Showing posts with label Behind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Behind. Show all posts

Saturday, February 11, 2012

WATCH: A Wakeboard Rider Skis Behind A Jeep Along A Flooded Road In Florida

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Orlando TV station WESH captured this awesome aerial footage of a wakeboarder being pulled by a Jeep along a partially flooded road in Osceola County, FL (via The Weather Channel). The rider manages to stay on his feet for about 30 seconds before succumbing to the murky water. 

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

BEHIND BARS: Europe's 20 Most Imprisoned Countries

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prisonerap031609The International Center for Prison Studies regularly compiles a list detailing the world's prison population.

The U.S. imprisoned nation on the planet. According to the organization, 756 people for every 100,000 are behind bars in America.

However, there are some European countries that aren't far behind.

Using the number of people in prison per 100,000 of the population, we've ranked Europe's most imprisoned countries.

NB -- There's definitely a geographical trend here, but there are also some wildcards that may surprise you.

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

DRIVING WHILE FAMOUS: Celebrities Who Did Dumb Stuff Behind The Wheel

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The world of A-list celebrities has become something of a joke in recent years.

People like Paris Hilton have managed to secure world-wide fame by having sex on tape and by having a rich dad. It's pretty ridiculous.

But thankfully, there is salvation, as these "celebrities" are often just socialites, meaning they typically get themselves into quite a mess of an evening.

So with that being said, here’s a quick run-down of some of the most infamous celebrities who were caught behind the wheel being very naughty, indeed.

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

BEHIND THE SCENES AT GLENN BECK'S NEW SHOW: 'We're Going To Be The Next HBO, The Next Netflix!'

Glenn BeckWhen someone says 'future of media' is the first person who jumps to mind Glenn Beck?  No?  Maybe he should be.

Beck launched his new subscription only GBTV show on Monday night.  Ahead of the launch the Wall St Journal reported that 230,000 people had already subscribed for the show at $9.95/month, which among other things put Beck's company on track to pull in $20 million this year (that's $17 million more than Beck's contract at Fox News). 

It also meant that Beck had attracted more subscribers to his Internet network than Oprah had attracted viewers to her television network in June (156,000).

Not a bad way to start. 

Naturally the proof is in the pudding and those sorts of numbers put Beck in the unusual position of being profitable before necessarily being influential.

Judging from what Beck and company tell us they have planned they don't plan on that being the case for long (the White House apparently concurs).  The big question thus far appears to be how quickly consumers will adjust to getting their TV over the Internet, and whether Beck will be able to appeal to an audience outside his already large following now that he's no longer just a click away.

Last night I visited the Glenn Beck show along with three other reporters and got a first hand look at the show followed by a set tour from the man himself. 

Perhaps not surprisingly for a man who held a rally on the National Mall in August, Beck is aiming big.

"We view GBTV as Netflix in a way, as HBO in way," said Beck. "People know when you go to HBO it's good quality.  My audience is loyal because they don't necessarily know what I'm going to do, but they know it will be worth their time, I try not to waste their time, and it will be good quality."

The show is currently being broadcast from a basement studio in midtown east, though Beck says there are plans in the works to move it to Texas early next year, where it will greatly expand. 

Thus far Beck–who is much taller, and thinner, and likable in person than the camera would lead you to believe–is doing the show in front of a small live audience, some of whom arrived with gifts for Beck last night and a number of whom weren't shy about talking back (albeit) quietly to what they were hearing (we arrived during Beck's final four points: "is Obama insane?"...answer: no).

The show is still a work is progress, with the cast and crew feeling out what can and can't be done–last night the clock ran out on comedian Brian Sack before he finished his monologue–apparently the feed cuts off at five on the dot.

It's also an hour longer than Beck's Fox show, a "marathon" he tells me, "it feels like an eternity." 

The set itself has taken the nostalgic feel of Beck's old Fox set to a new level; the walls are covered with numerous television sets from various era and there is a "library" in one corner.  It also houses a three-dimensional chalkboard, reportedly the most expensive ever made.  At one point Beck says "this is us, downscaled."  Chris Balfe, his business partner, and president of Mercury Arts, is quick to jump in: "no, it's not." 

Glenn Beck chalkboardAnd it certainly doesn't look it.  Especially for viewers at home, the show streams in better definition than many a TV set I've owned. 

“My first goal" says Beck, "was to put on a show and have people say, ‘oh, that is not a webcast.'  [The other networks] have the resources of Murdoch and Turner, we can't get into the ballpark of that on day one. Let us just stabilize this system...we are pushing the envelope and doing things we shouldn’t be doing right now. We have a lot to work out.”

Meanwhile the place they want to work to sounds like something out of Star Trek.  Beck envisions a show that will be entirely interactive so that viewers will be able to touch things they see on their screen and explanatory windows will pop up.  Or past monologues dealing with similar subjects will appear (a work-intensive feature since Beck doesn't own the rights to any of his Fox content).  

The ideal result, says Beck, will be a show that appeals to everyone: "If you're dumber than the show, great this show's for you.  If you're smarter than the show, great, this show's for you, because you can educate yourself either direction."

And again, the key to that widespread appeal will be attracting an audience beyond those already loyal to the Beck brand. 

