Libya to help ease Egypt crisis with $1.2 billion oil deal

By Jessica Donati and Ghaith Shennib

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya will soon start shipping oil to neighboring Egypt on soft credit terms, two senior Libyan officials said, as Cairo struggles to pay for energy imports and avoid fuel shortages.

The officials told Reuters that Tripoli would supply Cairo with $1.2 billion worth of crude at world prices but on interest free credit for a year, with the first cargo expected to arrive next month.

Egypt has slid into economic crisis since president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown two years ago. Most international companies have reduced oil product supplies to the country fearing non-payments, as the government tries to curb soaring energy subsidy costs which swallow up a fifth of its budget.

Libya plans to ship one to two cargoes a month for refining in Egypt under a deal that involves 12 million barrels of crude over 12 months, the oil industry officials said.

With foreign currency reserves running low, Egypt has not bought any crude on the open market since January. In rough terms the Libyan deal would be worth slightly more than half its 2012 imports, which the central bank put at $2 billion.

"Their situation is very bad, and if necessary they can take up to a year to pay (for each delivery)," said one of the Libyan officials.

Libyan authorities themselves face a daily struggle to keep services running and take control of a country awash with weapons looted from the arsenal of Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled in 2011.

But the official said Libya could not shy away from helping an important trading partner. "If you are a good neighbor and something is wrong with your neighbor, you will not feel comfortable with yourself. It's human nature," he said.

Cairo has so far failed to agree a $4.8 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund and has sought help from energy producing countries in the region and beyond.

Tripoli has already deposited $2 billion at the Egyptian central bank and Qatar has announced $8 billion in loans, grants and other deposits since Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was elected last June.

WORLD PRICES

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) declined immediate comments on the details of the deal, although one of the oil industry officials said it would supply Sirteca, the cheapest of all the country's grades. "Shipments will be sold at world prices," said the second Libyan official.

An official at the Egyptian oil ministry confirmed some of the deal's terms. "(It will be) one million barrels a month and deferred payment for 12 months without interest starting from the first half of May, God willing," the official told Reuters.

However, the official maintained that the two sides were still discussing the kind of crude oil to be supplied and how long the shipments would last. The Libyan officials said that if the first cargo was sent next month as planned, they would last until April 2014.

The Libyan deal should ease the problems of Egypt, which owes at least $5 billion to oil companies, half of it overdue.

Cairo aims to raise prices of subsidized energy gradually, bringing them close to world levels in four years, to reduce the burden on its huge budget deficit. In the short term, it wants to avoid arousing more social unrest by ensuring energy supplies during the approaching summer when energy consumption peaks.

Libya has already shown willingness to step back into its old role as North Africa's version of a Gulf petro-state by using cash to open doors.

Libya's new rulers authorized a payment of almost $200 million to Mauritania after it extradited Gaddafi's former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi last year, although they later denied there was a quid pro quo.

Diplomats and analysts have also suggested Libya's growing support may help persuade Egypt to hand over Gaddafi's cousin Ahmed Gaddaf Alddam, who was arrested in Cairo in March.

Egypt sent two other ex-Gaddafi officials to Libya last month but barred the extradition of Gaddaf Alddam, who is claiming Egyptian citizenship. Libya is appealing the Egyptian court ruling.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif in Cairo; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/libya-help-ease-egypt-crisis-1-2-billion-130421776.html

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Canada budget office sees rates on hold until mid-2015

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's parliamentary budget office (PBO) sees the country's central bank holding its key interest rate at the current 1 percent until the second quarter of 2015 as slow global recovery and Ottawa's spending restraint drag on economic growth.

In its twice-yearly economic and fiscal outlook released on Monday, the PBO was more upbeat than the Conservative government on a return to surplus in the federal budget despite the sluggish growth. It predicted surpluses that were on average C$2.5 billion ($2.5 billion) higher than the government's forecasts, reflecting higher revenue projections.

The report's forecast of 1.5 percent economic growth in 2013 matches that of the Bank of Canada. The central bank said earlier this month the economy will likely reach full capacity and inflation will hit its 2 percent target by mid-2015.

By contrast, the PBO sees the economy "well below its potential GDP through 2015 and, as a result, the unemployment rate remains relatively stable, averaging 7.3 percent over 2013 to 2015."

"Consequently, PBO expects the Bank of Canada to maintain its policy interest rate at 1 percent until the second quarter of 2015 before gradually, but steadily, raising its policy rate," it said.

The PBO's assessment is based on its own economic outlook derived from partial information from the finance ministry, rather than any direct knowledge of monetary policy intentions.

The central bank has said it will probably raise rates after an unspecified "period of time," even as it acknowledges that the economy is expanding more slowly than it had forecast previously.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters before the central bank presented its latest forecasts predicted that move would come in the third quarter of 2014.

Canada's economy has long recovered from the 2008-09 recession but the unemployment rate remains higher than it was just before the crisis and exports and manufacturing have not returned to their pre-recession peaks.

The PBO sees the economy eventually picking up speed, with real gross domestic product growing by 2.6 percent over the 2015 to 2017 period and the jobless rate declining to 6.3 percent in 2017.

It sees a budget surplus in 2015-16 of C$3.7 billion versus the government's estimate of a surplus of just C$800 million that year, assuming spending cuts and revenue increases occur as planned.

(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-budget-office-sees-rates-hold-until-mid-161142349.html

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Vermont Telephone Company's gigabit internet service is live, half the price of Google Fiber

Remember how Google Fiber's recent announcement for planned service in Austin by 2014 spurred immediate competition from AT&T? It's safe to say telcos in other areas have taken note about the gigabit speeds and roughly $70 montly pricing, too. According to a Wall Street Journal Digits blog post, Vermont Telephone Company is now offering gigabit-speed service to some of its customers for the crazy low stand-alone price of $35 bucks a month. To keep things in perspective, WSJ notes that roughly 600 folks are subscribed (out of VTel's total base of about 17.5K) and that the company is essentially going to be analyzing whether the current pricing will remain for the long-term. With Google Fiber to continuing to expand, it's certainly promising to see how superspeed internet is trickling across the US -- and how easy it's been looking on the wallet.

