Man due in London court over killing of British soldier

LONDON (Reuters) - A man appeared in handcuffs in a London court on Thursday charged with the killing of a British soldier on a busy London street last week.

Michael Adebowale, 22, was charged late on Wednesday with the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old serving soldier.

Adebowale was arrested at the scene of the attack along with another man after being shot and detained by police. He was also charged with possession of a firearm.

Looking dazed and limping slightly, Adebowale made his first court appearance wearing white trousers and a light grey sweatshirt.

Asked to confirm his name and address in London, he only said "yes". The charges were then read out to him during the brief hearing.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Britain's central criminal court, the Old Bailey, on Monday.

Rigby, a veteran of the Afghan war, was killed in broad daylight by two men in south-eastern London on May 22.

A second man, Michael Adebolajo, remains under arrest and in a stable condition in hospital.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon Writing by Maria Golovnina; editing by Stephen Addison)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-due-london-court-over-killing-british-soldier-063038034.html

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Chinese artist Weiwei's mother at Venice opening

VENICE, Italy (AP) ? When a mother views scenes of her son's imprisonment, sometimes no words are needed. Tears will do.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was prevented by Chinese authorities from traveling to Venice for the opening of two new works of his on the sidelines of the Biennale contemporary art show, so his mother came in his stead.

Weiwei's elderly mother, Gao Yng, on Tuesday viewed for the first time a series of dioramas depicting six episodes of intense pressure during her son's 81 days in detention in 2011.

Gao walked quietly through the exhibit, peering through openings in the 1.5-meter (4 1/2-foot) high boxes inside which Weiwei reconstructed in great detail scenes of his captivity. His mother did not speak to journalists who documented the moment, but she was moved to tears as she left the exhibit in the church of Sant'Antonin.

The two events by Weiwei, both site-specific to the Venice spaces in which they were displayed, are emotionally linked.

Weiwei constructed the piece "Straight" to be installed in a former convent on Giudecca island in the Venetian lagoon. The piece is made up of 150 tons of steel rebar that was removed from the ruins of Chinese schools that collapsed in the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province that killed nearly 5,200 children. Many have blamed shoddy construction practices and outright building fraud for the children's quake deaths.

Weiwei and his team spent two years straightening the pieces of steel. He then arranged them lying flat, one on top of another, to create a new topography inside the Le Zitelle complex, a room where orphan girls once sewed.

Another version of the piece ? less than half the size of the one in Venice ? was presented at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. last year; this one will tour North America after leaving Venice.

"He is making something right that was wrong," said Maurizio Bortolotti, who curated the two collateral exhibits. "I think it is very symbolic. Every piece has seen a human and moral distortion."

It was Weiwei's political activism highlighting corruption in the aftermath of the 2008 quake that drew the ire of Chinese authorities and lead to his detention in April 2011. That included a project to gather the names of all the children who perished as a sort of memorial, said Greg Hilty, curatorial director of the Lisson Gallery in London that collaborated on the Venice projects and which has long worked with Weiwei.

Bortolotti said the first installation, called S.A.C.R.E.D., has its own iconography similar to of the Stations of the Cross, depicting the suffering of Jesus as he is led to be nailed on the cross.

"There is a sense of self-doubt. Weiwei didn't know if any moment could be the last. He wasn't tortured, but there was a process of trying to break him down psychologically," he said.

For the installation, Weiwei constructed six containers in half-scale, recreating scenes from his detention, each revealing the constant surveillance to which he was subjected.

Inside six metal boxes, which on their own are a form of minimalist sculpture, Weiwei created scenes showing himself carrying out the routines of prison life, often with two guards watching. Visitors peer inside through one small window fitted with a fan that he recreated from life, or from openings on the ceiling to provide visual access where none existed.

In one scene Weiwei sleeps with guards at his head and foot. In others, he sits on the toilet, he showers naked, he walks briskly for exercise and he eats. In the final box, he is handcuffed and being interrogated.

"The two projects are very connected. This is the consequence of the first," said Bortolotti.

It was Weiwei's heightened sense of perception, acquired under constant watch, along with his artist's eye that allowed him to recreate in painstaking detail his prison cell, down to the cracks on the walls, Bortolotti said. In the piece, there is a small bathroom with a stained sink and toilet and a spigot from the wall for a shower. Detergent and soap line the wall.

Depicting the cell, Weiwei built a bare mattress bed with a folded blanket, a table and two straight-back chairs and another with arms. In the closet, there are seven hangers with clothes, folded items and a spare pair of slippers.

The door has the number 1135, which he could see only after he left the cell, Bortolotti said.

Although free, Chinese authorities denied Weiwei a visa that would have allowed him to travel to Venice for this week's openings.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-artist-weiweis-mother-venice-opening-164648782.html

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Redskins name change: Will Congress make team act?

Can Capitol Hill get the Washington Redskins to change their name? That?s a live question in D.C. Wednesday since 10 members of Congress have sent a letter asking for such a switch to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, Redskins sponsor FedEx, and all the other NFL franchises.

The word ?redskin? is offensive to many native Americans, said the lawmakers in their missive.

?Native Americans throughout the country consider the ?R-word? a racial, derogatory slur akin to the ?N-word? among African Americans or the ?W-word? among Latinos,? the letter said.

RECOMMENDED: 20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports

Hmm. Will this be the push that finally gets Mr. Snyder to act? After all, this is a long-running issue. The nickname is already the subject of a legal challenge from a group that wants to strip the team of trademark protection. Native American groups themselves have complained that the team name is a slur that should not be allowed.

Furthermore, the politics of the group that sent the letter is pretty interesting. For the most part, it reflects the membership of the Congressional Native American Caucus. While most of the signers are Democrats, at least one ? Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw nation ? is Republican, giving the effort a bipartisan tinge.

Plus, there?s a precedent. A Washington sports team changed its name in the mid-1990s in part due to worries that it had become offensive. That was the former Washington Bullets, whose owner, Abe Pollin, decided that the name spoke too much of violence, and changed it to Wizards in 1995.

Want your top political issues explained? Get customized DC Decoder updates.

But to be honest, we don?t think the Redskins are going to follow suit, at least not yet. Ten members of Congress do not really constitute a very big pressure group. There are 435 lawmakers in the House chamber, after all. That means 425 did not sign the letter.

And Daniel Synder is not Abe Pollin. He?s stubborn, and he grew up in the Washington area as a rabid fan, watching the Redskins in their Joe Gibbs glory days while eating off a TV tray in front of the set. He?s become a wealthy communications businessman, but the team is his toy. ?Redskin? may be his ?Rosebud," a word that evokes his past.

