patriciaduffxy: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Obama to meet with Mandela family

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama plans to visit privately Saturday with relatives of former South African President Nelson Mandela, but doesn't intend to see the critically ill anti-apartheid icon he has called a "personal hero."

The White House did not disclose any details for Obama's plans to meet the family in a brief statement issued upon Obama's first morning in South Africa during a weeklong tour of the continent. The statement simply said Obama and his wife would offer their thoughts and prayers at the family's difficult time.

"Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the statement said.

Obama told reporters on the flight to South Africa Friday that he was grateful that he, his wife and daughters had a chance to meet Mandela previously. Obama hangs his photo of the introduction he had to Mandela in 2005 in his personal office at the White House ? their only meeting, when Obama was a senator.

"I don't need a photo op," Obama said. "The last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela's condition."

Obama met with South African President Jacob Zuma Saturday morning, greeting each other's wives with kisses with a military honor guard standing by holding flags from both countries. Their meeting was at the grand Union Buildings, where Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president in 1994 after 27 years behind bars under racist rule.

The 94-year-old Mandela has been in a nearby hospital for three weeks after being admitted with a lung infection.

Obama has said the imprisoned activist's willingness to risk his life for the cause of equal rights helped inspire his own political activism. Obama said his message during the visit will draw on the lessons of Mandela's life, with a message that "Africa's rise will continue" if its people are unified instead of divided by tribe, race or religion.

"I think the main message we'll want to deliver if not directly to him but to his family is simply a profound gratitude for his leadership all these years and that the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with him and his family and his country," Obama said on his flight into the country.

Obama also is paying tribute to the fight against apartheid by visiting the Soweto area Saturday afternoon for a town hall with students at the University of Johannesburg. At least 176 young people were killed in Soweto township 27 years ago this month during a youth protest against the apartheid regime's ban against teaching local Bantu languages. The Soweto Uprising catalyzed international support against apartheid, and June is now recognized as Youth Month in South Africa.

The university plans to bestow an honorary law degree on the U.S. president, while protesters are planning demonstrations against U.S. policy on issues including the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the war in Afghanistan and global warming. Hundreds marched to the U.S. Embassy on Friday, carrying signs that read: "No, You Can't Obama," a message inspired by Obama's "yes, we can" campaign slogan.

Obama, the son of an African man, has been trying to inspire the continent's youth to become civically active and part of a new democratically minded generation. Obama hosted young leaders from more than 40 African countries at the White House in 2010 and challenged them to bring change to their countries by standing up for freedom, openness and peaceful disagreement.

Obama wraps up his South Africa stay Sunday, when he plans to give a sweeping speech on U.S.-Africa policy at the University of Cape Town and take his family to Robben Island to tour the prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-meet-mandela-family-075010890.html

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It?s ?Wedding Weekend In San Francisco? After Prop 8 Ruling

Filed by KOSU News in US News.
June 29, 2013

?A long line of fianc?s and their families snaked out of the clerk?s office? in San Francisco on Saturday, the Chronicle reports, as couples lined up to be among the first to be married now that it?s legal again for same-sex couples to be get hitched in California.

On this, the first weekend since the Supreme Court ruling that let stand a lower court?s decision invalidating California?s Proposition 8 ban of gay marriages, it was ?wedding weekend? in the city, the Chronicle declares.

KTVU-TV says that ?big crowds were expected from across the state as long lines had already stretched down the lobby shortly after 9 a.m. City officials decided to hold weekend hours and let couples tie the knot as San Francisco is also celebrating its annual Pride weekend expected to draw as many as 1 million people.?

City Hall plans to stay open until 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) on Saturday and to be open from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. local time on Sunday.

According to the Chronicle, Saturday at City Hall ?some wore shorts and sneakers while others dressed in lacy white dresses and spiked heels. They carried flowers or rainbow signs or just handbags with wedding necessities, like rings. ? The ceremonies were punctuated with whoops from a joyous crowd.?

Some in the line said they were anxious to be married before any more legal challenges are filed. ?You have the feeling in your mind they?re going to take it away on Monday, so it?s like, ?Let?s go!? ? Petra Torri said, according to KTVU. She and her domestic partner, Antoinette Torri, were the first couple in line Saturday. [Copyright 2013 NPR]

Source: http://kosu.org/2013/06/its-wedding-weekend-in-san-francisco-after-prop-8-ruling/

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bert-ernie-new-yorker-cover-gay-marriage-supreme-court-doma-2013-6

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PasswordBox

When you're planning to introduce a new product, it makes sense to review competing products, taking note of their best features and of any features that seem to be missing. The creators of the PasswordBox password manager seem to have done just that. Quite a few of PasswordBox's feature resemble those of top competitors, but it adds features not found in any of them.

Quite a few password managers use a freemium marketing model. LastPass 2.0 Premium includes significant features not found in the free LastPass 2.0. You can use Dashlane 2.0 and Keeper 5.0 for free on one device, but syncing multiple devices requires a paid subscription.

PasswordBox's freemium model is quite simple. The free edition is completely full-featured, but you can only store 25 passwords. After that you need to pay for a subscription, $12 per year. Note that you can import passwords from any one of several competitors, even if it pushes your total past 25. Don't want to pay? You can "go pro" by successfully referring five friends, and when you do, you get a lifetime license, not just a single year. That's quite a deal!

Getting Started
PasswordBox installs in a flash as an extension for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. Just click the toolbar button to pull down its main window. To help get you started, the program presents a collection of popular websites for which it has already created login templates. Click one of the buttons, enter your username and password, and you've created a one-click login for that site.

