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Source: http://www.qype.co.uk/review/3875913
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
S. African president: Prayers continue for Mandela
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? South Africa's president says the nation continues to pray for Nelson Mandela's health and well-being as the 94-year-old beloved leader remains hospitalized in critical condition.
President Jacob Zuma made the comments Saturday during a press conference with visiting President Barack Obama.
Zuma called Mandela the "founding president of our democracy who is much loved by our people and the world."
The South African government has said that Mandela's condition is stable but remains critical. He was admitted to a Pretoria hospital three weeks ago with a recurring lung infection.
Obama plans to visit privately Saturday with Mandela's relatives, but doesn't intend to see the man he has called a "personal hero."
Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/african-president-prayers-continue-mandela-102710071.html
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Former Latina Levi's Workers Create Own Local Denim Fashion Line 'El Hilo De Justicia'
NBC Latino:
When the Levi Strauss jeans manufacturing plant in San Antonio closed down in 1990, more than 1100 workers were left to find a new job. Some found low-wage work in the hotel industry, others had to take on two jobs just to make ends meet. But two of the plant?s former workers, Petra Mata and Viola Caseres, turned their misfortune into opportunity.
Mata and Caseres decided to start start turning the tide toward social justice by starting their own local denim fashion line called El Hilo de Justicia, which translated into English means the ?thread of justice?. ?Today the group celebrates a dream come true: ?their very own home-grown jeans label that empowers women. The sewing cooperative is part of a larger community empowerment organization called Fuerza Unida, that runs several other social justice initiatives such as environmental and economic programs.
Read the whole story at NBC Latino
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Developments in the California gay marriage case (Providence Journal)
Susan Rice: Snowden leaks haven't weakened Obama
In this June 25, 2013 photo provided by the United Nations, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks to reporters at her final news conference at the U.N. headquarters. Rice, who will start her new job as U.S. national security adviser on July 1, said the U.N. Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict in Syria is "a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly." (AP Photo/United Nations Photo, Devra Berkowitz)
In this June 25, 2013 photo provided by the United Nations, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks to reporters at her final news conference at the U.N. headquarters. Rice, who will start her new job as U.S. national security adviser on July 1, said the U.N. Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict in Syria is "a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly." (AP Photo/United Nations Photo, Devra Berkowitz)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice dismissed claims that Edward Snowden's highly classified leaks have weakened the Obama presidency and damaged U.S. foreign policy, insisting that the United States will remain "the most influential, powerful and important country in the world."
Rice's remarks were her only public ones on Snowden and came in an interview with The Associated Press as she prepared to leave the U.N. post and start her new job Monday as President Barack Obama's national security adviser.
She said it's too soon to judge whether there will be any long-term serious repercussions from the intelligence leaks by the former National Security Agency contractor who fled to Hong Kong and then Russia after seizing documents disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs in the U.S. and overseas, which he has shared with The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
"I don't think the diplomatic consequences, at least as they are foreseeable now, are that significant," she said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called Snowden's leaks a serious breach that damaged national security. Hagel said Thursday an assessment of the damage is being done now.
"There will always be difficult issues of the day," Rice said, "and frankly this period is not particularly unique."
"I think the Snowden thing is obviously something that we will get through, as we've gotten through all the issues like this in the past," she said in the interview Thursday before heading to a lunch in her honor hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The United States has charged Snowden with espionage and demanded his extradition, but China and Hong Kong let him fly to Moscow and the Russians have so far refused. The Snowden case has not only raised tensions with Moscow and Beijing but with many Americans concerned about the NSA collecting their Internet and phone data.
Rice dismissed commentators who say Snowden's disclosures have made Obama a lame duck, damaged his political base, and hurt U.S. foreign policy, saying: "I think that's bunk."
"I think the United States of America is and will remain the most influential, powerful and important country in the world, the largest economy, and the largest military, (with) a network of alliances, values that are universally respected," she said.
Rice said Obama has "significant ambitions and a real agenda" for his second term, pointing to major speeches last week on disarmament and nonproliferation and this week on the impact of climate change.
As for Snowden, she said, "It's often, if not always something, and U.S. leadership will continue to be unrivaled, demanded, expected ? and reviled and appreciated around the world."
Rice, 48, is expected to bring her outspoken and aggressive negotiating style to her new, higher-profile job.
At the United Nations, she has been a bold and blunt ambassador, successfully pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran and North Korea and international intervention in Libya. But Libya ultimately caused her greatest professional disappointment when she became the face of the administration's bungled account of the terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
The furor scuttled Rice's long-held hopes of becoming secretary of state when it became clear she would not gain Senate confirmation to that post, which went to John Kerry.