To that end, GBTV intends to license older shows for broadcast (I Love Lucy and Bonanza come up but Balfe notes nothing is settled yet).  He's also making everything available on iPad and iPhone with the intention of attracting younger viewers (Balfe, who is in his early 30's, notes he watched the show in the back of a cab on his iPad).

And this may be news to some viewers, but Beck says he's not interested in being a "conservative stick in the mud.  We're going to push you up against the wall, life is about challenges."

Also?  It's not all about Glenn Beck. 

Beck says his goal is to make people forget what GBTV stands for in the same way people no longer remember what ESPN stands for.  "I don't want it about me, I want it bigger than me."  Hello, America.


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Sunday, September 11, 2011

Check Out What's Left Behind Of Gaddafi's Creepy Secret Love Den

Content Section Sep 8, 2011 11:10 AM EDT

A few times a year, Muammar Gaddafi ventured out to the campus of Fateh University in Tripoli to deliver lectures to students in Green Hall, a 450-seat auditorium with a large stage. None of the students or faculty could have guessed what the Saharan madman kept hidden on the first floor of the same building: a love den. “What we found is shocking,” says Faisal Krekshi, 55, the new dean of the university which has now been renamed Tripoli University. “This was Gaddafi’s place. Only he and his people had access to it.”

Behind a set of locked doors there’s a room with a cozy double bed, flowery carpets, and small lamps that casts off a warm orange glow. In an adjoining bathroom there’s a Jacuzzi with water jets. Some faculty members say the dictator brought his mistresses to the room, others ask whether he raped female students there. It gets weirder. A couple of doors down there’s a full gynecological examination room. “There’s a gyne bed—what the hell is it doing in here?” asks Krekshi, an OB/GYN doctor who has worked at the university for 14 years but had no knowledge of the facility. “I think it’s here for illegal abortions.”

As the security situation in Tripoli has improved in the past week, Libyans are slowly coming to terms with Gaddafi’s bizarre legacy and trying to figure out how to move ahead. They must decide how to remove the former regime’s influence without completely destroying the remaining institutions, and how to deal with the loyalists who propped up the dictator for more than four decades. The changes taking place at Tripoli University provide a glimpse of how difficult the task will be. Aside from the love den, rebel fighters who secured the campus also found a makeshift prison and an office used by intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.

Gaddafi's Love Den

A bedroom at Fateh University in Tripoli., Credit: Babak Dehghanpisheh

During Gaddafi’s time, the campus was monitored by Revolutionary Committees who determined which instructors and students would get preferential treatment based on their loyalty to the Brother-Leader. Spying and informing on peers was encouraged, and dissent was brutally squashed: students involved in an uprising in 1976 were hanged on the campus. The monitoring of staff and students ramped up when the uprising kicked off in February. “There were intelligence documents found at the university which talk about staff members who need to be eliminated,” says Krekshi.

So far, Krekshi has decided to proceed with a soft touch, and members of the Tripoli city council have supported him. When some students and faculty members asked him to tear down the Green Hall, he told them to remove the regime propaganda and turn it into a student union instead. Bringing former regime supporters into the fold is more complicated. Krekshi, a thin, soft-spoken man, doesn’t want to kick off a broad purge and says any staff members who weren’t involved in crimes are welcome to come back. That’s a controversial decision on a campus that’s still gripped with fear and paranoia.

Gaddafi's Love Den

Tripoli University Dean Faisal Krekshi shows the press gynecological equipment in an examination room at the school., Credit: Babak Dehghanpisheh

On Wednesday morning, a handful of professors confronted Kreskshi. “We are scared! We are scared of the Revolutionary Committees!” Mohammed Marqani, a psychology professor shouted, waving his arms theatrically. “Please kick out the loyalists! What are you waiting for?” Krekshi assured Marqani that the issue would be dealt with in an open manner and there was no reason to worry. “They want revenge,” Krekshi said after talking to the professors. “My revenge is simple: transparency, legality, law.”

Still, Krekshi can’t completely ignore his own impulses, either. While walking through a campus library dedicated to Gaddafi, he grabs a silver disk praising the dictator, throws it on the ground and steps on it. A few moments later he pulls out a leather-bound book of Gaddafi’s speeches, throws it on the ground and tells the staff to leave it there. “If you were pro-Gaddafi until two weeks ago,” he says. “’You can’t change colors immediately.”

Libya Gadhafi Condoleezza Rice

Sergey Ponomarev / AP Photo

The regime loyalists may not be the only group that Krekshi will have to keep an eye on. When the rebels attacked Tripoli nearly two weeks ago, the large, leafy campus was turned into a battle zone: pro-government snipers positioned themselves on tall buildings and patrols roamed the perimeter. Krekshi was part of a team of rebel sympathizers who were tasked with liberating the university. At the designated “zero hour” on the night of Aug. 27, he coordinated an assault on the campus along with a rebel military commander and a fighting force that included some students. Now, some of those students who fought to liberate the campus are digging in, keeping an eye out for any counterrevolutionary elements and, in some ways, monitoring Krekshi himself.

For the moment, the staff and students are simply enjoying the freedom to speak and debate openly at the university for the first time in more than 40 years. “It’s very beautiful. It’s a new feeling,” says Halima Egrari, 20, a third-year IT student at the university. “We can say whatever we want.”