Syria Crises Worsens:Aleppo Shelled By Helicopter Gunships,18000 people dead till date

By Erika Solomon

AZAZ, Syria, July 28 (Reuters) - Military helicopters pounded a rebel-held district of Aleppo on Saturday and armoured units positioned themselves for an onslaught that could determine the fate of Syria's biggest city, opposition sources said.

Turkey, once a friend but now a fierce critic of the Syrian government, joined growing diplomatic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, calling for international steps to deal with the military build-up.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group which collects information on the 16-month-old uprising against Assad, reported helicopter attacks on the central Salaheddine district of Aleppo and fighting elsewhere in the city.

"Helicopters are participating in clashes at the entrance of Salaheddine district and bombarding it," the group said in an emailed statement. "There are also violent clashes at the entrances to Sakhour district."

One opposition activist said he had seen Syrian tanks and armoured carriers heading for Salaheddine.

The battle for the city of 2.5 million people is seen as a crucial test for a government that has committed major military resources to retaining control of its two main power centres, Aleppo and the capital Damascus, in the face of a growing insurgency.

While neither side has managed to gain the upper hand, the outcome of the uprising is being watched anxiously in the region and beyond, amid fears that sectarian unrest could spread to volatile neighbouring countries.

Military experts believe that while Assad's more powerful military will overcome the rebels in Aleppo and other major cities, it risks loss of control in the countryside because the loyalty of large sections of the army is in doubt.

"Assad's forces are likely to achieve a tactical victory that will represent a setback to opposition forces and allows the regime to demonstrate its military dominance," said analyst Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group, adding however that the rebels were getting stronger while the military was on the wane.

Three rebel fighters were killed in clashes before dawn on Saturday in Aleppo, the Observatory said. It said 160 people were reported killed in Syria on Friday, adding to an overall death toll of around 18,000 since the uprising began.

Video footage provided by the Observatory showed smoke rising over apartment blocks in the city into a hazy sky on Saturday. The sound of sporadic gunfire could be clearly heard.

While attention has focussed on Aleppo, fighting was also reported in towns across Syria: Deraaa, the cradle of the revolution, Homs, the scene of some of the bloodiest combat, and Hama, where a revolt against Assad's father in the early 1980s was suppressed with thousands of deaths.

At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when Syrian security forces went into Maadameyat al-Sham near Damascus, the observatory said.


TURKEY CALLS FOR ACTION

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said late on Friday that international institutions needed to work together to address the military assault on Aleppo and Assad's threat to use chemical weapons against external enemies.

"There is a build-up in Aleppo, and the recent statements with respect to the use of weapons of mass destruction are actions that we cannot remain an observer or spectator to," he said at a news conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"Steps need to be taken jointly within the United Nations Security Council, the Organisation of Islamic Countries, the Arab League, and we must work together to try to overcome the situation," he said.

Earlier, Erdogan had cheered on the rebels.

"In Aleppo itself the regime is preparing for an attack with its tanks and helicopters ... My hope is that they'll get the necessary answer from the real sons of Syria," he told Turkish TV.

Cameron said Britain and Turkey were concerned that Assad's government was about to carry out some "some truly appalling acts around and in the city of Aleppo".

Russian said that international support for Syrian rebels would lead to "more blood" and the government could not be expected to willingly give in to its opponents.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country has vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions intended to increase pressure on Assad, said Western and Arab nations should exert more influence on rebels to stop fighting.

Russia also said it would not allow searches of Russian-flagged ships under new European Union sanctions governing vessels suspected of carrying weapons to Syria.

U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay urged both Syrian government forces and rebels on Friday to spare civilians in Aleppo, voicing deep concern at the "likelihood of an imminent major confrontation" in the city reminiscent of other deadly assaults.


CHEMICAL WEAPONS

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was deeply concerned about reports that Syria could use chemical weapons and demanded that the government should state it would not use them "under any circumstances".

But the White House said such a promise from the Syrian president was "certainly not enough" given Assad had paid only lip service to a U.N.-backed peace plan.

"Assad's word is not worth very much," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "Any use of those weapons, any failure to safeguard those stockpiles would be a very serious transgression that would result in those responsible being held accountable."

In stating this week that it would not use chemical weapons against its own people, but might do so against external threats, Syria caused major international concern about its stockpiles of non-conventional weapons.


