Lebanon blast kills 8, wounds many more Lebanon blast kills 8, wounds many more ADVERTISING BEIRUT — A powerful car bomb tore through the heart of Beirut’s Christian sector Friday, killing a top security official and seven others in a
Lebanon blast kills 8, wounds many more
BEIRUT — A powerful car bomb tore through the heart of Beirut’s Christian sector Friday, killing a top security official and seven others in a devastating attack that threatened to bring the war in Syria directly to Lebanon’s doorstep. The blast sheared the balconies off apartment buildings, upended cars and sent dazed rescue workers carrying bloodied children into the streets.
Dozens of people were wounded in the blast, the worst the Lebanese capital has seen in more than four years. The state-run news agency said the target was Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, head of the intelligence division of Lebanon’s domestic security forces.
Al-Hassan, 47, headed an investigation over the summer that led to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Syria’s most loyal allies in Lebanon.
“Whenever there is a problem in Syria, they want to bring it to us,” said Karin Sabaha Gemayel, a secretary at a law firm a block from the bombing site, where the street was turned into a swath of rubble, twisted metal and charred vehicles.
“But you always hope it will not happen to us. Not again,” she said.
Boy Scout abuse
files release sparks public interest
PORTLAND, Ore. — The online release of files showing the Boy Scouts of America’s cover-up of decades of sexual abuse has created interest among Americans who want to know who the alleged abusers are and whether people who molested them as Scouts are in the files.
The 14,500 pages of Scout files, from 1959-1985, were posted Thursday on the website of Kelly Clark, the Portland attorney who used the files as evidence in a 2010 lawsuit he won against the Scouts.
The website got more than 200,000 hits within the first few hours of the files’ posting, crashing the site.
Release of the files has also prompted a debate on the Boy Scouts’ Facebook page. Some people said they’d never allow their children to be involved in the organization and criticized the secrecy of the files. Others described positive experiences in the Scouts for themselves or their children, saying the organization’s efforts to prevent abuse have improved significantly.
Clark said his firm has received about four dozen emails from people about the documents. About half came from people who say they were abused when they were in the Scouts and were interested in filing lawsuits.
Windows 8 preview baffles consumers
NEW YORK — The release of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system is a week away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look that will force users to learn new ways to get things done.
Microsoft is making a radical break with the past to stay relevant in a world where smartphones and tablets have eroded the three-decade dominance of the personal computer. Windows 8 is supposed to tie together Microsoft’s PC, tablet and phone software with one look. But judging by the reactions of some people who have tried the PC version, it’s a move that risks confusing and alienating customers.
Tony Roos, an American missionary in Paris, installed a free preview version of Windows 8 on his aging laptop to see if Microsoft’s new operating system would make the PC faster and more responsive. It didn’t, he said, and he quickly learned that working with the new software requires tossing out a lot of what he knows about Windows.
“It was very difficult to get used to,” he said. “I have an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, and they never got used to it. They were like, ‘We’re just going to use Mom’s computer.’”
Computer companies are desperate for something that will get sales growing again. PC sales are expected to shrink this year for the first time since 2001, according to IHS iSuppli, a market research firm.
By wire sources