Rice has called her 4 1/2 years at the U.N. "the best job I ever had," and told The AP she would be "hard-pressed" to think of any better place to prepare for her new post.
"You get to deal with ... literally every country under the sun, and I think you get a unique feel for the orientations, interests, styles, of a wide, wide range of countries," she said.
To succeed at the U.N., Rice said, it's crucial to form alliances and coalitions, which change depending on the issue, so a friend one day can be an opponent the next day.
Rice has sparred repeatedly with Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who can be equally blunt. But despite being on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, which has paralyzed council action to end the fighting, Rice said they agree perhaps 85 percent of the time.
"I like and respect him," she said. "I think he likes and respects me, and it's been a good relationship. That's why I asked him to speak at my farewell. I asked people who were important to me. He's a very smart and a very funny guy and he can be a pain in the butt, too ? and I tell him that to his face!"
At the farewell, Churkin delivered an off-the-record roast of Rice, without notes, that had some 300 diplomats, U.N. officials and journalists doubled-over in laughter.
The Syrian conflict will be near the top of Rice's agenda in Washington as will the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Rice said the result of Iran's presidential election earlier this month, a victory for Hasan Rouhani, a moderate who supports direct talks with Washington, "was a dramatic demonstration of the Iranian peoples' dissatisfaction with the status quo."
"To the extent that the leadership feels obliged to heed popular opinion ? obviously we would hope they would ? it may perhaps signal a readiness to move in a different direction, and if so, we would welcome it," she said.
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Senior Vatican cleric arrested in money smuggling case
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano worked in the Vatican's financial administration and was taken into custody Friday.
An undated photo of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano in Salerno, Italy.
Francesco Pecoraro/AP
EnlargeA senior Catholic cleric with connections to the Vatican bank was arrested on Friday for plotting to help rich friends smuggle tens of millions of euros in cash into Italy from Switzerland, in the latest blow to the Vatican's image.
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Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, who worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican's financial administration, was arrested along with an Italian secret service agent and a financial intermediary in a tale that reads like a spy novel.
It involves police wiretaps, a private plane rented to collect the cash from Locarno, burned cell phones and an allegedly corrupt secret services agent who promised to get the money past customs.
Details of the case against Scarano will come as an acute embarrassment to Pope Francis, who, since his election in March, has pointedly eschewed many of the trappings of office and sought to stress the importance of a simple life of devotion.
Only two days ago, the Vatican announced he had set up a commission of inquiry into the Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), which has been hit by a number of scandals in the past decades.
Scarano, who was arrested in a Rome parish and taken to Rome's Queen of Heaven jail, had hatched a plot to bring up to 40 million euros ($52 million) into Italy for a family of shipbuilders in his hometown of Salerno in southern Italy, magistrate Nello Rossi told reporters.
Rossi is already investigating the Vatican bank for money laundering, and the latest arrests stemmed from that.
Rossi and fellow magistrate Stefano Pesci said there was no indication so far that the bank was directly involved in the attempt to bring the money into Italy, but that the investigation was continuing and more searches were underway.
Scarano is under separate investigation in southern Italy in relation to his accounts in the Vatican bank.
CELL PHONES DESTROYED
According to Rossi, in July last year Scarano engaged Giovanni Zito, a paramilitary Carabiniere policeman on loan to the secret services, to help him get the money, which was in a Swiss bank, into Italy without tax and customs controls.
The third person arrested was Giovanni Carenzio, a financial broker with offices in Switzerland and the Canary Islands and who was acting as the fiduciary for the owners of the money.
It was not clear how or when the money got to Switzerland in the first place.
The three originally planned to bring back 40 million euros in cash but later reduced it to 20 million euros. A private plane went to Locarno from Rome and waited several days before returning to Rome without the money.
The cash never left Switzerland because of disagreements and nervousness among the three, Rossi said, adding that cell phones that were used were later destroyed by being burned.
Zito had promised to use his position in the secret services to avoid customs controls. The plane was to have been met on the runway of a Rome airport and the cash taken under armed escort to Scarano's home in Rome, Rossi said, calling the plot "intricately planned".
Even though the money never left the Swiss bank, Zito, who is now in a military prison, demanded the payment he had been promised for his services.
Scarano gave Zito two checks, one for 400,000 euros and another for 200,000 euros. Zito cashed the first check but Scarano blocked the second before Zito could cash it by filing a false report that it had been lost.
VATICAN READY TO COOPERATE
Asked if money laundering was involved, Rossi said that would depend if the continuing investigation determined that the original source of the money was criminal activity.
