The 'Internet of Things' pits?George Jetson vs. George Orwell

Red Tape Chronicles

Bob Sullivan, Columnist NBC News

3 hours ago

Kim Kyung Hoon / Reuters file

A model in Tokyo poses in an LED dress designed by Swarovski and Hussein Chalayan. One day soon, electronic clothing like this will even be connected to the Internet.

Doors that magically unlock as you approach. Clothes that advise you when they're out of style, then tell your car how to get to the nearest sale. Cough medicine that tells you when it's time to go to the doctor. This magical, futuristic world now called the "Internet of Things" is coming straight from science fiction into your home. Like "the cloud," the "Internet of Things" is largely a marketing term designed to create buzz around a series of not-yet-ready-for-prime time technologies, and also like the cloud, you won't be able to avoid hearing about it soon.

But this time, the stakes are much higher. It?s a full-on cage match between George Jetson and George Orwell.

Maybe it's a miracle to think about high-tech insulin pumps that patients never need to touch, while doctors control them from thousands of miles away. But what happens when a hacker hijacks that insulin pump ? or simply threatens to hijack it, and messages the patient that he'd better pay a ransom to keep it functioning properly? Those runaway gadgets from "The Jetsons" cartoon might not be such a laughing matter in real life.

We already have an Internet of Things ? your PC, laptop, tablet, everything already connected to the Internet. What the "IoT" crowd means by "things" is "everything." They want to attach tiny computers and sensors to just about every object in the world, and make them all talk to each other.

"We have everyday objects we've been interacting with for years, and many of these objects are now gaining intelligence and connectivity," said Jason Johnson, leader of the IoT consortium. "We will create this fabric of connected devices."

The back story
The idea of putting little connected computers everywhere, even floating in the air around us, isn't new. You'll find popular references to "ubiquitous computing" nearly 20 years ago. Since then, there has been one failed effort after another to bring James Bond-like automation to our lives. Take the hobbyist X-10 technology, which let users turn off household lights via remote control ? X-10 gadgets had trouble competing with The Clapper, much less "The Jetsons."

Today, continually shrinking sensors and processors put us on the threshold of the Internet of Things. In fact, some of this futuristic wizardry already has a devoted following. Members of the burgeoning Quantified Self movement use iPhones and wearable sensors like Fitbit to measure their heart rate, blood pressure and sleep patterns, upload that data into spreadsheets, sometimes even share it automatically via Twitter and Facebook. They use the data to find the optimal temperature to go for a run, or the best humidity conditions in which to sleep.

Fitbit

The Fitbit system combines wireless trackers, a Wi-Fi smart scale, smartphone apps and cloud-based information management to help people keep in shape.

Advanced medicine also already employs many of these technologies. For instance, probes with cameras work their way through our circulatory systems into our hearts, sending back detailed pictures to doctors who can make repairs in minutes in situations that would previously proved fatal.

When that kind of technology inevitably gets cheap ? when our pens, cars, toilets and everything else can see and hear us ? many exciting notions become possible. You might never run out of toilet paper, for example. At the same time, you might share uncomfortably up-to-date health information with your doctor.

What could go wrong?
But anyone who's every suffered a dropped phone call, gotten bad directions from a GPS, or even had a printer jam will realize that technology lets us down as often as it lifts us up. So aren't we setting ourselves up for gadget failure hell?

No, says Johnson, for two reasons. First, stepping on the shoulders of other futuristic failures, Internet of Things entrepreneurs know they have to prioritize substance over glitz. And second, the gadgets they sell must have an old-fashioned backup system.

"You must solve a real problem for people," he said. "We have to make sure our products and services aren't just gizmos that will shortly outgrow the gee-whiz factor. We have to have a positive impact on people's lives, making them simpler and more relaxed."

One such gadget, Johnson hopes, is the August Smart Lock ? making it is his day job. The front door lock recognizes who is approaching your home and lets you open the door on command. No need to give the dog walker a spare key; Smart Lock users can grant access to certain people at certain times, even during emergencies.

"It lets you rethink what it means to give access to your home," he said.

Smart Lock has a second important feature: If the power goes out, the homeowner can use an old-fashioned key to get in. For the Internet of Things to work, there must be a plan B when it doesn't work, Johnson says. Anyone stuck in a car with a dead battery and electric windows can appreciate that.

August

The August Smart Lock, which installs over a standard deadbolt, lets you unlock your door over the Internet.

Big Brother
Potentially comical failures ? what if your toilet paper sensor battery goes dead? ? are not the biggest potential obstacle for the Internet of Things, however.

The NSA is.

If you are even the slightest bit worried about the federal government reading your email, how concerned will you be that it could create a database of every bowel movement? Far fetched? Imagine what the National Institute of Health could do with such data.

Every one of these computer things will collect data that could end up in the hands of law enforcement, marketing companies, or even hackers, and at the moment, there is little to stop that. This worries Kevin Mahaffey, who runs mobile security company Lookout Inc.

"There are two possible ways this works. A world where everything you do is surveilled, and everything is potentially hacked by someone,? Mahaffey said. "But the alternative way is a world where you as an individual can control this data. And that's a pretty exciting world, a world where you can have the benefit of the technology, but not some Orwellian dystopia, where even in your own home you aren?t safe from the Internet-connected pen."

One privacy nightmare ? the reselling of bathroom data to drug companies, an insulin pump hacker attack, or a law enforcement incident involving home automation or monitoring ? could derail the Internet of Things for years, Mahaffey warns.

Johnson acknowledges this, but he believes companies in his space can rise to the challenge of balancing convenience with privacy.

?All the Internet of Things companies, we're capturing a lot of data about users,? Johnson said. Government regulations and industry policies should restrict usage of the data, but communication with consumers will also be key. ?We need to be very cognizant of the sensitivity of that data and how we make users aware of how this data can be used ? It's important they understand what?s going on.?

