Military exercise in China's Xinjiang after 'terror' clashes

by Agence France-Presse
Posted on 06/30/2013 6:14 AM ?|?Updated 06/30/2013 6:14 AM

URUMQI, China - China staged a large military exercise in the ethnically-divided Xinjiang region on Saturday, June 29, after dual clashes this week branded as "terrorism" killed at least 35 people.

Tanks, military vehicles, and armed personnel blocked access to streets in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, where at least 1,000 personnel carried out the exercise, an AFP reporter present at the scene said, with large sections of the city's center shut down.

"Isn't it obvious? It is being staged because of the latest terrorism attacks," one local woman who did not give her name said of the exercise, which locals said was highly unusual in that scale.

The drill came ahead of the fourth anniversary on July 5 of riots in Urumqi between members of China's mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority and its Han majority, which left around 200 dead.

Saturday's exercise -- which began this afternoon and was expected to last around five hours -- was carried out by members of the People's Armed Police, part of China's armed forces responsible for law enforcement and internal security during peacetime.

China's state-run media on Saturday blamed over 100 people it branded "terrorists" for sparking "riots" in Xinjiang the previous day.

The unrest took place in the prefecture of Hotan, where a group "(attacked) a number of people with weapons after gathering at local religious venues", the state-run Global Times said.

It followed clashes on Wednesday, June 26, which left 35 dead, the worst to hit the western desert region -- home to around 10 million members of the Uighur minority -- since the 2009 riots. China called the incident a "violent terrorist attack".

Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the US government, quoted a source as saying police in Hotan opened fire on Uighurs as they left a local mosque.

"Young Uighurs on motorcycles were leaving the mosque, they were shouting religious slogans...The police were frightened and started shooting at them ... At least two died and one was injured," the report said.

A state-run news website, Tianshan Web, said that no members of the public had been killed or injured, without stating whether police or government staff had died.

China's President Xi Jinping said, following the attacks, that "(the incidents) must be handled quickly to guarantee the general stability of the society", Tianshan Web reported on Saturday.

China often labels outbreaks of sporadic unrest in the region as terrorism -- claims denied by Uighur rights groups who blame unrest on economic inequality and religious repression.

Meanwhile, a senior ruling Communist Party official has called for "24-hour patrol" by armed police in the restive region, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It was not possible to verify details of Wednesday's clash independently as reporters were barred from entering the town, detained and later followed by local police.

The Uyghur American Association, run by exiled members of the minority, said a "blackout of news" on attacks in the region cast doubt on Chinese government claims in a statement released on Saturday.

"The state then uses its propaganda apparatus to label the incident 'terrorism' without presenting any evidence that can be independently proved," the group said.

The recent unrest occurred ahead of celebrations for the Muslim Ramadan festival -- which Uighurs have said are repressed by local authorities.

AFP reporters saw members of China's armed paramilitary police transported near Lukqun, the town affected by riots on Wednesday.

Residents contacted by AFP by telephone said police, some armed, were lining streets and intersections in the town following the attack. Another local resident told AFP he could not send text messages to the area.

Locals in Urumqi said the city was divided into Uighur and Han districts, and one taxi driver, who did not give his name, said that Han residents were avoiding Uighur dominated areas in the run up to the anniversary.

Official figures say 46 percent of Xinjiang's population is Uighur, while another 39 percent are members of China's dominant Han majority.

In recent decades millions of Han have relocated to the region -- which is rich in coal and gas -- to find work, in a settlement drive that has caused friction in the community.

Beijing denies repressing ethnic minorities, who make up less than 10 percent of the national population and enjoy some preferential policies.

China closely restricts information about unrest in Xinjiang, and blocked access across the region for several months after the violence in 2009. - Rappler.com

Source: http://feeds.rappler.com/~r/rappler/~3/omzC5RCXxAs/32526-military-exercise-china-xinjiang

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The Gamer Who Raised Me - Kotaku

There are many factors that have made me into the person I am today, as is the case with any person on this planet. My personality has been partially formed by that chemical factor called 'depression' that I have discussed here many times but, as any good psychologist would tell me, there are also plenty of external elements that have played roles in my development as a human being.

I certainly didn't become a games journalist by accident. Like pretty much every other dude my age, I've long had an interest in video games. The reasons I have for preferring certain types of games over others, however, can be traced back to a specific origin: my dad. His influence is why I've almost always been primarily a PC gamer. He's also why I have such an intense fascination with storytelling in games that I've made that aspect of the medium my main editorial focus as a columnist and critic.

My dad, also named Phil, has been an engineer working for the US Army since he graduated college in the mid-'80s. He was, to put it bluntly, a nerd.

In his formative years, my father spent a lot of time at the arcade dropping quarter after quarter into games like Galaga and Tempest. But he married my mom when he was only a year into college, and by the time he was 22 my older sister and I had invaded his life. He didn't have time for the arcade but, being of a nerd type, he had a personal computer.

---

My dad knew how much he enjoyed playing video games when he was a kid, and he wanted to share those experiences with me.

---

By the earliest time in my life that I can still remember?some time in the early '90s?he had a PC with a 486 DX 100 CPU. He played a lot of old-style arcade-ish games on it. I would watch him play, and sometimes he would give me a turn. He told me recently that he knew how much he enjoyed playing video games when he was a kid, and he wanted to share those experiences with me.

My dad is therefore the reason why I was playing games on the computer, before we ever had a game console in our house. My earliest gaming memories are of Lemmings and the Home Alone 2 platformer and something called Brix, which I remember being my dad's poison. My dad encouraged me to become comfortable with a mouse and keyboard before I ever touched a gamepad.

Back during Christmas in 1996, my parents gifted me something that would greatly impact my destiny as a human being: LucasArts Archives vol II: The Star Wars Collection for the PC. They gave me a joystick to go with it. By this time we had a Super Nintendo. I spent a lot of time on it playing Donkey Kong and sports games. But this pack of PC games that I received included TIE Fighter, both Rebel Assault games and a three-level demo for Dark Forces. Those games scratched an itch I didn't know I had.

