Egypt's Islamic authority asserts role, clashes with Brotherhood

By Tom Perry

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's leading Islamic authority Al-Azhar said on Thursday its clerics must be consulted on a law allowing the state to issue Islamic bonds, setting it at odds with the Muslim Brotherhood which drove the legislation through parliament last week.

It marks the first time Al-Azhar, a thousand-year-old seat of Islamic learning, has said its Senior Scholars Authority should be consulted on issues pertaining to Islamic law as set out in Egypt's new, Islamist-tinged constitution.

Al-Azhar's intervention could set a precedent for clerical oversight of other affairs of state. The Salafi Nour Party has said Al-Azhar must also approve an agreement Egypt is seeking with the International Monetary Fund because it includes a loan upon which Egypt will pay interest.

The Islamic bond, or sukuk law, will allow Egypt to issue debt compliant with Islamic principles, allowing the state to tap a new area of finance as President Mohamed Mursi's administration grapples with an unaffordable budget deficit.

The sukuk law has been a source of friction between the Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party leads the upper house of parliament, and more hardline Islamists who say it should first have been approved by Al-Azhar.

At a meeting on Thursday, Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Institute chaired by Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb said it shared the view that the law should have been referred to the Senior Scholars Authority, in line with the new constitution.

"The Institute is of the opinion that the draft should have been referred to the Senior Scholars Authority for discussion and so it could give its legal opinion, in line with its duty," it said in a statement.

It criticized the law approved by parliament last week, saying it empowered the prime minister to form the body entrusted with issuing the Islamic bonds. It said this "disregarded the Senior Scholars Authority of the noble Azhar".

The Nour Party, a hardline Salafi group, had demanded the upper house of parliament refer the law to Al-Azhar before MPs voted on it. But the FJP used its majority to pass the law despite a fierce row with Nour Party members during the session.

The law must now be ratified by Mursi.

Abdullah Badran, head of the Nour Party's parliamentary bloc, said in a phone interview the group was now urging Mursi not to ratify the law without first presenting it to the Senior Scholars Authority for review.

The Nour Party believes Al-Azhar must sign off on a deal Egypt is seeking with the IMF because it includes a $4.8 billion loan on which Egypt will pay interest. The payment of interest is deemed as impermissible in Islam.

Al-Azhar's role in affairs of state is embedded in article four of the new constitution. It says the Senior Scholars Authority must be consulted on all matters pertaining to sharia.

It does not, however, say whether Al-Azhar's view is binding on the government, nor does it make clear the scope of Al-Azhar's role - ambiguity which critics say will cause future political and legal conflict.

(Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-islamic-authority-asserts-role-clashes-brotherhood-182832920--sector.html

jason smith jon corzine austin rivers austin rivers sweet home alabama etch a sketch the host

Lockheed Martin's technology hub brings startups closer to government needs

Wondering who would be the first to concoct a Kickstarter for governmental wishes? We suppose it's Lockheed Martin. Today, the aforementioned outfit has launched an initiative "aimed at expanding its collaboration with Silicon Valley companies to meet the diverse technology needs of the federal government." Called the Lockheed Martin Silicon Valley Alliance, the hub will reportedly "provide the federal government with greater visibility into innovative technology solutions developed locally," even going so far as to suggest that a game developer could use their resources in order to improve the realism of a military simulation system. It sounds as if Lockheed will end up being the middleman between aspiring companies and entities like the Department of Defense and NASA, essentially ensuring that whatever is built meets federal requirements. Those interested in venturing down such a rabbit hole can give the source link a look, but as always, we'd caution you to register at your own risk.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Comments

Source: Lockheed Martin

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/uzVIE449n-M/

oscar winners 2012 billy crystal oscars 2012 angelina jolie oscars chardon high school christopher plummer viola davis school shooting in ohio

Genes and Early Wheezing Tied to Childhood Asthma Risk - Health ...

March 27, 2013

WEDNESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) ? Certain genetic factors and wheezing early in life are associated with a greatly increased risk of asthma in children, a new study says.

Researchers examined data from nearly 500 children and found that about 90 percent of those who had two copies of a common genetic variation and who also experienced wheezing when they had a cold early in life developed asthma by age 6.

These children, all from families with a history of asthma or allergies, were nearly four times more likely to develop asthma than those who did not have the genetic variation and did not wheeze, according the study in the March 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The genetic variation is found on chromosome 17 and is common. Half of the children in the study had one copy and 25 percent had two copies. The researchers also noted that colds are extremely common and affect nearly all infants.

The increased risk is associated with wheezing during colds caused by a human rhinovirus infection, the University of Chicago Medical Center researchers said.

?We found that the interaction between this specific wheezing illness and a gene or genes on a region of chromosome 17 determines childhood asthma risk,? study author Carole Ober, a professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, said in a medical center news release. ?The combination of genetic predisposition and the child?s response to this infection has a huge effect.?

The researchers said it is not clear how this gene variation and wheezing interact to increase the risk of developing asthma. It also should be noted that the research showed only an association between them, and not a cause-and-effect relationship.

About 25 percent of children who had no wheezing from a human rhinovirus infection developed asthma, and 40 percent of those who experienced wheezing in the first three years of life but lacked the risk-related gene variants developed asthma.

That rose to nearly 60 percent among those with one copy of the gene variant and to 90 percent for those with two copies.

More information

The American Lung Association has more about children and asthma.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/03/27/genes-and-early-wheezing-tied-to-childhood-asthma-risk/

eric holder eric holder carole king crystal renn matilda cab calloway melissa gilbert

U.S. cancer survival rates on the rise ? CNN Newsroom - CNN.com ...

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Source: http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/27/u-s-cancer-survival-rates-on-the-rise/

obamacare Todd Akin Register To Vote Fox News Live Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012 Election Coverage 2012

Senators working on immigration bill visit border patrol

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/gang-8-senators-tour-arizona-see-border-patrol-photo-014813951.html

Mlk Quotes Elder Scrolls Online joe biden michelle obama lupe fiasco jason wu jason wu

New pope opens Holy Week at Vatican on Palm Sunday

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Francis celebrated his first Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, encouraging people to be humble and young at heart and promising to go to a youth jamboree in Brazil in July, while the faithful enthusiastically waved olive branches and braided palm fronds.

The square overflowed with a crowd estimated by the Vatican at 250,000 people. Pilgrims, tourists and Romans jostled each other in an eager effort glimpse Francis as they joined the new pope at the start of solemn Holy Week ceremonies, which lead up to Easter, Christianity's most important day.

Keeping with his spontaneous style, the first pope from Latin America broke away several times from the text of his prepared homily to encourage the faithful to lead simple lives and resist the temptation to be sad when life's obstacles inevitably come their way.

"Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope! Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope!" Francis told the crowd, in an apparent reference to the economic difficulties people are grappling with as they try to find adequate work amid a poor job market in much of the world.

At the end of the two-hour Mass, Francis took off his red vestments, and wearing his plain white cassock and skull cap, climbed into an open-topped popemobile to circle through the excited crowd. He leaned out to shake hands, kissed and patted the heads of infants passed to him by bodyguards, and often gave children the thumbs-up sign.

His security detail seemed to be reluctantly dealing with this get-close-to-the-people pontiff, scrambling around the vehicle to pick up this child or that one. At one point, the chief bodyguard, Domenico Giani, was sent back to the mother of a child he had greeted to convey a message from the pontiff, and the ever-tense Giani broke into a smile after his mission was accomplished.