Facebook or Twitter: Get notice of new Red Tape stories.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2df996a2/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cinternet0Ethings0Epits0Egeorge0Ejetson0Evs0Egeorge0Eorwell0E6C10A462818/story01.htm

wonderlic test texas tornado fantasy baseball jared sullinger jaleel white levi johnston 2013 srt viper

Gay marriages resume in California after five-year hiatus

By Dan Levine

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Same-sex couples - some in shorts and jeans, some in their work clothes - rushed to be wed in California on Friday after a court abruptly ended the state's five-year ban on gay marriage in the wake of landmark rulings at the Supreme Court.

On a balcony overlooking the grand staircase at San Francisco City Hall, an ornate space that has long been a magnet for weddings, the couple whose case sparked this week's Supreme Court decision exchanged vows. The ceremony was officiated by state Attorney General Kamala Harris, and the ring bearer was the couple's 18-year-old son.

"This is the first day of the rest of our lives together, said Kristin Perry, who with her fianc?e, Sandy Stier, filed the lawsuit against Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage in California in 2008.

Stier turned to the horde of reporters and well-wishers crowding the room, smiled and said: "Thank you so much for coming to our wedding."

At the city clerk's office, other couples waited for their marriage licenses. Two men - one in jeans and the other wearing a pair of shorts - exchanged vows after Stier and Perry.

Four hundred miles to the south, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, a second couple who were plaintiffs in the case, wed at City Hall in Los Angeles.

"You are just as in love today as you were when you met 12 years ago," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who conducted the ceremony, told the two men, who wore suits with boutonnieres.

The California marriages capped a historic week for gay rights in the United States. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued two key rulings - one that extended federal benefits to married gay couples and another that allowed a federal court's order striking down the California marriage ban to stand.

TAKEN BY SURPRISE

On Friday, a panel of three federal appellate court judges responded by formally lifting an injunction against the marriages. That move took brides, grooms and public officials by surprise. They had expected the judges to wait for a more formal ruling from the Supreme Court due in about three weeks.

Within minutes, couples were descending upon San Francisco City Hall, and California Governor Jerry Brown had ordered county clerks throughout the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Cassie Coleman and Rosa Sanchez were at work when the ruling came down. They agreed via text message to meet at City Hall, and called their mothers to ask permission. They got some roses - red and pink.

"That was it," Sanchez said. "We just jumped in."

The impromptu weddings and the jubilant participation by public officials prompted angry responses from some opponents of gay marriage.

"This outrage tops off a chronic pattern of lawlessness, throughout this case, by judges and politicians hell-bent on thwarting the vote of the people to redefine marriage by any means, even outright corruption," said Andy Pugno, general counsel for the ProtectMarriage.com Coalition.

But he did not, however, actively threaten to fight on.

"It remains to be seen whether the fight can go on, but either way, it's a disgraceful day for California," he said.

John Eastman, a constitutional law professor at Chapman University who was a key backer of the ban, said the appellate court judges should have waited for a 25-day "reconsideration" period to elapse, in which opponents would have had one last chance to ask the Supreme Court to change its mind.

California briefly allowed gay marriages in 2008, before the ballot initiative was enacted. It now becomes the 13th state, and the largest, to allow same-sex marriage - just in time, advocates point out, for Gay Pride weekend.

"On my way to S.F. City Hall," tweeted Harris minutes after the injunction was lifted. "Let the wedding bells ring!"

(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dana Feldman in Los Angeles, Tim Gaynor in Phoenix and Ronnie Cohen in San Francisco; writing by Sharon Bernstein; editing by Mary Milliken and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-lifts-ban-gay-marriage-california-001242022.html

evo 4g lte marlins new stadium arnold palmer augusta national blake griffin pau gasol marlins park

Vatican Bank Official Arrested In Corruption Probe

A high-ranking official at the troubled Vatican bank (who was already under investigation for a possible money laundering scheme) was?arrested on Friday for trying to bring 20 million euros in to the country illegally.?Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was detained along with two others for the failed plot that involved bringing the cash from Switzerland to Italy on a Italian government plane, presumably so they could avoid customs checks, and therefore, taxes.

RELATED: The Vatican Did Not Like Benetton's Papal Makeout Ad

Scarano's lawyer denies all the charges and says his client "can explain," though he did not elaborate on how. The new charges follow a separate investigation of Scarano that stemmed from a series of shady transactions he made back in 2009, transferring money between his personal accounts in The Vatican and in Italy.

RELATED: How the FBI Captured Whitey Bulger

On a personal scale, Scarano's crimes are not that disastrous, but they come at a very difficult time for the Church and the new pope. Just two days ago, Pope Francis created an inquiry commission to investigate corruption and mismanagement at the Vatican bank. The bank, which operates under different laws than the rest of the European Union, has been accused of failing to meet the more rigorous standards of the world financial community and an excess of secrecy. Scarano's alleged crimes appear to be exactly the kind of behavior the Pope is trying to put a stop to.

RELATED: The Merchant of Death Is Going to Jail

This also comes on top of all the other scandals and accusations of corruption that have been dogging the Church in recent years. Pope Francis has been on the job just a few short months, but he's already got his hands full trying to "clean up" the ancient institution. Another black eye for the Vatican is last thing he needs.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-bank-official-arrested-corruption-probe-120802618.html

Ryan Freel Melissa Nelson foot locker champs champs calvin johnson calvin johnson

Corkscrew Lasers Are About to Revolutionize Internet Bandwidth

We transmit almost a thousand petabytes of data over the ?nets every month?an amount that?s growing exponentially, thanks to your narcissistic obsession with Snapchat. In fact, we?re quickly closing in on the limits of how much data optical fiber can transmit. Luckily, scientists at Boston University recently unveiled what could be the next generation of bandwidth tech.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/fM8BRBUu-Cc/corkscrew-lasers-are-about-to-revolutionize-internet-ba-613647720

nfl news tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush sherry arnold snooty fox el debarge

Windows Azure Now Stores 8.5 Trillion Data Objects, Manages 900K Transactions Per Second