Like Dashlane, PasswordBox has a built-in system to walk new users through the product's features. As you accomplish each task, it gets crossed out. In order to reach 100 percent, you must add a password, try a one-click login from PasswordBox, and add a total of eight passwords. You also have to send an invitation to at least one friend, and identify a trusted person to receive your passwords in the event of your death; more about that feature later.

When you've accomplished all the setup tasks, the notification bar vanishes, just as in Dashlane. If you need further instruction in how to use the program, you'll find a collection of short video tutorials accessible from the Settings page, as well as built-in help and FAQs.

There is one setting you'll probably want to change. Once you open your browser and launch PasswordBox, it stays unlocked until you shut down the browser. It does have an auto-lock feature, but it's disabled by default. I'd recommend setting it to lock after a fairly short amount of idle time. Note that the corresponding feature in Keeper is always enabled, and the longest timeout you can set is ten minutes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/B6GD54-3leE/0,2817,2421087,00.asp

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President Announces Climate Change Plan | The Wildlife Society ...

President Barack Obama. (Credit: White House Press)

On Tuesday June 25, 2013, President Obama gave his much anticipated speech on the national action plan for climate change at Georgetown University. He outlined the issues the country is facing due to climate change, including carbon pollution in the atmosphere, Arctic ice melting, ocean warming, and sea level rise. He said that 2012 was the warmest year in history, and saw numerous and severe wildfires, warming in Alaska, higher food prices because of crop drought, and severe storms such as super-storm Sandy. High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that result when fossil fuels are burned, cause temperatures to rise and result in profound and unprecedented changes to weather patterns. ?The question is not whether we need to act; the question is whether we have the courage to act now before it?s too late,? Obama said.

Obama?s Climate Action Plan outlines multiple steps to reduce the amount of carbon pollution produced. First and foremost, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin limiting pollution from power plants, which is currently unregulated and accounts for 40 percent of carbon emissions. This step would contribute to the goal of reducing carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons by 2030. The plan also calls for doubling the amount of energy produced from wind and sun, which would also create more jobs in wind turbine manufacturing and solar panel installation. Obama also called for strengthening the U.S.?s position as a top natural gas producer, which would create even more jobs and lower heat and energy bills. In addition, he pledged that the federal government will work toward increasing its use of power from renewable energy sources to 20 percent within seven years.

A primary goal of the Climate Action Plan is to waste less energy from cars, homes, and businesses. Emissions standards need to be set for heavy duty trucks and vans because heavy duty vehicles are currently the second largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the transportation sector. The final step in Obama?s plan is for the U.S. to lead international efforts to combat climate change. The U.S. will need to take ?bold action to reduce carbon emissions and it will take businesses, scientists, farmers, builders and workers to achieve this goal,? Obama said. He called for global free trade in environmental goods and services, but said that the U.S. would end support for financing new coal-fired power plants overseas.

Just days before Obama?s speech, ?Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) ?introduced their climate adaption bill, the Safeguarding America?s Future and Environment Act (SAFE; S. 1202), which would require federal agencies that manage natural resources to adopt climate change plans. The SAFE Act would also provide communities with better tools to prepare for extreme weather events while safeguarding tourism and recreation jobs that economies depend on.

Sources: White House Climate Action Plan (June 25, 2013), Senator Baucus and Senator Whitehouse Press Release (June 20, 2013), video of Obama?s Speech.

Source: http://news.wildlife.org/featured/president-announces-climate-change-plan/

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Xbox 360 strikes live TV deal with Time Warner Cable, promises 'up to 300 of the most popular channels' later this summer

Xbox Live Gold members might have yet another reason not to go outdoors this summer, as Microsoft has just detailed a new TWC TV app for launch in the next few months. Joining the console's existing HBO Go stream, Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to watch AMC, BBC World News, Bravo, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network and more through their Xbox 360, with Kinect controls to switch channels and more with a wave of your arms. The announcement also kindly reminds us that its incoming Xbox One will let users switch between live TV and gaming in an instant -- preorders are open now, folks!

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Xbox

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/xbox-360-twc-tv-app/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Court: Hobby Lobby can challenge health care law

DENVER (AP) ? An appeals court said Thursday that Hobby Lobby and a sister company that sells Christian books and supplies can fight the nation's new health care law on religious grounds, ruling the portion of the law that requires them to offer certain kinds of birth control to their employees is particularly onerous, and suggesting the companies shouldn't have to pay millions of dollars in fines while their claims are considered.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain, along with Mardel bookstores, not only can proceed with their lawsuit seeking to overturn a portion of the Affordable Care Act, but can probably win.

The judges unanimously sent the case back to a lower court in Oklahoma, which had rejected the companies' request for an injunction to prevent full enforcement of the new law.

"Hobby Lobby and Mardel have drawn a line at providing coverage for drugs or devices they consider to induce abortions, and it is not for us to question whether the line is reasonable," the judges wrote. "The question here is not whether the reasonable observer would consider the plaintiffs complicit in an immoral act, but rather how the plaintiffs themselves measure their degree of complicity."

Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., Mardel Inc. and their owners, the Green family, argue for-profit businesses ? not just religious groups ? should be allowed to seek an exception if the law violates their religious beliefs. The owners approve of most forms of artificial birth control, but not those that prevent implantation of a fertilized egg ? such as an IUD or the morning-after pill.

Hobby Lobby is the largest and best-known of more than 30 businesses in several states that have challenged the contraception mandate. A number of Catholic-affiliated institutions have filed separate lawsuits, and the court suggested faith-based organizations can follow for-profit objectives in the secular world.

"A religious individual may enter the for-profit realm intending to demonstrate to the marketplace that a corporation can succeed financially while adhering to religious values. As a court, we do not see how we can distinguish this form of evangelism from any other," they wrote.