The increase in fighting in Aleppo follows a bomb attack on July 18 that killed Assad's defence minister and three other top officials in Damascus, a development that led some analysts to speculate that the government's grip was slipping.

Since then, Assad's forces have mounted a strong counter-attack against rebels in Damasacus as well as concentrating forces for an expected assault on Aleppo.

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Ryan Lochte Wins Gold:First Gold For U.S

Ryan Lochte has won gold in the 400-meter individual medley while Michael Phelps goes away from the event empty handed, having finished fourth. Lochte touched the wall with a time of 4:05:18 , challenging for the world record. This is the first gold medal for the United States. Thiago Pereira captured silver for Brazil while won Kosuke Hagino took bronze for Japan.

"I think I'm kind of in shock right now,"Lochte told reporters after capturing Gold.

According to Swimming World, Lochte's timhtee is the second best ever, trailing only Phelps' world record mark of 4:03:84 set in 2008. Swimming only seven events at the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps was never going to match his epic medal haul from Beijing but he has looked far from sharp thus far. After his fourth-place finish, he told reporters it was just a crappy race via Nicole Auerbach of USA Today Sports.

"I felt fine the first 200, then I don't know," Phelps added per CBS. "They just swam a better race than me, a smarter race than me, and were better prepared than me. That's why they're on the medal stand."

The 400 IM Final marked the first encounter between the friendly rivals during the 2012 London Games. The duels in the pool between Phelps and Lochte were among the most anticipated matchups ahead of the games. However, this showdown between the swimming stars almost never happened after Phelps barely qualified earlier saturday morning. The defending gold medalist placed eighth in the preliminaries, and swam in the eighth lane in this race. He was in medal contention during the race but fell off the pace as Lochte powered toward the finish.

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Movie Review:' Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum’?

“Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum” (How Super Kool Are We), starring Riteish Deshmukh, Tusshar Kapoor, Sarah Jane-Dias and Neha Sharma, is the sequel to the 2005 movie ”Kya Kool Hain Hum.”

Directed by Sachin Yardi, the movie is a sex comedy that revolves around the life of two friends Adi (Tusshar Kapoor) and Sid (Riteish Deshmukh). Their quest for success and girls takes the duo to Goa where they run into trouble.

As Mayank Shekhar wrote in his review in the newspaper Daily Bhaskar, “The producers had already advertised this film in posters as being bakwaas [rubbish].”

But even with those low expectations, the movie got very mixed reviews.

Here is a roundup of what critics had to say about the film:

In one of the kinder reviews, Taran Adarsh of movie portal Bollywood Hungama described the movie as “one big joyride from commencement to conclusion.”

“Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum is wicked and caters to young adults,” he wrote.

But he noted that there was no “path breaking story” and that director Sachin Yardi appears to yearn “for the audience’s laughter at any price.” He criticized the movie because it “droops faintly in the middle” but applauded the “unpredictably sprightly” climax.

Mr. Adarsh found the cinematography “lively,” the dialogue “witty to the core” and the music “energetic and youthful.” He gave the movie three-and-a-half stars out of five.

Not everyone found the movie as super cool as Mr. Adarsh though.

News channel NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee called it “as scintillating as the drone of a dying bumble-bee.”

The movie “employs an endless flurry of vulgar double-entendres and vapid innuendos in its desperate quest for laughs and even bigger bucks,” he wrote.

He wasn’t impressed with either the actors or the writing.

“Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum strives very hard indeed to be a worthy adult comedy, a poor Indian country cousin of American Pie, but all it manages to be is a juvenile and clunky ride,” he wrote.

Branding it “crude, crass and completely clueless,” Mr. Chatterjee gave the movie only one star out of five.

In a review published in the Mumbai-based paper Daily News and Analysis,Aniruddha Guha wrote that the movie “revels in its ability to present one stereotype after another in a long orgy of sex jokes, private parts’ references and general stupidity.”

“Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum is like a party that starts to get boring in the first hour, one you keep looking for ways to get out of. And if you do stay till the end, a headache-inducing hangover is a certainty,” he added.

He said that he was willing to give the movie the “benefit of the doubt” and noted that it is “meant to be guilty pleasure all along, and being overtly crass and naughty comes with the package.” But he found that the too-frequent gags and the incessant punning was “so labored, it puts you off after a while.”

He praised Mr. Deshmukh’s portrayal of a sex-starved maniac but wasn’t impressed with Mr. Kapoor, who also appeared in the 2005 prequel. “Tusshar couldn’t act then. Seven years later, nothing’s changed,” he wrote.