My dad tried to take turns playing Rebel Assault with me, but he found he couldn't keep up with action in those games. That didn't stop me from becoming what could charitably be called 'obsessed.' I already greatly enjoyed Star Wars?another way my dad influenced my taste in entertainment?but the idea of playing through stories set in that universe was unbelievably exciting to me. I consumed those titles with the same urgency that I approach a home-cooked meal. Before I knew it I was begging my dad to upgrade the family computer to something Pentium-powered with a 3D accelerator graphics chip. I needed to be able play more technically-demanding games like Dark Forces 2, Rogue Squadron and X-Wing Alliance.

My father obliged, although not quite all at once. He saw how much fun I was having, how much joy these experiences brought me, and he encouraged my growing habit?plus, I got good grades at school and played a lot of sports, so my dad let me play.

I would, of course, branch out from Star Wars games. I developed a liking for Command & Conquer and Half-Life and Quake 2, but I rarely strayed from games with stories. I played some Counter-Strike, sure, but even with that game, for match after match, I would create narratives in my mind.

Today, I play games on a desktop PC that I built with my bare hands. My dad, excited that I was doing that, purchased the graphics card for it. That's not an insignificant part, as PC nerds will know. As he always had, he wanted to support my desire to game on a PC.

S

There's one other thing I want to share about my father. Even though he is only 48 years old, he is dying of cancer. Chemotherapy has been completely ineffective, and his doctors say he won't last the year. He probably won't even make it to his birthday in September. When he does go, he will leave behind a tangible legacy: my writings on games, writing that was borne from the love of gaming he instilled in me.

I don't know who I would be today had my father not chosen to share his enjoyment of interactive entertainment with me. I am certain that I am who I am because he, all those years ago, let me sit in front of a computer and have all the fun in the world.

Phil Owen is a freelance entertainment journalist whose work you might have seen at VG247, GameFront, Appolicious, Gameranx and many, many other places. You can follow him on Twitter at @philrowen. Send hate mail to phil.r.owen@gmail.com.

Source: http://kotaku.com/the-gamer-who-raised-me-612721055

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HBT: Indians' 19 trump White Sox's 10 in laugher

The Indians and White Sox are slated to play two games tonight, but they may have exhausted all their weapons in game one. The two clubs combined for 29 runs over a nine-inning affair, hanging up crooked numbers in seven different innings as the Indians won 19-10. All but two members of the Indians? starting lineup (Asdrubal Cabrera, Mark Reynolds) had at least two runs batted in and Reynolds was the only one not to have multiple hits.

White Sox hurlers Hector Santiago, Brian Omogrosso, Ramon Troncoso, and Matt Lindstrom combined to allow 19 runs. They were then shown up in the ninth inning when Casper Wells, an outfielder by trade, held the Indians scoreless in the top of the ninth. Wells worked around a one-out walk of Mike Aviles, striking out Cabrera and getting Jason Kipnis to fly out to end the frame.?Craig noted on Twitter that Wells was hitting the low 90?s with movement on his fastball.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/28/position-player-casper-wells-outpitches-white-sox-pitching-staff-in-blowout/related/

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Ecuador president: Snowden can't leave Moscow

PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador (AP) ? Edward Snowden is "under the care of the Russian authorities" and can't leave Moscow's international airport without their consent, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told The Associated Press Sunday in an interview telegraphing the slim and diminishing possibility that the National Security Agency leaker will end up in Ecuador.

Correa portrayed Russia as entirely the master of Snowden's fate and said Ecuador is still awaiting an asylum request from Snowden before deciding its next moves.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from the case since Snowden arrived in Moscow last week, insisting the 30-year-old former NSA contractor remains in the transit zone of the capital's Sheremetyevo Airport and that as long as he has not legally entered Russia, he is out of the Kremlin's control.

At the same time, the Kremlin said Sunday that it will take public opinion and the views of human rights activists into account when considering Snowden's case, a move that could lay the groundwork for him to seek asylum in Russia.

"This is the decision of Russian authorities," Correa told the AP during a visit to this Pacific coast city. "He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don't know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can't. At this moment he's under the care of the Russian authorities. If he arrives at an Ecuadorean Embassy we'll analyze his request for asylum."

Last week, several members of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights spoke out in support of Snowden, saying he deserved to receive political asylum in the country of his choice and should not be handed over to the United States. And a handful of protesters picketed outside the Moscow airport in what appeared to be an orchestrated demonstration on Friday, holding signs reading "Edward, Russia is your second motherland" and "Russia is behind Snowden."

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio that while Snowden is not Russia's concern, the Kremlin is aware of the viewpoints of Russian experts and representatives of human rights organizations.

"Public opinion on the subject is very rich," Peskov said in the radio interview. "We are aware of this and are taking it into account."

Correa said he had no idea Snowden's intended destination was Ecuador when he fled Hong Kong for Russia last week. He said the Ecuadorean consul in London committed "a serious error" by not consulting officials in Ecuador's capital when the consul issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. He said the consul would be punished, although he didn't specify how.

Analysts familiar with the workings of the Ecuadorean government said Correa's claims that the decision was entirely Russia's appeared to be at least partly disingenuous. They said they believed Correa's administration at first intended to host Snowden, then started back-tracking this week when the possible consequences became clearer.

"I think the government started to realize the dimensions of what it was getting itself into, how it was managing things and the consequences that this could bring," said Santiago Basabe, an analyst and professor of political sciences at the Latin American School of Social Sciences in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito. "So it started pulling back, and they'll never tell us why, but I think the alarm bells started to go off from people very close to the government, maybe Ecuador's ambassador in Washington warned them about the consequences of asylum for Snowden."

Correa said Snowden must assume responsibility if he broke U.S. laws, but added the broader legitimacy of Snowden's action must be taken into consideration. He said Ecuador would still consider an asylum request but only if Snowden is able to make it to Ecuador or an Ecuadorean Embassy to apply.

The U.S. is seeking the former NSA contractor's extradition for leaking secret documents that, among other things, detail U.S. surveillance of international online activity. On Sunday, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that classified documents taken by Snowden also revealed U.S. spies had allegedly bugged European Union offices.

