Everyone in the village is always asking about when the next walkers are coming.” Like most Palestinian villages, Awata has long since burst out of its ancient walled settlement and sprawled along the hill. But what is fascinating is that, amid the concrete and graffiti, there are sudden glimpses of an ancient world. When we chatted about water resources, Hassan jumped up and hauled open a trapdoor under our feet. Below us was a vast echoing cavern. “It’s a Roman water tank,” he explained. “We’ve got three of them.” After a huge feast of chicken, freshly made bread, pickles, salads and yoghurt, Hejazi and I bedded down on mattresses in the living room and slept. Next morning we started out at 8am, meandering through olive groves and wheat fields. Scents of Persian thyme, wild sage and oregano drifted up from beneath our tramping feet. We stopped at a spring to drink delicious clear water, then pressed on, meeting other walkers as we climbed through meadows of scarlet poppies and butterflies to Jabal Aurma, a bronze age fortress. One of the shocks of doing this path is that the countryside is lovely. Travellers have been returning from the Holy Land with scornful appraisals of its beauty for many centuries. Herman Melville is typically bleak: “Bleached-leprosy-encrustations of curses-old cheese-bones of rocks,” he wrote. The image of an ill-fated land has proven hard to budge. On top of Jabal Aurma we discovered six vast underground storage rooms carved from solid rock, presumably to supply the fort during prolonged sieges. There is never any doubt in Palestine that this land has been a chaotic crossroads for civilisations, armies and tribes for a very long time – that is what makes it fascinating and worth exploring. Later that day, we emerged on the edge of a grand escarpment looking down to the Jordan Valley, around 800ft below sea level. The wheat fields around us were tiny rocky terraces splashed with the yellow of wild dill. It’s a difficult place to farm, and we came across Shakir Murshid with his wife and six children busily harvesting wheat by hand. On a sage bush nearby was the complete shed skin of a viper. That night we stayed in Douma, a cluster of old stone dwellings long since overgrown by the straggling concrete of modernity. Rural life, however, was pretty much the same as ever: woodpeckers tapped at the trees, wheat fields surrounded the houses and men rode past on donkeys. We spent the evening by a campfire listening to locals sing and play homemade flutes. The patch of flat ground where we had built our fire turned out to be a Roman wine press, empty sadly. Once again we slept in someone’s living room, under the eyes of family martyrs. Our third day took us further south near the springs of Ain Samiya, now a water source for Jerusalem. We spotted chameleons in the bushes, whistling rock hyraxes and huge flightless crickets, then clambered up a delightful gorge, taking narrow shepherds’ trails along the cliff face. By evening we approached the village of Kufer Malik, a place that was to hold perhaps the biggest surprises. The first came at a huge hacienda-style house, where the whole family came out to invite us in for coffee. “Do you speak Spanish?” asked the husband. “I learned it in Columbia.” Kufer Malik, bizarrely, is a little enclave of Latin America in Palestine. When we found our hosts for the night, the old man of the family, Hosni al-Qaq, explained: “In the 30s when times were hard here, my uncle decided to seek his fortune in America. He ended up selling shirts in Columbia, then got a shop and then a supermarket. He became very rich.” Hosni smiled ruefully. “My father on the other hand stayed behind and was killed in the first intifada.” “And did other men go?” “Oh yes, lots and lots, and then they spread out into other countries. There are now more than 800 descendants of this village in Brazil alone.” The effect of this exposure to the outside world on Kufer Malik has been electrifying. The men are hard-working and ambitious; the women assertive and independent-minded. Hiba, our hostess, had been to the Côte d’Azur to see what it was like. “We camped on the beach in Nice,” she said proudly. “It was lovely.” So was her cooking: roast chicken, rice, vegetables and musahn, a flat bread cooked with sumac and onions. “What would you do if a Jewish person came to stay?” I asked. “No problem,” they all said eagerly. “We’ve had one Jewish lady from America already and another from Brazil. Everyone is welcome here.” After dinner, the men sat out in the yard smoking shisha pipes. When they spoke Spanish, they looked like pure Columbians to me: all macho body language and grand gestures. When they spoke Arabic, they were Palestinian farmers again. Our fourth day took us to Abu Taybah, home to the West Bank’s only brewery – owned and run by a Palestinian Christian family (there are around 55,000 Palestinian Christians). After a glass of deliciously cold lager we moved on, walking down Wadi Qult to the marvellous fourth-century cliff-side monastery