Mr. Guha found that Ms. Jane-Dias and Ms. Sharma did a “decent job,” but wondered why Chunkey Pandey and Anupam Kher were in the film.

Perhaps inspired by the movie, The Times of India’s Madhureeta Mukherjeewrote a pun-filled review in which she said the film was ideal “for teens who get a boner out of bad jokes, but it may get a rise out of some adults too.”

She labeled Mr. Kapoor a “master of his domain” and praised Mr. Deshmukh for his “canny knack for comedy.”

For Ms. Mukherjee, there were “scenes that vibrate with humor” but she found the movie a “tad long” and the story line “bleak.”

“If you have a whacked out sense of humor, and are willing to leave your brains behind, go laugh your guts out,” she advised

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How To Manage Your Salary

India’s young professionals are earning more money than ever before, but their financial future is far from secure, say financial advisers.

This is because their aspirations “are inclined towards spending and not saving,” says Narendra Kodanjji, director at Procyon Financial Planners Pvt. in Bangalore.

One recent study found that Indians are among the least financially literate people in the world, and many haven’t planned for emergencies.

That is a mistake, particularly for young professionals.

“You have time on your side and less responsibilities, which means you can make the most out of your income and plan for the future,” says Surya Bhatia, managing partner of the Delhi-based financial advisory firm Asset Managers.

Financial security is not only about spending less, but also about making the most effective use of your money. Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal:

Start early: The number one rule of accumulating wealth is to give it time.

The longer your money is invested for, the greater your returns are likely to be.

When you invest money, say in a bank deposit, and then allow the interest earned to be reinvested, you earn interest on your interest. This adds up over time.

Assume you start saving 1,000 rupees ($17.8) per month, and earn an interest of 8% per annum. After 20 years, you would have accumulated 589,000 rupees ($10,539).

In another scenario, let’s assume you save for just 15 years. Even if you invest a higher amount, say 1,500 rupees per month, at 8% interest, you’ll have accumulated just 529,000 rupees. That’s 60,000 rupees less because you lost out on the benefit of saving for five years.

Pay yourself first: Think of saving as a way to reward yourself. After all, you can use these savings to make big-ticket purchases like a car or a house, and ultimately, to fund your retirement when you are done working.

So, every month when your salary comes in, pay yourself first.

“Commit to an amount you can save every month and then pay your expenses,” says Ranjit Dani, a financial planner with Nagpur-based Think Consultants.

If you earn 30,000 rupees per month, set up an automatic transfer of say 6,000 rupees per month into another bank account which you won’t touch. Use only the remaining 24,000 rupees for your spending. So long as you save your stipulated sum, you can still buy that new phone or laptop!

Often, young people delay saving, saying that they don’t earn enough. But even setting aside small amounts can help.

Create an emergency fund: One of your first financial steps should be to create an emergency fund. This can be used if you lose a job, or are disabled or incur any other large expense that may not be covered by insurance.

A general rule of the thumb is to set aside enough cash to cover six months of living expenses. But you may have to save more or less, depending on other factors like income from other family members, and the number of people who depend on your salary.

Advisers recommend buying a basic life insurance, that will be useful for your family members should anything happen to you. Also, consider getting a family medical insurance plan.

If you have a high-interest loan outstanding, is possible, pay that off first. “Your income resources are (limited), so prioritizing will help,” says Mr. Dani

Investing wisely: A typical refrain from young professionals is that they don’t know where to invest their savings. “But everyone knows how to start a recurring deposit in a bank,” says Mr. Bhatia.

Another good option is to invest in a short-term debt mutual fund. These funds buy debt securities issued either by the government or high-quality companies. The benefit of buying a debt fund versus a bank deposit is that gains on a fund are taxed typically at a lower rate than bank interest.

With time, you can also dip your toes into stocks, via a stock mutual fund that invests in large companies. Consider the HDFC Index Sensex Plus, which invests primarily in the 30 stocks listed on the benchmark Sensex, or the Franklin India Bluechip fund, which buys stocks of large companies like ICICI Bank Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.

Stocks typically provide higher returns over the long term, and help investors stay ahead of India’s high inflation. But in the short term, the price of stocks and stock funds can change a lot – so be warned.

Advisers suggest setting up a systematic investment plan in which a small amount is invested in the funds of your choice every month.

You can use websites like Value Research and Morningstar to read more about specific mutual funds.