"We are trying to determine the origin of the vast amount of money that was at the disposal of Scarano, who is the holder of several accounts at IOR," Rossi said.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Vatican authorities stood ready to cooperate with the Italian investigation, but had so far received no official request.
He said the FIA, the Vatican's own financial intelligence authority, was following the case and would take action if necessary.
Rossi said his office would seek permission from the Vatican, which is a sovereign state, to question officials. "This is just a piece in a much larger mosaic," he said.
Scarano, who Rossi said had worked for a German bank before he became a priest, was for years a senior accountant for a Vatican department known as APSA, whose official title is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
He was suspended from his duties several weeks ago when he was placed under investigation by magistrates in Salerno.
In that investigation, his lawyer Silverio Sica said wealthy friends had donated money to Scarano in order for him to build a home for the terminally ill.
According to Sica, his client wanted to use that money to pay off his mortgage so he could sell a property in Salerno and use the proceeds to build the care home.
Apparently to cover his tracks, Scarano has been accused of taking 560,000 euros in cash out of his account in the Vatican bank and giving various amounts to friends who gave him checks in exchange. He then deposited the checks into an Italian bank account to pay off the mortgage.
"Scarano was able to use the bank for his personal reasons" Rossi said.
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France to seek 14 billion euros in cuts next year: paper
PARIS (Reuters) - France will pursue 14 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in spending cuts next year as it attempts to reduce the public deficit to 3 percent of economic output by 2015, Le Monde reported.
France's Socialist government aims to tame the deficit by trimming ministerial budgets, cutting state aid to companies and reducing local government funding.
But with the economy back in a shallow recession, jobless claims at an all-time high and his approval ratings around 30 percent, President Francois Hollande has been reluctant to accelerate the cuts.
Annual growth in overall wage costs for French public employees will be cut to 0.15 percent from 3 percent, chiefly through pay restraint, the French daily said on its website.
Ministries will also be expected to trim 2 percent from operating budgets through public purchasing reform, according to the report, which cited government proposals in a document submitted to a parliamentary committee.
Funding for services such as the CNRS research institute and Meteo France weather forecaster will be cut 4 percent, it said.
French lawmakers are scheduled to hold a preliminary debate on the government's 2014 budget on July 2.
The Cour des Comptes, which overseas France's public accounts, warned on June 27 that the deficit could overshoot its 3.7 percent target for 2013.
It recommended spending cuts of 13 billion euros next year and 15 billion in 2015 to meet the 3 percent goal.
($1 = 0.7693 euros)
(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by David Cowell)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-seek-14-billion-euros-cuts-next-paper-150918273.html
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Friday, June 28, 2013
Home equity loan rates for - Bankrate.com
- 5.14% (line of credit)
- 6.14% (loan)
Rates on loans backed by home equity inched up in Bankrate's weekly survey.
The typical home equity loan rose 3 basis points to 6.14 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.
The typical home equity line of credit, or HELOC, rose 1 basis point to 5.14 percent.
Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/home-equity/rate-roundup.aspx
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KeyMe: Store Your Keys In the Cloud, Never Get Locked Out Again
Whether you've got to deal with a crotchety landlord or a dopey locksmith, we can all agree that replacing lost or stolen keys can be a drag. KeyMe, a new service launched this week in New York, seems to have found a solution by storing your keys in the cloud and making them accessible via a kiosk 24/7.
Key cutting isn't new but what makes KeyMe unique is that it will store digital copies of your keys in the cloud and make them available wherever you are. Assuming there's a kiosk nearby, of course. Very little of your own personal information is stored, like your address, and accounts can only be accessed with a fingerprint scan. A few other security measures are also said to be in place. And in the event that there is some activity going on with your account, KeyMe will send you an email letting you know that your account has been accessed.
Digital copies of your keys are stored for free and you're only charged when you actually need to get a key printed, which costs $20. To create a duplicate key on the spot, you'll have to fork over $3.50 for a basic brass key. Novelty keys, like a bottle opener key or sports team themed ones, will cost $6. There are currently two locations in Manhattan with three more on the way. No word on when they plan to expand outside of New York.