?We will never change the name of the team,? he told USA Today earlier this month.

That?s a vow he?s unlikely to break. This is a man who sued for libel after the Washington City Paper ran an article titled, ?The Cranky Redskins Fan Guide to Dan Snyder? (he later dropped the suit). This is a man who has banned fan signs from FedEx field. This is a man who lured Mr. Gibbs out of retirement for a second coaching stint, after Gibbs had been off the field for 11 years.

?I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it?s all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season,? Snyder told USA Today.

RECOMMENDED: 20 most obscure team nicknames in pro sports

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/redskins-name-change-congress-team-act-190138834.html

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Sprint-SoftBank merger receives security clearance

Sprint on Wednesday confirmed that it has received the go-ahead from the U.S. government to merge with Japanese carrier SoftBank. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had been investigating the proposed acquisition to ensure that it doesn?t pose a risk to national security. The government was worried about the use of telecom equipment from ZTE and Huawei, however SoftBank?s CEO confirmed there are no plans to use Chinese equipment. Sprint and SoftBank?have entered into a National Security Agreement with the U.S. government and now only await the green light from the Federal Communications Commission. According to The Wall Street Journal,?the deal requires the two companies to have a four-member national security committee, which will include a security director on Sprint?s board of directors that has the power to veto equipment purchases. Sprint?s press release follows below.

Sprint and SoftBank Receive Clearance from Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

[More from BGR: The Xbox One?s creepy monitoring feature might track how often you sit through commercials]

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & TOKYO (BUSINESS WIRE), May 29, 2013 ? Sprint (NYSE: S) and SoftBank (TSE: 9984) announced today that the companies have received notice from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that it has completed its investigation of the proposed transaction between Sprint and SoftBank, and there are no unresolved national security issues relating to the transaction.

As part of this aspect of the transaction?s clearance, Sprint and SoftBank have entered into a National Security Agreement with the U.S. government. The National Security Agreement is effective as of the date of CFIUS clearance, but will terminate in the event that the merger agreement between Sprint and SoftBank is terminated.

Based on the CFIUS clearance of the proposed transaction, the parties expect that the ?Team Telecom? agencies, which include the Department of Justice (including the Federal Bureau of Investigation) and the Department of Homeland Security, will notify the Federal Communications Commission that the agencies have completed their review of the transaction for national security, law enforcement and public safety concerns.

Upon receipt of notice from Team Telecom, the Federal Communications Commission will be free to complete its public interest review of the transaction. The Commission?s public interest review is ongoing.

Sprint and SoftBank are parties to the previously disclosed agreement and plan of merger, dated as of October 15, 2012, as amended. Consummation of the Sprint-SoftBank merger remains subject to various conditions to closing, including receipt of approval of the Federal Communications Commission and adoption of the merger agreement by Sprint?s stockholders. Sprint and SoftBank anticipate the merger will be consummated in July 2013, subject to the remaining closing conditions and the effect of the actions of the Special Committee of Sprint?s board of directors, which is currently in discussions and negotiations with DISH Network Corporation regarding the unsolicited proposal received from DISH in April 2013 or other developments with respect to such proposal. Sprint?s Board of Directors continues to recommend its stockholders vote in favor of the transaction with SoftBank.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sprint-softbank-merger-receives-security-clearance-133008549.html

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Dying man's blinks lead to murder conviction

CINCINNATI (AP) ? An Ohio man was found guilty Thursday of fatally shooting a man who authorities say identified his assailant by blinking his eyes while paralyzed and hooked up to a ventilator.

A jury convicted Ricardo Woods, 35, of murder and felonious assault for the death of David Chandler who was shot Oct. 28, 2010, as he sat in a car in Cincinnati.

Police interviewed the 35-year-old Chandler after he was shot in the head and neck. He was only able to communicate with his eyes and died about two weeks later.

Woods had no obvious reaction to the verdict on the third day of jury deliberations as it was read in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. But as he was being led to jail, he said: "I'm innocent."

Woods' sentencing is set for June 20. He faces up to life in prison.

During the trial, jurors viewed the videotaped police interview that prosecutors say showed Chandler blinked three times for "yes" to identify a photo of Woods as his shooter. The defense had tried to block the video, saying Chandler's blinks were inconsistent and unreliable.

Defense attorney Kory Jackson said Thursday there would be an appeal.

"We're disappointed in the verdict," he said. "We have said since the beginning that the video should not have been allowed into evidence."

Jocelyn Chess, an assistant county prosecutor, said justice was served.

"They looked at all the evidence, and the evidence showed that Ricardo Woods was guilty," she said.

Judge Beth Myers, who ruled that jurors could see the video, said Chandler's identification was made by pronounced, exaggerated movement of the eyes. A doctor who treated Chandler later testified that Chandler was able to communicate clearly about his condition.

In the video, police had to repeat some questions when Chandler failed to respond or when the number of times he blinked appeared unclear. But Chandler blinked his eyes hard three times when police asked him if the photo of Woods was the photo of his shooter. He again blinked three times when they asked him if he was sure.

The defense argued that Chandler's condition and drugs used to treat him could have affected his ability to understand and respond during the police interview.

Woods' lawyer also argued that showing Chandler only one photo ? that of Woods ? instead of presenting a lineup of photos was "suggestive." Jackson said the case against Woods was about misidentification and "a misguided investigation."

Chandler's half-brother, Richard Tucker, said after the verdict that Chandler's family was satisfied with the outcome and also agrees that "justice has been served."

"It's been a long time coming," said Tucker, 50, of suburban Cincinnati.

A jailhouse informant testified that Woods told him he shot at Chandler because he caught him buying drugs from someone else while still owing Woods money for drugs.

The defense argued that the informant, who faced armed robbery charges, was trying to use testimony against Woods to get a lighter sentence for himself. The defense also said Chandler had stolen drugs from dealers, was considered a police "snitch" and had many enemies.

The defense insisted that Woods was a victim of misidentification and misinformation.

Legal experts say such cases ? where prosecutors attempt to show a defendant was identified by a gesture ? are not unheard of but are unusual. Dying identifications relying on gestures rather than words are often not used in trials because of concern over reliability or differing interpretations. But some have been used in murder cases around the country that have ended in convictions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dying-mans-eye-blinks-lead-ohio-murder-verdict-214239403.html

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How the battle over 'Star Trek' rights killed J.J. Abrams' grand ambitions

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A struggle over the U.S.S. Enterprise's past and future helped sour J.J. Abrams on the "Star Trek" franchise and may have contributed to his decision to take on the "Star Wars" universe.