Francis even climbed down from the vehicle, kissed a woman in the crowd and chatted briefly with her, and another man in the crowd leaned over a barrier to squeeze the pontiff on a shoulder ? an unheard of familiarity in the previous pontificate of the reserved Benedict XVI.

In keeping with his stress on giving examples of humility, Francis kissed the hand of an elderly woman who had outstretched an arm to him.

"There is no doubt that there will be a new spring for the church, a renewal" with this pope, said Sister Emma, an Argentine nun in the crowd.

Palm Sunday recalls Jesus' entry into Jerusalem but its Gospel also recounts how he was betrayed by one of his apostles and ultimately sentenced to death on a cross.

Francis presided over the Mass at an altar sheltered by a white canopy on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.

Recalling the triumphant welcome into Jerusalem, Francis said Jesus "awakened so many hopes in the heart, above all among humble, simple, poor, forgotten people, those who don't matter in the eyes of the world."

Cardinals, many of them among the electors who chose him to be the Roman Catholic church's first Latin American pope, sat on chairs during the ceremony held under hazy skies on a breezy day. He quoted from Benedict when he told the cardinals that while they are "princes" of the church, their leader is the crucified Christ, a further admonition against attachment to temporal power.

The pope ticked off a litany of evils afflicting the world, including wars, "economic conflicts that hit the weakest" as well as corruption. In the final stretch of Benedict's papacy, the Vatican was embarrassed by a leak of documents from the papal apartment, indicating corruption, ambition and rivalries among upper ranks of the Holy See's management.

Francis told an off-the-cuff story from his childhood in Argentina. "My grandmother used to tell us children, 'burial shrouds don't have' pockets," the pope said, in a variation of "you can't take it with you."

Since his election on March 13, Francis has put the downtrodden and poor at the center of his mission as pope, keeping with the priorities of his Jesuit tradition.

In his homily, Francis said Christian joy "isn't born from possessing a lot of things but from having met" Jesus. That same joy should keep people young, he said.

"Even at 70, 80, the heart doesn't age" if one is inspired by Christian joy, said the 76-year-old pontiff.

The pontiff said he was joyfully looking forward to welcoming young people to Rio de Janiero for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day. So far, that is the first foreign trip on the calendar of Francis' new papacy. "I'm coming in July," Francis said in remarks after Mass from the esplanade of the basilica.

During Mass, at the point when the Gospel recounts the moment of Jesus' death, many faithful knelt on hard cobblestones paving the square, and Francis knelt on a wooden kneeler.

A few young olive trees were inserted in dirt placed around the central obelisk in the square.

Holy Week will see at least one break from tradition with this new papacy. Instead of washing priests' feet in a basilica in a symbolic gesture of humility on Holy Thursday, Francis will wash the feet of young inmates at a juvenile detention center in Rome. Other appointments in public will include the Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday night. Next Sunday, Francis will celebrate Easter Mass in the square.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-opens-holy-week-vatican-palm-sunday-092522798.html

katy perry part of me video photoshop cs6 beta cate blanchett nfl news tebow tebow jets romney etch a sketch

Founder of Free Syrian Army loses leg in bomb blast

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? A rebel military leader who was among the first to call openly for armed insurrection against President Bashar Assad was wounded by a bomb planted in his car in eastern Syria, anti-regime activists said Monday.

Col. Riad al-Asaad, leader of a now-sidelined rebel umbrella group known as the Free Syrian Army, had his right foot amputated following the blast late on Sunday, according to an activist in the town of Mayadeen where the attack took place.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the attack, saying some said al-Asaad had been killed while others said he lost a leg.

Calls to al-Asaad's cell phone went unanswered, and one of his aides reached in Turkey said he had no details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Al-Asaad, a former colonel in the Syrian air force who defected and fled to Turkey in 2011, became the head of the Free Syrian Army, a group of army defectors who were among the first to declare armed struggle the only way to topple the regime.

"They will soon discover that armed rebellion is the only way to break the Syrian regime," al-Asaad told The Associated Press in October 2011, soon after his group was formed.

At the time, most Syrian activists were inspired by the uprisings that had successfully toppled dictators in Tunisia and Egypt and thought popular protests would bring about the same result in Syria. But the Syrian government's vast, violent crackdown on opposition caused many to resort to arms.

Today, hundreds of independent rebel groups are fighting a civil war against Assad's forces across the country and many activists no longer bother to stage unarmed protests. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since the first protests in March, 2011.

During that transition, al-Asaad, who spent most of his time in a refugee camp in Turkey, never managed to build effective links with most rebel groups or provide the support that would have made them recognize him as their leader. While most fighters in Syria refer to themselves as part of the "Free Army," those who say they follow al-Asaad are rare.

More recently, al-Asaad's group has been superseded by the Office of the Chiefs of Staff, which is associated with the opposition Syrian National Coalition and led by Gen. Salim Idris. That body, too, has failed to project widespread authority inside Syria, where most groups still cobble together their own funding and arms.

The Mayadeen activist said via Skype that a bomb planted in the seat of the car al-Asaad was riding in blew up as he toured the town.

The activist said rebels now control the town and most of the surrounding areas, although President Assad still has supporters, whom the activist blamed for the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety.

Al-Asaad was traveling with an aide and a local activist, Barakat al-Haweish, both of whom were slightly injured, the activist said. Al-Asaad was taken to a local field hospital, where doctors amputated his right foot before transporting him to Turkey.

Also Monday, the opposition's exile political leadership, the Syrian National Coalition, said a delegation was heading to Doha, where the Gulf state of Qatar will host a two-day Arab League summit starting Tuesday.

Foreign ministers of the League's member states decided Monday to grant Syria's seat in the body to the opposition. The Syria government's membership was suspended earlier in the uprising.

Heading the delegation is Mouaz al-Khatib, the Coalition said in a statement on its Facebook page. He is going despite having resigned his position as Coalition leader on Sunday, citing restriction on his work inside the group and frustration with the level of international aid for the opposition.

Al-Khatib, a respected Muslim preacher before being chosen last year to head the Coalition, said in a post on his own Facebook page that he would address the summit "in the name of the Syrian people." He said the move had nothing to do with his resignation, "which will be discussed later."

The Coalition refused his resignation and has asked him to keep his job.

Also in the delegation is Ghassan Hitto, whom the coalition elected last week to head a planned interim government to govern rebel-held areas.

In Damascus, a series of mortar strikes near a downtown traffic circle on Monday killed one person and wounded several others, the government-run Ikhbariyeh TV station reported.

Umayyad Square, at the center of a large intersection west of downtown, sits near the government TV headquarters, the Sheraton hotel and a number of faculties of the University of Damascus.

Syria's state news agency reported no dead and at least six wounded in the strikes, which it said hit near the Opera House.

It was unclear who was behind that attack as well, reflecting the often chaotic nature of Syria's two-year-old civil war pitting hundreds of independent rebel groups against the forces of Assad. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with political protests in March, 2011.

Such sporadic strikes on Damascus have grown more common in recent weeks and often appear to target government buildings. Most cause only material damage, but spread fear in Damascus that the capital, which has so far managed to avoid the widespread clashes that have destroyed other cities, could soon face the same fate.

Damascus residents reported hearing intensive shelling on Monday, though it was hard to tell where it was coming from.