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Via: The Wall Street Journal Digits

Source: VTel

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/28/vermount-telephone-companys-gigabit-internet/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Daily Chronicle | 1st trial in Ill. family's brutal slaying to start

CHAMPAIGN ? The killing of a Beason couple and three of their children led many in their tiny central Illinois farming community to begin locking their doors at night, and nearly four years later, their home stands as a constant reminder of their brutal deaths.

On Monday, the first of two brothers charged in their killings is scheduled to stand trial in Peoria. Christopher Harris has pleaded not guilty to more than 50 counts of murder in the September 2009 killings of Raymond ?Rick? Gee, 46, his wife Ruth Gee, 39, and three of the children ? Justina Constant, 16; Dillen Constant, 14; and Austin Gee, 11. They all were beaten to death with a tire iron in their home, and only the couple?s 3-year-old daughter, Tabitha, survived.

Jury selection could begin Tuesday and may take several days. The rest of the trial could take about a week. Harris? brother, Jason Harris, is also charged with more than 50 counts of murder in the case, and his trial hasn?t been scheduled yet.

The attack on the family sent a wave of fear through Beason, a community of about 200 residents. Until police arrested the Harris brothers, who are from Armington, Beason was on edge.

?Not many people lock their doors here,? Brittney Fillmore, who went to school with Justina and Dillen, said at the time. ?Something like this isn?t what you?d expect, especially happening in a small town where everybody knows each other.?

Neither Christopher Harris? lawyers nor prosecutors from the state Attorney General?s office or Logan County were willing to talk about the case, citing a gag order.

The brothers? indictments accuse them of breaking into the home intending to sexually assault Justina Constant and rob the family. A laptop computer was stolen. Prosecutors have said they believe Christopher Harris, who is now 33, is primarily responsible. Jason Harris, now 25, is expected to testify that while he waited outside, he saw his brother follow Dillen Constant out of the home with a tire iron.

In court, Christopher Harris? attorneys have admitted that he killed Dillen Constant. But they say he acted to save his own life, arguing in pretrial hearings that the Harris brothers went to the Gee home to buy marijuana, and that Christopher Harris walked in on the teenager slaughtering his own family.

?[Constant] killed his family,? attorney Dan Fultz said in a hearing last September, according to The [Bloomington] Pantagraph. He argued that the boy was heavily influenced by violent video games: ?He had violent tendencies toward everybody.?

Defense lawyers plan to use testimony from an expert on violent video games and records of the boy?s troubles ? including fights at school and threats made against other students ? to make their case.

Prosecutors have said the defense?s theory is based on guess work.

?The defense has made no showing that this information is contained in the records,? Assistant Attorney General Steve Nate said during a hearing last year as defense lawyers tried to gain access to the boy?s records. ?They?re guessing. They?re hoping to find something.?

The trial was moved to Peoria after Harris? attorneys argued their client might not get a fair trial in Lincoln, the Logan County seat. The killings have remained a regular part of news coverage in the area, and the county has just 30,000 residents.

In Beason, the Gee house is now boarded up. It?s sat as a crime scene since the bodies were discovered.

Defense attorneys had hoped to take jurors to the home to show them its relatively small size and to give them an idea of what a violent struggle in such a small space might be like.

Peter Naylor, one of Christopher Harris? lawyers, argued during one hearing that his client couldn?t have been involved in the violent struggle believed to have resulted in the family?s deaths ?and walked away without injuries.?

Harris lawyers have said he showed no sign of injuries in the days after the killings.

Scott Drazewski, the McLean County Judge who will hear the case, said that ideally jurors could visit the home, but in this case agreed with prosecutors that blood and other remnants of the struggle that have never been cleaned up make the home a health hazard.

Jurors instead will have to rely on thousands of photos and several videos of the home?s interior.

DNA evidence taken from Raymond Gee?s fingernails also may be considered. Defense lawyers say testing has ruled out Christopher Harris and everyone else in the home, except Dillen Constant, as a potential source of that DNA.

After the Gees were killed, many local residents sought comfort by gathering at Beason United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Darrel Howard only came to the church in 2010, but he knows the story of the killings well. The church?s 60 members have tried to move on but, ?there?s always going to be that sorrow.?

The house, he said, ?is always a reminder, every time you pass the place. It is exactly the way it was.?

Howard said the Beason killings, like the deaths of five people slain in the small western Illinois town of Manchester just this month ? or even the bombings at the Boston Marathon ? are evidence of evil that can be fought with acts of good.

?It hits home,? he said. ?These things don?t just happen to somebody else ? we?re all connected in that way.?

There are 39 hours, 31 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2013/04/27/1st-trial-in-ill-familys-brutal-slaying-to-start/aiwj20a/

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PFT: 'Phins owner blames Sparano for dysfunction

Getty Images

After analyzing?the draft needs of all 32 teams, PFT will review how well each team addressed those needs. Up next: The Oakland Raiders.?

What?they?needed: Defensive line, quarterback, offensive line, cornerback, tight end, wide receiver.

Who they got:
Round 1: D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston.
Round 2: Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State.
Round 3: Sio Moore, LB, Connecticut.
Round 4: Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas.
Round 6: Nick Kasa, TE, Colorado.
Round 6: Latavius Murray, RB, UCF.
Round 6: Mychal Rivera, TE, Tennessee.
Round 6: Stacy McGee, DT, Oklahoma.
Round 7: Brice Butler, WR, San Diego State.
Round 7: David Bass, DE, Missouri Western.

Where they hit: Hayden, who survived a freakish life-threatening internal injury suffered in November, could be the Raiders? top cornerback in short order. With the second-rounder acquired from Miami, the Raiders added Watson, a tackle prospect with upside. Moore is a good scheme fit, and Wilson could prove a very good value if he plays to his best collegiate form.

Where they missed: The Raiders didn?t draft a defensive lineman until Round Six. There?s playing time to be had for ends Bass and Jack Crawford (2012 fifth-rounder) and tackles McGee and Christo Bilukidi (2012 sixth-rounder) behind the Raiders? veteran starters, but Oakland could use a little more help at both line positions. In McKenzie?s defense, the Raiders have numerous needs, and on first analysis, he did quite well to add talent and depth in this draft.

