Tragedy in Pakistan - More than 400 people dead in Pakistan flooding

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Flooding caused by monsoon rain has killed more than 400 people across Pakistan, a provincial government official said Friday.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province information minister, said the death toll is now 408 people in that province and 25 in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, the head of the Pakistan meteorological department, told CNN the 300 mm, or 11.8 inches, of rain recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the most ever in Pakistan.
Many of the victims died when floodwaters swept away hundreds of mud houses in parts of Swat Valley and the districts of Shangla and Tank, according to Bashir Ahmed Bilour, a provincial minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Rushing water also has washed away thousands of acres of crops and dozens of government buildings, local businesses and schools, Bilour said.
Hussain said floodwater has cut off the Swat Valley and the districts of Shangla and Peshawar. There is no way to get to these areas by road, he said.
Earlier Friday the head of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said flooding had killed at least 150 people and injured 90 since Wednesday. Retired Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed said 90 people were still missing.
The Pakistani Air Force is helping with rescue efforts, spokesman Tariq Yazdanie said in an interview on Pakistani TV.
The recent torrential rains have broken all previous records of rainfall in the country, he said.
The U.N. refugee agency dispatched the first shipment of aid for flood victims in the region Thursday, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
APP said the supplies include 585 tents, 2,700 plastic sheets, 1,760 kitchen sets and 4,000 plastic mats.
At the same time, a top official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province pressed Pakistan's president for help, according to APP.
The news agency said Assembly Speaker Karamatullah Khan told legislators he had asked President Asif Ali Zardari for a supply of emergency boats.
Photographs from Getty Images showed flood victims struggling to cross a swollen river in the town of Nowshera. The pictures showed children being ferried across the water in overcrowded boats, and more able-bodied people helping the elderly to higher ground.
Supplies from the U.N. agency will go first to the two hard-hit villages of Talli and Sultan Kot in Sibi district, APP said.

The U.S.-based group Save the Children said it will distribute plastic sheeting for shelters, household supplies and hygiene kits to about 1,000 families over the next two days.

Source: CNN.com

Rosie: President Obama Should Never Have Gone on The View

Former View co-host Rosie O'Donnell isn't too keen on President Barack Obama's decision to appear with the ladies of The View.

"I have mixed feelings about that," O'Donnell, 48, sniffed on her Sirius XM radio show Wednesday, the day before Obama's episode aired. (The President had pre-taped his appearance Wednesday.)

"I don't really think sitting presidents should go do fluffy daytime TV shows. Maybe an hour on Oprah or something," O'Donnell sniffed.

"I don't really want to see him on The View, although I'm happy for them," she added. "That's a good booking, and Barbara [Walter's] going to come back that day after her heart surgery."

The comedienne co-hosted The View in 2006 but dropped out within the year after butting heads with other women on the show during heated political debates.

During Obama's appearance on the show, the women of the show chatted with him about important political, international and social issues -- plus lighter fare, too.

Asked whether he was aware of Lindsay Lohan's current stint in jail, the Commander in Chief replied: "I actually know that, yes." Not on his radar? Jersey Shore's Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi. "I gotta admit, I don't know who Snooki is."

He became tongue tied when asked about Mel Gibson, whose alleged, obscene audio tapes have stormed the web over the past couple weeks . After stammering, he uttered that he "hadn't seen the tapes."
Source: US News

Shopping No Longer a Therapy

For many Americans, the recession has hit a little too close to home. Those of us that have used shopping as a stress release, are now forced to sit back and only dream. Many American have either lost fifty percent or even one hundred percent of the household income. Forced into foreclosure, repossession, eviction or event bankruptcy, simple pleasures have gone down the drain with the American dream.

To maintain a household and keep up appearances, we must purchase consume goods. The difference now, is the price tags. We pay much more attention to the account balances, sale prices, bargains and shopping priorities. Whether shopping for groceries, household goods, clothes, school supplies, furniture or luxuries, we now go to war with our selves as to what to buy now or hold off until last minute.

Even if your income was not effected, we all love a deal. Recession proof deals will keep the guilt out of shopping and living.

With a well thought out plan and trusted resources, these tight times can become more bearable. Throughout the month I will be posting great family friendly sales, deals and recession proof websites.

Please feel free to place a recession proof site or deal in the comment box and I will add it to the post.

Stay tuned...

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