____

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed reporting from Damascus, Syria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-activists-senior-rebel-leader-wounded-084932608.html

brian dunn vin scully petrino fired george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd sherri shepherd

Rove sees potential support for gay marriage (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294278877?client_source=feed&format=rss

Mayans camilla belle Robert Bork instagram mark sanchez christina aguilera Mayan End Of The World

Senate Gang of 8 close on immigration deal

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A bipartisan group of senators is nearing agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill that would put illegal immigrants on a 13-year path to citizenship, officials with outside groups keeping up with the talks said Thursday.

The legislation also would install new criteria for border security, allow more high- and low-skilled workers to come to the U.S. and hold businesses to tougher standards on verifying their workers are in the country legally, according to outside groups and lawmakers involved. Together, the measures represent the most sweeping changes in immigration law in decades.

The senators in the so-called Gang of Eight were meeting for hours at a time daily this week trying to complete a deal. There were still big disagreements on some issues, but they hoped to resolve most of them before Congress began a two-week recess at week's end. That would allow them to meet a self-imposed deadline to present their legislation next month.

"About 90 percent of the issues, including the path to citizenship, are settled," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Hispanic media Thursday, according to his office. He said he was putting "more time into this than any other single issue."

The group was under pressure to speed up its work. Protesters converged Thursday on Schumer's office to accuse him of breaking his initial promise to have the bill done in March. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., whose panel would take up the legislation, complained this week that the group was taking too long. As a result, Leahy said, his committee won't be able to complete writing the bill itself in April, as he had hoped.

Several officials with outside groups said the biggest remaining areas of disagreement dealt with legal rather than illegal immigration. Top among them was a proposed program to bring in tens of thousands of new immigrants to fill low-skilled jobs. It had been the subject of difficult negotiations between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO.

The two sides made substantial progress, including agreeing on a cap of 200,000 visas in the new program, but they continued to disagree on wages for the new workers, according to one official. Senators were mediating offers and counteroffers.

The officials described the status of the discussions on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about them.

As senators struggled with the legal immigration question, Schumer and others said consensus had formed on details of a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, even though that issue tended to cause the most public consternation.

The new bill would contemplate a 10-year wait for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. before they could get a green card allowing them permanent residency, senators have said. During that time they would be in a provisional legal status and would not have to return to their home countries as current law requires.

Once they got the green card, they would have to wait three years to be able to apply for citizenship, compared to the five-year wait that most green-card holders currently have to abide, outside officials say they've been told. The new three-year wait was first reported by The New York Times.

That added up to 13 years, which would put the Senate bill in line with immigration legislation drafted by President Barack Obama, which he has said he would offer only if the Gang of Eight process stalls.

There's also said to be substantial consensus among the senators on border security issues. The bill would require that the border be secured before illegal immigrants could embark on the path to citizenship and would put in place new border security criteria including a commission of border state officials to advise on the issue. The border security piece was critical to support from Republicans in the group including John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida.

The bill will be lengthy and cover numerous other thorny issues, including mandating a currently voluntary program called E-Verify that helps businesses check their workers' papers, as much as doubling visas that go to high-tech workers, and limiting family-based immigration to put a greater emphasis on skills and employment ties instead.

So far pro-immigrant groups have often been more visible in public than opponents of the bill, but that could change once it becomes public next month. A fierce backlash helped sink the last attempt at reform in 2007, and the unveiling of the bill will open volatile months of debate and votes in the Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor over the spring and summer, with success far from assured. The House also must act before the legislation could become law, and prospects there were cloudier still.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-gang-8-close-immigration-deal-221814441--politics.html

jeremy lin game winner chocolate covered strawberries shrimp scampi kate upton si cover lobster recipes hearts roses

Rewriting Biblical history? Agriculture might be 5,000 years older than believed.

A new find suggests farmers in Bible lands built channels for irrigation long before historians thought they did, allowing for cultivated vineyards, olives, wheat and barley.

By Douglas Main,?LiveScience.com / March 20, 2013

By using walls to channelize and collect floodwaters, ancient farmers made the most of scant rainfall to grow crops in the desert. These techniques are still used today, like in this field outside the old city of Avdat, Israel.

Douglas Main / LiveScience.com

Enlarge

For thousands of years, different groups of people have lived in the Negev desert, building stone walls and cities that survive to this day. But how did they make their living?

Skip to next paragraph

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

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

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

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

The current thinking is that these desert denizens didn't practice agriculture before approximately the first century, surviving instead by raising animals, said Hendrik Bruins, a landscape archaeologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

But new research suggests people in this area, the Negev highlands, practiced agriculture as long ago as 5000 B.C., Bruins told LiveScience. If true, the finding could change historians' views of the area's inhabitants, who lived in the region in biblical times and even before, he added.

A great surprise

Bruins' findings come from radiocarbon dating of bones and organic materials in various soil layers in an ancient field in southern Israel. He measured the ratio of carbon isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons), which changes as the radioactive carbon-14 isotope breaks down over time, while the stable carbon-12 does not. Within the soil, he found evidence of past cultivation, including animal manure and charred organic material (likely burnt kitchen scraps), both of which have been used as fertilizer around the world for millennia, he said. (Carbon dating has been used to date famous objects, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls).?

"I found a wonderful radiocarbon sequence of ages," Bruins said. "And it was for me a great surprise."

He found three distinct layers in the earth indicating that the field had been cultivated, corresponding to three different periods of activity, with long gaps in between. The first one dated from 5000 B.C. to 4500 B.C., followed by another from 1600 B.C. to 950 B.C. and a final layer dating from A.D. 650 to A.D. 950.

The first group of people that farmed here has no current known name, he said, but developed flint tools that have been found throughout the region.

The Exodus

The second period of agriculture, from 1600 B.C. to 950 B.C., corresponds to the time in which the Jews made their way from Egypt to modern-day Israel, according to Exodus and other books of the Bible, Bruins said.

The site where Bruins conducted his research, south of Beersheba, is likely to the south and east of where historians place the Israelites during this time period, he said. But it could possibly have been home to tribes associated with the Amalekites, a group living in the area at the time that was hostile to the Israelites, Bruins said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/t9FSk-_XTPo/Rewriting-Biblical-history-Agriculture-might-be-5-000-years-older-than-believed

nemo Nemo Storm redbox weather forecast national weather service weather channel Rivals

The Weinstein Company acquires Yves Saint Laurent biopic

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The Weinstein Company has acquired domestic distribution rights to "Yves Saint Laurent," a French language biopic about the legendary fashion designer, the company announced on Tuesday.

Jalil Lespert will direct the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Marrie-Pierre Huster. Pierre Niney will star as Saint Laurent while Guillaume Gallienne will play Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's former lover who co-founded the fashion house with him.

The film begins in January 1958 when the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was appointed to run Christian Dior's fashion house. He then met Berge with whom he created the Yves Saint Laurent Company a few years later. Their relationship has already been the subject of a documentary made by Pierre Thoretton.

"YSL's story is a ?bigger than life' type of story," Lespert said in a statement. "It is also one of the few subjects which is ?so French' and, at the same time, internationally appealing. I'm very proud to see my film brought to American audiences by TWC, who are the best possible partners, and so happy to work with Harvey Weinstein who has shown over the years his profound love for French cinema."