Impact rookies: Given the state of the Raiders? roster, all 10 drafted rookies have a chance to make the team, and several could earn game-day snaps of consequence in Year One. Hayden has the best shot to start. He should compete with Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins right off the bat. Moore is also a player to watch; the Raiders have revamped their LB corps this offseason but don?t have any standouts. A talented fresh face has a chance to make an impact early at this position. Watson?s best opportunity to start in 2013 is at right tackle, but that?s no sure thing, given his lack of experience. Rivera is a potential sleeper, given the Raiders? lack of a clear-cut top target at tight end after the departure of Brandon Myers. Murray also is an interesting addition; can he challenge backup Rashad Jennings for snaps? And then we come to Wilson. Matt Flynn will get first run at the starting job, and Wilson will have to be a quick study to beat out him and Terrelle Pryor for playing time. However, it?s not out of the realm of possibility.

Long-term prospects: Watson is talented enough to play in Year One if he quickly develops, but his best football could be down the road.?If Wilson doesn?t win the starting job in 2013, the question becomes whether he shows enough to be one of the primary contenders or the heir apparent in 2014. The Raiders used a mere fourth-round pick on him, so he?s going to have to show at least a little promise in Year One. Kasa is a converted defensive end who could need some time to continue learning the TE position.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/27/ross-blames-sparano-for-dolphins-dysfunction/related/

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Chevron resumes operations in unit closed by fire

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) ? Chevron has resumed operations in a unit at its Bay Area refinery that was shut down after a massive fire last year.

Company officials said during a conference call with analysts Friday that crews had begun feeding crude oil through the unit knocked out by the Aug. 6 fire.

Chevron's chief financial officer, Patricia Yarrington, says the unit at Richmond is expected to be fully operational during the second quarter.

Both Chevron and government investigations have determined that corrosion in a pipe caused a leak that sparked the fire, sending a plume of black smoke over nearby areas.

Since the fire, the refinery had been operating at about 60 percent capacity until very recently. The factory wasn't processing crude oil and instead was being used to blend gasoline.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chevron-resumes-operations-unit-closed-fire-211906438.html

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CA-NEWS Summary

Two policemen shot as new Italy government sworn in

ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office. The 49 year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range.

Lawmakers press Obama to take action on Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican senators on Sunday pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria's civil war, saying America could attack Syrian air bases with missiles but should not send in ground troops. Pressure is mounting on the White House to do more to help Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which the Obama administration last week said had probably used chemical arms in the conflict.

Iraq watchdog suspends 10 TV channels for inciting violence

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has suspended the licenses of satellite news network Al Jazeera and nine other channels, accusing them of inciting violence through their coverage of recent sectarian clashes. The Communication and Media Commission (CMC) regulator criticized their reporting of violence triggered by a security forces raid on a Sunni Muslim protest camp in Hawija on Tuesday.

German finance minister calls anti-euro party's policy "insane"

BERLIN (Reuters) - A core policy of a new anti-euro party was criticized as "economically insane" by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in an interview published on Sunday. Support for the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), which wants Germany to quit the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark, is at 2 percent, according to a survey by Emnid pollsters also released on Sunday.

Fire breaks out in Bangladesh building where 377 die

DHAKA (Reuters) - Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers.

British PM's party turns on anti-EU rival before vote

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives derided the rival UK Independence Party as a "collection of clowns" on Sunday as they tried to stop supporters switching to the surging anti-European Union movement in local elections this week. Thursday's vote in England and Wales offers parties a chance to test the political climate before a national election in 2015 at a time when Conservative strategists fear UKIP will split the center-right vote.

Syria's neighbors cautious about U.S.-led intervention

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's neighbors, wary of stirring a conflict that could spill back over their borders, would be reluctant partners in a U.S.-led intervention but are ultimately likely to support limited military action if widespread use of chemical weapons is proven. The White House disclosed U.S. intelligence on Thursday that Syria had likely used chemical weapons, a move President Barack Obama had said could trigger unspecified consequences, widely interpreted to include possible U.S. military action.

Egypt's Mursi backs down, to seek compromise on judges

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and top judges agreed on Sunday to seek a compromise to defuse a battle over Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges that have deeply polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Mursi's Islamist allies had proposed legislation to purge more than 3,000 judges at a stroke by reducing their mandatory retirement age to 60 from 70 to sweep away senior jurists appointed under autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak.

Iceland seeks end to austerity with new center-right government

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's center-right parties began talks on Sunday to form a new government, promising to end years of austerity and provide debt relief to households, and only arguing about which one of them should lead the government. Fed up with years of belt tightening and soaring debt, Icelanders ousted the Social Democrats on Saturday, handing the biggest defeat to any ruling party since independence from Denmark in 1944 and offering a new chance to the very parties that presided over its economic rise and collapse.

Britain's PM says concerned about claims of torture in UAE

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron is concerned about allegations that three Britons charged with drug offences in Dubai have been tortured, his office said on Sunday, two days before the president of the United Arab Emirates visits Britain. Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh have been held in the UAE since taking a holiday there in July 2012. Police said they had found a form of synthetic cannabis in their hire car. They are due to hear a verdict in their case on Monday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-034827262.html

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Body is that of missing Texas cheerleader

Clint Dunn / AP File

Thirteen-year-old Hailey Dunn (left) poses for a photo with her mother Billie Jean Dunn and her mother's boyfriend Shawn Adkins on Dec. 25, 2010, in Colorado City, Texas. Authorities in West Texas on Friday confirmed the remains found in a remote part of Scurry County in March are those of Hailey Dunn, who has been missing for more than two years.

By The Associated Press

SNYDER, Texas???Remains found in a remote West Texas location last month are those of a 13-year-old middle school cheerleader missing since December 2010, authorities announced Friday.

Hailey Darlene Dunn's remains were found near Lake J.B. Thomas in Scurry County on March 16, more than two years after her mother reported her missing.

The girl's disappearance and the cause of her death remain under investigation, Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said at a news conference Friday. The Scurry County District Attorney's Office received written confirmation of the identity of the remains on Friday, he said.

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Texas Rangers informed the girl's mother, Billie Jean Dunn, on Friday afternoon at her Austin home, said her attorney, John Young. Dunn will be driving to West Texas to arrange her daughter's funeral, he said.

The body was found about 20 miles northwest of the girl's hometown of Colorado City. The girl had been the subject of months of intensive searches in and around Colorado City and surrounding fields and landfills after her mother reported her missing on Dec. 28, 2010. More than 100 billboards featuring her picture and information about the case were set up along interstates in Texas and other states.