Competing ambitions between Paramount, CBS and Abrams' production company Bad Robot over merchandising surrounding the first film in the rebooted "Star Trek" franchise led the director to curtail plans to turn the series into a multi-platform experience that spanned television, digital entertainment and comic books, according to an individual with knowledge of the dispute.

J.J. just threw up his hands," the individual told TheWrap. "The message was, 'Why set up all this when we'll just be competing against ourselves?' The studio wanted to please Bad Robot, but it was allowing CBS to say yay or nay when it came to what was happening with the 'Star Trek' products."

"Star Trek Into Darkness" arrives in U.S. multiplexes Thursday with tie-ins ranging from Bing to Hasbro. It is expected to gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office over the extended weekend.

Yet this marketing assault pales compared to the one that Abrams (above) and Bad Robot once envisioned for "Star Trek" and now plan to construct around the new "Star Wars" films.

A major stumbling block: "Star Trek's" licensing and merchandising rights are spread over two media conglomerates with competing goals. The rights to the original television series from the 1960s remained with CBS after it split off from Paramount's corporate parent Viacom in 2006, while the studio retained the rights to the film series. CBS also held onto the ability to create future "Star Trek" TV shows.

Paramount must license the "Star Trek" characters from CBS Consumer Products for film merchandising.

Much to the dismay of Bad Robot, CBS' merchandising arm continued to create memorabilia and products based on the cast of the original 1960s series and market them to Trekkies. The production company did market research and found that there was brand confusion between Abrams' rebooted Enterprise crew and the one starring William Shatner and DeForest Kelley.

TheWrap has learned that Bad Robot asked CBS to stop making products featuring the original cast, but talks broke down over money. The network was making roughly $20 million a year on that merchandise and had no incentive to play nice with its former corporate brother, the individual said. In response, the company scaled back its ambitions to have "Star Trek's" storylines play out with television shows, spin-off films and online components, something Abrams had been eager to accomplish.

Paramount declined to comment for this article and a spokesperson for Bad Robot did not respond to a request to comment.

"As the merchandising rights holder for Star Trek, CBS Consumer Products has ongoing relationships with all our partners, including Paramount," a spokesman for CBS Consumer Products said in a statement. "We have worked closely with them for the last five years to create merchandise to enhance the movies and satisfy fans. We are all looking forward to a successful opening of ?Into Darkness.'"

Despite the initial bumpy ride, it appears that Paramount, Bad Robot and CBS Consumer Products worked more harmoniously on "Star Trek Into Darkness." The parties collaborated on a Star Trek video game (left) that will feature the voices of the film's stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto; a graphic novel prequel to the film that was overseen by screenwriter Roberto Orci; and a novelization from Simon & Schuster (below).

Still, Jeff Gomez, CEO of the transmedia consulting firm Starlight Runner Entertainment, says there could have been so many more lucrative tie-ins. He contends that the rebooted franchise has enormous potential outside the multiplex.

"Right now the 'Star Trek' movies are movies," Gomez said. "There is no apparent ongoing transmedia strategy behind them, just a handful of licensing opportunities around the release of 'Into Darkness.'

"Why would that be attractive to an artist who sees beyond the boundaries of the silver screen to envision a true multi-platform narrative all based on a global franchise?"

Abrams' ambitions to create a multi-platform film franchise will find a more natural home at Disney, analysts and industry experts tell TheWrap. As successful as "Star Trek" has been, few franchises match the profitability and cultural prominence of George Lucas' space opera, which would be difficult for any director to pass up.

"Disney has always been oriented to multi-platform revenue stream situations," Seth Willenson, a film library valuations expert, told TheWrap.

Moreover, Willenson notes that Abrams, who has a deal that is believed to include creative and profit participation in "Star Wars" inspired merchandise and spin-offs, will have more control in shaping the legacy of the Skywalker clan than he would have had with developing side projects for the "Star Trek" crew. Unlike with "Star Trek," with its rights split between Paramount and CBS, Disney owns the rights to "Star Wars" outright thanks to its $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm last year.

"The derivative rights situation on 'Star Trek' is complicated because you're dealing with cross-company cultures, so it makes it harder to implement a grand plan," Willenson said.

As for Disney's grand "Star Wars" plan, it's sounding an awful lot like the one Abrams once envisioned for "Star Trek." There will be television properties, theme park rides and spin-off films all centered around the new trilogy that Abrams will oversee.

It's a page borrowed from Disney's exploitation of the Marvel comic books and if it works out, it should make Abrams very rich indeed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/battle-over-star-trek-rights-killed-j-j-233548854.html

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China's SeedAsia Opens For Business, An Online Equity ...

SeedAsia, an equity crowd-funding site based in China, has just launched. The company is offering stakes in selected early-stage startups to people.

?It?s kind of a hybrid between Kickstarter and private investment,? said co-founder Tom Russell. The startups to be listed would have ideally gone through some some sort of incubation program and would have shown promise. They can apply offer between $50,000 and $1.5 million in equity through SeedAsia?s platform.

SeedAsia takes a 5 percent ?administration fee? and another 5 percent ?distribution fee? from the investor.

Potential investors need to apply and be screened, and SeedAsia has set the minimum investment commitment at $2,000 per member. ?It costs about $20,000 to $30,000 at minimum to be an angel investor, so this lowers the entry barrier for people,? he said.

SeedAsia is the first equity crowd-funding site to launch in the region, although the equity funding trend has been taking off in the US, where there are apparently over 200 such sites. One of them,?FundersClub, recently cleared US regulators, paving the way for more such sites to flourish.

Hong Kong-headquartered Decision Fuel is the first fund to be listed on SeedAsia. The company offers a mobile platform to deliver short consumer surveys. It had $1.25 million in seed funding in 2011, according to AngelList, and counts clients such as P&G, Nike, Colgate. It has already gathered more than 14 million survey responses for its clients, it said.

Russell said the crowd-funding scene is a lot less developed in Asia than it is in the West. The culture is such that potential investors are still more keen on property than in an online startup, he said. Cultural differences also persist. ?The local Chinese developers don?t like being transparent with their ideas and sharing, while Westerners don?t understand why the Chinese aren?t as transparent. The truth is, you have big players like Tencent that can copy you easily, which is why people aren?t as open with sharing here.?