of St George, then on to Jericho. The end of the Masar comes in Hebron, whose old city has been a dangerous flashpoint over the years. Zionist settlers have seized buildings in the market area – which has to be roofed with netting now to prevent rocks and rubbish raining down on shoppers. All of Abraham’s progeny want a piece of the action here and the mosque has been forcibly divided to create a Muslim and a Jewish section. On one side, I found Indian Muslims praying and taking photos; on the other Jews from New York and Tel Aviv were doing the same. The Tomb of the Patriarchs, of course, looks pretty similar from either angle, though neither community, sadly, ever gets to see that fact. Out in the street a shopkeeper invited me to have coffee. He was sitting with Micha, a former Israeli soldier turned peace activist, a young freckle-faced man with a friendly smile. What had convinced him to adopt what many Israelis see as a traitorous approach? “Small things. It started when I was a soldier, talking at checkpoints to Palestinians, seeing what the settlers were doing, and what we were doing to protect them.” At that moment a Palestinian lady came over. They introduced themselves. “So now you work for peace?” she asked. “But I have to ask: did you kill any Palestinians?” Around the shopfront where people were taking coffee and chatting, everyone froze. There was a long silence while Micha considered his reply. “I’d rather not say.” “I think you should,” the woman said. “For any reconciliation, you have to.” A murmur of agreement passed through the small crowd. Micha thought again. “The truth is, I don’t know. At Abu Sinaina we did shoot, but it was from far away.” “At Abu Sinaina? Then you killed at least five.” There was a pause and then Micha nodded. The Palestinian lady smiled. “You are welcome at my house. You must come for lunch.” They exchanged addresses and Micha promised that he would visit. What is remarkable about the Masar walk is that religion and politics mostly take a back seat, allowing ordinary people to climb out of the foxholes of prejudice and suspicion. When that happens, Palestine becomes so much more than a brief and violent television news clip. I saw gazelles running on hillsides, tasted the local cuisine and enjoyed conversation on everyday topics. I climbed down inside bronze age burial chambers, tracked hyenas into their lairs inside Roman tombs and lay on the benches in Nablus’s marvellous Turkish baths, discussing the best way to pickle olives. The problems of Israel’s land-grabbing tactics remain: the wall is still standing and unsmiling teenage soldiers at checkpoints demand to see passports. The Masar is not for those who want private rooms or special treatment. It is intense and sometimes emotionally draining. There were moments when I felt rage about the injuries and injustices. But, more than anything, this was a life-affirming and exhilarating experience that will stay with me like few others. Palestine Middle East Walking holidays Israel Middle East Kevin Rushby guardian.co.uk

If you’ve a hankerin’ for a little nostalgic fun, you could do a lot worse than look at what Commodore USA has planned: a range of retro-themed all-in-one PCs designed to evoke memories of a simpler era when 64KB was enough for anyone and your operating system was held in ROM.  Enter the PC64. The PC64 is one of a range of new all-in-one ‘keyboard’ PCs from Commodore USA, which pack a full PC into a somewhat bulky keyboard casing – and if anyone remembers the Commodore 64 8-bit machine you’re in for a treat, as that’s where Commodore USA is taking its cues. The company has recently signed an agreement with Commodore Licensing which gives it the rights to use the design, name, and branding for its latest range of computers – and the company has really gone to town.  The PC64 will, the company claims, be built into “ an exact replica of the original beige chassis Commodore C64, ” offering anyone who grew up with the machine a chance to relive their childhood – but with significantly more grunt under the hood. Where the original C64 had a ~1MHz MOS Technology 6510 CPU, the PC64 upgrades it somewhat to an Intel Atom 525 CPU.  When it comes to graphics, the VIC-II chip of the original – limited to 320

Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle are not only selling in huge numbers, they are also both contributing to a revolution in how people read and absorb data on a daily basis. Amazon’s Kindle was the first commercially available e-book reader when it was released back in 2007, and it sold out in 6 hours even at the not particularly cheap price of $399.  With the third generation Kindle now selling much cheaper at $139, and iPad sales at fever pitch all around the world, there are literally millions of people who are using e-book technology everyday. Apple’s iPad is priced from $499, but offers a colour touchscreen, longer battery life, and access to a growing number of applications.  However, even with the multi-functionality of the iPad, the majority of consumers use it as a reading device.  