The mother's boyfriend, Shawn Adkins, has said he last saw Hailey a day before she was reported missing. He said the girl told him she was going to her father's home nearby and then on to spend the night at a friend's home. She did neither.

Authorities had named Adkins as a person of interest in the girl's disappearance, but he was never charged. At one point, authorities accused the girl's mother of lying about the whereabouts of Adkins, who was found at her home. Billie Dunn pleaded no contest in June 2011 to making a false report to law enforcement and received a suspended 90-day jail term with probation.

The mother and Adkins have denied involvement in Hailey's disappearance.

Hailey's paternal grandfather, Bill Dunn, died in 2011, six months after the girl went missing. His widow, Spicy Dunn of Ponca City, Okla., said her husband spent much of the last months of his life trying to learn what became of his granddaughter.

"He was very, very hurt, and was on the computer all the time looking and trying to find anything that had to do with Hailey," she said Friday. "Anything."

She said family members made a point not to change their phone numbers so that law enforcement officials could reach them in case of any developments, even years later.

"It is a relief to know that she's at peace," Spicy Dunn said. "She doesn't have any more suffering."

She later added, "I hope the family comes to a closure. I know it's very hard."

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b39cad6/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C260C179343870Ebody0Eis0Ethat0Eof0Emissing0Etexas0Echeerleader0Dlite/story01.htm

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Computer scientists suggest new spin on origins of evolvability: Competition to survive not necessary?

Apr. 26, 2013 ? Scientists have long observed that species seem to have become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment. But computer science researchers now say that the popular explanation of competition to survive in nature may not actually be necessary for evolvability to increase.

In a paper published this week in PLOS ONE, the researchers report that evolvability can increase over generations regardless of whether species are competing for food, habitat or other factors.

Using a simulated model they designed to mimic how organisms evolve, the researchers saw increasing evolvability even without competitive pressure.

"The explanation is that evolvable organisms separate themselves naturally from less evolvable organisms over time simply by becoming increasingly diverse," said Kenneth O. Stanley, an associate professor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. He co-wrote the paper about the study along with lead author Joel Lehman, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.

The finding could have implications for the origins of evolvability in many species.

"When new species appear in the future, they are most likely descendants of those that were evolvable in the past," Lehman said. "The result is that evolvable species accumulate over time even without selective pressure."

During the simulations, the team's simulated organisms became more evolvable without any pressure from other organisms out-competing them. The simulations were based on a conceptual algorithm.

"The algorithms used for the simulations are abstractly based on how organisms are evolved, but not on any particular real-life organism," explained Lehman.

The team's hypothesis is unique and is in contrast to most popular theories for why evolvability increases.

"An important implication of this result is that traditional selective and adaptive explanations for phenomena such as increasing evolvability deserve more scrutiny and may turn out unnecessary in some cases," Stanley said.

Stanley is an associate professor at UCF. He has a bachelor's of science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He has over 70 publications in competitive venues and has secured grants worth more than $1 million. His works in artificial intelligence and evolutionary computation have been cited more than 4,000 times.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Central Florida.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Joel Lehman, Kenneth O. Stanley. Evolvability Is Inevitable: Increasing Evolvability without the Pressure to Adapt. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (4): e62186 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062186

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/yFudqCEhgpw/130426115612.htm

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Analysis: In force-feeding detainees, Obama has courts on his side

By David Ingram and Jane Sutton

WASHINGTON/MIAMI (Reuters) - As detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, press ahead with a widening hunger strike nearly three months old, President Barack Obama has come under increasing criticism for his policy of force-feeding them.

But U.S. law is on his side, an analysis of court rulings shows.

Most U.S. judges who have examined forced feeding in prisons have concluded that the measure may violate the rights of inmates to control their own bodies and to privacy - rights rooted in the U.S. Constitution and in common law. But they have found that the needs of operating a prison are more important.

Courts generally view a prison hunger strike as a suicide attempt, and they have ruled wardens have authority to stop suicide attempts as part of their mandate to preserve order.

"If prisoners were allowed to kill themselves, prisons would find it even more difficult than they do to maintain discipline, because of the effect of a suicide in agitating the other prisoners," Judge Richard Posner wrote for a Chicago-based appeals court in 2006 in a case involving a Wisconsin prison that punished a disobedient inmate by refusing him food.

As of Thursday, 94 of the 166 prisoners were on a hunger strike in Guantanamo, meaning they had refused at least nine consecutive meals. According to a military count, 17 had lost enough weight to be force-fed liquid meals through a nasogastric tube, and three were in the hospital for observation.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House, a spokesman for the detention camp, said none of the detainees in the hospital had a life-threatening condition.

Striking inmates began refusing to eat around early February, alleging rough handling of the Koran during searches for contraband and protesting their prolonged imprisonment. General John Kelly, head of U.S. military forces in Latin America, said assertions about the Koran were untrue.

OPPOSITION VOICED

A New York Times opinion piece last week by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a Yemeni man detained at Guantanamo since 2002, launched debate over the forced feedings. Like others there, he was captured abroad on suspicion of supporting terrorism.

"I will never forget the first time they passed the feeding tube up my nose. I can't describe how painful it is to be force-fed this way," Moqbel said in the op-ed dictated through an interpreter to his lawyers.

As described by Guantanamo officials, a feeding tube is lubricated and inserted through the nose down to the stomach for the two hours it takes liquid food to pass through. In general, hunger strikers continue to drink water.

Human rights advocates and many doctors decry forced feeding of hunger strikers as a violation of personal liberty and medical ethics with risks of medical complications such as discomfort, bleeding, nausea and throat sores. The 65-year-old World Medical Association, made up of 100 national medical associations, has said it is unethical and never justified to force-feed a mentally competent adult.

Carlos Warner, a federal public defender who represents 11 Guantanamo detainees, including Kuwaiti hunger striker Faiz al Kandari, said detainee lawyers are split on the issue.

Some "have a clear position that the government should not be force-feeding," and have unsuccessfully made their argument in federal court in Washington, D.C., Warner said. "Other lawyers are of the opinion that their clients should not die of hunger before we have a chance to free them."

The Constitution Project, a U.S. legal group that includes Democrats and Republicans, said last week that forced feeding at Guantanamo "is a form of abuse and must end."