A majority of judges couldn't decide whether the Oklahoma court had sufficiently addressed two parts of Hobby Lobby's initial complaint and sent them back for further review at the local level.

Throughout a ruling that covered more than 160 pages, the judges noted Hobby Lobby faced a difficult choice ? violate its religious beliefs, pay $475 million in fines for failing to comply with the law (a $100 fine per day for each of its 13,000 workers), or pay $26 million to the government if it dropped its health care plan altogether.

Hobby Lobby and Mardel won expedited federal review because the stores would have faced fines starting Monday for not covering the required forms of contraception. The 10th Circuit judges said the Oklahoma court was wrong to not grant the companies an injunction in the face of serious financial penalties.

Hobby Lobby and other companies challenging the contraception mandate say the morning-after pill is tantamount to abortion because it can prevent a fertilized egg from becoming implanted in a woman's womb. The 10th Circuit heard the case before eight active judges instead of the typical three-judge panel, indicating the case's importance.

The U.S. Department of Justice argued that allowing for-profit corporations to exempt themselves from requirements that violate their religious beliefs would be in effect allowing the business to impose its religious beliefs on employees. In its ruling, the 10th Circuit cited a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court conclusion that for-profit corporations have rights to political expression.

"We see no reason the Supreme Court would recognize constitutional protection for a corporation's political expression but not its religious expression," the judges wrote.

One judge went even further in a concurring opinion.

"No one suggests that organizations, in contrast to their members, have souls," Judge Harris Hartz wrote. "But it does not follow that people must sacrifice their souls to engage in group activities through an organization."

Hobby Lobby calls itself a "biblically founded business" and is closed on Sundays. Founded in 1972, the company now operates more than 500 stores in 41 states and employs more than 13,000 full-time employees who are eligible for health insurance.

Emily Hardman, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Hobby Lobby, called the ruling a "resounding victory for religious freedom."

But Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the judges were wrong.

"This isn't religious freedom; it's the worst kind of religious oppression," executive director Barry Lynn said in a statement.

___

Kristen Wyatt is on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-hobby-lobby-challenge-health-care-law-175533290.html

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Gandolfini funeral draws family, fans, stars in NY

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

6 hours ago

Family, friends and fans of James Gandolfini gathered in New York Thursday for a final remembrance of the actor known for his role as the tough-guy mob boss on "The Sopranos." Co-stars from that series -- usually recognized for their stoicism -- embraced one another with trembling lips and sorrowful faces as they entered the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.

Gandolfini, 51, died of a heart attack in Rome on June 19. His 90-minute funeral was led by The Very Reverend Dr. James A Kowalski. Gandolfini?s wife, Deborah Lin Gandolfini, provided the first of four remembrances. In brief but emotional remarks, she spoke tearfully of her late husband as a great father to his children, 13-year-old Michael and 9-month-old Liliana. She called him an ?honest, kind and loving man? who ?ironically, was extremely private.?

Andrew Burton / Getty Images

The casket carrying James Gandolfini is carried out after his funeral at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York on Thursday.

Two close friends of Gandolfini?s spoke next: Thomas Richardson and Susan Aston. Richardson talked of being in Rome with Gandolfini, lighting a candle in a cathedral and praying at the statue of St. Francis. ?Jim grew each and every day because he was open,? said Richardson, who added that with Gandolfini, ?every day was an adventure.?

Aston was not just a friend; she had worked with Gandolfini for decades. On ?The Sopranos? she served as his dialogue coach. She remembered the two of them working together in the 1980s and recalled how Gandolfini once shored up her courage before going onstage by saying, ?What?s the worst that can happen? We suck??

At one point, she dropped yet another nickname for the actor, referring to him as ?Buck.?

David Chase, creator and executive producer of ?The Sopranos,? wrapped up the remembrances with his own, which took the form of a letter. ?Dear Jimmy,? he began, then addressed the eulogy directly to the late actor. He said he wanted to get some laughs, that?s what all the advice he heard said he should do, but ?I?m too sad and full of despair.?

Nonetheless, Chase?s remembrance did elicit some laughs, particularly when he said he was ?scared? to speak at the service, and considered running away for four days, a reference to the time Gandolfini vanished from production on ?Sopranos? early in the show?s run.

He spoke of working with Gandolfini, who took his role to heart. One scene they filmed involved the actor slamming a refrigerator door in irritation repeatedly, even though the script didn?t specifically call for him to do that -- he ultimately broke the refrigerator. ?This role, this role, the places it takes me to,? Chase said the actor muttered about that event.

Later, Chase noted, ?Sometimes you tried too hard. The refrigerator is one example."

D Dipasupil / Getty Images

David Chase, center, creator of "The Sopranos," attends Thursday's funeral.

But Chase revealed much about how he saw Gandolfini and the character of Tony Soprano with an anecdote that also came from the show. It was a hot day of filming, and he caught Gandolfini sitting in a lawn chair in black socks and shoes, pants rolled up, a wet handkerchief on his head to help him stay cool. Chase said he saw that and ?was filled with love, because I knew I was in the right place.? He said that was precisely what his own relatives used to do on a hot day, working in construction (?What is it about Italians and concrete,? quipped Chase) in New Jersey. ?I was so proud of our heritage,? he said, choking up.

Chase also recalled a time when Gandolfini told him, "I just want to be a man."

"The paradox with you I always felt was I was seeing a young boy, because you are boyish. ... That is why you were an amazing actor, that child inside,? Chase said.

He ended his ?letter? by relating a scene they never shot, but one he had mapped out: Tony Soprano is stranded in the Meadowlands with nothing in his pockets except some change, no crew around him, and has to board a bus to get home like everyone else. The idea was the episode would end with Tony?s face on the bus as Joan Osborne?s ?What if God Was One of Us? played (and its lines ?what if God was one of us/just a slob like one of us/just a stranger on the bus/trying to make His way home?), as the credits rolled.