Correa never entirely closed the door to Snowden, whom he said had drawn vital attention to the U.S. eavesdropping program and potential violations of human rights. But Correa appeared to be sending the message that it is unlikely Snowden will ever end up in Ecuador. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of the U.S. legal process and praised Vice President Joe Biden for what he described as a courteous and appreciated half-hour call about the Snowden case on Friday.

He similarly declined to reject an important set of U.S. trade benefits for Ecuadorean exports, again a contrast with his government's unilateral renunciation of a separate set of tariff benefits earlier in the week.

"If he really could have broken North American laws, I am very respectful of other countries and their laws and I believe that someone who breaks the law must assume his responsibilities," Correa said. "But we also believe in human rights and due process."

He said Biden had asked him to send Snowden back to the United States immediately because he faces criminal charges, is a fugitive from justice and has had his passport revoked.

"I told him that we would analyze his opinion, which is very important to us," Correa said, adding that he had demanded the return of several Ecuadoreans who are in the United States but face criminal charges at home.

"I greatly appreciated the call," he said, contrasting it with threats made by a small group of U.S. senators to revoke Ecuadorean trade privileges. "When I received the call from Vice President Biden, which was with great cordiality and a different vision, we really welcomed it a lot."

Ecuadorean officials believe Russian authorities stymied the country's efforts to approve a political asylum application from the former NSA systems analyst, according to government officials with direct knowledge of the case.

Those officials said Ecuador had been making detailed plans to receive and host Snowden. One of the officials said Russia's refusal to let Snowden leave or be picked up by Ecuadorean officials had thwarted the plans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case by name.

One of the officials said Snowden had intended to travel from Moscow to the Ecuadorean capital of Quito. The official said Ecuador had also asked Russia to let Snowden take a commercial flight to meet Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino in Vietnam or Singapore, where Patino was on an official trip.

The Russians rejected all of Ecuador's requests to let Snowden leave Moscow, or to let an Ecuadorean government plane pick him up there, the official said.

Asked Sunday about those accounts, Correa responded, without elaborating, "We don't have long-range aircraft. It's a joke."

Snowden's path to Ecuador would have gone through Cuba, which said little about the case all week, including whether it would have allowed him to use its territory to transit.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro praised Correa's rejection of U.S. trade pressure, expressing his "sympathies" for the Ecuadorean leader in a Sunday editorial in the state press.

_______ Gonzalo Solano contributed from Quito, Ecuador. Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-president-snowden-cant-leave-moscow-145434970.html

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Has the U.S. reached 'marriage equality?' Not yet. (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316231664?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Maradona expects pure sports with no politics during visit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sports | Sun, June 30 2013, 1:01 PM

Legendary soccer player turned coach Diego Armando Maradona has said that he wants to concentrate on sports during his visit to Indonesia and does not want to get involved with political issues.

"I want to say that politics should not be mixed with soccer," Maradona said during gala dinner on Saturday night as reported by Antara news portal.

Maradona, who arrived at Soekarno-Hatta international airport Saturday morning (June 29) initially wished to visit Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi) and Medan (North Sumatra) for coaching clinic activities.

However, he cancelled his visit to Makassar upon hearing that his activities there would be ?hijacked? by a political event.

It was also reported that the Argentine coach had cancelled another visit to Medan. Commenting on this, Maradona said he had not yet decided whether or not he would cancel his Medan visit.

"But it is not my last visit to Indonesia. I want to come here again to make everything beautiful. I want to?visit Bali and other tourist destinations," he said.

Maradona had earlier planned to hold a coaching clinic for?Indonesian youth at Bung Karno stadium in?Senayan, Jakarta, but did not go through with it allegedly due to security reasons.(hrl/dic)

Selected comments will be published in the Readers? Forum page of our print newspaper.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/06/30/maradona-expects-pure-sports-with-no-politics-during-visit.html

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Nanoparticles Help Scientists Tell Left From Right

Have trouble telling left from right? Believe it not, so do molecular scientists. But a new method that amplifies the difference between right-handed and left-handed molecules could make things easier for scientists and lead to the development of new nanomaterials, optical sensors and pharmaceutical drugs.

A team of scientists at the U.S Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Ohio University have developed a way to make determining the handedness, or chirality, of molecules simpler.

In biology, left and right molecular designs are crucial. Living things are only made from left-handed molecules. A left-handed molecule of a particular compound could be an effective drug while its right-handed counterpart is completely inactive.

To help determine which is which, scientists used gold-and-silver cubic nanoparticles to amplify the difference between a left-handed molecule's and a right-handed molecule's response to a particular kind of light known as "circularly polarized" light.

Earlier work showed that molecules respond better to light when coupled with metallic nanoparticles. So researchers experimented with different shapes and compositions of nanoparticles to determine which was best suited for reflecting circularly polarized light.

They found that cubes with a gold centers surrounded by a silver shell were not only effective at picking up a chiral optical signal, they could even amplify these signals.

The optical signals of molecules attached to the gold and silver nanocubes were approximately 100 times stronger than their unattached counterparts.

"Our discovery and methods based on this research could be extremely useful for characterization of biomolecular interactions with drugs, probing protein folding and in other application where stereometric properties are important," said Oleg Gang, a researcher at Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials.

Researchers also believe that their work could lead to enhanced designs of metamaterials used for things like energy harvesting and optical telecommunications.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience.? Email asklizzyp@gmail.com?or follow her?@techEpalermo. Follow us @TechNewsDaily, on Facebook or on?Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nanoparticles-help-scientists-tell-left-194645919.html

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Prop 8 challengers wed in California after stay is lifted

California Attorney General Kamala Harris officiates the wedding ceremony of Kristin Perry and Sandy Stiler, plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case, at San Francisco City Hall.

By Pete Williams and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

The two couples who challenged?the law that had?barred same-sex marriage in California?were married Friday afternoon after a federal appeals court dissolved its stay blocking same-sex marriage in the state.

On the eve of San Francisco's Pride Weekend,?State Attorney General Kamala?declared Sandra Stier, 50, and Kris Perry,?48, "spouse and spouse" shortly before 5 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) at San Francisco City Hall. In their vows, the couple took each other as?"lawfully wedded wife."

---

"Right now, we feel really victorious and thrilled and relieved to be at the end of this long journey and just move forward like a regular married couple," Stier said in a conference call with reporters ? but not before she introduced Perry as "my beautiful wife."