But here's my question for them as a resident of New York, can you scan and replace my Mul-T-Lock key? Probably not but looking at the company's FAQ section, KeyMe might actually be able to duplicate some "Do Not Duplicate" keys, given the wording of its answer: "No, KeyMe should only be used for keys that you have the full rights to duplicate." I'd be willing to give it a whirl. What's the worst that could happen? [KeyMe]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/keyme-store-your-keys-in-the-cloud-never-get-locked-o-586549581
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Internet Explorer 11 to support WebGL and MPEG Dash
Few would say that consistency is good for its own sake. Microsoft certainly agrees -- it just revealed at Build that Internet Explorer 11 will reverse the company's previously cautious stance on WebGL. The new browser will support the 3D standard from the get go, joining the likes of Chrome and Firefox. IE11 should improve plain old 2D as well, as there's hardware acceleration for video streaming through MPEG Dash. All told, Internet Explorer should be a better web citizen -- and deliver a speed boost in the process.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/8zHVvunyKVc/
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UN accuses Congo rebels of murdering civilians
GOMA, Congo (AP) ? The United Nations says the M23 rebels in Congo have been conducting regular search operations in which civilians have been murdered.
U.N. mission spokesman Col. Felix Basse said Wednesday that the M23 has mounted regular operations involving arbitrary arrests, murders and harassment of civilians. He said that at least 26 farmers had been executed between June 16 and 19 in the localities of Busanza and Jomba. The statement is among the strongest that has been made by the U.N. against the rebels.
M23 spokesman Kabashi Amani dismissed the accusations as lies.
The M23 rebels reignited Congo's dormant war in the east last fall, overrunning the strategically important city of Goma. Peace talks with the government have started and stopped numerous times since their withdrawal from the city limits last November.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-accuses-congo-rebels-murdering-civilians-143519002.html
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
New bird species spotted in big city
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Texas Abortion Bill: Republican Lawmakers Approve Tough New Restrictions
AUSTIN, Texas ? Texas Democrats are stalling the passage of new abortion restrictions by not arriving in time for the resumption of a House session to approve the proposed law.
After debating Senate Bill 5 until 3:30 a.m. Monday, the Democratic minority didn't show up by 6:46 a.m. when the House was scheduled to reconvene.
Without the Democrats, the House cannot reach a quorum to approve the bill.
The measure would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers.
Supporters say the bill would improve women's health care. Opponents warn it would shut down 37 out of 42 abortion clinics in the state.
The bill still must go to the Senate, where Democrats hope to filibuster it Tuesday.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Republicans used their majority to cut short debate and give preliminary approval early Monday to some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country as time was running out on the Texas Legislature's special session.
Many members of the conservative majority had flyers on their desks that read "Psalm 139:13-14," which reads in part: "You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
Democrats gained strength from more than 800 demonstrators who packed the hallways of the Capitol carrying signs reading, "Stop the War on Women," to oppose Senate Bill 5. The measure would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers.
Supporters say the bill will raise the standard of women's health care. Opponents say the bill would shut down 37 out of 42 abortion clinics in the state.
"If this passes, abortion would be virtually banned in the state of Texas, and many women could be forced to resort to dangerous and unsafe measures," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards.
Democrats used parliamentary tactics to draw out the debate for 15 hours, pointing out technical mistakes in the process or trying to tack on amendments to fundamentally change the bill. Republicans remained largely silent, until finally passing a motion to stop accepting amendments and force a vote, a highly unusual and partisan move.
"We are willing to have an attack on women in order to have someone's political agenda achieved," Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said in opposition to stopping debate on the bill. "It may be in the dark of night now ... but the sun will shine on each and every one of us, and we will be held accountable."
Republicans, though, needed to end debate and move the process forward in order to make a midnight Tuesday deadline, when the session ends. House members must still give final approval to the bill, and then it must sit for 24 hours before the Senate can consider it.
The bill's sponsor stopped answering questions about her bill after the first two hours after she got into trouble denying Democratic amendments. When Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, called for an exemption for women who were victims of rape and incest, Rep. Jody Laubenberg, R-Parker, explained why she felt it was unnecessary.
"In the emergency room they have what's called rape kits where a woman can get cleaned out," she said, comparing the procedure to an abortion. "The woman had five months to make that decision, at this point we are looking at a baby that is very far along in its development."
Her apparent confusion about "rape kits" ? a phrase generally used to describe the equipment used by medical personnel during forensic examinations to gather physical evidence following allegations of rape or sexual assault ? sparked widespread ridicule on social media sites. Laubenberg, who has difficulty debating bills, then simply rejected all proposed changes to her bill without speaking until the end of the debate.
"At five months, we are talking about a human being, unless you think it's still a clump of mass ... and we have to protect that baby's rights," Laubenberg said in her closing argument. "Too often the back alley clinic today is the abortion clinic because of lax standards."
Three Democrats joined the Republican majority and voted for the bill 97-33. Protesters jeered their disapproval as security guards ordered them out of the chamber and they regrouped to protest outside.
The Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had sent letters urging lawmakers to vote no on the bill, saying it would not raise the standard of care.
Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, gave a personal privilege speech decrying how the Republicans were manipulating the parliamentary process to rush it to a vote.
"Everything about the process related to these abortion regulation bills has smelled like partisan politics," Farrar said. "Proponents of the bill have failed to demonstrate any evidence that the regulations imposed by these bills are necessary. Nor have they expressed any sign of responsible governance in ensuring that women will continue to be able to access safe and legal abortion care."
Democrats in the Senate said they would try to filibuster the bill if it came to them on Tuesday, which now appears assured.
Gov. Rick Perry added abortion to the special session in the final two weeks, after lawmakers had already taken up redistricting.
___
Texas Senate Bill 5: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess831&BillSB5
___
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cltomlinson
Also on HuffPost:
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/texas-abortion-bill_n_3488965.html
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Taliban attack presidential palace in Kabul
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Taliban militants with false papers and military-style uniforms bluffed their way through two checkpoints on their way to Afghanistan's presidential palace Tuesday before jumping out of their explosives-packed vehicle and opening fire on security personnel, according to Afghan officials and eyewitness accounts.
Another carload of Taliban fighters got stuck between two checkpoints and detonated their own car bomb.
The Taliban said all eight of its fighters died in the attack. Authorities reported one security guard wounded in the gunfight and had no word on casualties from the vehicle explosion.
The well-planned daylight assault in a highly fortified zone of the capital is a brazen challenge to Kabul's authority only a week after NATO formally handed over security for the entirety of the country to Afghan forces.
The gunbattle was witnessed by a group of journalists who were waiting to enter the palace grounds for a news event on Afghan youth at which President Hamid Karzai was expected to talk about ongoing efforts to open peace talks with the Taliban.
The palace is in a large fortified area of downtown Kabul that also includes the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters for the NATO-led coalition forces and access is heavily restricted. Some Kabul residents initially thought the gunfire was a coup attempt because the idea of a Taliban attack within the security zone seemed so unlikely.
The attackers were stopped in Ariana Square, at least 500 meters (yards) and several checkpoints away from the palace itself. It was unclear where Karzai was at the time.
The gunbattle started around 6:30 a.m. near the east gate leading to the palace next to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and the former Ariana Hotel, which former U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed is used by the CIA.
Kabul police chief Gen. Mohamad Ayub Salangi said the gunmen jumped out of their SUV and opened fire after being stopped by security forces while trying to use fake documents to get through a checkpoint. All gunmen were killed, and one palace security guard was wounded, he said.
The car bomb then exploded as it tried to enter the area. About 20 journalists waiting to attend Karzai's press event took cover behind a religious shrine, pulling a schoolboy off the street who had been caught in the open on his way to school, as the gunmen in camouflage uniforms exited their black Land Cruiser.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility, saying in an emailed statement that "eight of our suicide bombers were able to reach the most secure area of Kabul," identifying them by name and saying they were carrying hand grenades, a machinegun and rocket-propelled grenades.
"The brave mujahedeen, with special tactics and help from inside, were able to reach their target with their weapons and cars," he said. He said their targets were the CIA building, the palace and the Defense Ministry and claimed "a number of foreign invaders were killed and wounded in the attack."
Smoke could be seen coming from the area of the hotel, but there was no immediate indication any of the buildings were hit in the attack and Afghanistan's Kabul division army commander Gen. Kadam Shah Shahim said he knew of no deaths among security forces or civilians.
The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan instituted a camp lockdown during the incident and said in a short statement that its forces had been ready to assist but were not called in by Afghan authorities.
The U.S. Embassy cancelled all consular appointments and advised American citizens in Kabul to stay indoors.
Ambassador James Cunningham condemned the attack, and extended U.S. "condolences to all Afghans affected by these senseless acts."
"All of the attackers were killed, without success in achieving their goals ? This again demonstrates the futility of the Taliban's efforts to use violence and terror to achieve their aims," he said in a statement. "We again call on the Taliban to come to the table to talk to the Afghanistan government about peace and reconciliation."
The Taliban have indicated they are willing to open peace talks with the U.S. and the Afghanistan government and just last week opened an office in Qatar for possible negotiations.
But at the same time they have not renounced violence and attacks have continued across Afghanistan.
In the southern province of Kandahar, a minibus hit a bomb buried in the road, killing 11 members of a family, said Kandahar governor's spokesman Ahmad Jawed Faisal. Faisal said the dead included eight women, two children and a man, and two other men were also wounded.