Young professionals can allocate a part of their savings in bank deposits and debt funds, and as much as half of their savings in equity funds, for a period of five to 10 years. “You have to understand your risk capacity as well as your risk appetite,” Mr. Bhatia adds.

Say no to credit: It’s easy and tempting to use credit cards to eat out, go on holidays and for shopping, especially now that shopping online is just a click away.

But financial advisers say individuals should avoid using Credit cards as much as possible. This is mainly because if you fall behind a card payment, you may have to pay an interest rate of as high as 30%. Remember: your typical bank fixed deposit pays an interest of less than 9%.

For instance, credit cards give an option of “flexi pay” which basically allows you to make a big purchase and then pay it back in small monthly installments.  But this also carries a high interest rates.Also, when people use a credit card, they tend to spend more than they would if they were paying in cash.

“The bottom line, is if you don’t have money, don’t spend it,” says Mr. Dani.

If you have credit card debt, pay it off as soon as possible, even if you have to take a personal loan for it. “Personal loan comes at half the price of credit card loans,” says Mr. Bhatia

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How My Husband's Mistress Took Over My Life

The first ultrasound came back inconclusive. I knew something wasn't right when the technician quickly left the room and came back with the doctor.

"We can't hear a heartbeat," he said matter-of-factly. "It's either too early or you have miscarried. We'll do another test in 10 days."

He said it exactly like that, with apparent disregard for how tortuous the next 10 days would be.

The next day, my husband and I left for Connecticut. We were going to visit his dad, his dad's wife, and her family in a little town on the sound. I had been excited for this vacation, but after my appointment, I was overwhelmed with fear and anticipation.

Looking back, there was no doubt that I was pregnant on that trip. I couldn't ingest anything besides saltines and ginger ale, and I slept for three hours in the middle of each afternoon. Despite all the worry about the upcoming ultrasound, I had a wonderful time being there -- lazing on the porch, chatting with my new family, playing cards, dining al fresco. There was a local lobster shack that I loved, which my husband and I had visited a few years earlier on a road trip. It was an out-of-the-way place set back in a residential area that I had found online; I was thrilled to have the chance to go there again.

We returned to Connecticut a year later, but this time with our 6-month-old son in tow. I remember vividly the pictures we took with the three of us frolicking on the beach and some of my husband and me alone, smooching with the sunset in the background. At the time, I never would have guessed that he had already started having an affair.

We separated about a year later when I discovered his infidelity. It was about a month before we were supposed to go on the annual trip to Connecticut. Needless to say, we didn't go.

The next year, my ex-husband took our son and his girlfriend (previously his mistress) back to Connecticut. I felt so left out and so bitter. It wasn't fair that she got to take vacations with my son. It wasn't fair that she got to eat grinders on the porch and wander out into the sandbar. Suddenly, someone was living my life and taking my family vacation without me.

It has now been two years since our separation. Last week, my ex, his girlfriend and our son returned to Connecticut. At the same time, I was in California having a beautiful visit with some of my best friends and close family. And though my trip was fabulous, I still found myself wondering what was happening on the East Coast -- and feeling left out.

When I Skyped with my son, his dad said, "Tell mommy where we had dinner." My ex then informed me they went to the lobster shack I loved so much. It stung to hear that, and I let my ex know. "Are you purposely trying to make me feel left out?" I asked. I knew that wasn't his intention and that he was probably trying to make a connection with me by mentioning a place I knew, but it was just more salt in an already painful wound.

Later that night, I was perusing my Facebook page when I saw a picture that had been posted by my ex-husband's stepmother. It was a picture of my ex and his girlfriend, tan and smiling in front of a dusky Connecticut sky. I gasped. I still hadn't met her and had only seen a few pictures of her alone; until that point, I had seen none of them together. It was shocking to see her in that photo instead of me.

Although we've been separated for two years, I still have a hard time facing the fact that I was cast out and replaced by another woman. It's like watching a movie in which someone else lives my life. She's lazing on the porch, playing cards, eating at the lobster shack -- and I'm watching it all go down from a distance.

I try to live in the present to, as one of my dearest friends always says, "be where my feet are." I appreciate so much that I now have the opportunity to take vacations on my own and know that my son is in good hands with his father. And yet, there are times when I can't help but fall down that hole of despair and self pity. I guess it's part of the whole "two steps forward, two steps back" aspect of the healing process.