Microsoft announced at the Build conference today that Windows Azure now has 8.5 trillion objects stored on its infrastructure. The company also announced the following: Customers do 900,000 storage transactions per second. The service is doubling its compute and storage every six months. 3.2 million organizations have Active Directory accounts with 68 million users. More than 50 percent of the world’s Fortune 500 companies are using Windows Azure. In comparison, Amazon Web Services said at its AWS Summit in New York earlier this year that its S3 storage service now holds more than 2 trillion objects. According to a post by Frederic Lardinois, that’s up from 1 trillion last June and 1.3 trillion in November, when the company last updated these numbers at its re:Invent conference. So what accounts for the differene between Azure and AWS? It all has to do with how each company counts the objects it stores. With that in consideration, it’s likely Azure’s numbers are far different if the same metrics were used as AWS. Nevertheless, the news highlights the importance of Windows Azure for Microsoft, especially as the enterprise moves its infrastructure, shedding data centers to consolidate and reduce their costs.  

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ru56ymMXCXc/

Luis Suarez Earth Day 2013 westboro baptist church meteor shower Al Michaels Canelo vs Trout 420

'Shields to maximum, Mr. Scott': Simulating orbital debris impacts on spacecraft and fragment impacts on body armor

June 27, 2013 ? We know it's out there, debris from 50 years of space exploration -- aluminum, steel, nylon, even liquid sodium from Russian satellites -- orbiting around Earth and posing a danger to manned and unmanned spacecraft.

According to NASA, there are more than 21,000 pieces of 'space junk' roughly the size of a baseball (larger than 10 centimeters) in orbit, and about 500,000 pieces that are golf ball-sized (between one to 10 centimeters).

Sure, space is big, but when a piece of space junk strikes a spacecraft, the collision occurs at a velocity of 5 to 15 kilometers per second -- roughly ten times faster than a speeding bullet!

"If a spacecraft is hit by orbital debris it may damage the thermal protection system," said Eric Fahrenthold, professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, who studies impact dynamics both experimentally and through numerical simulations. "Even if the impact is not on the main heat shield, it may still adversely affect the spacecraft. The thermal researchers take the results of impact research and assess the effect of a certain impact crater depth and volume on the survivability of a spacecraft during reentry," Fahrenthold said.

Only some of the collisions that may occur in low earth orbit can be reproduced in the laboratory. To determine the potential impact of fast-moving orbital debris on spacecraft -- and to assist NASA in the design of shielding that can withstand hypervelocity impacts -- Fahrenthold and his team developed a numerical algorithm that simulates the shock physics of orbital debris particles striking the layers of Kevlar, metal, and fiberglass that makes up a space vehicle's outer defenses.

Supercomputers enable researchers to investigate physical phenomenon that cannot be duplicated in the laboratory, either because they are too large, small, dangerous -- or in this case, too fast -- to reproduce with current testing technology. Running hundreds of simulations on the Ranger, Lonestar and Stampede supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, Fahrenthold and his students have assisted NASA in the development of ballistic limit curves that predict whether a shield will be perforated when hit by a projectile of a given size and speed. NASA uses ballistic limit curves in the design and risk analysis of current and future spacecraft.

Results from some of his group's impact dynamics research were presented at the April 2013 American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics' (AIAA) meeting, and have recently been published in the journals Smart Materials and Structures and International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering. In the paper presented at the AIAA conference, they showed in detail how different characteristics of a hypervelocity collision, such as the speed, impact angle, and size of the debris, could affect the depth of the cavity produced in ceramic tile thermal protection systems.

The development of these models is not just a shot in the dark. Fahrenthold's simulations have been tested exhaustively against real-world experiments conducted by NASA, which uses light gas guns to launch 'centimeter' size projectiles at speeds up to 10 kilometers per second. The simulations are evaluated in this speed regime to insure that they accurately capture the dynamics of hypervelocity impacts.

Validated simulation methods can then be used to estimate impact damage at velocities outside the experimental range, and also to investigate detailed physics that may be difficult to capture using flash x-ray images of experiments.

The simulation framework that Fahrenthold and his team developed employs a hybrid modeling approach that captures both the fragmentation of the projectiles -- their tendency to break into small shards that need to be caught -- and the shock response of the target, which is subjected to severe thermal and mechanical loads.

"We validate our method in the velocity regime where experiments can be performed, then we run simulations at higher velocities, to estimate what we think will happen at higher velocities," Fahrenthold explained. "There are certain things you can do in simulation and certain things you can do in experiment. When they work together, that's a big advantage for the design engineer."

Back on land, Fahrenthold and graduate student Moss Shimek extended this hybrid method in order to study the impact of projectiles on body armor materials in research supported by the Office of Naval Research. The numerical technique originally developed to study impacts on spacecraft worked well for a completely different application at lower velocities, in part because some of the same materials used on spacecraft for orbital debris protection, such as Kevlar, are also used in body armor.

According to Fahrenthold, this method offers a fundamentally new way of simulating fabric impacts, which have been modeled with conventional finite element methods for more than 20 years. The model parameters used in the simulation, such as the material's strength, flexibility, and thermal properties, are provided by experimentalists. The supercomputer simulations then replicate the physics of projectile impact and yarn fracture, and capture the complex interaction of the multiple layers of a fabric protection system -- some fragments getting caught in the mesh of yarns, others breaking through the layers and perforating the barrier.

"Using a hybrid technique for fabric modeling works well," Fahrenthold said. "When the fabric barrier is hit at very high velocities, as in spacecraft shielding, it's a shock-type impact and the thermal properties are important as well as the mechanical ones."

Moss Shimek's dissertation research added a new wrinkle to the fabric model by representing the various weaves used in the manufacture of Kevlar and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (another leading protective material) barriers, including harness-satin, basket, and twill weaves. Each weave type has advantages and disadvantages when used in body armor designed to protect military and police personnel. Layering the different weaves, many believe, can provide improved protection.