George Annas, a Boston University professor of health law who opposes the forced feeding of hunger strikers on medical ethics grounds, said U.S. law is "very permissive" of the practice. He described the attitude of American prisons as: "Do we care about indignity? No, you're a prisoner, we'll treat you the way we want."

BARRIERS TO LEGAL CHALLENGE

The U.S. military argues forced feeding is not only legal but also humane. A federal judge agreed in 2009, ruling against Mohammed Bawazir, a Yemeni national held at Guantanamo since 2002. Bawazir called forced feeding torture.

Bawazir cited pain he experienced and use of a chair with "six-point restraints" that kept in place his forehead, limbs and torso. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in Washington, D.C., said officials acted out of a need to preserve life.

A further barrier to any suit is the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which bars U.S. courts from hearing cases about Guantanamo detainee treatment. Even if they were to hear a challenge to forced feeding, the overriding evidence is the courts would rule against the detainees.

International law, which prohibits the inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners, is not necessarily any help to Guantanamo detainees either.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled at least twice that forced feeding amounted to torture, in a 2005 case out of Ukraine and in a 2007 case out of Moldova, but it stopped short of barring the procedure. The court said it may be used to preserve the life of hunger strikers if shown to be medically necessary and not done for punitive reasons.

Other reports of non-U.S. countries using forced feeding are rare, although experts said there is a lack of data. The practice has been described in news reports in Bahrain, China and Greece during the past decade.

Ten British-held Irish Republican Army prisoners, including former IRA commander Bobby Sands, starved to death in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland during a 1981 hunger strike during which they sought recognition as political prisoners. It ended when the families of the remaining hunger strikers authorized doctors to begin life-saving intravenous feeding as soon as the prisoners lost consciousness.

One early U.S. case involved Mark David Chapman, convicted in the 1980 killing of former Beatle John Lennon. Chapman broke a 26-day fast in 1982 only under a New York court-ordered threat he would be force-fed. Now 57, he is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to life.

Chapman had said he wanted to draw attention to starving children, but the court ruled the state's obligations to protect life and maintain order in its institutions outweighed Chapman's rights to free expression and to privacy.

BALANCING TEST

Most federal and state courts have agreed.

In Rhode Island, for example, finding that prisons have a duty to protect inmates' health, the State Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that "it would be in total disregard of this duty to stand idly by while a healthy adult decided to end his or her life by starvation just as it would if he or she decided to end his or her life by some more dramatic means such as hanging, slashing of wrists, or swallowing some type of poison."

Courts in three states - California, Florida and Georgia - have been exceptions, restricting forced feeding on various grounds, Mara Silver wrote in a 2005 Stanford Law Review article on the constitutional question of self-starvation.

California was the most sweeping. Prison officials must demonstrate "a threat to institutional security or public safety," not merely the conjecture of one, before denying an inmate the choice not to eat, the state's high court ruled.

Those are the exceptions however.

"The federal courts analyze the issue by balancing the prisoner's right to autonomy against the prison's right to maintain order, and they nearly always find that force-feeding is constitutional," said Margo Schlanger, a University of Michigan law professor with expertise in prisons.

(Editing by Howard Goller and Claudia Parsons)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-force-feeding-detainees-obama-courts-side-050633032.html

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Astronomers discover the Ed Begley Jr. of galaxies

An international team of researchers have spotted the most fuel-efficient galaxy yet, which converts nearly 100 percent of its hydrogen gas into stars.

By Eoin O'Carroll,?Staff / April 24, 2013

The tiny red spot in this image is one of the most efficient star-making galaxies ever observed, converting gas into stars at the maximum possible rate. Visible-light observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (inset) reveal that the starlight in this galaxy is extraordinarily compact, with most of the light emitted by a region just a fraction of the size of the Milky Way galaxy.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/IRAM

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Six billion or so light years from here, there's a galaxy that seems to take seriously the old Lakota maxim about using the whole buffalo.

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Except by "use" we mean "form stars out of" and by "buffalo" we mean "interstellar hydrogen gas."?

Hydrogen gas is the fuel that galaxies use to make new stars, and most galaxies are the equivalent of a Hummer with a broken oxygen sensor, four flat tires, and a buffalo carcass strapped to the roof. Most of the gas meant to transport you gets wasted. But a new study has spotted a galaxy that is converting gas into stars at a rate hundreds of times that of our galaxy with almost 100 percent efficiency.

An international team of scientists looked at data from?NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and spotted a galaxy that was just blazing with infrared radiation, equivalent, they say, to a trillion suns. Observations from the Hubble telescope confirmed that the galaxy, which is affectionately known as?SDSSJ1506+54, is extremely compact, with most of the infrared light pouring from an area that is a fraction of the size of our own Milky Way.?

The researchers then used data from the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the French Alps to detect the presence of carbon monoxide, which indicates the presence of hydrogen. By combining the gas measurements with the rate of star formation, the scientists found that the galaxy was forming stars out of the gas at a rate that is close to the theoretical maximum. Their paper, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Astrophysical Letters, calls it "star formation at its most extreme."

A NASA press release explains just how this galaxy is achieving such efficiency:

In regions of galaxies where new stars are forming, parts of gas clouds are collapsing due to gravity. When the gas is dense enough to squeeze atoms together and ignite nuclear fusion, a star is born. But this process can be halted by other newborn stars, as their winds and radiation blow the gas outward. The point at which this occurs sets the theoretical maximum for star formation. The galaxy SDSSJ1506+54 was found to be making stars right at this point, just before the gas clouds would otherwise be blown apart.

"We see some gas outflowing from this galaxy at millions of miles per hour, and this gas may have been blown away by the powerful radiation from the newly formed stars," said Ryan Hickox, an astrophysicist at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., and a co-author on the study.

Why is this galaxy so efficient at converting hydrogen into stars while all the others are such slouches? It actually comes down to timing. We just happen to be witnessing the time period, six billion years ago, when this galaxy produces lots of stars. The researchers speculate that this period could have been triggered by the merging of two galaxies into one.?