Stier said she and Perry hadn't had time to schedule a honeymoon. But Perry said that after a celebration with "all of the people we love ... Sandy and I will go somewhere alone."

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, one of the couples who successfully challenged California's Proposition 8, marry in Los Angeles.

About 90 minutes later in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa married the other couple, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, on his last day in office.

The ceremony, Katami said, was "about celebrating our private commitment and our public connection."

As the ceremony began, Villaraigosa said:?"I've done a few of these over the last couple years, but never have I been prouder. Never have I been more joyful than I am today. This is a special moment."

Many state officials, including Harris and Gov. Jerry Brown, celebrated the decision Friday on Twitter:

Twitter.com

Twitter.com

San Francisco City Hall will stay open until 8 p.m. Friday and will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for marriage licenses. The Los Angeles County registrar and clerk's office said it was deputizing extra marriage commissioners and extending days and locations to accommodate an expected rush of weddings.

Gina Alcomendias, the clerk-recorder for Santa Clara County, said few people had shown up at the County Building because the appeals court's decision came late in the day.

But "we're going to be busy Monday, I think ? the whole week next week," Alcomendias told NBC Bay Area. "Probably for a long while."

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals lifted its stay two days after the Supreme Court declined to rule on Proposition 8, thereby upholding a lower court's decision overturning the ban.?The appeals court had blocked enforcement of that ruling pending the Supreme Court decision.

The justices also struck down?the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law that barred recognition of same-sex marriages.

Supreme Court rulings generally don't take effect for 25 days. But Harris had called on the 9th Circuit to lift its stay as soon as possible Wednesday after Brown told the state's 58 counties to prepare for same-sex marriages.

Brown issued an order Friday afternoon making that official, declaring that "marriage licenses must be issued to same-sex couples immediately."

California Attorney General Kamala Harris instructs the Los Angeles County Clerk by telephone to begin same-sex marriages "immediately."

The Protect Marriage Coalition's?Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund, which sponsored the ballot initiative, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. But in a statement, the group said it had been deprived of "our right to ask for reconsideration," calling the appeals court's decision an "outrageous act of judicial tyranny."

"Homosexual marriage is not happening because the people changed their mind," the group said in a statement. "It isn't happening because the appellate courts declared a new constitutional right. It's happening because enemies of the people have abused their power to manipulate the system and render the people voiceless."

Theodore Boutros, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, said the appeals court was fully within its rights to lift its injunction, which simply restored the status quo in the circuit. Any attempt by opponents to seek reconsideration of the Supreme Court ruling is a separate matter, he said.

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

Miranda Leitsinger, Norma Rubio and Sossy Dombourian of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Related:

Same-sex marriage supporters cheer 'Cinderella moment'; opponents vow to fight on

Historic day for gay marriage after two big court decisions

Jeff Chiu / AP

Kris Perry, left, kisses Sandra Stier as they are married Friday at San Francisco City Hall in a ceremony officiated by state Attorney General Kamala Harris.

This story was originally published on Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:59 PM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/2df2fe27/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C280C191940A790Eprop0E80Echallengers0Ewed0Ein0Ecalifornia0Eafter0Estay0Eis0Elifted0Dlite/story01.htm

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MacNN | iPhone News: Chinese activist at NYU finds iPhone, iPad laced with monitoring apps

?

Blame placed on Chinese government, wife of activist Bob Fu

An iPhone and an iPad given to Chinese political dissident Chen Guangcheng had spyware preloaded, Reuters sources claim. Chen is famous for escaping house arrest in China and taking refuge in the US embassy in Beijing. The activist eventually arrived at New York University Law School on a fellowship; the spyware, which would've let the Chinese government track Chen's position and monitor his communications, was reportedly found through a screening by NYU technicians. The iPad was eventually scrubbed and returned to Chen at his request, one source says.

Some blame is being placed on Heidi Cai, who gave the devices to Chen as a gift in May 2012, after he and his family had moved into a New York apartment. Cai is the wife of Chinese activist Bob Fu, who runs a Christian group called ChinaAid, which helps underground churches in China as well as victims of forced abortions. Fu is calling the accusations "ridiculous," and "like a 007 thing." He states that he and Cai simply thought that Chen's family would want to call their relatives, and decided to give them communication options. He adds that a ChinaAid computer technician tells him "the only thing he added on the iPad was a Skype account."

A media consultant who has been helping Chen, Mark Corallo, says that the iPhone and iPad were "brand-new when ChinaAid gave them to NYU to give to Chen, so there was no need or reason to perform any check." He comments that "At least to Chen's knowledge, none of these devices was ever found to have any tracking or listening mechanisms." Reuters sources argue that Chen was told within days of his coming to the US that some of his supporters might actually be spying on him. Chen was "furious" and "very upset" when he heard this, one of the sources remarks. The activist is, however, said to have continued to associate with the Fu family.

Chen's fellowship was recently ended. He accuses NYU of bending to pressure from the Chinese government, and some of his supporters charge that the university is afraid of offending China while still aiming to build a campus in Shanghai. NYU insists that the fellowship was only ever intended to last one year.

by MacNN Staff

Source: http://feeds.smartphonemag.com/~r/iPhoneLife_News/~3/FD10_1iuy9U/story01.htm

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Food Fanatic Recipes of the Week: Jam-ing Away!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/food-fanatic-recipes-of-the-week-jam-ing-away/

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Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack dies at 91

ROME (AP) ? Margherita Hack, an astrophysicist who explained her research on the stars in plain language for the public and who championed civil rights in her native Italy, died on Saturday in the Adriatic Sea town of Trieste, where she had headed an astronomical observatory. She was 91.

President Giorgio Napolitano's condolence message hailed her as a "high-level personality in the world of scientific culture."

"At the same time, she represented a strong example of civil passion, leaving a noble fingerprint in public debate and in the dialogue with citizens," Napolitano said.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted family friend Marinella Chirico as saying Hack died in a hospital after being treated for heart problems.

Hack headed the observatory in Trieste, the first woman to hold that post, from 1964 to 1987, and was a popular and frequent commentator in Italian media about discoveries in astronomy and physics.