TWC's David Glasser and Michal Steinberg negotiated the deal with Lionel Uzan of SND Groupe M6 and Nigel Pearson of Loeb & Loeb, who were representing the filmmakers.

Uzan and Pearson have already sold the distribution rights in several territories, including the UK, Russia and Scandinavia.

Bertrand Bonello is working on another biopic of Saint Laurent starring Gaspard Ulliel and Jeremie Renier, but the two projects are otherwise unrelated.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weinstein-company-acquires-yves-saint-laurent-biopic-010857785.html

orange bowl Rose Parade 2013 rex ryan PNC Bank Louisville football Fidelity pnc

Robots to spur economy, improve quality of life, keep responders safe

Public release date: 20-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Liz Klipp
klipp@gatech.edu
404-894-6016
Georgia Institute of Technology

A new roadmap for robotics presented to Congress today

Robots are being used more widely than expected in a variety of sectors, and the trend is likely to continue with robotics becoming as ubiquitous as computer technology over the next 15 years.

That is the message Henrik Christensen, Georgia Tech's KUKA Chair of Robotics in the College of Computing, will bring to the Congressional Robotics Caucus on March 20 as he presents "A Roadmap for U.S. Robotics: From Internet to Robotics - 2013 Edition."

The report, which outlines the progress of robots in multiple industries over the last five years and identifies goals for the coming decade, highlights robotics as a key economic enabler with the potential to transform U.S. society.

"Robots have the potential to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., to improve our quality of life and to make sure our first responders and warfighters stay safe," said Christensen, who is also the coordinator of Robotics VO, sponsor of the report. "We need to address the technical and educational needs so we can continue to be leaders in developing and using robotic technology."

A group of more than 160 experts from universities, industry and government came together for five workshops over the last year to fully evaluate the use of robotics across various applications and create a roadmap to the future. Christensen is presenting that report to lawmakers as a guide on how to allocate resources to maximize progress.

Most notably, the group found using robots in manufacturing could help generate production systems that are economically competitive to outsourcing to countries with lower wages.

Companies such as Apple, Lenovo, Samsung and Foxconn already have begun to "reshore" manufacturing by using robotics in production systems. The sale of robotics in manufacturing grew by 44 percent in 2011 as robots have become cheaper and safer. The use of robots is shifting from big companies such as General Motors, Ford, Boeing and Lockheed Martin to small and medium-sized enterprises to enable burst manufacturing for one-off products, the report found.

Christensen notes that automation in manufacturing will not lead to job losses for U.S. workers, but will create new high-value jobs.

"Some jobs will be eliminated, but they are the 'dirty, dull and dangerous' jobs," Christensen said. "Those jobs will be replaced with skilled labor positions. That's why one of the goals in the roadmap is to educate the workforce."

In addition to manufacturing, robots are helping businesses such as Amazon improve logistics and reduce delivery costs, a savings that could be passed on to the consumer. In agriculture, robots are being used to precisely deliver pesticide onto crops, reducing unnecessary exposure of chemicals on produce. The report recommends continued progress in both areas.

With advances in human-like manipulation, robots are increasingly assisting individuals with disabilities with tasks such as getting out and preparing meals. They are also being used in 40 percent more medical procedures than a few years ago and in a greater number of surgical areas such as cardiothoracic, gynecology, urology, orthopedics and neurology. The use of robots for surgery can reduce complications by 80 percent, the report found.

Robots have proven their value in removing first-responders and soldiers from immediate danger. More than 25,000 robotic systems were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan for ground and aerial missions. More than 50 percent of pilots in the U.S. Air Force operate remotely piloted systems and never leave the ground.

Also robots are becoming an integral part of space exploration, such as the Opportunity and Curiosity on Mars rovers. A "robonaut" is on the International Space Station helping with menial but important research tasks.

As impressive as the progress in robotics has been, the report outlines five-, 10- and 15-year goals to take robotics to the next level. Critical capabilities that should be developed for robotics include 3-D perception, intuitive human-robot interaction and safe robot behavior.

The report is an update of the initial robotics roadmap, which was published and presented to Congress in May 2009. That roadmap led to the creation of the National Robotics Initiative, an effort jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Institutes of Health. It also established Robotics VO, an umbrella organization that brings all robotics players together to focus on joint initiatives.

"Robotics is one of a few technologies capable of building new companies, creating new jobs and addressing a number of issues of national importance," said Christensen. "We hope this report will help foster the discussion on how we can build partnerships and allocate resources to move the robotics industry forward."

###

Here is the link to the full report: http://robotics-vo.us/sites/default/files/2013%20Robotics%20Roadmap-rs.pdf

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 20-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Liz Klipp
klipp@gatech.edu
404-894-6016
Georgia Institute of Technology

A new roadmap for robotics presented to Congress today

Robots are being used more widely than expected in a variety of sectors, and the trend is likely to continue with robotics becoming as ubiquitous as computer technology over the next 15 years.

That is the message Henrik Christensen, Georgia Tech's KUKA Chair of Robotics in the College of Computing, will bring to the Congressional Robotics Caucus on March 20 as he presents "A Roadmap for U.S. Robotics: From Internet to Robotics - 2013 Edition."

The report, which outlines the progress of robots in multiple industries over the last five years and identifies goals for the coming decade, highlights robotics as a key economic enabler with the potential to transform U.S. society.

"Robots have the potential to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., to improve our quality of life and to make sure our first responders and warfighters stay safe," said Christensen, who is also the coordinator of Robotics VO, sponsor of the report. "We need to address the technical and educational needs so we can continue to be leaders in developing and using robotic technology."

A group of more than 160 experts from universities, industry and government came together for five workshops over the last year to fully evaluate the use of robotics across various applications and create a roadmap to the future. Christensen is presenting that report to lawmakers as a guide on how to allocate resources to maximize progress.

Most notably, the group found using robots in manufacturing could help generate production systems that are economically competitive to outsourcing to countries with lower wages.

Companies such as Apple, Lenovo, Samsung and Foxconn already have begun to "reshore" manufacturing by using robotics in production systems. The sale of robotics in manufacturing grew by 44 percent in 2011 as robots have become cheaper and safer. The use of robots is shifting from big companies such as General Motors, Ford, Boeing and Lockheed Martin to small and medium-sized enterprises to enable burst manufacturing for one-off products, the report found.

Christensen notes that automation in manufacturing will not lead to job losses for U.S. workers, but will create new high-value jobs.

"Some jobs will be eliminated, but they are the 'dirty, dull and dangerous' jobs," Christensen said. "Those jobs will be replaced with skilled labor positions. That's why one of the goals in the roadmap is to educate the workforce."

In addition to manufacturing, robots are helping businesses such as Amazon improve logistics and reduce delivery costs, a savings that could be passed on to the consumer. In agriculture, robots are being used to precisely deliver pesticide onto crops, reducing unnecessary exposure of chemicals on produce. The report recommends continued progress in both areas.

With advances in human-like manipulation, robots are increasingly assisting individuals with disabilities with tasks such as getting out and preparing meals. They are also being used in 40 percent more medical procedures than a few years ago and in a greater number of surgical areas such as cardiothoracic, gynecology, urology, orthopedics and neurology. The use of robots for surgery can reduce complications by 80 percent, the report found.

Robots have proven their value in removing first-responders and soldiers from immediate danger. More than 25,000 robotic systems were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan for ground and aerial missions. More than 50 percent of pilots in the U.S. Air Force operate remotely piloted systems and never leave the ground.