In any case, it's a bright spot in our sky. As Discovery News's Ian O'Neill points out those living on a planet on the outskirts of this prolific star factory will have a "night" sky that is actually brighter than daylight.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/nSOMe2q9n60/Astronomers-discover-the-Ed-Begley-Jr.-of-galaxies

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SKorea demands talks with NKorea on closed factory

FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

U.S. Army soldiers ride an armored vehicle during their military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, that separates the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. For weeks, North Korea has threatened to attack the U.S. and South Korea for holding joint military drills and for supporting U.N. sanctions. Washington and Seoul said they've seen no evidence that Pyongyang is actually preparing for a major conflict, though South Korean defense officials said the North appears prepared to test-fire a medium-range missile capable of reaching the American territory of Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korean soldiers salute in front of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang on Thursday, April 25, 2013. North Korea on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2-million troops. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? After weeks of threatening rhetoric from the North, South Korea on Thursday promised its own unspecified "grave measures" if Pyongyang rejects talks on a jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month.

The park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong is the most significant casualty so far in the recent deterioration of relations between the Koreas. Pyongyang barred South Korean managers and cargo from entering North Korea earlier this month, then recalled the 53,000 North Koreans who worked on the assembly lines.

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Thursday proposed working-level talks on Kaesong and urged the North to respond by noon Friday, warning that Seoul will take "grave measures" if Pyongyang rebuffs the call for dialogue.

In a televised news conference, spokesman Kim Hyung-suk refused to say what those measures might be. Some analysts said Seoul would likely pull out the roughly 175 South Korean managers who remain at the complex.

Kim said South Korea set a Friday deadline because the remaining workers at Kaesong are running short of food and medicine. He said the companies there are suffering economically because of the shutdown.

To resolve deadlocked operations at Kaesong, Kim said North Korea should first allow some South Koreans to cross the border to hand over food and medicine to the managers.

North Korea didn't immediately respond Thursday, according to the Unification Ministry. North Korean state television showed fighter jets screeching across the sky and goose-stepping soldiers parading in front of leader Kim Jong Un at a ceremony in Pyongyang marking the 81st anniversary of the founding of the military. Tens of thousands of people visited Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace to celebrate the anniversary.

The demand for talks follows a lull in what had been a period of rising hostility between the Koreas. Pyongyang has recently eased its threats of nuclear war and expressed some tentative signs of interest in dialogue. Its demands, including dismantling all U.S. nuclear weapons, go far beyond what its adversaries will accept, but Washington, Seoul and Beijing have also pushed for an easing of animosity.

The Kaesong complex is the last major symbol of cooperation remaining from an earlier era that saw the Koreas set up various projects to facilitate better ties.

The factory park has operated with South Korean know-how and technology and with cheap labor from North Korea since 2004. It has weathered past cycles of hostility between the rivals, including two attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

More than 120 South Korean companies, mostly small and medium-sized apparel and electronics firms, operated at Kaesong before North Korean workers stopped showing up on April 9. Raw material came from South Korea, with finished goods later sent back south. Last year, the factories produced goods worth $470 million.

Impoverished North Korea objects to views in South Korea that the park is a source of badly needed hard currency. South Korean companies paid salaries to North Korean workers averaging $127 a month, according to South Korea's government. That is less than one-sixteenth of the average salary of South Korean manufacturer workers.

Pyongyang also has complained about alleged South Korean military plans in the event the North held the Kaesong managers hostage.

South Koreans remaining at Kaesong are free to leave, but have been staying to protect their companies' equipment and products. Their food, which had been brought in before North Korea closed the border, is dwindling, and there has been a daily trickle of managers returning home.

On Wednesday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the country won't seek to resolve the Kaesong standoff by making concessions to the North. That was a reference to past liberal governments that were accused of providing the North with almost unconditional financial assistance to promote reconciliation.

"How the Kaesong issue is handled will be a touchstone for whether South-North relations will be predictable and sustainable," Park told South Korean journalists, according to her office. "I want the issue to be resolved quickly, but I would say there should not be a solution like funneling" aid, as has happened in the past.

Kim, the spokesman, said: "It's very regrettable for North Korea to reject (taking) the minimum humanitarian measures for our workers at the Kaesong industrial complex."

___

Associated Press writer Jean H. Lee in Pyongyang, North Korea, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-25-AS-Koreas-Tension/id-2e880d936c71457dbf12008e3c36f637

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This USB DAC Is Your Make-Music-Sing Deal of the Day

Even if you've got a sweet pair of cans, listening to music through the on-board jack on your phone or laptop can be underwhelming. That's why you need a little gadget called a DAC, or a digital-analog-converter. They take the flat, quiet sound that your crappy on-board audio produces and make it clearer and louder. Whitson Gordon over on Lifehacker has a great piece about why'd you want to use a DAC. Some beautiful DACs are audiophile-level gear with audiophile price tags to match, but Fiio makes nice little DACs that are affordable, and one of the nicest models is on sale today. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Jer5jHhYd-M/this-usb-dac-is-your-make+music+sing-deal-of-the-day

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Kidnapped bishops spur call for religious freedom promotion ...

Prof. Thomas Farr. Credit: Michelle Bauman/CNA.

Washington D.C., Apr 24, 2013 / 05:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The recent kidnapping of two Orthodox bishops in Syria has a former diplomat urging the U.S. government to make religious liberty a greater priority in its foreign policy.

?U.S. foreign policy with respect to religious freedom consists almost entirely, when it consists of anything, of rhetorical condemnations of acts such as this,? said Dr. Thomas Farr, director of Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

However, it is not always clear that these condemnations ?have any effect whatsoever,? Farr told CNA April 24.

Archbishop John Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Archbishop Paul Yagizi of the Greek Orthodox Church were kidnapped April 22 near Aleppo, Syria by armed men who appear to have killed their driver.

It remains unclear who carried out the kidnapping. The Syrian government and rebel groups have both traded accusations over who is to blame.

On April 23, both Al Jazeera and l'Oeuvre d'Orient, a French agency serving Christians in the Orient, reported that the bishops had been returned. But a joint statement of the Greek and Syriac Orthodox patriarchs contradicted this.

Al Jazeera has not reported on the matter since, but l'Oeuvre d'Orient said April 24 that ?the situation is extremely complex and information is difficult to obtain. The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Damascus confirmed by telephone this morning that there was no release.?

?L'Oeuvre d'Orient calls again on the Syrian opposition forces, the Syrian government and international authorities to make every effort to obtain the release of these two bishops, and two priests, who are foreign to the conflict which tears Syria.?