A recent survey by Marketing and Research Resources has found that 40% of those surveyed read more on their iPads and Kindles than via traditional print publications. With estimates of 10 million iPad sales by the end of the year, and 11 million Americans owning at least one e-book reader, the entire print industry is set to go through a number of massive changes in the next few years.  While there may be a number of obstacles for the e-book industry to overcome, such as more expensive devices and reading material, these numbers are sure to even out over time. There are a number of reasons why e-book prices continue to be more expensive then their printed equivalents, even without the costs associated with paper, ink, and physical distribution.  Basically, the traditional book and magazine industries have been active for a long time, and distribution channels have already been made as efficient as possible. In contrast, Apple and Amazon still seem be working out how profits are going to be divided between themselves and individual publishers, and prices are likely to remain high until these issues are sorted out.  This is especially the case with magazine subscriptions, which are still more expensive on digital reading devices. However, as more manufacturers enter the e-reader market, and more publishers get on board as a result, we are likely to see even more people around the world swapping their paperbacks for a digital e-book reader. Copyright

In the confusing world of mobile computers, it can sometimes be hard to distinguish between different categories of laptops.  Not only are there notebooks and netbooks, but to make things even more difficult – there are also those laptops categorised as ultraportables.  Half notebook, half netbook, these laptops seem to want the best of both worlds.  GWL take a look at four of the newest and best ultraportables. While the number of ultraportables being released is on the decline, and some commentators are even forecasting their demise, the manufacturers on this list would choose to disagree.  Before we jump into the individual models however, it is necessary to discuss exactly what makes for an ultraportable, and how they can be distinguished from other notebooks and netbooks. OK – first their was the humble laptop , otherwise known as the notebook, with screen sizes generally ranging between 13 and 18 inches.  Most laptops are designed to perform a wide variety of different tasks, and basically act as desktop replacements for when people are on the move.  Regular laptops can be powerful, but they are also bigger, heavier, and lacking in battery life compared to those computers sold as netbooks and ultraportables. The rise of the Internet, the birth of social networking, and the growth of remote cloud computing services meant lots of people didn’t really need powerful computers when they were away from home – enter the netbook .  The rise of netbooks runs parallel with the growth of the Internet, and is one of the clearest examples of the connection between the growth of virtual space and the shrinking of hardware. A netbook is basically a smaller and less powerful laptop, with screen sizes between 5 and 11 inches, less graphics capabilities, and less CPU grunt.  They are not designed to perform intensive tasks and are more at home simply surfing the Internet.  Netbooks are not meant as a primary computer, they are not designed to watch movies on, and as far as playing games – forget about it. Ultraportables are also known as subnotebooks, ultra-thins, or ultra low-voltage (ULV) notebooks, and entered the market to satisfy a growing consumer demand for more portable computers that didn’t sacrifice too much in terms of power and graphics.  While Intel Core CPUs are still popular, a number of ultraportables on the market utilise AMD processors, due in part to the restrictions Intel places on the configurations of smaller machines. Lets have a look at four of the best examples in this category, all of which are new and available right now in 2010. Toshiba Portege R705 – the lightest with an optical drive The Toshiba Portege R705 is the lightest and least expensive model featuring the Portege badge, with a 3.2 pound chassis and a 13.3 inch display.  The screen is glossy and looks good from straight-on, although the viewing angles do leave a lot to be desired.  With an Intel Core i3 processor and 500GB of RAM, the Portege 705 is capable of most tasks without breaking much of a sweat. One interesting feature of the Portege R705 is its use of Intel Wireless Display Technology, which allows video to be beamed to a bigger screen for those occasions when 13.3 inches really wont cut it.  Additional hardware is needed to perform this magnificent deed however, with the Netgear Push2TV going for about $100.  The Toshiba Portege R705 is a true ultraportable, and Toshiba claim it is the lightest 13.3 inch model in the world with an optical drive.  