Also robots are becoming an integral part of space exploration, such as the Opportunity and Curiosity on Mars rovers. A "robonaut" is on the International Space Station helping with menial but important research tasks.

As impressive as the progress in robotics has been, the report outlines five-, 10- and 15-year goals to take robotics to the next level. Critical capabilities that should be developed for robotics include 3-D perception, intuitive human-robot interaction and safe robot behavior.

The report is an update of the initial robotics roadmap, which was published and presented to Congress in May 2009. That roadmap led to the creation of the National Robotics Initiative, an effort jointly sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Institutes of Health. It also established Robotics VO, an umbrella organization that brings all robotics players together to focus on joint initiatives.

"Robotics is one of a few technologies capable of building new companies, creating new jobs and addressing a number of issues of national importance," said Christensen. "We hope this report will help foster the discussion on how we can build partnerships and allocate resources to move the robotics industry forward."

###

Here is the link to the full report: http://robotics-vo.us/sites/default/files/2013%20Robotics%20Roadmap-rs.pdf

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/giot-rts032013.php

marbury v. madison 2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles one tree hill projectglass

Global rise in type 1 diabetes may be linked to reduced exposure to pathogens in early life

Mar. 19, 2013 ? Countries with lower mortality from infectious disease exhibit higher rates of type 1 diabetes, according to a new study by Dr. A. Abela and Professor S. Fava of the University of Malta. The findings, collating data from three major international studies and presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Harrogate UK, suggest that the as yet unexplained global rise in type 1 diabetes may be linked to reduced exposure to pathogens in early life.

Type 1 diabetes is caused when the immune system destroys the cells of the pancreas that release insulin, leaving the patient unable to control his own blood sugar. It is estimated to affect around half a million children worldwide, increasing in incidence by an estimated 3% every year. This increase is well documented and is linked to the developed world, but is so far unexplained -- various theories put forward include the 'hygiene hypothesis', which suggests that encounters between the developing immune system and micro-organisms such as bacteria and parasites are part of human evolution and may therefore protect against the development of auto-immunity.

The researchers investigated whether markers of infectious disease burden could be linked to the local incidence of type 1 diabetes. They used data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) DiaMond Project, WHO global burden of disease: 2004 update, and the Alexander Project, to correlate type 1 diabetes incidence by country with mortality from infectious disease and bacterial antibiotic susceptibility (which indicates antibiotic use and thus exposure to bacterial infection).

Type 1 diabetes rates were highest in countries with low mortality from infectious disease. This was true for total mortality from infectious disease (r=-0.35, p=0.008), as well as deaths caused specifically by diarrhea, respiratory disease, tuberculosis, and infections and parasitic disease (all p<0.05). They also found type 1 diabetes rates are significantly associated with the local susceptibility of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae to all antibiotics studied.

This study suggests that there may be an association between type 1 diabetes rates and infectious disease burden. It is possible that the increasing global incidence of type 1 diabetes may be linked to lack of exposure to pathogens during early life. Whilst the data provide support for the hygiene hypothesis they do not prove it: the rise in type 1 diabetes rates is a complex problem and this study is of association only. Other potential contributing factors may show a similar geographical variation to infectious disease burden, as this is linked to the developed world. The authors are keen to use further studies to identify other environmental factors which may predispose to type 1 diabetes.

Study leader Professor Stephen Fava, Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta & Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Malta, said:

"The global rise in type 1 diabetes is an unexplained phenomenon. Many suggest that the exposure, or rather the lack of exposure, to infectious disease when young might be linked to the development of autoimmunity.

"Our data show that type 1 diabetes rates were highest in countries where markers of exposure to infectious disease were lowest. Incidence of type 1 diabetes was significantly linked to mortality from a variety of infectious diseases and to the local susceptibility of a common bacterium to antibiotics.

"These data provide support for the notion that the immune system can somehow become disordered and attack the body's own cells if it is not trained by regular exposure to micro-organisms -- the so called hygiene hypothesis. More research is needed to try to identify other environmental factors that may be linked to the continuing conundrum of rising type 1 diabetes rates."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Endocrinology, via AlphaGalileo.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Alexia-Giovanna Abela, Stephen Fava. Association of the incidence of type 1 diabetes with markers of infection and antibiotic susceptibility at country level. Endocrine Abstracts, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.31.P223

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/uvas5-Loy9c/130318203334.htm

chevy volt christina hendricks lifelock camp david hawaii weather the jerk lake havasu

Venezuela investigats Chavez cancer poisoning claim

By Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will set up a formal inquiry into claims that deceased President Hugo Chavez's cancer was the result of poisoning by his enemies abroad, the government said.

Foes of the government view the accusation as a typical Chavez-style conspiracy theory intended to feed fears of "imperialist" threats to Venezuela's socialist system and distract people from daily problems.

Acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed to open an investigation into the claims, first raised by Chavez after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2011.

"We will seek the truth," Maduro told regional TV network Telesur. "We have the intuition that our commander Chavez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted him out of the way."

Foreign scientists will be invited to join a state committee to probe the accusation, he said.

Maduro, 50, is Chavez's handpicked successor and is running as the government's candidate in a snap presidential election on April 14 that was triggered by the president's death last week.

He is trying to keep voters' attention firmly focused on Chavez to benefit from the outpouring of grief among his millions of supporters. The opposition is centering its campaign on portraying Maduro, a former bus driver, as an incompetent who, they say, is exploiting Chavez's demise.

"Let's take the president (Chavez) away from the political debate, out of respect for his memory, his family, his supporters," opposition candidate Henrique Capriles' campaign chief Henri Falcon told reporters.

Polls from before Chavez's death gave Maduro a lead over Capriles of more than 10 percentage points. Capriles lost to Chavez by 11 percentage points in October.

Capriles has tried to jump-start his campaign with accusations that Maduro and other senior officials lied about the details of Chavez's illness, hiding the gravity of his condition from Venezuelans.

That sparked a torrent of attacks, with senior government officials using words like "Nazi" and "fascist" to describe Capriles, who has Jewish ancestors.

In a televised message, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read a letter to the "sick opposition" from the late president's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, who has at times been viewed as a possible future successor.

"Stop playing with the pain of a nation and a devastated family," she wrote. "It is unfair, inhuman, unacceptable that they now say we were lying about the date of his (death) ... Focus on politics, don't play dirty."

Capriles was quick to respond with a flurry of tweets.

"Never, in all these years, have I offended the president or his family. If one word has been taken thus by his family, I'm sorry," he wrote on Twitter.

"I don't offend families as they have mine. They have even called me a Nazi, when my great-grandparents were murdered in a Nazi concentration camp," he added, referring to the government.

ACCUSATIONS FLYING

In an increasingly acrimonious campaign, both sides on Tuesday accused each other of planning violence.

The opposition displayed photos circulating on the Internet showing an assault rifle and a pistol being held up to a TV screen that was broadcasting Capriles' face.

They also said there were indications of plans to attack Capriles when he was scheduled to register his candidacy on Monday. In the end, aides went instead.

Government spokesmen repeated accusations that opposition activists planned to disrupt Maduro's campaign.

Trying to discredit Capriles, they waved photos of a plush New York apartment they said belonged to him, and displayed copies of university documents that they said showed he never completed a law degree.