Chase then ended his speech with the same letter format: ?Love, David.?

Among others who attended the service were Gandolfini's ?Sopranos? co-stars Edie Falco, Dominic Chianese, Joe Pantoliano, Aida Turturro and Julianna Margulies. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was also in attendance.

Gandolfini was also remembered Wednesday at a private, invitation-only wake held in Park Ridge, N.J. Gandolfini?s wife and daughter were among the first to arrive, according to the New York Daily News.

"It's a nightmare for the whole family," Bob Price, whose wife is a Gandolfini cousin, told the paper. "It's a horrible, horrible thing. Everybody is just devastated."

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

Actress Edie Falco, right, best known as Carmela Soprano in "The Sopranos," arrives at the church.

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

Actor Dominic Chianese, left, who played Uncle Junior in "The Sopranos."

Julio Cortez / AP

Actor Joe Pantoliano, who starred as Ralph Cifaretto on "The Sopranos."

Richard Drew / AP

Actor Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby Baccalieri on "The Sopranos."

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Actress Jamie Lynn Sigler, who starred as Tony Soprano's daughter, Meadow.

Richard Drew / AP

Michael Gandolfini, left, the 13-year-old son of James Gandolfini, who was vacationing with his father when he died.

Image: Steve Buscemi and Michael Imperioli

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Actors Steve Buscemi, left, star of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," embraces actor Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti on "The Sopranos."

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

Actress Lorraine Bracco, right, best known for her role as Dr. Jennifer Melfi on "The Sopranos."

Julio Cortez / AP

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie paid his respects to a Jersey icon.

Richard Drew / AP

Actress Julianna Margulies and actor Chris Noth attended the services. Margulies played Julianna Skiff on "The Sopranos."

Image: Vincent Pastore and Aida Turturro

Richard Drew / AP

Actor Vincent Pastore, left, who played Salvatore Bonpensiero, and actress Aida Turturro, who played Janice Soprano.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/james-gandolfini-funeral-draws-family-fans-stars-new-york-6C10468612

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Australian body faults Rolls-Royce over Qantas engine explosion

By Siva Govindasamy and James Regan

SINGAPORE/CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce Plc repeatedly failed to identify a defect that caused one of its engines to explode on a Qantas Airways Ltd aircraft carrying more than 400 people over Indonesia three years ago, an Australian safety regulator found.

In its final report on the incident, the Australian Safety Transport Bureau (ASTB) said the company missed multiple opportunities to detect the faulty component which almost certainly would have caused the Airbus A380 to crash had it not been for the exceptional skill of the pilots.

It was the first major safety scare to affect the A380 and led to the temporary global grounding of the then relatively new jumbo jet. The ASTB report could lead to broader requirements for new aircraft certification around the world.

"Those opportunities were missed for a number of reasons, but generally because of ambiguities within the manufacturer's procedures and the non-adherence by a number of the manufacturing staff to those procedures," the report said on Thursday.

The four-engined A380 was on flying from Singapore to Sydney with 433 passengers and 26 crew on board when one of its engines blew up, spraying the plane with shrapnel and dropping chunks of debris on Indonesia's Batam island.

A large section of turbine disc crashed into a house, but there were no injuries to anyone either on the plane or on the ground.

The pilots returned to Singapore and landed with limited controls, stopping just 150 meters (490 feet) before the end of the runway with four blown tires, brakes heated to 900 degrees Celsius and fuel leaking to the ground.

Pilot skill likely averted a disaster as the plane suffered a series of systems problems after engine fragments ripped through the wing, puncturing fuel, hydraulic and electronic systems.

After the incident, Rolls-Royce found that a large number of the defective component - the support assemblies manufactured with pipes that feed oil into the engine bearing - did not conform to design specifications. The parts came from a facility in the United Kingdom.

The company's employees missed several opportunities to identify the potential for cracking in the oil feed stub pipes during the production and post-production phase, the ASTB said. As a result, the components were fitted onto a number of the Trent 900 engines and the problem came to light only after the Qantas engine blew.

The ASTB said it issued a recommendation in December 2010 for Rolls-Royce to address the issue, which the company fully complied with. The manufacturer now required specialized checks of the oil and air feed pipes on all Trent 900 engines on A380s, and had made changes to its quality management system.

All defective pipes on other aircraft were either fixed or removed from service.

The Australian aviation safety body said international aircraft certification standards should be updated as the damage to the Qantas plane exceeded parameters currently in use.

"Information from the accident represents an opportunity to incorporate any lessons learned from this accident" in certification processes, it said, adding that its findings had been shared with the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Rolls-Royce said in a statement that it agreed with the ASTB's conclusions and had "applied the lessons learned throughout our engineering, manufacturing and quality assurance procedures to prevent this type of event from happening again".

Colin Smith, the company's director of engineering and technology, added: "This was a serious and rare event which we very much regret."

Qantas said the report "once again underlines the calm, skilful actions of the Qantas crew in returning the aircraft and its passengers safely to Singapore".

(Editing by Stephen Coates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-body-faults-rolls-royce-over-qantas-engine-042355730.html

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The Grouch & Eligh - All These Lights

You can create some incredible footage using time-lapse photography but it's not one a director has much control over. That's why California hip-hop duo, G&E, melded it with stop motion photography to make this wild music video.