Fahrenthold and Shimek (currently a post-doctoral research associate at Los Alamos National Laboratory) explored the performance of various weave types using both experiments and simulations. In the November 2012 issue of the AIAA Journal, Shimek and Fahrenthold showed that in some cases the weave type of the fabric material can greatly influence fabric barrier performance.

"Currently body armor normally uses the plain weave, but research has shown that different weaves that are more flexible might be better, for example in extremity protection," Shimek said.

Shimek and Fahrenthold used the same numerical method employed for the NASA simulations to model a series of experiments on layered Kevlar materials, showing that their simulation results were within 15 percent of the experimental outcomes.

"Future body armor designs may vary the weave type through a Kevlar stack," Shimek said. "Maybe one weave type is better at dealing with small fragments, while others perform better for larger fragments. Our results suggest that you can use simulation to assist the designer in developing a fragment barrier which can capitalize on those differences."

What can researchers learn about the layer-to-layer impact response of a fabric barrier through simulation? Can body armor be improved by varying the weave type of the many layers in a typical fabric barrier? Can simulation assist the design engineer in developing orbital debris shields that better protect spacecraft? The range of engineering design questions is endless, and computer simulations can play an important role in the 'faster, better, cheaper' development of improved impact protection systems.

"We are trying to make fundamental improvements in numerical algorithms, and validate those algorithms against experiment," Fahrenthold concluded. "This can provide improved tools for engineering design, and allow simulation-based research to contribute in areas where experiments are very difficult to do or very expensive."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/gqW_eYMJFc8/130627131829.htm

mike d antoni nba trade rumors desean jackson 2012 ncaa tournament schedule laurent robinson dantoni leah remini

Tony Parker: Engaged to Axelle Francine!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/tony-parker-engaged-to-axelle-francine/

arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad kony kony 2012 jim irsay the new ipad

Model, pin-up photographer returns to spotlight

MIAMI (AP) ? Bunny Yeager was a photographer at a time when men dominated that profession, but the model turned pin-up photographer used that to her advantage when photographing women in the 1950s and '60s.

She was able to make everyday women, from stay-at-home mothers to airline attendants, feel comfortable enough to bare it all. In the mid-1950s, she helped jump-start the career of then-unknown Bettie Page with her photo in Playboy. More than five decades after shooting the well-known stills of Page in a leopard-print bathing suit standing next to a real cheetah, 40 framed prints of her work are now on display in a gallery in Wynwood, Miami's arts district.

"They all wanted to model for me because they knew that I wouldn't take advantage of them," Yeager, now 83, said of her models. "And I wouldn't push them to do nude if they didn't want to do nudes. It wasn't a day when nude photography was prevalent."

Wes Carson, a photography instructor at the Miami International University of Art & Design, said the way women were "surveyed" in Yeager's photographs was distinct from her male counterparts.

"When I look at her work, the women have a different demeanor," he said. "They are more confident. They are in charge of their sexuality, where if you look at someone else's work the women are much more dismissive and demure."

Last year, Yeager, a Pennsylvania native, published the coffee table book "Bunny Yeager's Darkroom" and is working on another book that will include her photos of Page. The German fashion house Bruno Bananai has a new line of swimwear based on the bikinis she designed for her models and she plans to photograph models again in her studio, if requests come in.

Yeager, whose real name is Linnea Eleanor Yeager, was one of the most photographed models in Miami during her early career. Soon after taking a photography course at a local college, Yeager turned the camera on herself as she posed in bathing suits she handmade for her 5-foot-9 frame. Her self-portraits were turned into a book, "How I Photograph Myself," in 1964 and many of those photos ? including Yeager in a red-striped low V-cut bathing suit and a white bikini covered in real daisies she glued on one by one ? adorn the walls of her Miami gallery. The prints range in price from $1,200 to $3,000.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Yeager was one of the top fashion models and photographers, publishing about a dozen books. She shot stills of the Swedish actress Ursula Andress, who was starring in the 1962 James Bond film "Dr. No." The famous shot shows the actress in a white bikini, a knife sheathed at her side.

Yeager continued to work, but over the last decade, several magazines began to struggle or went out of business. Yeager was no longer in demand.

"There was a big portion of time where I hadn't been doing anything," Yeager said of her hiatus. "It wasn't that I was retired, it's just that nobody wanted my photos. I had no requests. No inquiries. Nothing. It was like I didn't even exist."

But in 2010, the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh held an exhibition of her work. Now, there is the Miami exhibition.

"I haven't gotten used to it yet," Yeager said of the recent attention. "And I still get that little tingle when I see the photos on the wall."

In her studio, Yeager keeps a stash of photos no one has seen in cabinets. Some she plans to save for her next book. Others will serve as a snapshot of what's yet to come for Yeager and the next generation of female photographers.

"I'm still feeling like a little child and excited over everything new that comes along in my life. I don't know where it will lead to yet, but it sounds good to me."

___

Follow Suzette Laboy on Twitter: @SuzetteLaboy

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/model-pin-photographer-returns-spotlight-110029890.html

BLK Water ESPYs daniel tosh All Star Game 2012 directv rashard lewis curacao

Gay marriage ruling: Supporters celebrate

From California to New York and Florida, the gay community cheered the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling on Wednesday. Some looked forward to the benefits of having their same-sex marriages recognized federally, while others anticipated further obstacles.

By Daniel Trotta,?Reuters / June 26, 2013

Skye Smith celebrates on Wednesday at a rally in Redding, Calif., after the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on gay marriage issues.

AP Photo/The Record Searchlight, Greg Barnette

Enlarge

With cheers, tears and kisses, gays and lesbians across the United States celebrated Wednesday's historic Supreme Court decision in support of same-sex marriage, which provided cause for joy after years of protest.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Crowds turned out in gay?capitals such as West Hollywood in California, San Francisco, South Miami Beach in Florida and the New York gay?bar called the Stonewall Inn, seen as the birthplace of the gay?rights movement.

