Galaxy

25 Dec 2014

Justin Bieber bought a New Jet for Christmas

Justin Bieber apparently has bought himself a super awesome present for Christmas. The Canadian pop star who has been spending his time with his family took to Instagram on December 25 to share a photo of him inside a luxury jet which he seemingly bought for the holidays.
 Wearing a gray shirt and a matching beanie, the 20-year-old star took a selfie inside the cabin. He captioned the photo, "New jet for Christmas, and she's beautiful." He later added a photo of the interior, gushing, "Merry Christmas she's a beauty." 

Pope Francis' Powerful Christmas Day message

Tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Thursday to hear the Pope Francis deliver the Catholic Church's traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the city and to the world") Christmas message, the pontiff sought to focus the world's attention on the suffering of refugees, hostages and other victims of the brutal conflicts that continue to rage across the world.
Ukraine. Syria. Mexico. The Islamic State. With a year defined by civil wars, bloody insurgencies, and horrific acts of brutality drawing swiftly to a close, it's hard to imagine that 2015 will yield anything more than 12 more months of humanity at its worst.
"Truly there are so many tears this Christmas," said Francis from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
The pontiff described the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, as well as going conflicts in Libya, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan that most of the Western world has forgotten. He expressed anguish for child victims of violence, including the recent terrorist attack on a Pakistani military school, recalling the persecution of ancient Christian communities alongside those from other ethnic and religious groups while praying for those facing extermination in Iraq and Syria.
"Today I ask him, the Savior of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution," Francis said. "May Christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region and from the whole world."
The pope also thanked those courageously helping people infected with Ebola in West Africa. "ay he be close to all who suffer from illness, especially the victims of the Ebola epidemic, above all in Liberia, in Sierra Leone and in Guinea," he said. "As I thank all who are courageously dedicated to assisting the sick and their family members, I once more make an urgent appeal that the necessary assistance and treatment be provided."
You can Read Pope Francis full Christmas message here

Sony partner with Google, Microsoft to release 'THE INTERVIEW' online

"The Interview" will make its way out online one day before hitting limited theaters on Thursday, December 25. The Kim Jong-Un assassination comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco will be released on YouTube, Microsoft's Xbox Video, Google Play, and Sony's official website. It will be available for rental on Wednesday, beginning at 1 P.M. EST.

"It has always been Sony's intention to have a national platform on which to release this film," Sony's chairman Michael Lynton said. "With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, December 17, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible. We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today."

"We never stopped pursuing as wide a release as possible for The Interview. It was essential for our studio to release this movie, especially given the assault upon our business and our employees by those who wanted to stop free speech. We chose the path of digital distribution first so as to reach as many people as possible on opening day, and we continue to seek other partners and platforms to further expand the release."

"I want to thank Google and Microsoft for helping make this a reality. This release represents our commitment to our filmmakers and free speech. While we couldn't have predicted the road this movie traveled to get to this moment, I'm proud our fight was not for nothing and that cyber criminals were not able to silence us."

Meanwhile, Google's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond wrote in a blog post, "Given everything that’s happened, the security implications were very much at the front of our minds. But after discussing all the issues, Sony and Google agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country (however silly the content might be)."

"The Interview" was supposed to make its way out last week, but the release came to a halt when hackers vowed a 9/11-style attack.

2022 World Cup in Qatar is being paid for in blood

The Guardian reports that Nepalese migrants building the infrastructure to host the World Cup in Qatar have died at a rate of one every two days in 2014 despite government's promises to improve their working conditions. Even more disturbingly, this report does not include the deaths of Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi workers.
This report follows an alarming 2014 ESPN investigation that asserted in the last year alone, 184 Nepali migrant workers died from "cardiac arrest" caused by the working conditions and extreme heat. And that's just Nepalese workers: The documentary estimated that, at the current rate, more than 4,000 migrant workers will die by the time Qatar puts on the 2022 World Cup.
A brutal project: Qatar had vowed to reform the industry after a 2013 Guardian investigation exposed the slave-like conditions and treatment of migrant workers brought into the country to aid with World Cup preparations. The investigation uncovered evidence of forced labor, retained salaries, confiscated passports and restricted access to free drinking water in the desert heat.
The government commissioned an investigation by the international law firm DLA Piper and had promised to improve worker conditions, but human rights groups have accused Qatar of dragging its feet on real reform, saying not enough is being done to investigate the effect of working long hours in blistering temperatures.
"Figures sourced separately by the Guardian from Nepalese authorities suggest the total number of Nepalese worked who died between January and mid-November of 2014 could be as high as 188," Owen Gibson and Pete Pattisson report. "In 2013, the figure from January to mid-November was 168."
"We believe that the people helping us build our country deserve to be fairly paid, humanely treated and protected against exploitation," said Qatar's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Abdullah Saleh Al Khulaifi in a November statement. "We fully appreciate there is much more to do but, as in every country in the world, change does not happen overnight. Significant changes such as these take more time to implement than some may wish, but we intend to effect meaningful and lasting change for the benefit of all those who live and work in Qatar."

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