In Oruzgan, the province north of Kandahar, provincial governor's spokesman Abdullah Hemat said Tuesday that six Afghan national police were killed the day before when their patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb.
_____
Amir Shah contributed to this report
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-attack-presidential-palace-kabul-070200930.html
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CIO's Perspective: A strategic approach to radio technology ? Part 2 ...
In this two-part series,?John Emerson, Chief Information Officer at Tait Communications,?looks at what a CIO needs to know when considering a radio communication system.
Last week, in Part 1, we covered some of the important pieces of the radio communications puzzle that CIOs need to address, including, open standards, coverage and reliability. This week we look at the other aspects of radio systems that need to be considered. ?
Security
With increasingly sophisticated and aggressive cyber-attacks, security has become a must-have. Not only is access security important, but high-level encryption has also become essential. Radio networks have very high security requirements, due to high government use, and are usually private, ensuring others cannot access transmissions as easily as they can on the public cellular network.
The level of encryption within P25 networks is specifically designed for the higher requirements of law enforcement. As an example, the S?o Paulo Police Force?s effectiveness had been previously limited by drug cartels intercepting their communications and disappearing before police arrived. The Tait P25 network commissioned in 2006 has yet to be cracked by the crime syndicates and S?o Paulo Police recognized the contribution of the secure communications to a reduction in crime of 60 percent between 2006 and 2011.
Scalability
While Public Safety entities may not be physically expanding, regional mutual support agreements are becoming increasingly common. New networks tend to expand and replace the older networks, so that all parties can communicate by consolidating on one standard. Utility CIOs understand that their companies may expand by procuring other utility companies. Either way, a smart CIO is going to make sure that the communications network can be scaled up, to cover any eventuality.
Converging on the TCP/IP communications protocol, an organization?s networks can be managed from one console, irrespective of the content of the TCP/IP packet (voice, data, etc). Such convergence has already occurred in locations from a 60,000-resident city, to the Los Angeles basin with 14 million residents. The communications can involve any device (including desktop PCs, servers, smart phones, radios, traffic signals, etc). Many regions have mutual support agreements among police and fire, partly as a result of budget cutbacks, but also to be able to project a larger response in the event of a local disaster. Integrated communications platforms are essential to support coordinated, multi-organizational responses.
Management
To perform consistently, any network requires ongoing support. User administration, security, device monitoring and network monitoring are all key to maintaining network integrity and performance. CIOs will want an extensive network management tool to be able to perform management functions effectively over the long term.
The same network management tools used for managing IT networks can be used to manage the TCP/IP based radio networks. A network-addressable radio can be remotely checked for operational status, its location ascertained, software downloaded to it and operational issues identified before the radio is rendered inoperable if required. These are the same remote management tasks that can be performed with a smart phone, providing the ability to manage all the organization?s TCP/IP mobile devices in real time. Other functions that can be performed include device security and network performance management.
Redundancy in an emergency
While redundancy is built into most modern networks, the critical nature of Public Safety and utility work functions benefit from having multiple networks that provide additional redundancy. As most organizations already use the local public cellular network for a number of functions, in the event of a disaster, key staff can be issued with a radio. The radio network is a very cost-effective way to ensure the needs of an organization coping with an emergency are met, without the cellular network.
Interfaces
CIOs know that demands for integration will increase and that stand-alone systems are becoming rare. As radios become more intelligent and IP-based, interfaces with other networks (e.g. Wi-Fi) become common. Data interfaces with IT systems also become possible through these other networks. Any radio vendor not providing open-standard interfaces to other networks and IT systems risks losing sales, as potential customers walk away from probable vendor lock-in.
These days, that is probably a career-limiting decision.
The TCP/IP based radio networks can also be used as a ?bridge? to the organization?s other TCP/IP based systems from the open standards-based legacy radio networks. This may extend the life of the legacy networks and enable the expansion of the newer TCP/IP radio networks at an easier pace, avoiding the risky ?big bang? approach.
Convergence
Over the past 30 years, IT systems and networks have both become more complex to the point where they can be very difficult to manage. Organizations wonder why their IT departments can?t get anything done, when in fact IT staff work long hours to keep many different technologies going. CIOs are actively looking for ways to simplify their networks, systems and processes.