It sells for about $899, with a couple of configuration possibilities on offer. Alienware M11X – the most powerful mini gamer The Alienware M11X is the smallest of the Alienware range, a line of computers normally associated with large screens, blinking lights, and uber powerful gaming performance.  While the M11X sacrifices some of this grunt for its small size and weight, there is more than enough left to keep most users happy.  The M11X comes with an 11.6 inch screen, Nvidia Optimus graphics, and the same glowing logo and blinking bling of the bigger designs. The Alienware M11X comes with an Intel Core i7 processor, 500GB hard drive, and up to 8GB of RAM.  While it does generate a little more heat than most other ultraportables, this is sometimes the price you have to pay when you fit so much power in such a little frame.  The automatic switchable graphics of the Nvidia Optimus graphics and the quality of the screen make this a great gaming machine, as long as you have the budget to meet the $1300 price tag. Dell Inspiron M101z – the least expensive The Dell Inspiron M101z is a great little computer, with an 11.6 inch screen and the choice between a number of AMD processors.  Just like any Dell computer, configurations are flexible and extensive, as are the choice of colours on offer.  Some of the colours available are Peacock Blue, Tomato Red, and Promise Pink, and the price is low enough that you could always buy a few to always have one to match your outfit. The Inspiron M101z is well fitted out, with lots of ports on offer for such a little machine.  Along with the 3 USBs and 7 in 1 card reader, there is also the standard HDMI, VGA, and Ethernet ports.  Dell are advertising 6 hours of battery life, but everyone knows how much they like to exaggerate, and third-party testing has shown the real number to be more like 4 1/2 hours.  While not as powerful as either the Alienware or Toshiba models, the Toshiba M101z is also a lot cheaper, starting from only $449. Lenovo Thinkpad X201 – the durable performer The Lenovo Thinkpad X201 is a 12 inch laptop with an excellent battery life and a quality Thinkpad build design.  The Thinkpad range can be seen in offices and home around the world, and this smaller model retains the same reassuring level of durable quality.  With an Intel Core i5 processor and 320GB hard drive, you also don’t have to sacrifice much in terms of power.  There is also a convertible touchscreen tablet version of this laptop. The durable build quality of the Thinkpad X201 mean that this is not the lightest laptop in the bunch, although at 3.8 pounds it is not too heavy either.  It also comes with a  bigger keyboard than most of the ultraportables on the market, and could even double as a desktop replacement if you can put up with the little screen.  The addition of 3 USBs and an express card slot are features not regularly seen on a computer of this size, and the resolution of 1280 x 800 is also very impressive for a 12 inch machine.  There is no optical drive or discrete graphics however, and with configurations starting from $1100, you just know that a few extras are going to put you closer to the $2000 mark. All of these machines are fantastic, although they are very different from one another.  It is always a good idea to make a list of the features that really matter to you – such as graphics performance, power, battery life, the inclusion of an optical drive, and the price – and find a model that ticks all of the right boxes for your lifestyle. Copyright

CSS Maker is a free tool to experiment with CSS properties and values and generate a simple stylesheet for your site. view more

Originally posted here:
CSS 3.0 Maker – CSS 3.0 Generator

Intervals is web-based project management software that marries time tracking and task management in a collaborative online space with powerful reporting. Intervals is ideal for small businesses — including designers, web developers, consultants, creative agencies, IT services firms, and communications companies that bill on an hourly or per project basis. Features Comprehensive Time Tracking Task Management, Milestones and Workflow Project Management Document/File Storage with versioning Powerful Visual Reporting Invoicing Export time data to QuickBooks™ Calendar view with drag and drop scheduling Multiple Web-based timers Weekly timesheet submissions Export data to CSV , XML and PDF Secure and personalized Detailed task and work request history Real-time budget vs. actual Manage clients and client contacts API to create custom add-ons view more

View post:
Intervals – Stop getting dominated by your Projects