Last week would have been our five-year wedding anniversary. In keeping with the tradition of giving wooden gifts at the half-decade anniversary, I wonder what I would have given him if we were still married. Perhaps a new desk chair to replace the wobbly, uncomfortable one he has? Or maybe a nice wood valet for him to stash his keys, wallet and phone? No, I probably would have invited him to steal away with me for a romantic rendezvous in a wood cabin... in Connecticut

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Robert Pattinson Devastated Over Kristen Stewart's Cheating

Robert Pattinson In Pain After Stewart's Cheating

Days after photos emerged of Kristen Stewart Kissing And Hugging married "Snow White and the Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders, unnamed sources told Gossip Cop that Stewart and Sanders never had a sexual affair. According to the insider, the pair merely kissed -- a "mistake" that the 22 year old actress "Feels Awful" about.

Stewart publicly apologised to boyfriend Robert pattinson on Wednesday, but it may be too little, too late; sources told People Thursday that the 26-year-old actor is "heartbroken and angry" over the incident and has move dout of the Los Angeles Home he shares with Stewart.

Twilight Fans Have Gone Wild Over Kristen's Cheating.  Even if it was just a kiss, does it still count as cheating? We put the question to the Twitterverse and here's what our followers had to say:

*that "kiss" cost her her relationship so yes, it's cheating!

*Yes, he's married with kids, in what world is that ok

* if the intent is there, ofcourse it is cheating

*It's cheating period end of story, in that order! she's in a relationship & should respect &,protect it!!

*Yes! it may have only happened once, but how long would have it continued had they not been exposed???

*if her partner thinks its cheating, it's cheating.

*yes it's cheating, but it's the most forgivable form of cheating.

*It's what's "behind" the kiss. She clearly feels guilt and remorse so that was no peck on the cheek. Yep- cheating.

*Yes, no matter how small some may think a kiss is, it's still an intimate act

 *Yes, intimate moments should be shared with your significant other...sounds like emotional cheating that turned physical.

 *It's cheating, but the damage should be reparable for Stewart and Pattison, not so much for the married guy

*Anything you would do with someone that you wouldn't do in front of your partner is skeevy in my book.

*are you kidding. Of course kissing is cheating. Cheating is lying. Kissing betrays relationship trust. Sex is worse, tho.

Watch The Video below

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The Colorado Accused Is Now Being Compared To President Obama (Video)

An electronic billboard in Caldwell, Idaho that compares President Obama to James Holmes, the 24 year old man accused of killing 12 people in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater on 20th July, has sparked outrage in the community, reports The Idaho Statesman.

The giant sign on Franklin Road and North 21st Avenue features a photo of Holmes with the words, "Kills 12 in a movie theater with assault rifle, everyone freaks out," written under his picture, juxtaposed to a photo of Obama with the words, "Kills thousands with foreign policy, wins Nobel Peace Prize," written below.

The billboard often features anti-Obama messages, and is sponsored by the Ralph Smeed Foundation, the supporters of the late activist for libertarian causes in Idaho. Foundation member and former state lawmaker Maurice Clements, told The Idaho Statesman the billboard is a response to Obama's 'broken promise' to bring home the troops.

"We’re all outraged over that killing in Aurora, Colo., but we’re not outraged over the boys killed in Afghanistan,” Clements explained to the paper, and added that he's not trying to connect Obama to Holmes, he's just comparing the way society reacts. "We’re not saying that Obama is a lunatic,” he said.

Regardless of what the billboard is really comparing, the message is not going over well with the area's residents, who are outraged, calling it "offensive," "abhorrent," and "pathetic," reports NBC News.

"This billboard is offensive to all those lives lost and affected by the shooting," wrote Fabiola G. Monrroy on the Facebook page KBOI-TV which first reported the story "Just pathetic, even if this is their expression of the 1st amendment."

Most of the messages on the TV station's Facebook page echo Monrroy's sentiment, and Canyon County Democratic Party communications director Judy Ferro,told the Idaho Press-Tribune, that she believes that even the late Ralph Smeed would object to it. “There’s no factual basis to it at all … it’s just offensive," she explained.

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Removing Judge's Bias In Olympics 2012

U.S Olympic Diving Team trials

Statisticians who have delivered their own judgments on the state of Olympic judging have a troubling message for fans of such sports as gymnastics, diving, boxing and dressage: There is no surefire way to remove national bias from the results.