Capriles, a 40-year-old, business-friendly regional governor running for the opposition's Democratic Unity coalition, is trying to disassociate Maduro from Chavez in voters' minds.

"He's attacking Nicolas Maduro, saying Nicolas is not Chavez," senior Socialist Party official and Maduro's campaign chief Jorge Rodriguez said.

"Of course Nicolas isn't Chavez. But he is his faithful, responsible, revolutionary son. All these insults and vilification are going to be turned into votes for us," he said.

Tuesday was the last day of official mourning for Chavez, although ceremonies appear set to continue. His embalmed body was to be taken in procession to a military museum on Friday.

Millions have filed past Chavez's coffin to pay homage to a man who was adored by many of the poor for his humble roots and welfare policies, but was also hated by many people for his authoritarian style and bullying of opponents.

Though Maduro has spoken about combating crime and extending development programs in the slums, he has mostly used his frequent appearances on state TV to talk about Chavez.

The 58-year-old president was diagnosed with cancer in his pelvic region in June 2011 and underwent four surgeries before dying of what sources said was metastasis in the lungs.

Maduro said it was too early to specifically point a finger over Chavez's cancer, but noted that the United States had laboratories with experience in producing diseases.

"He had a cancer that broke all norms," Maduro told Telesur. "Everything seems to indicate that they (enemies) affected his health using the most advanced techniques."

Maduro has compared his suspicions over Chavez's death with allegations that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004 from poisoning by Israeli agents.

The case echoes Chavez's long campaign to convince the world that his idol and Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar died of poisoning by his enemies in Colombia in 1830.

OPPOSITION'S UPHILL FIGHT

The National Assembly was to debate this week a proposal by pro-government legislators to hold a referendum - possibly also on April 14 - on whether he should be buried at the ornate National Pantheon building in Caracas.

Opponents are outraged at the prospect of a referendum stoking the emotion around Chavez at the same time as the presidential vote.

Besides the wave of sympathy for Chavez, the opposition faces a well-financed state apparatus, institutions packed with government supporters, and problems within its own rank-and-file, still demoralized over October's presidential election defeat and a mauling at gubernatorial polls in December.

At stake in the election is the future of Chavez's leftist "revolution," the continuation of Venezuelan oil subsidies and other aid crucial to the economies of left-wing allies around Latin America, from Cuba to Bolivia.

The OPEC nation boasts the world's largest oil reserves.

Though there are hopes for a post-Chavez rapprochement between Venezuela and the United States, a diplomatic spat worsened on Monday when Washington expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in a tit-for-tat retaliation.

(Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga, Simon Gardner, Pablo Garibian and Enrique Andres Pretel; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-probe-chavez-cancer-poisoning-accusation-010128851.html

masters winner instagram facebook chicago cubs split pea soup recipe the client list yahoo.com/mail baylor

Lieberman will join Jon Kyl in new bipartisan foreign policy project (Washington Bureau)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/290676016?client_source=feed&format=rss

bachelor finale courtney robertson ben flajnik hunger games premiere red meat bachelor ben good morning america

Sinkhole forces Pennsylvania family out of home

?

By Danielle Johnson and David Chang, NBCPhiladelphia.com

It seemed like any other Sunday for Doris Jenkins. The Bethlehem Township, Pa., resident got up bright and early to walk her dog. As soon as she stepped out of the house, however, she immediately saw something that would change the lives of her and her family forever.

"I came around the corner and said, 'Oh my God!'" said Jenkins. "My daughter's car was there. I woke her up and told her to get the car out of there!"

A sinkhole had opened up right in the driveway of her house on 2nd?Street. Doris, her daughter Inga?Jenkins and her granddaughter Claudia Jenkins were forced to evacuate their house.

"I?wasn't thinking that this was how I was going to spend my Sunday afternoon,"?said Inga while in tears. "It's pretty upsetting to see your driveway start to fall into a hole."

Bethlehem Township Assistant Fire Chief Ron Ford told NBC10's Claudia Rivero that crews have been in the neighborhood all week repairing a break in a sewer line. Ford said it's unclear whether that work caused the sinkhole.

"We won't be sure how much damage it caused until we get the hole dug out and see where we are with the damage,"?said Ford.

More from NBCPhiladelphia.com

The Jenkins' home has cracks in the foundation and possible damage to the roof. Too dangerous for the family to live there, the home is the only one in the neighborhood that has been evacuated so far.

"We have to evacuate because of the fumes,"?said Claudia Jenkins.

Luis Echeverria / AP

A look at some of the most amazing sinkholes around the world.

"My daughter and I are going to a hotel for two weeks,"?said Inga. "We'll see what happens."

No other homes have been affected at this time, authorities said.

There was another report of two small sinkholes that opened up earlier this week on 2nd Street.

NBC10 reported on several sinkholes in the Lehigh Valley area over the last year. Several dozen Allentown families were forced to find temporary housing after a sinkhole opened under their street. In 2011, 54 graves were threatened by approaching water from a sinkhole.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17268951-sinkhole-forces-pennsylvania-family-to-evacuate-home?lite

work hard play hard tim ferriss wmt human nature arkansas football blackhawks howard johnson

The Web Design and Web Development firm for Retail Website ...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

If you are doing a retail business, then building a retail website will be very beneficial which will help your business to move in a smarter way. In these days, online retailing is becoming more popular because of its accessibility. People find it easy to look for products that they want. Because of increase in demand for online retailing, it has become necessary that business people should have a retail website. ?

A retail website is the one where the visitor find product on your site which includes choosing and purchasing. The retailer will send the product that their client has chosen. In simple terms, retail website is like online shopping website.

Nowadays, people looking for the website that are modern and attractive. They never mind about the product buy they get stick on the modern website. In today?s internet-based world, you should have some kind of modern website. With people performing more searches via Google, a modern website can ultimately provides you with good income.

A retail website always needs an update for each and every time they release the product. At this time there will be in need of update website. A reliable web design and development company

If you make a search in the internet you can get a list of web design & development companies. By choosing the right one you can make a good deal. You can get a list of web design and development company if just make a simple google search. Whatever the kind of website you are looking for. With the best provider you can get good solution. Choose the professional and experienced company as they can easily understand your needs and offer you excellent design and web development work. There are some web design firm who provides website guarantee if you are not satisfied with their work. They can give you 100% money back guarantee. This could be a hassle free work. If you want to get a wonderful website, find the reliable provider and have your business deal with them. Whether you want to build a new website or redesign your website. With the help of best firm you can get your expected website design.

Source: http://davidwilliamese.posterous.com/the-web-design-and-web-development-firm-for-r

iOS 6 Release Date Canelo Alvarez Chavez vs Martinez Yunel Escobar Irish Daily Star Black Mesa matt ryan

TiVo Mini goes on sale for $99.99 with a $5.99 monthly subscription

Remember the adage that good things "come to those who wait?" Well, if you managed to hold your nerve and resist signing up with Suddenlink, then your patience is ready to be rewarded. The TiVo Mini is finally ready to strike out on its own two feet four rubberized corners. The DVR extender will set you back $99.99, plus a monthly charge of $5.99, or a one-off payment of $149.99 -- in a way, you kinda wish the company had just priced it at $249.99 and let us get on with it.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Via: The Verge

Source: TiVo

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/e2Vd0R0wwJU/

clayton kershaw tyler perry face transplant maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west

News - Milblogging.com : The World&#39;s Largest Index of Military Blogs ...