"It's so wonderful being down here celebrating and not protesting for a change," Roger Silva, 69, said outside the Stonewall, grateful that a New York law allowed him to marry his partner of 11 years in April. "I never thought this would be possible in New York, much less the country."

In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court forced the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal and in a separate ruling it cleared the way for same-sex marriages in California.

Stonewall has become synonymous with gay?rights since a police raid there on June 28, 1969, triggered a spontaneous and violent demonstration that popularized the slogan "Out of the closet and into the streets."

A jubilant crowd of several hundred gathered on Wednesday afternoon, many carrying U.S. flags and the rainbow flags that have been adopted by the movement for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

At least one man had mixed emotions.

"There's a bit of wistfulness - if I was younger, at the bottom rung, to enjoy all those benefits. But yes it is a great day," said Bruce Ward, 55, a writer.

In San Francisco, where an outspoken movement carried the flag for gay?rights after Stonewall, about 100 clergy members from all faiths celebrated the two Supreme Court decisions outside Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill.

Across town in The Castro, a neighborhood at the center of gay?life in the city, more than 2,000 people gathered in the street, many waving rainbow flags and equal signs. Dance music blared from loudspeakers and children bounced on the shoulders of their parents.

Down the California coast in West Hollywood, more than 1,000 attended a rally in which same-sex couples brought their children, joining young celebrants including a woman in a rainbow-colored ballet tutu and at least two in rainbow bikinis.

"It means that my daughters are never going to have to explain that their family is second-class," said Jason Howe, who arrived with his married partner Adrian Perez and their twin daughters, Olivia and Clara.

Added Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., who runs a popular celebrity blog under the assumed name Perez Hilton: "Today means that we have successfully educated America."

In South Beach, hundreds gathered at the LGBT visitors' center to celebrate and to declare that more work was left to be done, particularly in Florida, where a 2008 constitutional amendment outlawed same-sex marriages.

Amid hugs, kisses and congratulations, some people wished each other "Happy Pride Day" and "Happy Gay?Day."

"We have waited a long time for this ... We really cannot overstate how big a step forward this is," said Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida.

Others engaged in legal discussions about the Supreme Court decision and the Florida law, with the common refrain that "we still have a long way to go."

Jack Tufano, 40, an architect, said he felt "relief" when the decision was announced "because my husband and I have been waiting" to get his U.S. citizenship. The two got married last year in New York.

"First thing we're going to do tomorrow is call the lawyer to get started," he said.

(Reporting by Edith Honan in New York; Zachary Fagenson in South Beach, Florida; Dana Feldman in West Hollywood, California; and Noah Berger and Ronnie Cohen in San Francisco; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou, Stacey Joyce and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7E-xZOkV7lM/Gay-marriage-ruling-Supporters-celebrate

Yahoo Fantasy Football Nick Foles Auguste Rodin Breaking Amish Indianapolis explosion mike brown bcs rankings

Hasty Plans To Take On GrubHub With Super Healthy Takeout and Delivery App In SF

GrubHub or Seamless - and if you're in Europe, Just Eat and many others - is, as we all know, something of a guilty secret. On demand food ordering has exploded in recent years. But trying to pick the healthy option is rarely that easy. Step in Hasty, a new bootstrapped startup which is starting in San Francicso first but hopes to expand in the US and internationally. To join the waiting list for the private beta of the 'takeout and delivery' iPhone app, visit the site. Instagram?s lead designer, Tim Van Damme, happens to be an advisor to the company. There are 200 private beta invites for TechCrunch readers via this link.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/veAMNr0RvsI/

Wimbledon 2012 TV Schedule fourth of july IFE Fireworks 2012 4th Of July independence day BET Awards 2012 declaration of independence

New study on popular prostate cancer protein provides insight into disease progression

June 25, 2013 ? Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute have uncovered for the first time the vital role a popular protein plays in the stroma, the cell-lined area outside of a prostate tumor.

Researchers have long understood the function of the protein, Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), in prostate cancer, including its role in treatment resistance and disease aggressiveness. However, prior to this study, little was known about the role of Cav-1 within the stroma.

The study, published in the Journal of Pathology, found that a decreased level of the Cav-1 protein in the stroma indicated tumor progression -- a function opposite to the known role of Cav-1 within a tumor. Inside the tumor, an increased level of this protein signifies tumor progression. These human tumor findings suggest that patients whose prostate tumor is surrounded by a stroma with decreased levels of the Cav-1 protein may have an overall worse prognosis and a higher chance of disease relapse.

"How a prostate tumor communicates with its microenvironment, or stroma, is a vital process we need to understand to assess the aggressiveness of a patient's disease and potential response to treatment," said Dolores Di Vizio, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Urologic Oncology Research Program and senior investigator of the study. "This research suggests that the cells surrounding a prostate tumor are equally as important as the tumor itself in helping understand the complexity of a man's disease. This early-stage research may provide a new, future marker that may ultimately aid diagnosis and treatment, and personalize prostate cancer therapy."

In addition to understanding the role of Cav-1 in the tumor microenvironment, researchers discovered that the loss of Cav-1 causes an increase of cholesterol in the stroma. Previous research findings suggest that cholesterol levels are related to aggressive prostate cancer, but cholesterol's role had never been evaluated within the stroma.

"Cholesterol has been shown to be a driver of prostate cancer progression," said Di Vizio. "For the first time in prostate cancer research, we found that when levels of Cav-1 decrease in the stroma, both cholesterol and androgens increase. This finding may partly explain a resistance to traditional treatments."