On April 24, Archbishop Antonio Chedraui of the Orthodox Church of Antioch in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela and the Caribbean, confirmed to CNA that the two Syrian bishops ?remain kidnapped. The reports published yesterday are not correct.?

At its press briefing yesterday, April 23, the State Department believed the bishops to have been released and indicated relief. The topic of the kidnapped bishops was not raised in the April 24 briefing.

?In the past we've seen the American government hesitate to speak too assertively about the persecution of Christians, lest they be seen as a vanguard of a kind of Christian imperialism,? said Farr, who directed the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom from 1999-2003.

?Hopefully that will not be the case here and we'll see a vigorous condemnation, whether they've been released or not.?

He said the kind of ?rhetorical condemnation? of religious persecution typically issued by the U.S. government is ?pretty easy to issue.?

The Syrian civil war entered its second year a month ago, and the country's Christian minority has been caught in its midst.

Many Syrian Christians live in Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, all of which are cities strongly contested by the government and the rebels. Many have fled to nearby Lebanon.

Only about a week before his kidnapping, Archbishop Ibrahim had told BBC Arabic that Syrian Christians are in the same situation as their Muslim neighbors.

?There is no persecution of Christians and there is no single plan to kill Christians. Everyone respects Christians. Bullets are random and not targeting the Christians because they are Christians,? he said.

United Nations estimates indicate that about 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict. More than 1 million refugees have flooded into Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq, while another estimated 2.5 million are internally displaced inside Syria.

The Greek and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch stated together April 23 that ?the Christians living here are an essential part of their lands. They suffer the pain every person suffers, and work as messengers of peace to lift the injustice off every oppressed person.?

?We call the kidnappers to respect the life of the two kidnapped brothers as well as everyone to put an end to all the acts that create confessional and sectarian schisms among the sons of the one country.?

?We can but call the whole world to try putting an end to the Syrian crisis so that Syria becomes again a garden of love, security and coexistence. Settling accounts should not happen at the expense of the human beings who live here,? they pleaded.

Farr stated that ?what the State department should be doing ? not yet in Syria, because it's still a war zone ? but in all the countries where such a thing happens with some regularity ? we should be working not simply to react after they happen, but to engage with these governments and societies to develop structures of religious freedom.?

In addition to citing Muslim-majority countries, Farr mentioned China, India and other non-Muslim nations which need to be actively encouraged in religious freedom by the U.S. These countries should be urged to develop religious liberty as an important component for a peaceful, flourishing society, he said.

?I think U.S. foreign policy, when it comes to issues like religious persecution...is primarily reactive, and that's not enough. We need to be working to convince societies that they have to prevent this from happening in the first place, because it harms their interests.?

As an example, he pointed to the April 7 attack of an Islamic mob on the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo, slaughtering Christians there.

?We shouldn't just be reacting to that,? Farr emphasized. ?We should be getting in front of the problem and convincing the Egyptians that it's in their interest to develop religious freedom.?

Religious persecution, he concluded, ?is going on all the time, so to condemn it is something we ought to do, but we should be getting in front of the problem.?

Tags: Syria, Catholic Bishops, Orthodox Churches, Kidnapping

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Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/kidnapped-bishops-spur-call-for-us-to-promote-religious-freedom/

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Analysis: Truth and consequences - a dilemma for Twitter and its users

By Gerry Shih

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Does Twitter have a credibility problem?

For many, a single fake tweet from the Associated Press account that briefly roiled financial markets on Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average down about 145 points, vividly reaffirmed the fearsome, near-instantaneous power of the 140-character message.

But the security lapse also revived doubts about Twitter's place in the media landscape - and its ultimate value - at a moment when its status as one of today's essential information networks had seemed all but cemented.

Just a week after social media networks took criticism for helping circulate misinformation about the alleged perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, Twitter's security shortcomings fell under a harsh spotlight Tuesday after a hacker group commandeered the AP Twitter account and falsely reported that explosions in the White House had injured President Barack Obama.

The AP was only the latest hacking victim in recent days after Twitter accounts belonging to National Public Radio, CBS 60 Minutes and others were breached. Last year, Reuters News was the victim of hackers who briefly took over one of its Twitter accounts and posted false tweets.

The latest hack was by far the most significant: the single AP tweet stunned investors and effectively wiped out $136.5 billion of the S&P 500 index's value in a matter of minutes.

Although the news agency later disclosed that one of its employees may have inadvertently given away company passwords as the result of a "phishing" attack by the hackers, security experts quickly faulted Twitter for its longstanding failure to implement two-factor authentication, a double-layered password feature used by the likes of Google Inc and Microsoft Inc that might have prevented the spate of high-profile Twitter hijackings.

"It's one of those cases that we are seeing too often. It's getting unnerving," said Robert Quigley, a journalism lecturer specializing in social media at the University of Texas. "What media organizations need to do is pressure Twitter to have a more secure website."

Although Twitter has repeatedly declined to address its product roadmap, the company has signaled that it will soon unveil two-factor authentication, including a public job posting in February that suggested the company was hiring to tackle the problem.

Mark Risher, the founder of a security consultancy that counts social media companies Pinterest and Tumblr among its clients, said introducing more measures like two-factor authentication would make Twitter more cumbersome to use and potentially slow its user growth - a critical concern for a company that relies on advertising revenues. But he warned that a prolonged rash of high-profile hacks, and an eroding sense of user trust, would hurt Twitter more.

"There's always a tradeoff between convenience and safety," Risher said. "But a security issue damages Twitter's brand."

NEWSWIRE OR PLATFORM

For Twitter, the hacking has raised questions about its credibility just as it is beginning to assume a central role in a fast-changing media landscape, with the volume of tweets rising to more than 400 million a day. Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that U.S. companies may report material information such as quarterly results on Twitter, as long as investors are alerted in advance. Days later, Bloomberg L.P. said it would funnel Twitter directly into its terminals used by thousands of traders on Wall Street.

At the same time, the world's leading news organizations and Twitter, which has 200 million users around the world, have become increasingly intertwined in a symbiotic, if sometimes troublesome, relationship.

Dan Gillmor, a journalism professor at Arizona State University, said the hacks have especially hurt news outlets because their Twitter accounts are often the primary way that their news reaches consumers who may not subscribe to a newspaper or have access to a newswire.