Creating new technology and improving existing technology is really all about making our lives better, although it doesn’t always work that way of course as sometimes gadgets, devices and even laptops are produced that give us absolutely zilch, but here’s something that really is worth a mention. Each year it’s reckoned that up to one billion birds a year die from crashing into glass and that’s just in the US alone. In Europe the figure is estimated to be around 250,000 a day. Don’t ask me how they come up with these statistics or whether they’re accurate or not, but I think everyone knows the numbers are pretty huge. The problem is, birds just don’t see the glass, but they do see the reflections of trees and other things in the glass and think they are flying into open space. Now a German company by the name of or Glaswerke Arnold or Arnold Glas has come up with an ingenious way to stop it. They have produced Ornilux glass which has a crisscross ultraviolet coating embedded into it which we can’t really see but which the birds can see clearly as most birds are able to see the ultraviolet spectrum. Arnold Glas first started producing Ornilux glass in 2006 but their latest version, called Ornilux Mikado, is a new and improved version and recently received the prestigious ‘red dot award’ for outstanding product design 2010 from the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. The interesting thing about this new glass technology is that it is already seen in nature. Orb-Spiders use this very same technique to keep the birds from flying into their webs by spinning ultraviolet reflecting silk. Arnold Glass developed the new glass technology in collaboration with the Max Plank Institute for Ornithology. After they tested the glass, they now reckon that the Ornilux Mikado Glass, so called because when held up against a backlight it looks like a collection of Mikado Sticks, will reduce bird strike by up to 75 percent when compared to normal glass. That means that potentially hundreds of millions of bird’s lives will be saved which is great. Ok I’m now looking forward to the day that some geeky genius come up with an effective way to stop them off loading the contents of their digestive systems onto my windows? That would be awesome. Copyright

EasyTweets is a twitter marketing tool. You can use it to post to and switch between multiple Twitter accounts in seconds, check replies, and track new followers. Track Anything You Want On Twitter SMS (and E-mail) Alerts When People Mention Your Brand Monitor Trends In Twitter Conversations Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts From One Login Schedule Messages To Post In The Future Automatically Post RSS Feed Content Powerful Deck View Lets You Read and Respond With Ease Track RSS Traffic In Google Analytics Get Brand Conversations By E-mail view more

View original post here:
EasyTweets – Promote your business and monitor your brands on Twitter

Photoshop.com is the online complement to Adobe’s family of Photoshop software, offering: free web-based photo-editing tools easy photo sharing in online albums and on sites like Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and Picasa photo and video file backup and storage inspirational photographer spotlights, content, and tutorials access to Photoshop Express Mobile tools for Android devices, and iOS devices (Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) view more

Go here to see the original:
Photoshop.com – Online Photo Sharing, Photo Hosting, Photo Editing.

A sting operation is defined as “a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals)” Stings are commonly used throughout the world by law enforcement and recently it has become very popular with news and media organizations including trashy tabloids as ways of getting sensational headlines. One of the big concerns surrounding these operations is whether or not they constitute entrapment. I am personally on the fence concerning the ethics of sting operations because I know it can be a great tool to catch violent criminals. This list looks at some of the more interesting and controversial sting operations. Please comment if you have any additional information on these or other stings and if you believe these techniques are ethical. 10 ACORN Sting ACORN stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN was a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocated for low and moderate income families. They also provided information on voter registration and affordable housing. In 2009, selectively edited videos were released by two young conservative activists, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles (shown above). The two dressed up like a pimp and prostitute and then used a hidden camera to elicit damaging responses from ACORN employees, that appeared to advise them how to hide prostitution activities and avoid taxes. The ACORN workers also didn’t seem to be put off by the request for help in getting financing for a brothel. This created a nationwide controversy, resulting in a loss of funding from government and private donors. On March 22, 2010, ACORN announced it was closing all remaining affiliated state chapters and disbanded due to falling revenue. Interesting Fact: On January 25, 2010, James O’Keefe, along with three others, were arrested on felony charges for interfering with the phones of the New Orleans office of Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. O’Keefe said