As can be seen in the comparison table, the commonality between networks is increasing to the point where network management tools can handle both internal IP networks and radio networks on the same console.
| Characteristic | Mobile Phone | IP Radio |
| Devices | iPhone, Android | Handheld radios |
| Robustness of devices | Low-medium | High |
| Hostile environments | Limited | Designed to function |
| Network | Commercial cell carriers | Radio frequency spectrum plus data network |
| Network customization | None; vendor only | Specific to customer, scalable |
| Coverage | 90% | 99+% |
| Data bandwidth | Medium | Medium |
| Standards | IP | IP |
| Security | Encryption, Authentication | Encryption, key management, radio authentication |
| Remote monitoring | Separate purchase | Available as an option |
| Network management | None; vendor only | Standard |
| Analog network option | None | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| VoIP interface | Yes | Yes |
| SNMP support | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi support | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth support | Yes | Yes |
| Lifecycle | 2- 4 years | 10 ? 12 years |
Cost effectiveness/lifecycle
Continual downward pressure on IT budgets and increasing demands for service can mean being the CIO is a thankless task these days. Predictable cost is essential, as well as reasonable component cost, so that there are no surprises. As radio technology is built to last more than three times as long as cellular, cost can be spread over a much longer lifecycle of 10 to 12 years.
Radio is relevant
Converging technologies between IT and the critical communications that radio networks support mean that it?s actually more closely aligned with the CIO?s domain than ever before.
Contrary to widely held beliefs, radio is by no means past its prime.
Radio has evolved significantly, and will continue to play an essential role in Public Safety and utility organizations that require mission-critical communications across challenging coverage areas. When issues such as coverage, reliability, security, robustness and cost are fully considered, a radio network offers genuine business value to many organizations.
Natural disasters
When a natural disaster strikes, commercial telecommunications company networks are immediately impacted. Cellular providers told the Federal Communications Commission that the day after Hurricane Sandy landed on October 29, 2012, more than 25 percent of cellphone service went out in the 158 counties across the 10 states most affected by the storm. Services worsened in many areas as generators serving cell towers ran out of fuel. Entire households were without communication as their bundled services (mobile phone, Internet and landline) failed completely.
In February 2011, When a Richter 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, with the third largest shock force ever recorded, the telecommunications networks were severely damaged and there was low availability within the city. The radio networks used by Public Safety agencies were quickly restored and continued to perform throughout the following aftershocks.
These examples highlight the importance of having secure, highly reliable radio networks dedicated to public safety use, capable of integrating with and operating across different technologies within a regional area.
This extract is taken from?Connection Magazine, Edition 3. Connection is a collection of educational and thought-leading articles focusing on critical communications, wireless and radio technology.
Share your views, comments and suggestions in the?Tait Connection Magazine LinkedIn group.
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Steve Martin: Wally On The Run
It's not always a good idea for famous people to make albums. Example: William Shatner. Alternate Example: Paris Hilton. But Steve Martin, who has always been sort of vaguely known for his banjo playing, has made roots music his priority in the last four or five years and is totally nailing it. His most recent album, recorded with Edie Brickell, came out in April. He's also touring right now with Brickell and The Steep Canyon Rangers, the band he worked with on his second most recent album. Even if you don't like bluegrass, his stuff is pretty accessible and he jokes around on a bunch of the tracks.
"Wally On The Run" is from Martin's 2009 album The Crow. He played it on Fallon with Paul Simon one time and it was really awesome. He also apparently had a video contest for the song. The winner is cute, but I like this runner-up better. Stop being so negative, you're gonna like it. [Amazon, iTunes, Spotify]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/steve-martin-wally-on-the-run-551608576
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Mystery of the gigantic storm on Saturn
June 24, 2013 ? We now understand the nature of the giant storms on Saturn. Through the analysis of images sent from the Cassini space probe belonging to the North American and European space agencies (NASA and ESA respectively), as well as the computer models of the storms and the examination of the clouds therein, the Planetary Sciences Group of the University of the Basque Country has managed to explain the behaviour of these storms for the very first time. The article explaining the discovery, the lead author being Enrique Garc?a Melendo, researcher at the Fundaci? Observatori Esteve Duran -- Institut de Ci?ncies de l'Espai, of Catalonia, was published in Nature Geosciences.
Approximately once every Saturnian year -- equivalent to 30 Earth years -- an enormous storm is produced on the ringed planet and which affects the aspect of its atmosphere on a global scale. These gigantic storms are known as Great White Spots, due to the appearance they have on the atmosphere of the planet. The first observation of one of these was made in 1876; the Great White Spot of 2010 was the sixth one to be observed. On this occasion the Cassini space vehicle was able to obtain very high resolution images of this great meteorological structure. The storm initiated as a small brilliant white cloud in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere of the planet, and grew rapidly and remained active for more than seven months. Over this time an amalgam of white clouds was generated which expanded to form a cloudy and turbulent ring with a surface area of thousands of millions of square kilometres. Two year age the Planetary Sciences Group presented a first study of the storm and which was published on the front cover of Nature on the 7th of July, 2011. Now, with this new research, the hidden secrets of the phenomenon have been revealed, studying in detail the "head" and the "focus" of the Great White Spot.