Though the findings are preliminary, the Cedars-Sinai researchers Di Vizio, Michael Freeman, PhD, vice chair of research in the Department of Surgery and professor/director of the Cancer Biology Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, and post-doctoral fellows Matteo Morello, PhD, and Sungyong You, PhD, will continue evaluating the role of the Caveolin-1 protein in the stroma and its potential end benefit in patients.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/VE9UPKMFmBY/130625092006.htm

nerlens noel Mark Balelo Anne Stringfield paczki lent la times heart attack grill

Efficient production process for coveted nanocrystals

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Christine Bohnet
c.bohnet@hzdr.de
49-351-260-2450
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

A formation mechanism of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide (CeO2), a versatile nanomaterial, has been unveiled by scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The research results were published in the scientific journal Chemistry A European Journal (DOI: 10.1002/chem.201204101). This finding potentially simplifies and alleviates the existing synthetic processes of nanocrystalline CeO2 production.

Nanocrystalline CeO2 particles are widely used, for example, in catalysts for hazardous gas treatment, in electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells, in polishing materials for advanced integrated circuits, in sunscreen cosmetics, and in such medical applications as artificial superoxide dismutase. Current industrial syntheses of nanocrystalline CeO2 are based on sol-gel processes followed by thermal treatment and/or the addition of accelerant reagents. Any further improvement of the synthetic strategy for CeO2 nanocrystals requires a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in their formation at the atomic scale.

Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno from the University of New South Wales, Australia, together with Dr. Christoph Hennig from the HZDR opted for a sophisticated multi-spectroscopic approach that combines dynamic light scattering and synchrotron-based X-ray techniques. These complex investigations involved the use of two world-leading synchrotron facilities of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, and SPring-8 in Hyogo, Japan.

Live Monitoring

For the first time ever, the scientists were able to perform an in-situ observation of nanocrystal evolution. So far, little has been known of the formation mechanism of metal nanocrystals; mainly because appropriate analytical techniques were lacking. The most widely used techniques for metal nanocrystal research are electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. They are powerful enough to visualize the appearance of nanocrystals and to acquire their lattice information, but they are not applicable to the solution state where the evolution of metal nanocrystals occurs. "To probe the formation of nanocrystalline CeO2 in an aqueous solution, we combined different spectroscopic techniques, including dynamic light scattering, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and high energy X-ray scattering," says Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno.

The information the researchers obtained is fundamental to simplifying and alleviating the synthetic process of CeO2 nanocrystals. They revealed that uniformly sized nanoparticles of CeO2 can be produced simply by pH adjustment of tetravalent cerium (Ce(IV)) in an aqueous solution without subsequent physical/chemical treatment such as heating or adding accelerant chemicals. The produced CeO2 crystals have a uniform particle size of 2 - 3 nanometers, irrespective of the preparation conditions (e.g. pH and type of pH adjustment). This particle size is exactly in the range which is interesting for industrial applications. A key finding is that mononuclear Ce(IV) solution species do not result in nano-sized CeO2 crystals. The prerequisite is the presence of oligomeric Ce(IV) solution species, such as dimers or trimers.

"We're indeed very glad that our multi-spectroscopic approach is also applicable to any other research on metal nanocrystals. That's why this study contributes to an emerging research area on metal nanocrystals in a broader context," says Dr. Christoph Hennig. "And the HZDR's own measuring station at the ESRF provides the best possible opportunities for this research area of metal nanocrystals which directly contributes to industrial applications."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Christine Bohnet
c.bohnet@hzdr.de
49-351-260-2450
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

A formation mechanism of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide (CeO2), a versatile nanomaterial, has been unveiled by scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The research results were published in the scientific journal Chemistry A European Journal (DOI: 10.1002/chem.201204101). This finding potentially simplifies and alleviates the existing synthetic processes of nanocrystalline CeO2 production.

Nanocrystalline CeO2 particles are widely used, for example, in catalysts for hazardous gas treatment, in electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells, in polishing materials for advanced integrated circuits, in sunscreen cosmetics, and in such medical applications as artificial superoxide dismutase. Current industrial syntheses of nanocrystalline CeO2 are based on sol-gel processes followed by thermal treatment and/or the addition of accelerant reagents. Any further improvement of the synthetic strategy for CeO2 nanocrystals requires a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in their formation at the atomic scale.

Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno from the University of New South Wales, Australia, together with Dr. Christoph Hennig from the HZDR opted for a sophisticated multi-spectroscopic approach that combines dynamic light scattering and synchrotron-based X-ray techniques. These complex investigations involved the use of two world-leading synchrotron facilities of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, and SPring-8 in Hyogo, Japan.

Live Monitoring

For the first time ever, the scientists were able to perform an in-situ observation of nanocrystal evolution. So far, little has been known of the formation mechanism of metal nanocrystals; mainly because appropriate analytical techniques were lacking. The most widely used techniques for metal nanocrystal research are electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. They are powerful enough to visualize the appearance of nanocrystals and to acquire their lattice information, but they are not applicable to the solution state where the evolution of metal nanocrystals occurs. "To probe the formation of nanocrystalline CeO2 in an aqueous solution, we combined different spectroscopic techniques, including dynamic light scattering, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and high energy X-ray scattering," says Dr. Atsushi Ikeda-Ohno.

The information the researchers obtained is fundamental to simplifying and alleviating the synthetic process of CeO2 nanocrystals. They revealed that uniformly sized nanoparticles of CeO2 can be produced simply by pH adjustment of tetravalent cerium (Ce(IV)) in an aqueous solution without subsequent physical/chemical treatment such as heating or adding accelerant chemicals. The produced CeO2 crystals have a uniform particle size of 2 - 3 nanometers, irrespective of the preparation conditions (e.g. pH and type of pH adjustment). This particle size is exactly in the range which is interesting for industrial applications. A key finding is that mononuclear Ce(IV) solution species do not result in nano-sized CeO2 crystals. The prerequisite is the presence of oligomeric Ce(IV) solution species, such as dimers or trimers.