he was investigating accusations that Landrieu’s office had ignored phone calls from constituents who were complaining about the health care debate. They were dressed as telephone repairmen as O’Keefe videotaped the operation. They were eventually charged with entering a federal building under false pretenses which is a misdemeanor. O’Keefe pled guilty and was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service, and a $1,500 fine. 9 Operation West End This has been called the biggest undercover news story in Indian journalism. In 2001, a popular newspaper from India called Tehelka (meaning “sensation” in Hindi) launched its first major sting operation, “Operation West End” to expose the alleged culture of bribery at the India’s Ministry of Defense. The newspaper had two reporters pose as arms dealers from a bogus company in London. The undercover video shows several politicians and defense officials, including the secretary of the ruling party BJP, Bangaru Laxman, discussing and taking bribes for helping them procure government contracts. After the tapes were made public, Laxman and Defense Minister George Fernandes (shown above) resigned, and several additional defense ministry officials were suspended. Interesting Fact: Instead of initially acting on the evidence from the sting operation, the Indian government accused the newspaper of fabricating the allegations. The main financial backers of Tehelka were made targets of investigations, and the newspaper company was almost ruined. In 2003, Tehelka was re-launched as a weekly newspaper, and was funded by faithful subscribers and other well-wishers. In 2007, Tehelka shifted to a regular magazine format. 8 Senator Larry Craig On June 11, 2007, Idaho Senator Larry Craig was arrested by an undercover police officer who was conducting a sting operation against men cruising for sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Arresting officer Sgt. Dave Karsnia said he went into a stall shortly after noon and closed the door. Craig then entered the stall next to him and put his luggage against the front of the stall door. This is often used as an attempt to conceal sexual conduct by blocking the view from the front. Minutes later, the officer said he saw Craig peering into his stall through a crack, then tapped his right foot several times and then moved it closer to Karsnia’s, until their feet touched. Craig then passed his hand under the stall divider into Karsnia’s stall with his palm up and guided it along the divider toward the front of the stall three times. Karsnia then waved his badge back, to which the senator responded, “No!” The senator pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a fine, but changed his mind after word of his arrest later became public. Craig claimed he just had a “wide stance”, and he only pleaded guilty to avoid a spectacle. When he tried to withdraw his guilty plea, an appeals court turned him down. Craig served out his Senate term and was unsuccessful to clear his name in the Senate Ethics Committee. Craig did not seek reelection in 2008 and left office on January 3, 2009. Interesting Fact: Shortly after Craig was arrested, the men’s room became kind of a tourist attraction, with men and women asking directions and stopping to take pictures. Even toilet paper from the restroom was offered on E-Bay. You can listen to Sgt. Karsnia and Senator Craig’s conversation right after the arrest here . 7 Sarah Ferguson In May of 2010 Sarah Ferguson fell prey to Mazher Mahmood, a journalist for the tabloid newspaper “News of the World”. Mahmood posed as an international tycoon and was able to arrange a meeting with Ferguson. During the meeting, the Duchess was secretly videotaped and offered to connect the “tycoon” with the powerful inner circle of her ex husband, Prince Andrew. On the tape Sarah Ferguson is heard saying “500,000 pounds when you can, to me, open doors.” She is also seen taking away a briefcase containing $40,000 in cash. Ferguson‘s spokesman said she was both “devastated” and “regretful” after the reporting of the incident. She also said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that she had been drinking prior to soliciting the cash, and was “in the gutter at that moment”. Interesting Fact: The man who posed as the tycoon, Mazher Mahmood, is known as the “Fake Sheikh” and has hoodwinked dozens of celebrities. He keeps his identity as mysterious as possible, and no one is sure if that’s his real name or what his real background is. The journalist claims to have received many death threats, does not appear in public, and has never allowed his face to appear in any of his stories. 