In gymnastics, the highest and the lowest score for execution are tossed out in attempt to weed out possibly biased appraisals. But if more than one score is biased upward, or downward, that won't do the trick. In diving, officials from competitors' countries if possible aren't assigned to the semi-final and final—but they can be in earlier rounds. In the Winter Olympics, figure skating tried obscuring which judge awarded which score, on the theory that this would thwart collusion by judges. One study found that increased bias.

Eric Zitzewitz, the Dartmouth College economist who wrote that paper, says it is difficult to design one system to prevent all forms of bad judging, be it corruption—suspected but never proven in figure-skating a decade ago—intentional bias or unconscious bias. "It's very hard to design a perfect system in a vacuum," he says. "It depends on the specific form of activity you're trying to prevent."

Some sports, such as gymnastics, use a "trimmed mean," in which the highest and lowest scores are discarded and the remaining ones averaged. The assumption is that the biased scores are likely to be extreme ones.

Warren Smith, a retired mathematician from Temple University, advocates the trimmed mean for judged sports, finding it superior to some other Olympic systems. But Yale University statistician John W. Emerson found a drawback to the approach when he studied the 2000 diving scores. One Chinese judge showed the least evidence of bias toward any particular country's competitors. If he rated one diver higher than another by a certain margin, that tended to be the consensus margin between those divers, regardless of uniform.

The problem is that he tended to award higher scores to everyone—either out of enthusiasm or a different sense of what constituted a perfect dive. That meant his scores were more likely to be tossed than those of judges who did appear to systematically favor one country's divers over another

"If you do an incorrect analysis, you think he's guilty as sin," Prof. Emerson says.

There is another reason not to merely toss outlying scores: Recent news from London suggests it doesn't suffice to prevent deliberate impropriety. To calculate the London Interbank Offered Rate—a benchmark short-term interest rate for about $10 trillion in loans—the British Bankers' Association asks banks for their rates then discards the 25% highest and 25% lowest entries before averaging the rest. Yet some banks are under investigation for allegedly trying to tamper with Libor.

In systems that involve tossing outliers, "throwing out the top, say, six will work if you only have six people trying to manipulate" the results, says Prof. Zitzewitz. "But the minute you have seven or eight or nine, it doesn't work."

While skulduggery is possible, the more realistic problem with Olympic judging is conscious or unconscious national bias. Prof. Emerson, in his 2009 study of diving results, found 10 of 17 judges displayed favoritism to their own country's divers at a level that had less than a 1% chance of arising by statistical fluke.

What this all adds up to in terms of gold, silver and bronze depends on the sport and the extent of bias. In many cases, says Prof. Emerson, the effect is "subtle." He found that in 2000 it mostly didn't affect diving medals, though in the women's 10-meter platform competition, the winner, American Laura Wilkinson, might have gotten a silver instead, and Chinese diver Li Na the gold, if judges' national preferences were removed.

Jungmin Lee, an economist at Sogang University in Seoul who has studied Olympic judging, suggests a fix beyond the scoring system: increasing the number of judges. That, he says, would remove the effect of any one judge and make results reflective of a broader base of opinion. The downside, Prof. Zitzewitz points out, is that it would increase cost and might reduce the average quality of judges.

Some sports take other approaches to ensure fairness. Dressage uses a blind draw of judges and allows only one per country for the Olympics, says a spokeswoman for the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for Olympic equestrian events. Dressage and boxing also show all spectators all judges' scores.

Indeed, the researchers say the best way to avoid judging problems is transparency—releasing results that include which judges gave what scores to which athletes. Whether this happens varies by sport, says International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Sandrine Tonge. Even when full scores are released, they sometimes are available only to accredited media.

"It's naive to think there's a perfect system out there that is robust to manipulation," Prof. Zitzewitz says. "The great thing about transparency is, it helps you detect any form of manipulation."

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CNN Chief Jim Walton Is Quitting

NEW YORK — CNN chief Jim Walton said Friday he is quitting, saying the company needs new leadership at a time its flagship U.S. network is suffering through some of its poorest ratings ever.

Walton built the company into a profitable international news organization in his 10 years as president of CNN Worldwide, and said it is on track for record profits this year. But the U.S. network is the most visible part of the business and is now entrenched in third place behind rivals Fox News Channel and MSNBC in prime time.

He announced the decision in an email to staff members on Friday. He said he'll continue working until the end of the year during the company's search for a successor.