"We're indeed very glad that our multi-spectroscopic approach is also applicable to any other research on metal nanocrystals. That's why this study contributes to an emerging research area on metal nanocrystals in a broader context," says Dr. Christoph Hennig. "And the HZDR's own measuring station at the ESRF provides the best possible opportunities for this research area of metal nanocrystals which directly contributes to industrial applications."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/haog-epp062513.php

Mayweather Robert Guerrero may day 747 crash Kentucky Derby 2013 Barcelona celtics

Apple Releases iOS 7 Beta 2 With Support For iPads

Apple has released beta 2 of its mobile OS for developers just two weeks after WWDC where the company showed off iOS 7. This release also supports iPads and iPad minis.

Other than that, there's a new Voice Memos app, which seems to have been inspired by the Flip camera. Siri can now yammer at you in a female or male voice, too. The Reminders app, panoramic camera UI and the addition of avatars in group iMessages, along with general bug fixes and performance tweaks round out this version. Unfortunately the stock app icons also appear to be unchanged. Let us know if you notice anything else. [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/apple-releases-ios-7-beta-2-with-support-for-ipads-559863719

texas relays meniscus robyn the colony ncaa final four 2012 uk vs louisville university of kansas

Supreme Court punts on affirmative-action case

The Supreme Court has surprised legal experts by declining to strike down the University of Texas' use of race in undergraduate admissions. On Monday, the justices sent the case back to a lower court for a rehearing, dodging a decision on whether affirmative-action policies at public colleges around the country are unconstitutional.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's conservative-leaning swing vote, wrote the opinion for Fisher v. University of Texas, which was decided 7-1. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court's liberal leader, dissented, arguing that the lower court's decision in favor of affirmative action should stand. Kennedy said the federal Fifth Circuit must rehear the case to decide whether UT "offered sufficient evidence to prove that its admissions program is narrowly tailored to obtain the educational benefits of diversity." The court also requires the lower court to decide whether the college could use any "race neutral" means of creating a diverse campus before resorting to affirmative action.

"Strict scrutiny imposes on the university the ultimate burden of demonstrating, before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice," the justices wrote.

The decision comes as a surprise, since during oral arguments in the case in October, many of the conservative-leaning justices seemed poised to issue a broader ruling invalidating the use of race in admissions. Kennedy has also frequently expressed skepticism of affirmative-action programs.

"Affirmative action lives to see another day," Adam Winkler, a constitutional law expert at UCLA, told Yahoo News. "The Supreme Court seemed prepared to strike a real blow against affirmative action back in October. But the Fisher case reaffirms [previous] Supreme Court cases that allow universities to take race into account."

Abigail Noel Fisher brought suit against the University of Texas after she was denied admission in 2008. UT automatically admits Texans who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, but fills its remaining seats by judging applicants on a combination of GPA, test scores, race and other factors. Fisher claimed she was discriminated against because she is white when she was denied admission. The college argued that Fisher's GPA and standardized test scores made her inadmissible regardless of her race and that using race as one factor in admission helps it maintain a diverse student body.

The Supreme Court established in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger that universities could use race as a factor in admissions as long as they did not use quotas (for example, that 10 percent of the class must be black). The justices said affirmative action was still necessary to counteract the effects of institutionalized racism that had prevented minorities from attending college in the past. The majority wrote that they believed that in 25 years, affirmative action would no longer be necessary and should be stopped. This "sunset" provision was skewered by the four dissenting justices.

The Fisher case was argued 10 months ago, and many legal experts were stumped as to why the justices were taking so long to release an opinion. The court has agreed to hear another case dealing with affirmative action next fall and may issue a broader decision then.

Justice Elena Kagan, a President Barack Obama appointee, recused herself from the case, most likely due to her work on it as solicitor general.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/supreme-court-punts-affirmative-action-case-141850745.html

superman flag day man of steel man of steel us open Jason Leffler 300 Rise Of An Empire

A Rifle-Turned-Slingshot That Shoots Knives Is Terrifying

This week Joerg busted out the deactivated M16A1 rifle (which he obviously has) and turned it into a slingshot. The launcher band mounts on the underside of the rifle barrel, and the weapon shoots two Cold Steel "Hide Out" neck knives aka really scary/sharp little suckers.

The slingshot can shoot two knives at once or one at a time. The best image from this video is probably Joerg testing the slingshot on a watermelon and then breaking it open to reveal the two knives inside. I wonder where The Slingshot Channel gets all its test fruit.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-rifle-turned-slingshot-that-shoots-knives-is-terrifyi-549943481

Angel Cabrera Jay Z Open Letter glee glee masters live frozen four Rehtaeh Parsons

Sarah Murnaghan, 10, wakes from coma after lung transplant

48 minutes ago

Murnaghan family / Murnaghan family

Sarah Murnaghan, 10, has woken from a coma after receiving a double lung transplant.

A 10-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis who was given a double-lung transplant after a national debate about organ donation has come out of a coma, according to reports late Friday.

Sarah Murnaghan was able to respond to questions, a family spokesperson told NBC10.com.

She received her new lungs on June 12, after spending three months at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with end-stage cystic fibrosis.

Sarah, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, became the subject of national media headlines when her parents sued over national transplant rules that place children behind adolescents and adults on the list for adult lungs.

U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson intervened, ordering that Sarah be put on the adult list, where the urgency of her case led to a match days later.

The transplant isn't a cure for cystic fibrosis, but it can extend her life by years.

Family spokesperson Tracy Simon said Sarah woke from the coma on Friday and was responding to simple questions by nodding to indicate yes or no, The Associated Press reported.

Simon added Sarah was doing well but was frustrated by her inability to speak.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2da4bb8e/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Chealth0Csarah0Emurnaghan0E10A0Ewakes0Ecoma0Eafter0Elung0Etransplant0E6C10A4180A83/story01.htm

angelina jolie abercrombie abercrombie Eminem Stabbed google drive Savannah Guthrie Daft Punk

Printic Lets You Caption & Ship Cute, Polaroid-Like Prints From iPhone Or Android

Smartphones have long since established themselves as the preferred camera for the majority of users, and even though there are now a number of ways to share their digital output, there's still something fun about receiving photo prints by mail. A new app called Printic, which has just this week arrived on Android following its earlier iPhone debut, aims to simplify the process of ordering these mobile prints, which it lets you ship anywhere in the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/XjO0IqvZASc/

nc state erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer hunger games trailer in plain sight hunger games movie review

Amanda Bynes Addicted To Plastic Surgery?