6 Bait Cars The first bait cars were used in the 1990s by the Minneapolis Police Department. Today the largest bait car fleet in North America is based in Surrey, British Columbia, which is known to many as the “car theft capital of North America”. The vehicles are specially modified, with audio/video surveillance and GPS tracking technology, and can be remotely controlled to disable the engine. Since 2004, when it was launched in Surrey, BC, it has contributed to a 47% drop in auto theft. One of the more controversial bait cars stings occurred in 2008, in Dallas TX, when a woman was killed almost instantly when a thief, driving a bait car slammed into her. The victim’s family was awarded $245,000 to settle the lawsuit. Interesting Fact: The key in deciding when police are using a bait car illegally, and would cause entrapment, is whether they leave it in such a state that would entice someone who would normally not commit a crime. You can watch one of the more colorful (to say the least) bait car stings here . I’m sure many will be thinking the same thing I was thinking. “Where the heck was the kill switch?” 5 Marion Barry Marion Barry is a well known politician and long-time mayor of Washington D.C. On December 22, 1988, police officers were about to make an undercover drug buy from Charles Lewis, a former Virgin Islands official, and were called back when they learned that Mayor Marion Barry was in Lewis’s hotel room. This led to a grand jury investigation into possible interference, by the mayor, in the drug investigation. Barry appeared before the grand jury and testified for three hours and later told reporters he had done nothing wrong. Then, on January 18, 1990, the FBI and D.C. Police set up a sting operation and arrested Barry in a Washington D.C. Hotel, after he smoked crack cocaine in a room with his former girlfriend, who had become an FBI informant. It was there that Barry said the now famous words that are often associated with him; “Bitch set me up”. As a result of his arrest and the ensuing trial, Barry decided not to seek reelection as mayor. A grand jury returned 14 counts against him, including possible perjury before a grand jury. If convicted on all 14 counts, the mayor could have faced 26 years in jail. The jury only found Barry guilty of cocaine usage and he was sentenced to six-months in prison. After Barry was released from jail he ran for city council. Because of the feeling by many that the government was just out to get Marion Barry, along with his general popularity; he received 70 percent of the vote. Then, in 1995, Barry was elected Mayor of Washington DC for the fourth time. Today, Barry is back serving on the D.C. city council. Interesting Fact: Whatever you think of Marion Barry you have to admire his tenacity, and his passion for serving the people of D.C. The incident above is just a small chapter in his fascinating life. Last year HBO made a documentary called “The Nine Lives of Marion Barry,” You can watch the trailer here . 4 Joran Van der Sloot Joran Van der Sloot is a Dutch national who is a prime suspect relating to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, who has been missing since May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip in Aruba. The case was revived on March 29, 2010 when Van der Sloot contacted John Q. Kelly, legal representative of Holloway’s mother Beth Twitty. Van der Sloot offered to reveal information around the circumstances of Holloway’s death, and the location of her body, for a total $250,000 with $25,000 paid in advance. Kelly and Twitty contacted law-enforcement authorities in Alabama, and the FBI set a sting operation into motion. On May 10, Van der Sloot accepted the amount of $15,000 by wire transfer to his account in the Netherlands, and then another $10,000 was paid to him in cash. In exchange for the money, he took Kelly on a drive to show where Holloway’s remains were. He pointed out a house and said his father had helped dispose of the body in the foundation. This turned out to be false because the house was not built when Holloway disappeared. Later Van der Sloot told Kelly in an e-mail that it was all a hoax. At this point Van der Sloot could have been arrested for wire fraud and extortion, but authorities delayed the arrest because they were trying to build a murder case against him. Van der Sloot was not only left free, he was allowed to leave Aruba and use the money he received from the sting to go to Bogotá, Colombia, and then to Lima Peru. In a Casino hotel in Lima he met Stephany Flores Ramirez, a 21 year old business student at the University of Lima. Security video shows Van der Sloot and Ramirez entering a hotel room together, but only Van der sloot leaving. On June 2, Ramirez was found beaten to death, her neck broken, in the hotel room which was registered in Van der Sloot’s name. Ramirez died on May 30, 2010, exactly five years from Natalee Holloway’s disappearance. Van der Sloot was arrested On June 3, and on June 7, he confessed to the killing. Interesting Fact: Van der Sloot is currently locked away in the Miguel Castro prison in Peru, where murder charges are filed. He reportedly now says he’ll reveal the location of Natalee Holloway’s body if he is allowed transfer to an Aruba jail. 3 Perverted Justice Stings Perverted-Justice in an organization that carries out sting operations by having volunteers pose as 10-15 year old