Patriots Tight End Aaron Hernandez Arrested & Dropped From Team (VIDEO)

Aaron Hernandez cut from Patriots New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez was dropped from the NFL team just after he was arrested by police at his home and taken away in handcuffs. Hernandez had been questioned and his home was searched in connection with an investigation into the shooting death of a young man, Odin Lloyd, who was found ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/patriots-tight-end-aaron-hernandez-arrested-dropped-from-team-video/

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Ecuador: Snowden would be protected on our soil

Reactions were split in Ecuador today over news Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who is wanted on espionage charges by the US, had requested asylum from the South American nation.

For supporters of leftist President Rafael Correa, recently reelected in a landslide victory, there was immense pride that Ecuador was once more demonstrating its credentials for "protecting freedom and fighting imperialism," following its decision to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange one year ago.

"We do not just protect the rights of Ecuadoreans but the universal rights of all citizens of the world, we are so happy the world can see this," said Congressman Bairon Valle.

RECOMMENDED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz.

For others, such comments were further proof of government hypocrisy, coming soon after the passing of a sweeping new media law allowing even greater government control of an already restricted press.

According to press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, the new law contains good principles but attempts to enforce them with "questionable or dangerous provisions" that fail to outline the criteria for which news reports will be considered acceptable, and hand the government too much power. Ecuador was ranked 119 out of 179 countries in its 2013 World Press Freedom Index, slipping 15 places from its position the previous year.

SAVING SNOWDEN FROM PERSECUTION?

At a press conference in a Vietnam hotel this morning, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Pati?o compared Mr. Snowden's case to the "persecution" of soldier Bradley Manning, accused of passing thousands of classified US documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

"We will take a decision in due time?. Human rights principles will always be placed above any other interest," said the minister.

The comments followed a dramatic day of developments Sunday as it emerged Snowden had managed to leave Hong Kong on a commercial flight to Russia with the help of WikiLeaks' legal team, despite reportedly having had his US passport revoked.

"WikiLeaks has assisted Mr. Snowden's political asylum in a democratic nation," said the group on Twitter, later releasing a statement elaborating, "He is bound for the Republic of Ecuador." Minister Pati?o confirmed that Ecuador had received an asylum request, and the country's ambassador to Russia, Patricio Chavez, reportedly met Snowden at a hotel in Moscow.

Russian media reported Sunday that Snowden was expected to fly to Venezuela via Cuba this morning, but at the time of publication he was believed to still be in Russia.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has just marked the one year anniversary of his stay at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has sought refuge from deportation to Sweden where he faces questioning over sexual assault allegations that he says are part of a plot to extradite him to the US. The UK has refused to allow him safe passage to the South American nation, insisting that if he sets foot outside the embassy he will be arrested.

Mr. Assange claimed Sunday that WikiLeaks had worked with Snowden to get him a special refugee travel document from Ecuador which allowed him to leave Hong Kong, accompanied by members of the website's legal team.

Ecuador does have an extradition treaty with the US, but it does not apply to people charged with political crimes. Assange ? should the US instigate criminal proceedings against him ? would likely be exempt, and Ecuador may argue Snowden should also be protected on the same grounds.

CORREA AS ANTI-IMPERIALIST

Assange's asylum bid propelled the small Latin American nation into the global spotlight and allowed President Correa, who has styled himself as an anti-imperialist crusader, to boast of Ecuador's determination to protect fundamental rights from threatening Western superpowers. Snowden will provide yet more welcome publicity.

But critics accuse him of hypocritical opportunism, pointing to the stifling of rights within Ecuador itself ? most notably the threatening and curtailment of the press, members of which Correa has called "rabid dogs" and "assassins with ink."

Press freedom groups fear harassment of journalists will get even worse following the approval of a media law earlier this month that will create a government watchdog to regulate newspaper and television content.

Dr. Blasco Pe?aherrera Padilla, Ecuador's vice president between 1984 and 1988 with the conservative Social Christian Party, said, "This law will without doubt eliminate any investigative journalism that seeks to uncover official wrongdoing, and it is simply ridiculous that a government that has just imposed it will then try to justify the possible asylum of a citizen accused of grave crimes against US public security as a defense of free speech."

Mark Weisbrot, an analyst at the think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, says claims of media restriction are exaggerated. "I'm not defending everything Correa has done but there are criminal libel laws just as strict in France and Germany, but if I accused France of trying to suppress dissent no one would take me seriously," he says. "If you've been to Ecuador you know there is a free press where you see more fierce criticism of the government than you do here in the US."

Almost any country in South America would have accepted Assange's asylum request as it was "clear-cut," says Weisbrot, and he expected Ecuador would soon approve Snowden's.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/chamber-commerce-launches-seven-figure-ad-buy-support-161656853.html

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Barnes & Noble retreats from tablet wars as Nook sales plummet

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc will stop manufacturing its own Nook tablets, marking the end of its expensive attempt to compete alone with deep-pocketed rivals Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Google Inc in the tablet wars.

The top U.S. bookstore chain reported another quarter of dismal results on Tuesday, led by a 34 percent drop in sales of Nook devices and e-books business, and said it expects sales to continue to decline this fiscal year at its bookstores.

Shares were down 17.5 percent to $15.53 in afternoon trading.

Barnes & Noble will still make and design black-and-white readers like the Nook Simple Touch, which it says are more geared to serious readers, who are its customers, than to tablets.

But it is looking for a partner to make its Nooks, acknowledging that competition is too fierce to fight alone.

"We want to move away from taking on all that risk ourselves," Barnes & Noble Chief Executive William Lynch told investors on a call. "It was very capital intensive to build our own tablets."

In the fiscal year ended April 27, Barnes & Noble lost $475 million on the Nook business and it repeatedly had to slash prices on the Nook tablets and accept returns from retailers unable to sell the devices.