News: UN says reporter's baby killed by Hamas

Monday, March 11, 2013, 04:59 AM - News Stories

UN Reports the Truth: Hamas Killed BBC Reporter's Baby in Gaza. The United Nations has issued a report with unusual courage and accuracy that plainly tells the tale of Israel?s Pillar of Defense counter terror operation ? and exposes the lies of Hamas, told to a grieving father and his BBC bureau chief.? In what has become typical of international media, The Washington Post and a BBC bureau chief last November accused and convicted the Israel Defense Forces in a heartrending, angry piece without verifying their information after a fellow editor in Gaza lost his baby son in rocket fire that struck his home...
(Israel National News)

Private Manning?s Confidant. In early 2010, Pfc. Bradley Manning methodically uploaded a digital mother lode of classified United States military and diplomatic documents to the Internet insurgents of WikiLeaks. As everyone knows, WikiLeaks made these secret archives available to a few major news outlets, including this one. Many illuminating and troubling stories were published, and Washington has been gnashing its teeth ever since...
(The New York Times)

Losing Control? Social Media and Military Influence. Social media are altering the way in which information is shared worldwide in new and unpredictable ways. The uses of social media as tools of military influence, however, are still to be explored. Nigel Jones and Paul Baines analyse the significance of this change for the nature of strategic communication in the twenty-first century...
(RUSI)

For Social Media Viewing, Twitter Is Live TV; Facebook Is DVR. When you follow someone on Twitter, you see everything they post. When you follow someone on Facebook, it decides what you see. Which is right? I?d say both, and it comes down to the live TV versus DVR personalities of each service...
(Marketing Land)

World War II code talker shares story at N.M. Veterans Memorial. Bill Toledo welcomes every chance he gets to do the one thing he wasn?t allowed to do for so long: Talk about what he did during World War II.? Talking is the very thing that made him and a small group of others heroes. He is one of the few living Navajo code talkers.? ?We saved a lot of lives using our language during the war,? Toledo said...
(KOAT)

Host Of TV Gun Show ?A Rifleman?s Journal? Shot And Killed. The host of The Sportsman Channel?s ?A Rifleman?s Journal? was shot and killed in Montana on Friday. The gunman, seemingly a jealous husband, then turned the weapon on himself.? It is not yet clear if the weapon used in the crime was obtained legally...
(ThinkProgress)

Army nurse recalls captivity in World War II.? On New Year?s Day 1942, the young American civilian nurse wandered through a dark, empty hospital, hours before Japanese forces invaded Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. No military members were left to raise the American flag or play ?The Star-Spangled Banner.?? At sunrise, she walked alone on the road to her family?s home and an uncertain future as the sound of advancing enemy troops thundered in the distance...?
(ArmyTimes.com)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

British Army approaching 925K Facebook likes

Sunday, March 10, 2013, 10:11 AM - Facebook

The British Army is one step closer to reaching 1 million likes on Facebook.

The Facebook page passed 924,000 likes on Facebook on Friday and is on track to reach 925,000 likes by today or tomorrow.

The British Army has one of the top non-US military Facebook page in terms of total likes.

The next closest non-US military Facebook page is the Pakistan Army with over 700,000 likes.

The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom Facebook page is in third place with nearly 550,000 likes.

As I wrote about late last year, The British Army?s page topped 900,000 likes in December.?

The Royal Navy has nearly 200,000 likes, while the Royal Air Force is only a few thousands likes away from 300,000.

To stay on top of how government organizations are doing on Facebook, you can check out the metrics on PageData.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Video: Russian dashcam mounted on Syrian tank

Saturday, March 9, 2013, 08:09 PM - News Stories

As Robert Mackey over at The Lede points out, Russians have a strange fondness for mounting cameras to the dashboards of their cars.

It?s one of the main reasons you see so much video footage of auto accidents available online from Russia.

Last month's meteor that crashed into central Russia had plenty of video coverage, thanks to dashcams.

Now the dashcam is being fitted onto government tanks in Syria and not by Syrians, but by the little-known Russian news network Abkhazian Network News Agency (ANNA).

According Mackey, ANNA released footage of recent battles recorded by a camera mounted on a government tank, which can be seen here on YouTube.

News of the footage was first reported by Syrian blogger Edward Dark via Twitter.

At the time of this story being published, the video has been viewed over 11,000 times.

More over at The New York Times.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

News: Was Ibrahim's Twitter really hacked?

Friday, March 8, 2013, 03:45 AM - News Stories Is State Dept buying Samira Ibrahim?s farcical ?I was hacked? excuse?? The Weekly Standard reported that Secretary of State John Kerry was planning to honor an anti-American Egyptian woman whose Twitter account contains multiple tweets endorsing terrorism against the US and Israel.? The honoree, Samira Ibrahim, asserts that her Twitter account was hacked even though the tweets in question appeared over a period of months and were never deleted.
(Twitchy)

Azeris Plan New Protest Over Army Deaths With Facebook Campaign. Thousands of Azeris are signing up on Facebook Inc. (FB) to stage a second rally in three months to protest violence in the former Soviet republic?s armed forces.? A Facebook Inc. page created to coordinate the event shows that almost 18,000 people accepted the call to demonstrate in the central Fountains Square in the capital, Baku, on March 10, with more than 150,000 invited to take part.
(Bloomberg)

Family of Canadian journalist killed in Iran granted appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether the son of the murdered Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi can sue the Iranian government.? The high court has agreed to hear an appeal from Kazemi's son Stephan Hashemi, who argues he has the right to sue the Iranian government for allegedly killing his mother and failing to return her body after she was imprisoned.
(CP24.com)

Al Gore Sued Over Current TV Sale to Al Jazeera (Exclusive). Current TV's $500 million sale to Al Jazeera has prompted a lawsuit that claims co-founder Al Gore originally was opposed to the deal but had a "change of heart" on selling his cable network to oil-rich Qataris.? The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court by John Terenzio, who presents himself as a highly regarded media consultant, executive and TV producer who conceived the idea for the distribution of an American version of Al Jazeera.
(The Hollywood Reporter)

Andersonville presents Civil War living history weekend. Andersonville National Historic Site will host its annual Civil War Living History Weekend on Saturday, March 9? and Sunday, March 10, 2013.? This living history program offers visitors the opportunity to gain a better understanding of what life was like at Camp Sumter, the infamous Civil War military prison near Andersonville. Civil War period living historians will portray Union prisoners and Confederate guards.
(WALB.com)

New book sheds light on dark history of Civil War site in Millen.? The dark history of the Civil War is being brought into the light as a team from Georgia Southern continues to dig up artifacts from an old prison camp in Millen.? But finding the site of Camp Lawton back in 2010 was just the first chapter to the story. Now, the project historian has written the rest.? His new book marks the first full-length, fully-documented history of the prison.
(WRDW.com)

Marshall author retells Civil War story. The faces that stare back from the cover of the book already have a world-weary look that suggests life won?t be simple or easy or, for that matter, lengthy.? The photo was taken in the mid 1850s and the Towles? boys couldn?t have known what was looming up the road ? for them or for their country.? But on the cover of Keith Kehlbeck?s first book, ?Gone to God: A Civil War Family?s Ultimate Sacrifice,? the brothers seem to know more than they realize.
(Battle Creek Enquirer)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Syrian Facebook video criticizes US (humor)

Thursday, March 7, 2013, 08:32 PM - News Stories

This is a Syrian Facebook video that criticizes the military aid by the United States.