SeedAsia has taken on some advisors to raise investor confidence in its portfolio clients. Inporia and Hive7 founder, Max Skibinsky, is one, and Oscar Ramos has been brought in too. Ramos founded Chinese seed fund, DaD Asia.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/14/equity-crowd-funding-site-seedasia-launches/

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WWE Main Event results: A prelude to Extreme Rules

Kane vs. Seth Rollins: WWE Main Event, May 15, 2013John Cena & Team Hell No vs. The Shield - Elimination Six-Man Tag Team Match: Raw, May 13, 2013Kane loses his temper: WWE App Exclusive, May 13, 2013John Cena & Team Hell No vs. The Shield: WWE App Exclusive, May 13, 2013Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose: SmackDown, May 10, 2013Team Hell No has a message for the Shield: WWE App Exclusive, May 10, 2013Kane vs. Ryback: Raw, May 6, 2013

Kane def. Seth Rollins via disqualification

With only days until Kane and Daniel Bryan defend the WWE Tag Team Titles at Extreme Rules against The Shield?s Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, The Big Red Monster battled Rollins on WWE Main Event. Although Daniel Bryan was not in attendance, Kane displayed little trepidation when all three members of The Shield made their presence known.

Despite the daunting challenge for Rollins, he attempted to rely on his agility early on in the contest, but the experience and power of his opponent ? a former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion ? proved to be the dominant force inside the squared circle. Kane methodically manhandled Rollins, nearly executing the Tombstone early ? forcing the black- and blond-haired grappler to regroup with his Shield cohorts.

WWE MAIN EVENT PHOTOS?| KANE BATTLES THE SHIELD'S SETH ROLLINS

Rollins eventually managed to get some offense in with Dean Ambrose and Reigns encouraging him to keep The Big Red Monster on the defensive. Alas, Kane?s experience once again allowed him to regain control. Witnessing the potential destruction of their comrade, Ambrose and Reigns distracted Kane, allowing Rollins again to take advantage. The ability of The Shield to distract a veteran like Kane without getting directly involved in the contest truly solidified the reputation they have built in the months since their debut.

But Rollins? momentum stalled and the former World Heavyweight Champion once again dismantled the young Superstar and finally executed a Chokeslam that should have sealed the deal. As the official lowered his hand to the mat for the final count, Ambrose interfered, ending the match in a disqualification win for Kane.

Knowing Daniel Bryan was not in the arena, The Shield?s pack mentality took over and they began a relentless assault of The Big Red Monster. As they prepared for the devastating Triple Powerbomb, The Usos ran into the ring and came to Kane?s rescue ? ultimately sending The Shield back into the crowd.

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwemainevent/2013-05-15/results

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According to The Verge, Xbox Points are finally going to die.

According to The Verge, Xbox Points are finally going to die. Rumor is that Microsoft will move to a gift card system not unlike iTunes. The system's said to work across Windows Store, Windows Phone Store, and Xbox, with a launch as soon as E3. We'll see.

Read more...

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UN watchdog, EU's Ashton to press Iran in nuclear dispute

By Fredrik Dahl and Parisa Hafezi

VIENNA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Iran faces international pressure in two separate meetings over its nuclear program on Wednesday, but with the Islamic state focused more on a June presidential election no breakthrough is expected in the dispute.

In Vienna, the U.N. nuclear agency will once again urge Iran to stop stonewalling its investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Tehran, which denies any intent to make such weapons. The talks are due to start around 10 a.m. (0400 ET).

Later over dinner in Istanbul, the European Union's top diplomat will meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator - also now a presidential candidate - to discuss a broader diplomatic bid to resolve a row that could trigger a new war in the Middle East.

The two sets of talks represent distinct diplomatic tracks but are linked because both center on suspicions that Iran may be seeking to develop the capability to assemble nuclear weapons behind the facade of a declared civilian atomic energy program.

Any movement in the decade-old standoff will probably have to wait until after Iran's unpredictable June 14 election to choose a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, analysts and diplomats say.

Even though it is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who decides Iran's nuclear policy, the conservative leadership may want to tread cautiously ahead of a vote in which loyalists will be challenged by two major independents.

With the election coming up, "the Iranians will do everything to keep everything stable," one Western envoy said.

Baqer Moin, an Iran expert based in London, said: "The supreme leader is not the only decision-maker ... Iran cannot make any final decision now."

SPECTRE OF MILITARY ACTION

Israel and the United States have warned of possible military action against Iran if diplomacy and increasingly tough trade and energy sanctions fail to make it curb its nuclear programme.

Tehran says it is a purely peaceful project to generate electricity and that it is Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, that threatens peace and stability in the region.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been trying for more than a year to coax Iran into allowing it to resume an inquiry into what the U.N. watchdog describes as the "possible military dimensions" to Tehran's nuclear programme.

Wednesday's talks in Vienna will be the 10th round of negotiations between the two sides since early 2012, so far without an agreement that would give the IAEA the access to sites, officials and documents it says it needs.

Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said this week he expected progress to be made in the discussions. But Western diplomats voiced pessimism.

The Istanbul meeting between EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents six world powers, and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili follows a failed round of big power diplomacy in Kazakhstan in early April.

The gap is wide: the powers want Iran to suspend its most sensitive nuclear activity. Iran wants them to recognize its "right" to refine uranium - which can have both civilian and military purposes - and an end to tough economic sanctions.

(Additional reporting by Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-watchdog-eus-ashton-press-iran-nuclear-dispute-230218370.html

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China's SeedAsia Opens For Business, An Online Equity Crowdfunding Platform For Startups Across Asia