The retreat raised fresh questions about Barnes & Noble's ability to sell its Nook Media subsidiary, created in early 2012 and made up of Nook and its college bookstore chain. The bookseller's ability to look at strategic alternatives and its position in the e-books market were also matters of concern.

Barclays Capital analyst Alan Rifkin said in a research note the losses "reduce the likelihood" Barnes & Noble will find a buyer for its digital business.

Last year, Microsoft Corp took a 17.6 percent stake in Nook Media, and British publisher Pearson Plc bought 5 percent. Barnes & Noble owns the rest.

Barnes & Noble shares shot up in May on unconfirmed reports that Microsoft wanted to buy Nook.

Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. bookstore chain, launched the first version of the Nook e-reader in 2009 to take on Amazon.com Inc's market-leading Kindle and secure a place in the fast growing e-books market.

E-books now account for about 20 percent of book sales, according to the Association of American Publishers. By Barnes & Noble's estimates, it has a 27 percent share of the U.S. e-books market.

BOOKSTORE CHAIN STRUGGLES

The picture was also bleak for Barnes & Noble's retail business, consisting of its 675 bookstores and accounting for two-thirds of sales.

Sales at stores open at least 15 months fell 8.8 percent last quarter and Barnes & Noble expects retail sales to be down by a high single digit percentage in its new fiscal year.

Earlier this year, Leonard Riggio, the company's chairman, founder and largest shareholder with a nearly 30 percent stake, said he wanted to buy Barnes & Noble's bookstore chain.

Lynch declined on the call to provide an update on the status of the talks.

The retailer plans to close as many as 20 stores this year.

Mitchell Klipper, who heads Barnes & Noble's retail business, told Reuters the results and forecasts would have no impact on the pace of store closings. He also said Barnes & Noble had no plans to invest in large renovations to the stores.

He also said there was no need to reduce the size of the stores.

"That is not even an option," Klipper said.

Barnes & Noble executives said that success last year of bestsellers like The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey played a large part in its forecast for a comparable sales decline.

Companywide, revenue was down 7.4 percent to $1.28 billion in the fourth quarter, below the $1.33 billion Wall Street analysts were looking for, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

One bright spot was its college bookstore chain, where same-store sales rose 7.5 percent. Still, Barnes & Noble forecast a low-single digit percentage decline for fiscal 2014 after a full year decline last year.

The retailer reported a net loss of $118.6 million, or $2.11 per share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 27, more than twice the loss of $56.9 million, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Chris Reese and Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barnes-noble-retreats-tablet-wars-nook-sales-plummet-181634480.html

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Martin Truex Jr. snaps 218-race losing streak

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) ? Martin Truex Jr. snapped a 218-race winless streak with an easy victory Sunday on the road course at Sonoma Raceway.

It was just the second win of Truex's career, first since Dover in 2007. It put Michael Waltrip Racing in Victory Lane for the second year in a row after Clint Bowyer won here last season.

Truex worked his way to the front and used strategy to stay with the leaders. He then pulled away after the final restart and built a healthy lead of more than six seconds over Juan Pablo Montoya, who was running second until he ran out of gas on the final lap.

"I'm ecstatic. But I'm not exactly sure how that happened," said Truex, who admitted he wasn't pleased with his car following Friday's practices. "The car was just phenomenal all day long and once I was near the front and didn't have to run the car 110 percent, it just would stay with me on the long runs and I was able to drive away from everyone."

Montoya, who came into the weekend knowing if he didn't win he would at least have a huge points day, dropped all the way to 34th after having to coast to the finish. He took a shortcut to skip the final turn, drifted to the finish line and parked. He then walked back to the garage, annoyed his Chip Ganassi Racing team never told him to save fuel.

"We've got tools to prevent things like that from happening," Montoya said.

"I don't know if all the fuel didn't go," Montoya said. "This is what we've been doing all year. We all work together and we're all trying to do the best we can. Half the reason we're 20-something in points ? we're not 20-something in points because we're not running fast. We're 20-something in points because we had a lot of mechanical problems and days like this we throw them away."

Crew chief Chris Heroy was perplexed about the shortage.

"We don't know what happened ? we were on the same strategy as (Truex)," Heroy said through a team spokeswoman. "We're going to go back to the shop and figure it out."

Montoya got little sympathy from Kyle Busch, who was spun by Montoya early in the race when Montoya drove too deep into a corner and wheel-hopped over a curb.

"Awww. My heart melts for @jpmontoya who ran out of gas," Busch tweeted moments after the race.

Jeff Gordon finished second a week after he was wrecked six laps into the race at Michigan, but felt like he might have had a chance to win if he had not already committed to pit seconds before a caution came out early in the race.

"I mean, I really do think we had a shot winning this race. We had a tremendous car," Gordon said. "I knew we were screwed. There was nothing I could do; I was hard on the brakes, fully committed. I couldn't turn away from it, I just knew we had to eat it and go on, and that's what we did."

Carl Edwards was third, followed by Kurt Busch, who climbed back from a pair of speeding penalties.

"Yeah, we were fast, even on pit road. Twice," Busch laughed. "I messed-up, flat-out. I didn't hit my tachometer right and I was speeding both times. It was one of those where I'm like, how does that happen? I just put myself in a position that was poor trying to get too much on pit road."

Bowyer wound up fifth in a strong day for the MWR Toyotas.

Kasey Kahne was sixth and followed by Marcos Ambrose, who was extremely disappointed he didn't win a race in which he was heavily favored.

"It's OK. We got a top-10 out of it," Ambrose said. "I wanted to win. Of course I wanted to win, but that's the way it goes."

Greg Biffle was eighth and followed by Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick in the top 10.

The race got off to an inauspicious start before it even began with a pit road accident, a mechanical issue for Jacques Villeneuve and an oil line failure for Bobby Labonte.