The team of astronomers analysed the images taken from the Cassini probe in order to measure the winds in the "head" of the storm, the focus where the activity originated. In this region the storm interacts with the circulating atmosphere, forming very intense sustained winds, typically of 500 kilometres an hour. "We did not expect to find such violent circulation in the region of the development of the storm, which is a symptom of the particularly violent interaction between the storm and the planet's atmosphere," commented Enrique Garc?a. They were also able to determine that these storm clouds are at 40 km above the planet's own clouds.
Information about the mechanisms causing meteorological phenomena
The research revealed the mechanism that produces this phenomenology. The team of scientists designed mathematical models capable of reproducing the storm on a computer, providing a physical explanation for the behaviour of this giant storm and for its lengthy duration. The calculations show that the focus of the storm is deeply embedded, some 300 km above the visible clouds. The storm transports enormous quantities of moist gas in water vapour to the highest levels of the planet, forming visible clouds and liberating enormous quantities of energy. This injection of energy interacts violently with the dominant wind of Saturn to produce wind storms of 500 km/h. The research also showed that, despite the enormous activity of the storm, this was not able to substantially modify the prevailing winds which blow permanently in the same direction as Earth's parallels, but they did interact violently with them. An important part of the computer's calculations were made thanks to the Centre de Serveis Cient?fics i Acad?mics de Catalunya (CESCA), and the computer services at the Institut de Ci?ncies de l'Espai (ICE), also based in the Catalan capital of Barcelona.
Apart from the curiosity of knowing the physical processes underlying the formation of these giant storms on Saturn, the study of these phenomena enable us to enhance our knowledge of the models employed in research into meteorology and the behaviour of Earth's atmosphere, in a very different environment and impossible to simulate in a laboratory. "The storms on Saturn are, in a way, a test bank of the physical mechanisms underlying the generation of similar meteorological phenomena on Earth," commented Agust?n S?nchez Lavega, Director of the Planetary Sciences Group at the UPV/EHU.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/0vE3bz4zmR0/130624075753.htm
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Dogs are somewhat like young human children, study finds
When exploring their environments, dogs treat their owners similar to the way young children treat their parents, new research?reveals.?
A child gleefully pets a springer spaniel named Hector at the Northern Minnesota English Springer Spaniel Club?s Fun Trials Saturday in May 2013.
Kelly Humphrey/Brainerd Dispatch/AP
EnlargeTreating our dogs like our babies might, it turns out, be somewhat reasonable.
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A new study has found?that the relationship between dogs and their owners?is similar?in character to that between parents and their babies.
In human parent-child bonding, infants perceive their caregivers as a ?secure base? as they begin to explore the world, tentatively reaching out into the unfamiliar with the confidence that someone known is observing their mini-adventure and is waiting to fold them back into what is safe and secure. Now, a study published in PLOS ONE?has?tested the confidence-levels of dogs with and without their owners and found that the same ?secure base effect? is also found in owner-dog bonding.
To note differences in dog behavior with and without their owners,?Lisa Horn?and?colleagues from the Vetmeduni's Messerli Research Institute?studied the behavior of dogs under three different conditions: "absent owner," "silent owner," and "encouraging owner.? In each of the situations, the dog could earn a food reward by interacting with dog toys.
When the owner was present, the dog tended to pursue the food reward, confidently addressing the dog toy challenges. Whether or not the owner was vocal didn?t affect the dog?s behavior; the owner?s presence was alone was enough to encourage the animal?s ambitions.
In the ?absent owner? part of the experiment, the researchers replaced the animals? caregiver with a stranger to the dog. In that experiment, the dogs largely declined to interact with the strangers and expressed limited interest in achieving the food reward. The scientists proposed that in that situation, the dog lacks the security it needed to bravely face the world and tackle the food reward tasks.
Scientists have proposed that dog might have been our first domesticated animal, sharing a common ancestor with the grey wolf some 15,000 years ago. Vaguely a child-equivalent in some homes, the dog ? with its muscled-face that registers emotions we can translate into our own language ? has accumulated a number of scientific studies and inherited lore that suggest it can make moral-like decisions.
Two years ago, researchers found that dogs learn from their owner?s facial cues to perform good behavior when their owner is watching and to save the misbehavior until their owner?s back is turned, like a wised-up child pilfering from the cookie jar.
No word from the pro-cat camp on how this might tilt the cat-dog debate.
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