The current director of the observatory, Stefano Borgani, told Sky TG24 TV that Hack was one of the first astronomers to "have the intuition" that the future of astronomical observation lay in using space satellites.

An atheist who decried Vatican influence on Italian politicians, Hack helped fight a successful battle to legalize abortion in Italy. She unsuccessfully lobbied for the right to euthanasia and also championed gay rights. Among her victories was a campaign against construction of nuclear reactors in Italy.

A vegetarian since childhood, she also was an advocate for animal protection and lived with eight cats and a dog.

Hack, an optimist with a cheerful disposition, studied the heavens in the firm belief there was no after-life.

"I have no fear of death," Hack once said in a TV interview. "While we are here, death isn't" with us.

"When there is death, I won't be here," she said.

Among the many Twitter comments about her passing was one from an admirer who wrote that Hack was "so great and nice that God will pretend not to exist so as not to upset her," the Italian news agency LaPresse noted.

She liked to joke that the "first and last" time she was in a church was for her marriage to fellow native Florentine Aldo De Rosa, in 1944. She agreed to a church ceremony only because the groom's parents were very religious. Hack dressed simply in life, including for her own wedding, when she wore an overcoat-turned-inside out for a bridal gown. She and her widower, 93, had no children.

Hack enrolled at the University of Florence as a student of literature, but after one class, switched to physics. By the early 1950s, she was an astronomer at the Tuscan city's astronomical observatory.

She was also an athlete, excelling in track. Specializing in the long jump and high jump from 1939 to 1943, she won national university championships and placed high in national championships.

Hack was active in left-wing politics, including most recently supporting the governor of southern Puglia, Nichi Vendola, one of Italy's few openly gay politicians.

"With Margherita Hack's passing, we lose an authoritative voice in favor of civil rights and equality," said Fabrizio Marrazzo, a spokesman for a gay advocacy group, Gay Center. "More than once, Hack came out in favor of gay rights, civil unions and the dignity of gay families."

Italy's foreign minister, Emma Bonino, who as a leader of the tiny Radical Party helped wage battles to legalize divorce and abortion in Italy, said Hack was "an extraordinary figure."

"With her vanishes not only a great scientist but a free spirit, deeply intellectually honest," ANSA quoted Bonino as saying.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italian-astrophysicist-margherita-hack-dies-91-144510808.html

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Judge scrutinizes Facebook deal to end privacy lawsuit over ads

Facebook

Dan Levine Reuters

3 hours ago

Reuters file

SAN FRANCISCO ? Child rights advocates tried to convince a U.S. judge on Friday that a Facebook legal settlement did not go far enough to keep content created by minors out of the hands of advertisers.

Five plaintiffs filed a proposed class action against Facebook in 2011, saying the social networking giant's "Sponsored Stories" program shared user's "likes" of certain advertisers without paying them or allowing them to opt out.

The case has highlighted tension between privacy concerns and Facebook's drive to monetize user content.

Under the terms of a proposed settlement, Facebook will pay $20 million to compensate class members, and promised to give users more control over how their content is shared ? changes which plaintiff lawyers estimate to be worth up to $145 million. Facebook charged advertisers nearly $234 million for Sponsored Stories between January 2011 and August 2012, court filings show.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco preliminarily approved the settlement last year, but he still must give it a final sign-off."

At a hearing on Friday, Children's Advocacy Institute attorney Robert Fellmeth told Seeborg that no minors should have their content shared with advertisers. Seeborg did not say how he would rule, but said his role is only to say if the settlement is fair.

"My function here is not to craft the perfect policy for minors," Seeborg said.

Related story: Facebook to pull ads from pages with sex, violence

Earlier this month, Facebook announced a retooling of its advertising product offerings and eliminated the term "Sponsored Stories," though the company can still share its members likes of different products. Facebook attorney Michael Rhodes said in court on Friday that the legal settlement would still cover those types of advertising practices.

Under the deal, impacted Facebook users can claim a cash payment of around $10 each to be paid from the settlement fund, and plaintiff lawyers are seeking $7.5 million in fees. Any money remaining would then go to charity.

Seeborg called the $145 million valuation of changes to Facebook's site "highly speculative." However, plaintiff lawyer Robert Arns said the changes were very significant. "We think it sets a new standard for all social media sites in the U.S.," Arns said.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Angel Fraley et al., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs. Facebook Inc, 11-cv-1726.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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Cantor: ?I can?t tell you what?s in that big Senate bill?

A bill that would overhaul the nation's immigration system passed with bipartisan support in the Senate Thursday, but some of the top Republican leaders in the House say they haven?t bothered to find out what?s in it.

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo News Thursday evening, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he?s not aware of the details in the Senate version of the immigration bill and reiterated that the House would move ahead with its own approach.

?I can?t tell you what?s in that big Senate bill, and the well over 1,000 or 1,500 pages that it may be, and that?s my concern,? Cantor told Yahoo News. ?I don?t know if you could ask a lot of the senators what?s in that bill. And that?s my concern.?

The Senate bill is comprehensive, combining mandates for border security and a pathway to legal status for immigrants living in the United States unlawfully. House Republican leaders have signaled that they will take a piecemeal approach to immigration reform instead, a move that could make it difficult for the chambers to reconcile the two versions.

In the interview, Cantor declined to say explicitly if he thought the House could pass a bill that includes a pathway to legality, but he did say ?there are a lot of discussions that still need to be had" about the issue. Cantor emphasized his support for a bill like the Dream Act, which provides a pathway to citizenship for children of immigrants with unlawful status.

Even though the Senate moved swiftly on immigration, Cantor suggested that the House would not hurry to pass its own version of an immigration bill.

?In the House, we?re going to be very deliberative about the approach, trying to address a very broken immigration system and to see what we can do to try and fix it,? Cantor said.