The accident occurred as the cars were headed onto the track and David Reutimann stopped his car on pit road. Alex Kennedy stopped behind Reutimann, and Paulie Harraka slammed into the back of Kennedy.

The damage wasn't significant enough to prevent Harraka from making his Sprint Cup Series debut. But it was a short-lived race for the first driver to advance from NASCAR's diversity program into a Cup race ? Harraka spun and crashed his car six laps later.

Meanwhile, a parts failure caused Labonte to dump oil all over pit road before the race and he was forced to take his car to the garage for a quick repair. Labonte made it onto the track for the green flag, but his engine failed on the first lap.

"It blew up, dude," Labonte said on his radio. "Something in the bottom engine because it had no oil pressure."

Villeneuve had an issue shifting his gears and had to stay on pit road for a quick repair before trying to catch up to the field at the start of the race. He made it, but the problem wasn't completely corrected and he was back on pit road after 19 laps for more repairs.

Busch had back-to-back speeding penalties in yet another race that slipped away. He led 15 laps, lost the lead to former teammate Brad Keselowski, then was flagged for speeding when he went in for a scheduled pit stop. He had to return to pit road for a stop-and-go penalty and was flagged for speeding again.

It dropped Busch to 38th in the running order, from where he had to climb back to steal his strong finish.

His brother also had his share of problems. Kyle Busch was spun early in the race by Montoya to lose a ton of track position, then gave up everything he made up when he was caught speeding on pit road. He also spun at least two more times during the race.

Danica Patrick, thought to be a contender based on her strong runs in Nationwide Series road races, struggled all weekend to find speed and was done in by a flat rear tire just past the halfway point. The tire issue caused her to spin into a barrier and make multiple pit stops for repairs.

Pole-sitter Jamie McMurray never even led a lap under green as he was passed at the start by Ambrose, and his race took a big hit when he later ran off course with a tire problem and lost a lap.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/martin-truex-jr-snaps-218-race-losing-streak-222553393.html

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Rapper 'Fat Joe' sentenced in NJ for tax case

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? The former chart-topping rap star known as "Fat Joe" was sentenced to four months in prison Monday over his earlier admission that he failed to file federal income taxes for two years.

The platinum-selling artist, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, apologized to his family and supporters during his sentencing Monday in federal court in Newark, N.J.

The 42-year-old resident of Miami Beach, Fla., and Tenafly, N.J., pleaded guilty in December to failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million of income in 2007 and in 2008.

U.S. Magistrate Cathy Waldor said she took into account for sentencing the government's allegation that Cartagena failed to pay taxes on some $3 million in income for the years 2007 through 2010. Federal prosecutors said the total tax loss to the government for those four years was $718,038.

The case was prosecuted in New Jersey because some of the companies he earns money from; including his Somerville, N.J.-based Terror Squad Production Inc., and Miramar Music Touring Inc., are incorporated in the state. He also earned income from FJTS Corp., during the time in question.

In a courtroom packed with family members and supporters, Cartagena looked fit and considerably slimmer than the size that had earned him his rap moniker. He has been very public about his efforts to shed weight after fellow rap stars died from obesity-related issues, and has spoken to schoolchildren, in New Jersey and elsewhere about the importance of health and fitness.

Apologizing to the court and his family and supporters, Cartagena spoke of growing up in a housing project in the Bronx in New York City surrounded by guns, drugs and "violence all around."

"I did everything I could to achieve what I could, to move my family; I tried to stay positive, focus on the positive, and get myself out," he said. He spoke of how many family members he supported and how he tried to give back to his community.

"I guess I'm surprised, caused I worked so hard to not end up in court, that I'm here," he said. "This is the last place I thought I would be."

The rapper once topped the Billboard 100 chart with hits like the duet "What's Luv" with the R&B singer Ashanti. He said he had recently signed a record deal in hopes of making money to pay back his arrears.

Defense Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said outside federal court that Cartagena had liquidated his retirement account to start paying the money back.

In addition to the prison term, Cartagena was sentenced to one year of supervised release and fined $15,000. He must report to prison by Aug. 26.

The federal courthouse in Newark has recently been the setting for several tax cases involving well-known musicians.

The Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill was sentenced in May to three months in prison for failing to pay about $1 million in taxes over the past decade. Two sons of the founders of the Sugar Hill Records hip-hop recording label were sentenced in May to probation for failing to file taxes.

___

Follow Samantha Henry at http://www.twitter.com/SamanthaHenry.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rapper-fat-joe-sentenced-nj-tax-case-194049383.html

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Monday, June 24, 2013

osman splendorous: triple a travel: Successful Tele Selling ...

Tele selling is an significant avenue for sales for most business establishments in the present time eventuality. While most people make use of tele selling, there are just 1 or 2 who?re profitable. In case you wish to be productive too, make sure that you abide by the provided tips.

Smile, when you?re tele selling your goods. While the person on the other end of the phone may not observe your facial expression, he or he?s going to definitely feel it. Smiling not only makes you more confident however additionally gives your voice a pleasing undertone. Moreover, when you smile, you?re bound to feel relaxed and that will also reflect in your voice. So, when you sound confident, pleasant and chilled, the individual you?re calling is certain to be more willing to lend an ear to what you are saying.

Learn to listen to your clients. Most tele executives are more engaged in narrating their part of the tale than listening to what the customer has to say. This disposition may merely frustrate the receiver of your call and so you must make it a point to hear what the other person is saying before continuing with what you ought to say. Do not multitask when on a call as you might not be able to listen to what?s being stated. By lending a patient and alert ear, you will be able to make your discussion more productive.