Twitter has touted itself as a critical newswire of sorts, such as during the 2011 tsunami in Japan, when it helped emergency responders locate survivors, or when it became a vital lifeline for some New Yorkers as television sets fell dark during Hurricane Sandy last year.

But last week, in the wake of the Boston bombings, some of those who previously viewed Twitter as an indispensable news source began turning against the service upon discovering that the wisdom of crowds is, in fact, an adage not often applicable on the Internet.

Steve Brunetto, a senior executive at Edgewave, a network security company, said Tuesday's hacking undermined Twitter at a sensitive time.

"On the heels of the Boston Marathon bombing, everyone's trying to figure out, ?Okay, where does Twitter fit into that news cycle? Where does Twitter fit into disseminating information?'" Brunetto said. "They've got an opportunity to legitimize themselves as a real player in that information life cycle but they get knocked down a peg every time somebody says, ?Oh, you can't believe what you read on Twitter.'"

Jeff Jarvis, a prominent Internet pundit and a journalism professor at City University of New York, said that the confusion caused by social media in recent weeks was not an indictment of social media but rather a reminder that the onus falls on professional reporters to verify information.

"No, the Internet's not broken," Jarvis said.

The rise of social media means that "you now hear more bar-room debates and speculation than before," he added. "But that doesn't mean you should believe it more than you ever did."

Tom Schrader, managing director for U.S. equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore, said there were a lot of clues in the false AP tweet that should have kept traders from reacting, in particular the wording of the message.

"We saw it, we saw the initial reaction. Initially our reaction was, pull your bids (until we) see whether this is legit or not. We found no legitimacy to it and went back into the market as normal," he said.

Oli Freeling-Wilkinson is chief executive officer of Knowsis, a London company that picks out and amalgamates financially relevant tweets and other social media content for traders. "We do have spam controls in place, but it's an ongoing war," he said. "It's much more difficult to work out what's going on when people are hacking into official accounts, especially in the heat of the moment."

While Twitter has occasionally signaled that it believes it could become more than a passive distribution network - a shift marked by last year's purchase of Summify, a small startup that specialized in surfacing relevant news - it has also taken pains to distance itself from the content of tweets and maintain strict neutrality from a legal perspective.

Twitter Chief Executive Dick Costolo told an Online News Association gathering last autumn that Twitter's primary responsibility was to create a platform, rather than to play an editorial role in determining which tweets people should see.

"A company trying to build media is creating or curating content, and that's not the kind of company we're creating," Costolo said.

Gillmor, from Arizona State, said Twitter did not need to guarantee the quality or veracity of its content in order to grow into a media juggernaut.

"It's not whether Twitter is credible or not, it's what people do with it," he said. "Every news organization feels it has no alternative but to use Twitter. But everyone at the traditional news organizations has to be thinking really hard about what that means, from whether the security is sufficient on these third-party platforms to what it means to be turning part of your stuff over to new kinds of publishers."

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba, Ryan Vlastelica and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Alina Selyukh in Washington; Editing by Claudia Parsons)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-truth-consequences-dilemma-twitter-users-164545077--sector.html

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Insert Coin: Snapzoom gives Kickstarters a crack at its smartphone scope adapter (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Snapzoom stole a lot of hearts at Engadget Expand, but it didn't quite steal enough votes to win our Insert Coin contest. Now you can exact some justice, as the smartphone adapter for binoculars, telescopes and microscopes is up for grabs on Kickstarter to let you zoom in on the moon, bacteria or whatever else you can think of. So far it's vacuumed up $15,000 toward its $55,000 goal, and while the early bird offer is sold out, backers can still grab one starting at $60, a hefty discount from the final $80 retail price. For $90, you'll even get a basic 10x25 compact Bushnell travel binocular tossed in, so if you want to see what made our Insert Coin judges go zoom-crazy, hit the source or video after the jump.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras

Comments

Source: Snapzoom (Kickstarter)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/insert-coin-snapzoom-on-kickstarter/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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[Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV - Each Note Secure

Drunk Music Reviews?is exactly what it sounds like: Caitlin Behle reviews shows while progressively getting drunker, while illustrator?John Sebastian?turns the drunken reviews, which could be ridiculous, sloppy or just plain insulting, into a comic.

?

Part of the charm of SXSW is the people-watching. Austin?s motto is ?Keep Austin Weird? and they ain?t shitting you. There are some lovely characters floating around, and like a kid in a candy shop, John wanted to draw all of them. As John put it, ?There were a lot of real life caricatures there, it was really hard to not want to draw everybody.?

A sampling (with notes by John):

Nasty Canasta

?Nasty Canasta? is a dude working the door at some bar next to Mugshots.?He had a cut off shirt and shoulder hair, and looked like he needed a head tattoo of a sailboat to be riding the sea of head fat.

(Author?s note: Mugshots is?an oasis of dirt cheap whiskey with a shady patio. It?s a welcome break from live music if you just need to hang out and get drunk in the quiet of your own shame.).

Junkie Chic

Some girl I saw. She kind of represented the typical SXSW-ian you?d run into there.

?

(Author?s Note: Other typical SXSW-ians included Overdressed Hipsters, Confused But Delighted Broes, and for some reason, Topless Ladies Riding Pedicabs.)

Shitty Tommy Lee

Shitty Tommy Lee was some guy in spandex animal print pants, hat, and boa, a leather vest, lots of guyliner, and a mesh tank top. He was stuck in LA in 1986 and looked coked out of his fucking mind.

The Melting Girl

We saw The Melting Girl outside of The Russian Room.?She was named as such because it looked like her face was melting.

The Pinstripes Sketcher

Meta-DMR sketching! This nerd was drawing The Pinstripes while they were busking on 6th street. His illustrations weren?t great.

?

About Caitlin Behle

Caitlin has been with Each Note Secure since her days at WOXY as an evening DJ beginning in 2008. As a senior contributor with ENS, most of her live reviews are centered on Cincinnati's local music scene. She also provides the words for Drunk Music Reviews, a series of reviews written in collaboration with illustrator John Sebastian in which they both get hammered and write/draw their live concert experiences.

Source: http://www.eachnotesecure.com/drunk-music-reviews-sxsw-travelogue-part-iv/

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