SeedAsia, an equity crowd-funding site based in China, has just launched. The company is offering stakes in selected early-stage startups to people. “It’s kind of a hybrid between Kickstarter and private investment,” said co-founder Tom Russell. The startups to be listed would have ideally gone through some some sort of incubation program and would have shown promise. They can apply offer between $50,000 and $1.5 million in equity through SeedAsia’s platform. SeedAsia takes a 5 percent “administration fee” and another 5 percent “distribution fee” from the investor. Potential investors need to apply and be screened, and SeedAsia has set the minimum investment commitment at $2,000 per member. “It costs about $20,000 to $30,000 at minimum to be an angel investor, so this lowers the entry barrier for people,” he said. SeedAsia is the first equity crowd-funding site to launch in the region, although the equity funding trend has been taking off in the US, where there are apparently over 200 such sites. One of them,?FundersClub, recently cleared US regulators, paving the way for more such sites to flourish. Hong Kong-headquartered Decision Fuel is the first fund to be listed on SeedAsia. The company offers a mobile platform to deliver short consumer surveys. It had $1.25 million in seed funding in 2011, according to AngelList, and counts clients such as P&G, Nike, Colgate. It has already gathered more than 14 million survey responses for its clients, it said. Russell said the crowd-funding scene is a lot less developed in Asia than it is in the West. The culture is such that potential investors are still more keen on property than in an online startup, he said. Cultural differences also persist. “The local Chinese developers don’t like being transparent with their ideas and sharing, while Westerners don’t understand why the Chinese aren’t as transparent. The truth is, you have big players like Tencent that can copy you easily, which is why people aren’t as open with sharing here.” SeedAsia has taken on some advisors to raise investor confidence in its portfolio clients. Inporia and Hive7 founder, Max Skibinsky, is one, and Oscar Ramos has been brought in too. Ramos founded Chinese seed fund, DaD Asia.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PCt5FqNYfJQ/

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This Low-Tech Office Furniture Doubles as a Gym

We lead such sedentary lives, parked all day at a desk. But what if your desk furniture could double as workout equipment? Meet No Sweat, an awesome three-piece set designed by Darryl Agawin, you instantly offset the negative affects of eight hours' worth of sitting on your butt.

No Sweat is an ingeniously simple concept. It allows you to do some workout routines and styles that you're probably already familiar with. According to Agawin, the components were inspired by typical equipment you see at the gym, like an exercise step, balance board, and weight bar. He says of the design process:

First hand research was used to establish a working baseline; exploring various exercise disciplines, finding the similarity between various forms. These forms were then dissected and rearranged into a workspace configuration. Pen-and-paper sketching, quick CAD prototyping and full-scale prototypes were used to explore and ultimately refine the myriad of possibilities.

Want to work on a project? Sit in the chair. Want to work on your triceps? Turn the chair around and do some dips. The possibilities are pretty much endless with some basic equipment. We know our brains benefit from exercise. And science says that taking small breaks throughout the workday helps us focus. So an office that doubles as a gym could even help you be more productive. [Darryl Agawin via Dwell]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-low-tech-office-furniture-doubles-as-a-gym-506792559

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Tuesdays With Jeff: Insights Into Your Health: A Common Sense ...

?

This week Jeff continues his series all about getting healthy this summer! Each week he will have advice, tips and insights into helping you get to your ideal weight! As always, leave a comment to win one of?Jeff?s great DVD?s! This week tell us if you have applied the principles of calorie density in your life, if so what were the results?

A Common Sense Approach To Sound Nutrition??Jeff Novick, MS, RD

Calorie density, is the simplest easiest approach to healthy eating. It is easy to understand and follow and I have outlined the principles here. It is the most common sense approach to sound nutrition.? In addition, by? following the principles of calorie density, you will also meet all our other needs including vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, essential fats, etc.? The basic principles of calorie density are simple and outlined below.

However, for those of you who still want to think about food groups, servings sizes and amounts of servings, I have provided an ?old school? approach to this way of eating from that perspective.? In the end, the food you eat, and the amounts, will be the same.? The calorie density approach just provides the simplest easiest road to get there.

Remember, these are just guidelines expressing the principles and not exact recommendations.

1) The Calorie Density Approach

Principles of Calorie Density

- Hunger & Satiety

Whenever hungry, eat until you are comfortably full.? Don?t starve and don?t stuff yourself.

- Sequence your meals

Start all meals with a salad, soup &/or fruit

- Don?t Drink Your Calories

Avoid liquid calories.? Eat/chew your calories, don?t drink or liquify them. Liquids have little if any satiety so they do not fill you up for the calories they contain.

- Dilution is the Solution

Dilute the Calorie Density of your meals by filling 1/2 your plate (by volume) with intact whole grains, starchy vegetables and/or legumes and the other half with vegetables and/or fruit.

- Vegetables vs Fat/Oil

Vegetables are the lowest in calorie density while Fat/Oil is the highest.? Adding vegetables to any dish will always lower the overall calorie density.? Adding fat and oil will always raise the overall calorie density.

- High Calorie Dense Foods

Limit (or avoid) foods that are higher in calorie density (dried fruit, high fat plant foods, processed whole grains, etc) and when consumed incorporate them in meals made up of low calorie dense foods and think of them as a condiment.? (ie, add slices of avocado to a large salad, walnuts or raisins in a bowl of oatmeal and fruit).

?The Calorie Density Scale

2) The Six ?Old School? Food Group Approach

Fruits (Apples, berries, oranges, etc)

- Calorie density is ~250 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup fresh/frozen

- 60 calories per serving

- 4-6 servings per day

Vegetables?(broccoli, kale, cucumbers, etc)

- Calorie density is ~100 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw

- 25 calories per serving

- 10-16 servings per day (this includes 2-4 servings of cruciferous vegetables)

Starchy Vegetables?(Sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash, etc)

- Calorie density is ~500 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked

- 80 calories per serving

- 5-7 servings per day

Intact Whole Grains?(Brown rice, oats, millet, quinoa, etc)

- Calorie density is ~500 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked or 1 oz dry

- 80 calories per serving

- 5-7 Serving per day

Legumes?(beans, dry peas lentils)

- Calorie density is ~600 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1/2 cup cooked

- 110 calories per serving

- 1-3 serving per day

High Fat Plant Foods?(nuts, seeds, avocado?s, peanut)

- Calorie density is ~2800 cal/lb

- A typical serving is 1 oz nuts, seeds, peanuts; 1/2 avocado)

- 175 calories per serving

- 1-2 servings per day

A 2000 Calories ?Old School? Sample Meal Plan (for reference only)

Breakfast:

Intact Whole Grains (2 cups) 320 calories

Fresh Fruit (1 cup) 120 calories

Nuts (1 oz) 175 calories

Lunch:

Starchy Vegetable (1 cup) 160 calories

Intact Whole Grains (1 cup) 160 calories

Legumes (1/2 cup) 110 calories

Veggies (3 cups of salad, soup and/or steamed veggies) 150 calories

Fruit (1/2 cup) 60 calories

Dinner:

Starchy Vegetable (2 cups) 320 calories

Legumes (1/2 cup) 110 calories

Veggies (3 cups of salad, soup and/or steamed veggies) 150 calories

Fruit (1/2 cup) 60 calories

Nuts/Seeds (1oz) 175 calories

This equals:

- 6 servings of Starchy Veggies/Whole Grains and 480 calories

- 6 servings of Intact Whole Grains and 480 calories

- 2 servings of Legumes and 220 calories

- 12 servings of veggies and 300 calories

- 4 servings of fruit and 240 calories

- 2 servings of nuts/seeds and 350 calories

Total 2070 Calories.