minors on chat sites, and then wait for an adult to message or email the decoy back. If the conversation turns sexual in nature they will not discourage it or outright encourage it. Then they will try to identify the men by obtaining their telephone numbers and other details, so that a meeting can be arranged. The organization then passes the information on to law-enforcement. Perverted-Justice has also collaborated with an American reality program called “To Catch a Predator”. One of the more controversial cases occurred in 2006 in Murphy, Texas. Louis Conradt (Pictured above) was a district attorney in Texas, and posed as a 19-year-old university student and engaged in sexually charged online chats with someone who he believed was a 13-year-old boy. After Conradt asked for pictures of the boy’s penis, they brought in an actor to play the boy over the phone. When Conradt stopped responding to phone calls and instant messages, police and the reality show decided to bring the operation to Conradt’s home, with a search warrant. When officers moved in to make an arrest, they heard a gunshot. They found Conradt inside with a self-inflicted wound and he later died at a hospital. Interesting Fact: The sting in Murphy, Texas, resulted in 23 arrests for on-line solicitation of a minor. In June, 2007, all 23 cases were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. Conradt’s family filed a suit against Dateline’s To Catch a Predator series for $105 million. The case was eventually settled out of court. In 2008 the network canceled production of all future episodes. 2 Rachel Hoffman During a traffic stop in Tallahassee, Florida, on February 22, 2007, Rachel Hoffman (pictured above) was caught with 25 grams of marijuana. Then, on April 17, 2008, police searched her apartment and uncovered 151.7 grams of cannabis, and 4 ecstasy pills. She was reportedly told by police that she would go to prison unless she became an undercover informant for them. She was then sent, untrained, to an undercover meeting to buy a large amount of drugs and a handgun from two suspected drug dealers. While she was at the drug buy, the suspects changed the location of the buy. The policemen that were monitoring the sting, lost track of her when she left the buy spot with the two suspects in their car. While in transit, the two suspects executed her with the same gun she was supposed to buy. Her body was recovered two days later near Perry, Florida. On December 17, 2009, which would have been Rachel Hoffman’s 25th birthday, one of the murder suspects, was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The second murder suspect is scheduled for trial in October 2010. Interesting Fact: On May 7, 2009, a law called “Rachel’s Law” was passed by the Florida State Senate. Rachel’s Law requires law enforcement agencies to (a) provide special training for officers who recruit confidential informants, (b) instruct informants that reduced sentences may not be provided in exchange for their work, and (c) permit informants to request a lawyer if they want one. 1 Mr. Big Mr. Big is also called “the Canadian technique”, and was developed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the early 1990s for unsolved homicides. It is used in Canada and Australia, but it is considered entrapment in many other countries, including the United States and England. The technique works something like this: An undercover police unit poses as members of a fictitious gang, into which the suspect is inducted. The suspect is invited to participate in a series of criminal activities (all faked by the police). In addition, the “gang members” build a personal relationship with the suspect, by drinking together and other social activities. After a period of time, he is introduced to Mr. Big, the gang leader. The suspect is told that the police have a renewed interest in the original crime, and to give the gang further details. They explain that Mr. Big may have the ability to influence the police investigation, but only if he admits all of the details of the crime. He is also told that he must be completely clear about any other past crimes, or the gang may not be willing to continue to work with him because he would become a liability. The photo above shows Royal Canadian Mounted Police during a memorial service, carrying the hats of four officers slain in Edmonton Canada, in 2005. Two of the men serving prison sentences for the murders made confessions to Mr. Big operatives. Interesting Fact: In British Columbia, the technique has been used over 180 times, and, in 80% of the cases, it resulted in either a confession or the elimination of the suspect from suspicion. However, cases of false confessions and wrongful convictions have recently come to the public’s attention, and many are starting to question the controversial technique. In 2007, a documentary was made, called Mr. Big, that was very critical of the procedure. You can watch the trailer here .

Read the original post:
10 Incredibly Controversial Sting Operations