To make sure that you have an engaging and smooth conversation, include various open ended investigations in the call. This can give a chance to the receiver to speak his/her mind. In reality it?s much better in case the prospective customer is at the speaking end more than you. Purpose being this creates a comfortable atmosphere for the recipient. This may aid you coax the person to go ahead with the purchase.

Come in rhythm to the recipient?s style of talking. In case the person at the other end of the phone speaks softly and carefully, try to take up the same speaking style. As the pace plus the style of speaking reaches a common zone, the chances of successful chat raises manifolds. The recipient develops an affinity with the caller and thereby strikes an engaging chat.

Besides the above mentioned tips, you could also look at recording your calls to increase your success quotient. Recording your calls and listening to them will aid you understand the areas where you could improve. You may wish to say ?Hi? in a distinct tone all together. Or you might realize that your articulation is not very apparent to the other person. Work on your flaws and you will manage to collect success for sure.

So, in case you desire your tele selling to bring the preferred revenue and profits, it makes sense to take on the given tips at the earliest.

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Report: Jan Ullrich admits blood doping

BERLIN (AP) ? Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner, has admitted for the first time that he received blood-doping treatment from Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes during his career, according to an interview with a German magazine published Saturday.

Ullrich had previously acknowledged having unspecified "contact" with Fuentes, but went further in an interview with the weekly Focus.

"Yes, I received treatment from Fuentes," the German rider was quoted as saying.

Asked if he only engaged in blood doping with Fuentes, Ullrich replied that "the doctor's diagnosis says that." He said he couldn't remember how many times he had received treatment from Fuentes.

In February 2012, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Ullrich for two years for blood doping.

The CAS ruled that the German was "fully engaged" in Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes' doping program, exposed in the Operation Puerto probe. The court stripped him of his third-place finish at the 2005 Tour. Ullrich retired in 2007.

Ullrich didn't contest the CAS ruling, saying at the time that he wanted to "put an end to the issue."

IOC vice president Thomas Bach said the confession is "too little, too late."

"Jan Ullrich had his chance for a creditable admission a couple of years ago and he missed it," Bach said in an emailed statement. "Today's confirmation of some of the already well known and established facts does not help Jan Ullrich nor cycling."

In Saturday's interview, the 39-year-old Ullrich said that while he had made bad decisions during his career, "I did not harm or defraud anyone."

"Almost everyone took performance-enhancing substances then. I took nothing that the others didn't also take," he was quoted as saying. "For me, fraud starts when I gain an advantage. That wasn't the case. I wanted to ensure equality of opportunities.

"The issue is dealt with for me. I only want to look forward, and never again backward."

Ullrich's interview comes after Lance Armstrong, the dominant cyclist of his generation, acknowledged in January that he doped for all seven of his Tour wins from 1999-2005. On three of those occasions, Ullrich finished second.

"I am no better than Armstrong, but no worse either," Ullrich was quoted as saying. "The great 'heroes' of earlier years are now people with failures that they have to come to terms with."

Earlier this year, Armstrong said doping became so routine it was "like saying we have to have air in our tires or water in our bottles."

Asked about that comment, Ullrich told Focus: "I can't understand that. I always knew that I was doing something forbidden and wrong."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-jan-ullrich-admits-blood-doping-091803638.html

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Snowden charged with espionage, theft in NSA case

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who says he revealed that the National Security Agency collects Americans' phone records and Internet data from U.S. communication companies, now faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong, which could complicate efforts to bring him to a U.S. federal court to answer charges that he engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

In addition to those charges, both brought under the Espionage Act, the government charged Snowden with theft of government property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., part of the Eastern District of Virginia where his former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, in McLean.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the person who had leaked to the news media that the NSA, in two highly classified surveillance programs, gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

It was unclear Friday whether the U.S. had yet to begin an effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. He could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Hong Kong had no immediate reaction to word of the charges against Snowden.

The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense. The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks. In one of them, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acknowledged he sent more than 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and other materials to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. His military trial is underway.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges against Snowden.

"I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

But the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy group, said Snowden should be shielded from prosecution by whistle-blower protection laws.

"He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other," the group said in a statement.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," di Pretoro said.

The U.S. and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives. However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

Hong Kong lawmakers said Saturday that the Chinese government should make the final decision on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system.

Leung urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board and as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major Internet service providers, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-charged-espionage-theft-nsa-case-072626051.html

Friday, June 21, 2013

Samsung announces ATIV Tab 3: an 8.2mm thin Windows 8 slate with Galaxy DNA

This is the ATIV Tab 3. A Windows 8 tablet that Mr. DJ Lee just briefly mentioned on stage. Thankfully, roughly 40 minutes later, the slate was trotted back out and detailed more fully. For one, the Tab 3 borrows heavily from its Android-powered cousins in the Galaxy family. But, unlike its sibling the Q, there isn't an option to quickly fire up Googles' mobile OS. It does, however, share the same extremely thin body and design language while running Windows 8 proper (none of this crippled RT nonsense). While we can't actually confirm that its 8.2mm thick frame is, in fact, the thinnest in the world, it's got to be pretty close. That the manufacturer has crammed a Z2760 Atom inside along with 2GB of RAM is darn impressive. The entire thing weighs just 550g, or about 19 ounces. Despite its lithe body, Samsung claims it can last up to 8.5 hours on the battery inside, which is actually quite a bit better than we would have anticipated from an x86 tablet with a 10.1-inch, 1,366 x 768 display.

The Galaxy DNA goes beyond just appearances though, the ATIV Tab 3 also includes an S Pen and S Note software. Plus, you get a free copy of Office Home & Student. As for pricing and availability, expect to see it on shelves by August for $699, keyboard cover included.

Gallery: Samsung Premiere 2013