For those of you avoiding nuts/seeds, you can just leave them out and increase the number of servings or fruits, veggies, starchy veggies and/or legumes to equal 350 calories.

Summary

Calorie density really is the simplest easiest approach to healthy eating. It is easy to understand and follow and provides the simplest easiest path to good health. It is the most common sense approach to sound nutrition.? By following the principles of calorie density, you will also meet all our other needs including vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, essential fats, etc

Have another great week, and remember?

Your Health Is Your Greatest Wealth!

Jeff Novick, MS, RD

We highly recommend picking up Jeff?s DVD on calorie density !

Source: http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/tuesdays-with-jeff-insights-into-your-health-a-common-sense-approach-to-sound-nutrition/

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UN: Eat more insects; good for you, good for world

This Feb. 20, 2008 photo provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows insects for sale at a market in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday, May 13, 2013, hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Arnold Van Huis, FAO, ho)

This Feb. 20, 2008 photo provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows insects for sale at a market in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday, May 13, 2013, hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Arnold Van Huis, FAO, ho)

This undated photo provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows a plate with insects during an insect cuisine competition at an unknown location in Laos. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday, May 13, 2013, hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Thomas Calame, FAO, ho)

Eva Muller, Director of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Forest Economic Policy and Products Division, speaks during a press conference to launch a report on edible insects, in Rome, Monday, May 13, 2013. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. FAO on Monday hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Gabon's Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Gabriel Tchango speaks during a press conference to launch a report on edible insects, in Rome, Monday, May 13, 2013. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. FAO on Monday hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

This undated photo provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows a packaging containing locusts for sale in the Netherlands. The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday, May 13, 2013, hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world as an underutilized food for people, livestock and pets. A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency's Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and have environmental benefits. (AP Photo/Paul Vantomme, FAO, ho)

ROME (AP) ? The latest weapon in the U.N.'s fight against hunger, global warming and pollution might be flying by you right now.

Edible insects are being promoted as a low-fat, high-protein food for people, pets and livestock. According to the U.N., they come with appetizing side benefits: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and livestock pollution, creating jobs in developing countries and feeding the millions of hungry people in the world.

Some edible insect information in bite-sized form:

WHO EATS INSECTS NOW?

Two billion people do, largely in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Monday as it issued a report exploring edible insect potential.

Some insects may already be in your food (and this is no fly-in-my-soup joke). Demand for natural food coloring as opposed to artificial dyes is increasing, the agency's experts say. A red coloring produced from the cochineal, a scaled insect often exported from Peru, already puts the hue in a trendy Italian aperitif and an internationally popular brand of strawberry yogurt. Many pharmaceutical companies also use colorings from insects in their pills.

PACKED WITH PROTEIN, FULL OF FIBER

Scientists who have studied the nutritional value of edible insects have found that red ants, small grasshoppers and some water beetles pack (gram-per-gram or ounce-per-ounce) enough protein to rank with lean ground beef while having less fat per gram.

Bored with bran as a source of fiber in your diet? Edible insects can oblige, and they also contain useful minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and zinc.

WHICH TO CHOOSE?

Beetles and caterpillars are the most common meals among the more than 1,900 edible insect species that people eat. Other popular insect foods are bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets. Less popular are termites and flies, according to U.N. data.

ECO-FRIENDLY

Insects on average can convert 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of feed into 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of edible meat. In comparison, cattle require 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of feed to produce a kilogram of meat. Most insects raised for food are likely to produce fewer environmentally harmful greenhouse gases than livestock, the U.N. agency says.

DON'T SWAT THE INCOME

Edible insects are a money-maker. In Africa, four big water bottles filled with grasshoppers can fetch a gatherer 15 euros ($20). Some caterpillars in southern Africa and weaver ant eggs in Southeast Asia are considered delicacies and command high prices.

Insect-farms tend to be small, serving niche markets like fish bait businesses. But since insects thrive across a wide range of locations ? from deserts to mountains ? and are highly adaptable, experts see big potential for the insect farming industry, especially those farming insects for animal feed. Most edible insects are now gathered in forests.

LET A BUG DO YOUR RECYLING

A 3 million euro ($4 million) European Union-funded research project is studying the common housefly to see if a lot of flies can help recycle animal waste by essentially eating it while helping to produce feed for animals such as chickens. Right now farmers can only use so much manure as fertilizer and many often pay handsome sums for someone to cart away animal waste and burn it.

A South African fly factory that rears the insects en masse to transform blood, guts, manure and discarded food into animal feed has won a $100,000 U.N.-backed innovation prize.

___

Details about the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's work on edible insects at www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects

Follow Frances D'Emilio at http://twitter.com./fdemilio

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-13-Insects-Bite-Sized/id-9d018cd1086d4226a9ab9f36320bcff5

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FT: Thousands of Confidential Bloomberg Terminal Messages Found Online

Just the other day, the New York Post outed Bloomberg reporters for monitoring Bloomberg terminals to track Wall Street traders' accounts. Now, the Financial Times has pointed out another egregious but unrelated security problem: apparently more than ten thousand confidential terminal records have been on the Internet?searchable by Google?probably for years.

While doing a bit of investigative Googling, the Financial Times stumbled across the records?one from an isolated day in 2009, on from a day in 2010?which included things like Bloomberg user identifiers, names, trader email addresses, financial price information, and trading activity. As soon as the Financial Times starting asking around, the records were promptly taken down, but it looks like they'd been out there for a while.

When asked about the records, a Bloomberg spokesman told the Financial Times that the information had been willingly supplied by a client, and posted with the purpose of helping that client improve data-mining. Presumably, none of it was ever supposed to be public, though. It's unclear if anyone stumbled upon these before the Financial Times did, but either way, it looks bad for Bloomberg that they were just sitting out there. And more bad publicity isn't what Bloomberg needs right now. [Financial Times via The Verge]

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Source: http://gizmodo.com/ft-thousands-of-confidential-bloomberg-terminal-messag-504868659

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New Orleans Mother?s Day parade shooting: Police seek man seen in surveillance footage

A suspect appears to open fire on the crowd. (YouTube/NOPD)

Police in New Orleans have released surveillance footage of one of at least three suspects wanted in connection with the afternoon shooting that injured 19 people at a Mother's Day parade.