Yahoo News will air the rest of the wide-ranging interview with Cantor on Friday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/cantor-immigration-vote-t-tell-big-senate-bill-233320198.html

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Coming Up on 'This Week': Exclusive with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange (ABC News)

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'Terminator 5': Everything We Know About The New Movies

Right now, the new "Terminator" movie announced by Annapurna Pictures and Skydance Productions for a summer 2015 release date is a total mystery. We know that it's a "reboot" and the start of a "stand-alone trilogy" that Arnold Schwarznegger might star in. That being said, a number of rumors and the scant parameter we do [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/06/28/terminator-5-everything-we-know-about-the-new-movies/

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Analyst: Google Gaming Console Would Knock Ouya Out

If you?re under the impression that Android is just for smartphones and tablets, think again. According to?The Wall Street Journal, Google is working on its own video game console powered by Android, which would go head-to-head with the next Apple TV. The device could also spell serious trouble for the Kickstarter-funded Ouya.

The newly launched Ouya, now available at Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Amazon, is a $99 set-top box powered by a Nvidia quad-core processor running Android. The most alluring aspect for gamers is the idea that players can try out games for free before purchasing them. However,??one analyst says Ouya likely won?t survive against Google in the gaming space.

MORE: 25 Worst Gadget Flops of All Time

?The problem is, if Google decides it wants to big and bring the full weight of its capabilities to bear, the Ouya is going to be facing a very large uphill battle,? said Scott Steinberg, CEO and lead analyst at technology and video game industry consulting firm TechSavvy. ?Even if it takes Google a year or two to bring the console to market, the Ouya needs to hit hard and hit fast, and it needs to score a resounding blow.?

Being the source behind Android, Google already has a solid foundation of developer relationships and can promote its gaming console alongside its established Google Play store and services. It has the ability to reach a mass audience, not just gamers, as Steinberg notes.

?Google will do everything in its power to leverage its weight,? Steinberg said. ?Maybe it won?t be a first round knockout [against Ouya or competitors], but it?ll see the battle through and make sure there?s a TKO in the end.?

There?s no doubt that the Ouya has garnered some attention in the gaming community, potentially representing a new wave of mainstream gaming that brings mobile titles to bigger screens. ?The Ouya raised ?more than $8 million on Kickstarter without a hitch, and sold out in GameStop and Amazon following its launch.

Despite this popularity, the console may have to work outs its kinks?before becoming a big hit. Early reviews of the system have been lukewarm thus far, with critics lambasting its sluggish game performance with certain titles and mediocre controller.

When it comes to competing with Google, it also remains unclear?if the upstart can compete with the company?s extensive resources and funding.

?For a big and sprawling company, a console is just a drop in the bucket,? Steinberg said. ?Whereas for Ouya, as a startup, it?s a race against time.?

The Journal?s sources also mentioned that Google plans to re-launch its ill-fated Nexus Q, which was unveiled at Google I/O 2012. The orb-shaped device allows users to stream media from mobile devices to nearby speakers and TVs, but was quickly yanked from the market.

Although rumors suggest the Nexus Q could make a comeback, Google isn?t likely to re-brand it as a gaming device, according to Steinberg. ?I think they would go big with branding on the console,? Steinberg said, ?giving the product its own identity.?

Follow Lisa Eadicicco on Twitter and Google+. Follow LAPTOPMAG on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

Source: http://blog.laptopmag.com/google-gaming-console-vs-ouya

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Dow back over 15,000 on upbeat data and Fed reassurance

stocks

JeeYeon Park CNBC

3 hours ago

Stocks closed higher on Thursday, for a third-straight day, lifted by a string of upbeat economic reports and following several speeches from Federal Reserve policymakers suggesting the central bank has time before it starts reducing its bond-buying.

(Read More: US Economy Could Grow 5% in Late 2014: Fund Manager)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 114.35 points, to close at 15,024.49, boosted by Boeing and Hewlett-Packard, logging its first three-day rally since late April. The blue-chip index posted its 15th triple-digit move of the 19 trading sessions in June, the most in a month since October 2011.

The S&P 500 advanced 9.94 points, to finish at 1,613.20. And the Nasdaq jumped 25.64 points, to end at 3,401.86.

"If we consolidate during the next couple of sessions, the bulls need to hold the 1,600 line or this inverse head and shoulders formation will be negated," wrote Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended below 17.

Most key S&P sectors finished in positive territory, led by financials and consumer discretionary, while materials dipped.

Upbeat economic data from China also helped bolster sentiment. Industrial profits unexpectedly rose 15 percent in May year-on-year, defying expectations of a slowdown. Japan's Nikkei rallied nearly 3 percent, logging its biggest percentage gain in 13 sessions, while the Shanghai Composite Index finished flat.

"Any China data carries significant weight these days as investors are desperate for signs that the world's second biggest economy is still ticking along," wrote Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG.

On the economic front, weekly jobless claims fell 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, according to the Labor Department, largely in line with expectations. The four-week moving average for new claims fell 2,750 to 345,750. And consumer spending rebounded 0.3 percent in May, matching estimates, after a revised 0.3 percent decline in the prior month, according to the Commerce Department.

"I think it makes the Fed even more confident that they're doing the right thing," said Drew Matus, senior U.S. economist and managing director at UBS. "And if you look at these numbers, they suggest that the second quarter's going to be better than the first quarter."

And pending home sales for May soared 6 percent to hit a six-year high, according to the National Association of Realtors.

New York Fed president William Dudley said the central bank's asset purchases would be more aggressive than the timeline Chairman Ben Bernanke outlined last week if economic growth and the labor market turn out weaker than expected.

Dudley added that the recent market forecasts for an earlier rate gain are "quite out of sync" with the statements and expectations of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. Dudley is a voting member of the FOMC.

Fed Board Governor Jerome Powell agreed that markets over-reacted to the central bank's statements on tapering.

"Market adjustments since May have been larger than would be justified by any reasonable reassessment of the path of policy," Powell said in a speech. "To the extent the market is pricing in an increase in the federal funds rate in 2014, that implies a stronger economic performance than is forecast either by most FOMC participants or by private forecasters."

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart, meanwhile, said the U.S. economy's path will determine the fate of the central bank's bond buying, but it would be appropriate to pull back a bit if the economy performs as expected.

"There is no 'predetermined' pace of reductions in the asset purchases, nor is the stopping point fixed," Lockhart said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Kiwanis Club of Marietta. "The pace of purchases, the composition of purchases and the ultimate size of the Fed's balance sheet still depend on how economic conditions evolve."