Amanda Bynes Addicted To Plastic Surgery?

Troubled former actress Amanda Bynes has unleashed yet another Twitter rant, but this time she is calling herself a “hero” for having nose surgery again. Bynes claims she was born with a birth defect, webbing in between her eyes, and has had surgery to “fix” her nose and to remove her breast implants. Amanda said, ...

Amanda Bynes Addicted To Plastic Surgery? Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/amanda-bynes-addicted-to-plastic-surgery/

kate walsh cnn debate equatorial guinea marine helicopter crash photo of whitney houston in casket star jones carrot top

Snowden's return to US could be legal battle

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

A security guard stands in front of the Police headquarters in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs. It is not known if the U.S. government has made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden. Police Commissioner Andy Tsang, when was asked about the development, told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

David Medine, chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, is seen in front of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 21, 2013. President Barack Obama held his first meeting Friday with the board in the White House Situation Room. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The criminal case against Edward Snowden could turn into a prolonged legal battle before the former contractor who says he revealed two highly classified surveillance programs ever appears in a U.S. courtroom to answer espionage charges.

A formal extradition request to bring Snowden to the United States from Hong Kong could drag through appeal courts for years and would pit Beijing against Washington at a time China tries to deflect U.S. accusations that it carries out extensive surveillance on American government and commercial operations.

The U.S. has contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek Snowden's extradition, the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Caitlin Hayden, said Saturday in a statement. She referred questions about the details of the request to the Justice Department. The NSC advises the president on national security.

The Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who admitted providing information to the news media about the programs. Police Commissioner Andy Tsang told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law. A police statement said it was "inappropriate" for the police to comment on the case.

A one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., part of the Eastern District of Virginia where his former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, in McLean. He is charged with unauthorized communication of national defense information, willful communication of classified communications intelligence information and theft of government property. The first two are under the Espionage Act and each of the three crimes carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on conviction.

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

Snowden told the South China Morning Post in an interview published Saturday on its website that he hoped to stay in the autonomous region of China because he has faith in "the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate."

A prominent former politician in Hong Kong, Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party, said he doubted whether Beijing would intervene yet.

"Beijing would only intervene according to my understanding at the last stage. If the magistrate said there is enough to extradite, then Mr. Snowden can then appeal," he said.

Lee said Beijing could then decide at the end of the appeal process if it wanted Snowden extradited or not.

If formal extradition is pursued, Snowden could contest it on grounds of political persecution.

Hong Kong lawyer Mark Sutherland said that the filing of a refugee, torture or inhuman punishment claim acts as an automatic bar on any extradition proceedings until those claims can be assessed.

"Some asylum seekers came to Hong Kong 10 years ago and still haven't had their protection claims assessed," Sutherland said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-22-NSA%20Surveillance/id-f5de6fc9f7d14f8cbfb6fd845a7df7a3

morris claiborne clippers lisa lampanelli lisa lampanelli bronx zoo bronx zoo crash grizzlies

The future of natural gas is the car?

Rising use of natural gas in the transportation sector will offset a slowdown in other areas, says the International Energy Agency in?a new report. But don't expect natural gas vehicles to dominate roadways anytime soon.

By David J. Unger,?Correspondent / June 20, 2013

A man fills his truck with compressed natural gas at a filling station in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jim Urquhart/Reuters/File

Enlarge

The natural gas revolution is getting some wheels ? and just in time for the gas industry.

Skip to next paragraph

Why It Matters

Energy: Natural gas is plentiful, cheap, and cleaner-burning than other fossil fuels.

Environment: Drilling for natural gas can release potent greenhouse gases and threaten local ecosystems.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Rising use of natural gas in the transportation sector will offset a global slowdown in the growth of natural gas to produce electricity, according to a report released Thursday by the International Energy Agency. That timely boost will mean that America's boom in natural gas is likely to continue for several years, even if the focus begins to shift away from power plants and toward cars and trucks.?

Not everyone is convinced natural gas will do for auto companies what it did for utilities. Changing fuels requires an overhaul of existing infrastructure, and natural gas comes with its own set of environmental concerns. In many regions, it is difficult for natural gas to compete with the range, power, and price of gasoline. But natural gas has already proven itself a useful alternative for fueling large vehicle fleets and it's even more attractive in parts of the world where gasoline prices are high.

?Gas is already a major fuel in power generation, but the next five years will also see it emerging as a significant transportation fuel, driven by abundant supplies as well as concerns about oil dependency and air pollution," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in a release.?"Once the infrastructure barriers are tackled, natural gas has significant potential for clean-energy use in heavy-duty transport where electrification is not possible.??

Video: Immigration reform deal would flood border with patrol agents (cbsnews)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314201921?client_source=feed&format=rss

Michigan Election Results Missouri Election Results Amendment 64 marijuana Colorado Marijuana elizabeth warren puerto rico

Samsung announces ATIV Book 9 Plus Ultrabook and the ATIV Book 9 Lite

We haven't heard much about Samsung's Series 9 Ultrabooks for a while, barring a resolution bump late last year. Today, though, the company announced the follow-on to that product. Two, follow-on products, actually. The company just introduced the ATIV Book 9 Plus, a flagship laptop that appears to be the direct replacement to the old Series 9. In addition, the company announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite, another ultraportable that apparently doesn't quite rise to the level of flagship status. As it happens, Samsung merely teased these products at the beginning of its presentation over in London, but we'll update this post once it circles back to laptops and provides more details.

Gallery: Samsung Premiere 2013

Developing...

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5a7UC8kDT_Q/

beloved ufc results water for elephants old school nick swisher jaco san jose sharks