In the footage posted to YouTube, a male wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants can be seen standing on the side of a street in the city's 7th Ward. The man appears to open fire on the crowd, which scatters, and the man flees.

Police believe shots were fired from different guns, and three suspects were seen by officers running away from the scene in the 1400 block of Frenchmen Street and North Villere. One "was seen running on Frenchmen towards North Claiborne then unknown," the New Orleans Police Department?s Public Information Office said in a release. That suspect was described as "an African-American male approximately 18 to 22 years-old wearing a white T shirt and blue jean shorts."

Police say most of the victims?10 adult males, seven adult females, a 10-year-old male and a 10-year-old female?were only grazed by gunfire, but three of them arrived at the hospital in critical condition and underwent immediate surgery, according to NOLA.com. The 10-year-old victims "had graze wounds to the body and are in good condition," police said.

A separate, choppy video posted to the social video sharing app Vine appears to capture the moment shots were fired.

New Orleans Police and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to "the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for this crime."

Police also warned that anyone withholding information or helping "harbor, conceal, or aid the offender, knowing or having reasonable ground to believe that he has committed the felony, and with the intent that he may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction, or punishment" could be charged as an accessory.

The annual parade was attended by about 400 people led a contingent of police officers.

"The specialness of the day doesn't appear to interrupt the relentless drumbeat of violence," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a news conference late Sunday outside a hospital where the victims were being treated. "These kinds of incidents are not going to go unanswered. We're going to be very, very aggressive. There were hundreds of people out there today. So somebody knows who did this and the way we're going to stop the violence together in this city is everybody come together."

New Orleans has a history of street violence, and federal officials say there is no indication the shooting was an act of terrorism.

"It's strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans," Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for FBI New Orleans, told the Associated Press.

"All innocent bystanders got hit," Shannon Roberts?who said her nephew, niece and cousin were each shot?told NOLA.com from a hospital waiting room. "The city needs to stop the violence. It's hurting our families."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/orleans-mothers-day-parade-shooting-video-suspect-141839164.html

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Military plane crashes in Yemen's capital

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? A Yemeni military plane on a training exercise crashed Monday in the country's capital, slamming into a residential neighborhood and setting at least four houses ablaze, according to a military official and an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

There was no immediate word on casualties, but several ambulances were rushing to the site of the crash, their sirens wailing. Security forces have cordoned off the area where the plane went down in southern Sanaa.

The official said military experts were investigating the incident.

He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military rules that prohibit personnel from speaking to the media without prior authorization.

In February, a military plane flying a training mission crashed in Sanaa, killing 10 people and destroying two houses.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/military-plane-crashes-yemens-capital-095404655.html

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Video Game Chart Hits! | Citizen Game

While it took many years for the medium to become a widely accepted and understood form of entertainment, video games have been ingrained in the popular consciousness for decades.

Naturally, this has led to crossovers in other popular entertainment mediums. Through lyrical references, sampled sound effects, emulated instrumentation and even dedicated tributes it?s possible to track the presence of video games in popular music as early as the late 1970s.

To highlight this, we?re inducting the six most commercially successful instances of video games and pop music coming together into our Musical Showcase vault.

Just remember, popularity is not always synonymous with quality?

Day One: Computer Game

Day Two: ?

Day Three: ?

Day Four: ?

Day Five: ?

Day Six: ?

James Day

James likes video games and writing. He currently works at Microsoft so his opinions are worth even less these days.

More articles by James Day ?

Source: http://www.citizengame.co.uk/editorial/features/musical-showcase/15236/video-game-chart-hits

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Obama calls on Congress to help more homeowners

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says Congress must give more homeowners the chance to refinance their mortgages to save money.

Obama says more than 2 million people are saving about $3,000 a year after restructuring their loans under his administration but that more deserve the same chance.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama also calls on the Senate to confirm "without delay" his choice of Democratic Rep. Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees government-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Obama says the North Carolina congressman helped enact rules to protect consumers from dishonest lenders.

In the Republican address, Alabama Rep. Martha Roby discusses legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House to give private-sector workers the right to trade overtime pay for additional time off.

___

Online:

Obama's address: www.whitehouse.gov

Republican address: www.youtube.com/HouseConference

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-calls-congress-help-more-homeowners-100546905.html

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Ginsburg says Roe gave abortion opponents target

CHICAGO (AP) ? One of the most liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could be expected to give a rousing defense of Roe v. Wade in reflecting on the landmark vote 40 years after it established a nationwide right to abortion.

Instead, Ginsburg told an audience Saturday at the University of Chicago Law School that while she supports a woman's right to choose, she feels the ruling by her predecessors on the court was too sweeping and gave abortion opponents a symbol to target. Ever since, she said, the momentum has been on the other side, with anger over Roe fueling a state-by-state campaign that has placed more restrictions on abortion.

"That was my concern, that the court had given opponents of access to abortion a target to aim at relentlessly," she told a crowd of students. "... My criticism of Roe is that it seemed to have stopped the momentum that was on the side of change."

The ruling is also a disappointment to a degree, Ginsburg said, because it was not argued in weighty terms of advancing women's rights. Rather, the Roe opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, centered on the right to privacy and asserted that it extended to a woman's decision on whether to end a pregnancy.

Four decades later, abortion is one of the most polarizing issues in American life, and anti-abortion activists have pushed legislation at the state level in an effort to scale back the 1973 decision.

Ginsburg would have rather seen the justices make a narrower decision that struck down only the Texas law that brought the matter before the court. That law allowed abortions only to save a mother's life.

A more restrained judgment would have sent a message while allowing momentum to build at a time when a number of states were expanding abortion rights, she said. She added that it might also have denied opponents the argument that abortion rights resulted from an undemocratic process in the decision by "unelected old men."

Ginsburg told the students she prefers what she termed "judicial restraint" and argued that such an approach can be more effective than expansive, aggressive decisions.

"The court can put its stamp of approval on the side of change and let that change develop in the political process," she said.

A similar dynamic is playing out over gay marriage and the speculation over how the Supreme Court might act on that issue.

The court decided in December to take up cases on California's constitutional ban on gay marriage and a federal law that denies to gay Americans who are legally married the favorable tax treatment and a range of health and pension benefits otherwise available to married couples.

Among the questions now is whether the justices will set a nationwide rule that could lead to the overturning of laws in more than three dozen states that currently do not allow same-sex marriage. Even some supporters of gay marriage fear that a broad ruling could put the court ahead of the nation on a hot-button social issue and provoke a backlash similar to the one that has fueled the anti-abortion movement in the years following Roe.