Markets have been fixated on Fed commentary this week, after Bernanke said last week that the central bank could begin to wind down its $85 billion monthly bond purchases before the end of the year. That sent already rising yields higher and sent stocks on a roller-coaster ride.

Treasury prices extended their gains as yields tumbled to session lows following the data and after the auction of $29 billion in seven-year notes saw healthy demand.

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BlueStacks Adds A Free Hardware Option To Its ?Netflix For Gaming' With GamePop Mini

Mobile virtualization startup BlueStacks only recently revealed the GamePop, its mobile home gaming console that offers all-you-can play gaming for a flat monthly fee, but it's already expanding the line. Today, the company is announcing GamePop Mini, a version of the GamePop that offers completely free hardware with a standard $6.99 monthly GamePop service subscription, with smaller hardware that's yours to keep after 12 months even if you decide to cancel your GamePop account.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TMAGug592ZE/

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Kickstarter plans North American expansion, launches in Canada this summer

That's right Canucks, Kickstarter's launching in your neck of the woods before the midnight sun sets for the season. The crowdfunding site released a teaser page today, announcing that it'll open up to Canada-based projects later this summer. It's not the first site of its kind to accept submissions from north of the border, but if Indiegogo hasn't been drawing in the results you need, you'll soon be able to give it a go on another platform. The Kickstarter team is mum on an exact launch date, but with a bit less than three months left in summer, the clock is ticking.

Filed under: Household, Internet

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Via: The Verge

Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/kickstarter-coming-to-canada/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Porn App Returns to Google Glass Minus the Porn

The only thing that might be sadder than a porn app for Google Glass is a porn app for Google Glass that doesn't actually have any porn. Remember how "Tits and Glass" got banned? Yeah, it's back, but this time without the titular attractions. But don't worry: that pun isn't going anywhere.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eSin1leVqSs/porn-app-returns-to-google-glass-minus-the-porn-597028637

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10 Things to Know for Today

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WHAT'S NEXT IN GAY MARRIAGE FIGHT

Advocates say they will try to legalize same-sex marriages nationwide in the next five years after the U.S. Supreme Court extended federal recognition to the unions.

2. OBAMA HIGHLIGHTS DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA

Thousands of boisterous revelers welcome the president to Senegal, where he is expected to reflect on the country's ties with African-Americans.

3. IMMIGRATION VOTE COULD COME TODAY

Test votes in the Senate show a majority of over 60 votes needed to secure passage of Obama's overhaul of immigration laws. Prospects in the House are still uncertain.

4. UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING NSA LEAKER GROWS

Snowden still hasn't been heard from and Ecuador's foreign minister says it may take two months to decide whether to grant him asylum.

5. SOUTH AFRICA WAITS AND WORRIES ABOUT MANDELA

The president canceled a visit to Mozambique today after visiting the critically ill anti-apartheid leader in the hospital.

6. VIDEO, TEXT MESSAGES CITED IN HERNANDEZ ARREST

Police say the ex-New England Patriot was seen leaving home with a gun, and the semi-pro player he's accused of killing texted he was with "NFL" hours later.

7. SANDY'S LATEST VICTIM

The remains of a handyman who drowned in a trailer in New York City's Rockaways weren't found until April, six months after the superstorm.

8. PAYING YOUR BILLS IN SPACE

PayPal and two space travel groups are forming a group to investigate what currency might be used beyond Earth's realm once space tourism takes off.

9. SAYING GOODBYE TO GANDOLFINI

The "Sopranos" star will be remembered today at a Manhattan funeral service. Broadway lights were dimmed last night in his honor.

10. TWO BIG NAMES OUSTED AT WIMBLEDON

Seven-time champ Roger Federer and No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova were stunned in the second round by players who weren't ranked in the top 100.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-things-know-today-101340019.html

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Tesla's Direct-Sales Model Exhausts Auto Dealers, Prompts White House Petition

Car dealers are upset with a car manufacturer willing to do whatever it takes to sell cars. Their problem? The cars don't go through local dealerships, which in some states is against the law.

That company, a certain electric vehicle manufacturer by the name of Tesla, isn't without allies, and has been known to put up a fight.

A White House petition, voicing support for Tesla's direct-to-consumer sales, seeks an end to what it says are "state legislators ... trying to unfairly protect automobile dealers in their states from competition."

Started by "Ken," a Tesla fan, the petition supports the company's sales model, which cuts dealers entirely out of the process. According to the petition, "Tesla is providing competition, which is good for consumers." Reached for comment by CNet, Ken, who requested to remain anonymous, said he owns some stock in Tesla, but doesn't work for the company.

As of this writing, the petition had more than 35,000 signatures of the 100,000 required by July 5 to qualify for a response from the White House.

Signatures or no, with regulations in 48 states banning or restricting the direct sales of automobiles, a quick fix may be hard to come by.

According to CNBC, local auto dealers consistently are among the largest contributors to state legislators, and often generate a great deal of tax revenue. So the incentive for state-level change, at least on the legislative level, is low at best. Adds Forbes contributor Steve Blank, "In these states it appears innovation be damned if it gets in the way of a rent seeker with a good lobbyist."

Of course, car dealers have a far different perspective. Bob Glaser, president of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, told The Associated Press local car dealers have a vested interest in bettering their communities, while big car manufacturers do not.

"It's a consumer protection," explained Glaser, "and why we say that is a dealer who has invested a significant amount of capital in a community is more committed to taking care of that area's customers."

As the battle between Tesla and auto dealers inevitably heats up, the question may have best been distilled by an unnamed Tesla official, who asks: "How do you sell the future if your business depends on the present?"

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/28/tesla-direct-sales-auto-dealers-petition_n_3516836.html

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70 vote goal vanishes as Senate nears immigration reform vote

The Senate will vote on a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday morning, and a recently hashed-out compromise on border security is expected to win over some conservative support for the measure.

The "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of senators who drafted the bill, had hoped to get 70 out of 100 senators to vote to pass the bill and send a strong signal to the Republican-controlled house that the legislation is bipartisan. But on Wednesday, test votes drew only 67 votes each, suggesting the bill might fall short of that goal.