Walton said he's been talking to his boss, Turner Broadcasting Chairman Phil Kent, about leaving since the first few months of the year. CNN is owned by Time Warner.

"There's always pressure," he said. "I've been doing this a long time and CNN has had its ups and downs, like all companies have had ups and downs. I feel really strongly about a number of parts of this company. We're having a really strong year internationally and in mobile. It's clear there's a lot of spotlight on CNN's U.S. performance and it's reasonable that there is that spotlight."

CNN's U.S. network had its worst-ever ratings for a second quarter, down 40 percent for some of its prime-time shows. The decline was particularly notable in May, when CNN faced tough competition from broadcast networks during a slow news period and its ratings were compared to a year earlier, in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden killing.

It hasn't improved appreciably since then, with veteran newsman Wolf Blitzer often losing in the ratings to broadcast novice Al Sharpton on MSNBC. Piers Morgan's show has been a bright spot this month.

The network was also embarrassed by initially reporting incorrectly the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law, then taking longer to correct itself than Fox, which made a similar error.

CNN's ratings traditionally fluctuate based on the intensity of the news. Fox and MSNBC have insulated themselves from that problem somewhat through its partisan prime-time hosts. Walton has resisted this approach, believing CNN's strength lies in being a nonpartisan news source and the company's reputation would be damaged worldwide if the U.S. network changed.

Walton said he doesn't expect that to change after he leaves.

"We kind of know who we are and our corporate colleagues know who we are and there has always been great support internally that we're going to be a news organization," he said.

At CNN, "we want to be accurate above all else, we want to be timely – first if possible – we want to actually go to where the news is, not just subscribe to some agency's news feed and talk about it. We want to report the news from multiple sides, all sides, and without bias."

Walton, 54, began working at CNN in 1981 shortly after it started. His first job involved ripping paper scripts off wire machines and operating the TelePrompter for news anchors.

CNN has suffered from weak programming and fundamental changes in the way people get their information, said Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief and now a professor at George Washington University. The company needs to make programming compelling enough to draw viewers used to getting their news elsewhere first online, he said.

CNN should put its attention toward other ways of delivering the news, said analyst Brad Adgate of Horizon Media.

"I don't know what they can do to catch up with television," he said.

Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner chairman and CEO, said Walton took over an underperforming company in 2003 and tripled earnings, delivering an annual growth of 15 percent. Roughly half of the company's earnings come through subscription fees from cable and satellite companies, and they have been growing steadily worldwide.

"Jim has been instrumental in growing the business into the financial powerhouse it has become, while establishing the brand as the worldwide leader for television news," Bewkes said. "I respect him personally and professionally and support the decision he and Phil Kent have reached."

Kent said Walton has a track record of great judgment when it matters most. He "challenged the organization to think bigger, reach further, do better," he said.

"I think this company needs some new thinking," Walton said. "I've been doing this job I'm in now for 10 years and I'm ready for a change."

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Sofia Vergara Talks About Her Bra Size

 Sofia Vergara is certainly a woman who knows what she's working with. Her Curves have garnered the actress quite a bit of attention and have transformed her into a modern feminine icon. So it comes as no surprise that Sofia is pestered about the actual size of her breasts at any chance an interviewer gets.

The September issue of Allure was no different, featuring Sofia styled à la Sophia Loren in a sultry pose with teased bombshell hair and a lacy brassiere. And, just the magazine's luck, the engaged start dished on her bra size, revealing that she's a size 32F (according to Just Bared).

But hasn't she already talked breast size in a national magazine? It turns out, Sofia did, in fact, talk to Self about her breast size in 2012

When I was 13, I got these ridiculous boobs. I wanted surgery. I told my mom, 'As soon as I'm older, please take these boobs away.' She said, 'Sofía, shut up. When you're 18, it will be different.' I was like, 'Why would I want these huge tits? I'm a 34DD.' It's hard to dress. No matter what I wear, I look like a stripper. That said, I'm grateful I have them, and honestly, they've helped me a lot in my career. And I've always felt sexy.

Wait a minute. Did she say 34DD? That's not quite as large as a 32F, her most recent bra size. While it's not uncommon for a woman's breast size to change or vary from brand to brand, it's interesting to note that Sofia experiences the same breast woes and nightmare-like bra-shopping ventures as normal people. So we can all take solace in the fact that Sofia Vergara is human just like the rest of us -- well, more like an incredibly well-endowed, goddess-like human, but those details are really just semantics as far as we're concerned.

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