The court could also decide to uphold California's ban ? an outcome that would not affect the District of Columbia and the 11 states that allow gay marriage.

Ginsburg did not address the pending gay marriage cases.

Asked about the continuing challenges to abortion rights, Ginsburg said that in her view Roe's legacy will ultimately hold up.

"It's not going to matter that much," she said. "Take the worst-case scenario ... suppose the decision were overruled; you would have a number of states that will never go back to the way it was."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ginsburg-says-roe-gave-abortion-opponents-target-004044065.html

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Panel: Tear down Sandy Hook, rebuild

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? Newtown parents Steven Uhde and Peter Barresi didn't want the town to abandon the elementary school property where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed in December and build a new school elsewhere, saying that would be like letting the gunman win.

So they were glad Friday night when a task force of 28 local elected officials voted unanimously for a plan calling for tearing down Sandy Hook Elementary School and constructing a new building on the same property.

The plan approved by the Sandy Hook School Building Task Force now goes to the local school board and ultimately will have to be approved by residents at a referendum.

If all goes well, officials said construction could begin in the spring of next year and the new building could open in January 2016.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/newtown-panel-tear-down-sandy-hook-rebuild-015514858.html

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Space Station Crew Prepare For Emergency Spacewalk

In order for the station to reenter, you'd have to change its orbital velocity by a substantial amount. The interwebs suggests that it's about 150m/s (that's about 300 mph for the metrically challenged).

To change the ISS's velocity that much in a single impact would destroy the entire station. I don't even think the ISS is capable of being deorbited without additional hardware; the Progress supply drones it currently uses to adjust its orbit carry very little thruster fuel. (Just enough to deorbit the Progress itself, plus some spare.)

Personally, the main bit which caused me to roll my eyes is right at the beginning, where the two astronauts admire the sunset, tumbling uncontrollably, while facing in entirely the wrong direction...

was there re-entering on the trailer? isn't the movie about them getting stranded in space. I thought the things burning in atmosphere lower were pieces of some asteroid or something. though I wasn't paying too much attention.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/mH6fUg92EmU/story01.htm

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Eco-friendly green burials catching on in the U.S.

By Steven P Johnson

GAINESVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - After a two-year battle with cancer, Joseph Fitzgerald was determined to leave his final resting place to Mother Nature.

On a quiet February day in rural Florida, Fitzgerald's body was carried through the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery on a bamboo stretcher made by family members.

In an ecologically approved "green burial," he was laid to rest on a plot of land surrounded by oak trees and Spanish moss he picked out just months before his passing in a grave that was dug by hand just two days prior.

Green burial options have become a small but growing trend in the U.S. funeral industry, with an increasing number of funeral homes offering eco-friendly services and about 30 green cemeteries across the country, according to the Green Burial Council, or GBC, a non-profit organization operating in the United States, Canada and Australia.

The most recent survey conducted by funeral industry publishers Kates-Boylston Publications in 2008 found that 43 percent of respondents said that they would consider a green burial. That was a significant increase from the 21 percent who expressed curiosity about green burials in an AARP study conducted the previous year.

"There is a movement toward it, but it's gaining traction very slowly," said Jim Ford, vice president of operations at Neptune Society, the largest cremation-only funeral company in the United States. The firm also offers green burials at sea on a reef off Miami.

At Prairie Creek, there have been 43 whole body natural burials, 14 cremated remains burials and 10 pet burials since it opened in late July of 2010, with another 197 future burial bookings.

"It's so much more natural and simple," said David Gold, 64, a dental hygienist who plans to be buried at Prairie Creek. "It's harmonious. It puts things (funeral plans) back in people's control."

Freddie Johnson, the executive director of Conservation Burial, the non-profit organization that runs Prairie Creek, says he has noticed an increase in interest.

"The biggest hurdle is getting the awareness of these choices and having choices in the proximity of where people are," he said.

People who choose green burials don't use concrete vaults, traditional coffins with metalwork or any embalming chemicals. Instead, the body is wrapped in biodegradable shrouds or placed in a pine coffin and laid to rest where it can decompose and become part of the earth.

Other options are available for green caskets, often called ecoffins. These coffins can be made of bamboo, pine, woven willow, recycled cardboard and even cord from dried banana plants. They range in cost from $500 to $1,000, depending on the material.

It is estimated that more than 60,000 tons of steel and 4.8 million gallons of embalming fluid are buried each year. That is enough steel to build eight Eiffel Towers and fill eight Olympic size swimming pools, according to Mary Woodsen, a science researcher and writer for Cornell University and research director for the GBC.

At a half-dozen fully certified "conservation cemeteries" around the country, the GBC performs ecological surveys of the grounds and sets rules that include hand-digging the grave site, markers, replacement of the same soil removed and no vault or cement grave liners. Only biodegradable material is allowed to be buried with the body.

"Even the grave sites themselves have no conventional memorial stones," said Johnson. "What you see is nature."

Green burials can be less expensive than conventional funerals, where costs can run between $6,000 and $10,000, because they do not incur the costs of embalming and metal caskets.

But a green burial is still a more expensive option than cremation, which remains the fastest-growing funeral preference. In 2011, cremation was chosen instead of burial in 42 percent of U.S. deaths, up from 30 percent in 2003, according to the Cremation Association of North America. It predicts the cremation rate will jump to nearly 56 percent by 2025.

In a green burial ceremony at Prairie Creek, Johnson attends to every detail to ensure it is environmentally friendly. From removing all non-biodegradable objects to placing a branch in an open grave site to allow critters an escape before the soil is replanted, the result is a cemetery that resembles a typical Florida hiking trail more than a final resting place.

At the Fitzgerald burial, the family asked the funeral director to place the ashes of their deceased son, Kyle, in the pillow that was to be buried with his father.

"There is a real sense that 'from dust you were made, from dust you will return,'" said Michael Fitzgerald, Joseph's brother.

Fitzgerald chose to be buried in a University of Michigan shroud, a final gesture to his devotion to all things Michigan football, which began after his father took him to his first game when he was in middle school.

After friends and family members shared memories, they said their final goodbyes with shovel in hand, replacing the dirt that was recently removed and creating a mound that will, over time, settle back to its original form.

(Additional reporting by David Adams; Editing by David Adams, Arlene Getz and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eco-friendly-green-burials-catching-u-110359493.html

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