The reform would implement a mandatory, national employment verification system, allow for more legal immigration of low- and high-skilled workers, beef up border security and eventually give green cards to most of the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants.

The bill has moved to the right in the Senate on border security, thanks to an amendment adopted last week that will double the number of Border Patrol officers and increase fencing on the southern border by hundreds of miles before any unauthorized immigrants are offered permanent legal status. But House members working on their own version of immigration reform told The Hill this is not enough: They would prefer that no unauthorized immigrant be offered even temporary legal status until all the border security measures in the bill are fully implemented.

Union leaders representing both Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers say they oppose the bill, and groups that seek lower immigration levels have tried to rally members to call and write senators asking them to kill the bill. But so far, the critics of the bill have been outnumbered. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has worked as a conservative ambassador for the legislation. Rubio will deliver a "closing argument" for immigration reform, highlighting his parents' journey to the United States.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/senate-takes-immigration-vote-supporters-back-off-70-143951088.html

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Holmes to wear hidden harness anchored to floor

DENVER (AP) ? Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes will be restrained during his trial by wearing a harness under his clothes that will be anchored to the floor, the judge said Thursday.

Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. also ruled the jury will not be sequestered during the trial, which is scheduled to start in February and is expected to take four months.

Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others at a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora in July.

He has worn heavy shackles on his wrists and ankles during pretrial hearings. His lawyers wanted him to be unshackled during the trial, saying the restraints would make him look guilty to the jury.

Samour said Holmes has to be restrained because he is charged with violent crimes. He said jurors won't see the harness, and the anchoring cable will blend in with computer cables at the defense table.

The judge ruled earlier that Holmes can wear civilian clothing at his trial.

Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Defense lawyers wanted the jury sequestered and wanted the jurors barred from having phones, laptop computers or any other electronics devices during the trial.

The judge said sequestration for such a long time would be costly and impractical, and would create an undue burden on jurors. He implied it also could prompt some prospective jurors to try to avoid the case.

However, Samour said he would allow defense lawyers to renew the request later if they think they have grounds to do so.

Denying jurors access to smartphones, computers, television sets and radios ? along with email and the Internet ? would be drastic and unfair, the judge said.

But he did rule jurors will not be allowed to have the devices in court or during deliberations.

Samour said he might seat as many as 12 alternate jurors ? an unusually large number ? in the event any of the 12 regular jurors is dismissed for hearing outside information or other reasons.

"The court cannot keep the jurors in a bubble, completely sealed off from the outside world," the judge said.

Samour has said 5,000 potential jurors will get a summons and that he expects 3,200 to 3,500 to respond.

Holmes' lawyers had also asked the judge to scale back the heavy security that has been present during 11 months of pretrial hearings, saying it would be "extraordinary and unnecessary" during the trial and would prejudice the jury against Holmes.

They also objected to deputies standing so close to Holmes in the courtroom that they could hear his conversations with his attorneys.

Eight Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies usually stand guard in the courtroom during hearings. Others watch from the rooftops of the two courthouse buildings and in the parking lot.

Samour said four of the deputies in the courtroom will wear uniforms during the trial, and any others will wear street clothes. He also said they will keep a reasonable distance from the defense table.

The judge overruled the defense objection to having deputies on the rooftops and in the parking lot, saying they're necessary to protect Holmes and the public.

Samour said Sheriff Grayson Robinson had agreed to the hidden harness and tether for Holmes and the plainclothes deputies in the courtroom. Samour added he trusts Robinson's expertise and will heed his advice.

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holmes-wear-hidden-harness-anchored-floor-224856057.html

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Big Labor's Anti-Immigration Rumor Machine

Editor?s note:?Vivek Wadhwa is a fellow at Stanford Law School, Director of Research at Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, and VP of Innovation and Research at Singularity University. The passage of immigration reform by the Senate was a big step forward. The bill is far from perfect, but goes a long way towards solving Silicon Valley?s talent shortage -- and America?s immigrant exodus. But big hurdles lie ahead as anti-immigrant groups regroup. Extreme elements of the right will be fighting to close the borders while their counterparts on the left -- Big Labor in particular -- work to undermine high-skilled immigration.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ayH4it32Ayw/

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Case Study Shows Google+ Sign-Ins Are Working, Increased Snapette Sign-Ups By 16%

One developer feature Google is really stressing these days is Google+ Sign-in, the company’s recently launched authentication tool for third-party sites and mobile apps. While the company will continue to support its standard Google Sign-in tool as well, it’s pushing hard to get users to switch to its new system. The Google+ version has the advantage (or not, depending on your perspective) of being linked directly to Google’s social network and profiles and?can therefore provide sites with easier registration system and more information about their users. A number of large companies have now integrated Google+ Sign-ins, and we are starting to get some data about how things are going. Mind you, these are somewhat self-selected Google partners, but the results are still pretty interesting.?Most companies don’t want to go on the record with their numbers, but Google just published a case study with Snapette that’s pretty much in line what we’ve been hearing, too. Snapette Case Study: 44.2% Use Google+ Sign-ins, Registrations Up 16% The latest numbers come from mobile shopping app Snapette, which launched in 2011, and this marks the first time we’re seeing some of these stats for a service that uses Google+ Sign-in. Just over 44 percent of the service’s users now use Google+ to sign in to their accounts. That’s a bit higher than the 40 percent acceptance rate Google itself cited earlier this year. Snapette also says it’s been seeing an uptick in user registrations since integrating this feature. The company says it saw “an increase in registered users of 16% above average growth” since it started using this tool.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/1yyaHcLwrjE/

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Microsoft Build 2013 event wrap-up

We came. We handled Windows 8.1. We grabbed news about the latest and greatest from Microsoft. We picked up a few new Steve Ballmer catch phrases ("touch touch touch touch!"). Then, we left. In a nutshell, this was our experience covering Microsoft Build 2013 this week at the Moscone Center, though it obviously was much more involved. Fortunately, we were able to bring you, dear reader, along for the action -- but in case you missed any of the excitement as it happened, you'll find a list of all of the announcements, hands-ons and other posts we covered during the event below the break. Feel free to also visit our Build event page for an extra visual oomph.

Filed under: Announcements, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/FG8GDkyE3dA/

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