Impressive water spraying skills, I must say.

While there is some serious stuff going on in Syria, this is still funny...

Via WIRED

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Funny Military Subreddit Picture of the Week

Thursday, March 7, 2013, 05:03 PM - Reddit

I love Reddit. They usually run an impressive series of pictures from the military throughout the week in their Military subreddit.

Here's the latest.? It's called, "OH...so you didn't feel like mopping the barracks today? We'll fix that."

Click here for some awesome comments including the top rated comment so far:

"In all fairness, he was probably the shitbag who stood in the corner cleaning the same spot while everyone else actually did something. It's good to see justice."

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

News: Rep. Serrano mourns Chavez on Twitter

Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 02:01 AM - News Stories Foul: Rep. Serrano tweets rest in peace; Praises Chavez as ?empowering the powerless?; Update: Doubles down, photo with Chavez. Appalling.? As Twitchy reported, the Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chavez has died. Rep. Serrano (D-N.Y.) grossly tweeted the above, upon learning of the news that had most freedom-lovers relieved. Now, finally, may the people of Venezuela achieve democracy. Rep. Serrano, however, mourns the loss of a dictatorial tyrant. But, hey, what else is to be expected from a man who wants no presidential term limits here?
(Twitchy)

A rare glimpse inside Pakistan's ground zero for terrorists. ?It's been called the most dangerous place in the most dangerous region on the planet.? A rugged swath of tribal territory nestled between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Waziristan is ground zero for some of the region's most notorious militant groups and warlords, including the Pakistani Taliban and Haqqani network.? North and South Waziristan are hit by more U.S. drone attacks than anywhere else in the world.? NBC News obtained rare access to South Waziristan and last week became the first foreign team of journalists to report from North Waziristan...
(NBC News)

Soviet war veteran found in Afghanistan after 33 years. A Soviet soldier who went missing in Afghanistan nearly 33 years ago has been found living with Afghans in the western province of Herat.? The soldier is semi-nomadic, has the adopted Afghan name Sheikh Abdullah and practises herbal medicine, Russia's RIA news agency reports.? An ethnic Uzbek, he was found by ex-Soviet veterans of the war...
(BBC)

FBI Seeks Public's Assistance in Identifying, Locating Unmanned Aircraft and Operator.? On Monday, March, 4, 2013, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the pilot of Alitalia Flight #608 spotted a small, unmanned aircraft while on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Alitalia flight was roughly three miles from runway 31R when the incident occurred at an altitude of approximately 1,750 feet. The unmanned aircraft came within 200 feet of the Alitalia plane.? The FBI is investigating the incident and looking to identify and locate the aircraft and its operator. The unnamed aircraft was described as black in color and no more than three feet wide with four propellers...
(FBI)

Syria's Civil War: Amateur video of attack on Homs in Syria. Amateur video posted on the internet appears to show the city of Homs being shelled and a tank coming under fire in Syria. Report by Jeremy Barnes...
(YouTube)

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Journalist?2013. Here is an exchange between the Global Editor of the Atlantic Magazine and myself this afternoon attempting to solicit my professional services for an article they sought to publish after reading my story ?25 Years of Slam Dunk Diplomacy: Rodman trip comes after 25 years of basketball diplomacy between U.S. and North Korea...??
(natethayer)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

YouTube accused of covering up FSA crimes

Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 10:40 PM - News Stories This news alert popped into my inbox and because I like to read about social media and the military, I went ahead and read it.

Iranian news site PressTV has published a brief interview with an activist named Mimi Laham who accuses YouTube of deliberately removing videos from its website that depict crimes by the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Laham complains that YouTube gives the FSA space on YouTube to "wage their propaganda war against the Syrian nation?, but ironically won?t allow videos of the FSA committing what she alleges are ?war crimes?.

Apparently, Laham had a play list of 60 videos, and half have now been removed.?

Not surprising, Laham admits some of the videos were flagged for being ?shocking? ? which, as any routine user would know, is in clear violation of YouTube?s terms of service.?

Laham also admits some videos didn?t respect copyright.? Yup, another violation.

You can probably see where this is going...

I know YouTube has drawn criticism before.? Regardless of why Laham?s videos were taken down, the video-sharing site?s community guidelines are pretty straightforward though.

Here?s a snippet from YouTube:

> Don't post videos showing bad stuff like animal abuse, drug abuse, under-age drinking and smoking, or bomb making.Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone being physically hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don't post it.

> YouTube is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies or similar things intended to shock or disgust.

> Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you are authorized to use. This means don't upload videos you didn't make, or use content in your videos that someone else owns the copyright to, such as music tracks, snippets of copyrighted programs, or videos made by other users, without necessary authorizations. Read our Copyright Tips for more information.

> We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
YouTube.
I don't think Laham has much of an argument at all.

I mean, it?s already been reported that both sides in the Syrian war have committed crimes.? That shouldn?t be news to anyone.

In November, a video of Syrian rebels executing government soldiers surfaced and went viral, and drew condemnation from around the world.

That same video can actually be found on YouTube after doing a simple search.

Considering YouTube is one of the most visited websites in the world, it relies heavily on its user community to police the site, so often it?s just a matter of time before videos that violate the site?s TOS are noticed, flagged, and taken down.

There have also been plenty of fake Syrian war videos posted online to create sympathy for one side or the other and dupe unsuspecting people, as reported by the Global Post last year.

If you want to read the full PressTV story, you can view it here.?

Of course, the comments devolve into conspiracy theories and bashing, as expected.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Viral: Soldier's tweet to English footballer

Monday, March 4, 2013, 08:37 PM - Twitter, News Stories

It?s not often you see a Twitter message retweeted nearly 3,000 times, unless of course it?s some political figure or Hollywood celebrity.

But that?s just what happened when English footballer Michael Owen got into a Twitter exchange with a soldier.

JOE reports, ?James Talbot tweeted the former Liverpool and United footballer to ask whether he still played football, and it is difficult to know for certain whether this was a genuine question or a sly dig at the crocked striker.?

According to JOE, Owen has been struggling with injury for the majority of the season.

Owen responded by tweeting back to Talbot the following message:

?do you play football?? Not much nowadays but I shook the World in my day. What have you done in life??

Little did Owen know how Talbot would respond.

Talbot then tweeted: ?in answer to what I have done, served and protected your country in the army, 6 years of physical work without injury?

What was nothing more than a simple, honest response by Talbot, ended up quickly going viral and surprising the user who has less than 1,000 followers.

It appears Talbot has now been receiving abusive tweets by other Twitter users and spent time responding on Twitter earlier today.

A quick scan of the page shows numerous messages on both sides, some supportive, some not so much.

Joe Harrison ?@Joe_Harrison01 writes:
@JT1zzle @themichaelowen Well f*cking done. How good are you? You chose to so don't play that card

kurt whufc berry ?@kurt_squirt writes:
@JT1zzle hahaha bet he feels like a twat now mate!! Haha

David Woods ?@realdavidwoods
@JT1zzle @themichaelowen did the army teach u to pick a pointless fight? Nothing to be proud of here

As Talbot points out, ??I didn't say anything offensive, just responded to his belittling response??

You can follow Talbot on Twitter at @JT1zzle

More at JOE.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

News: Al-Assad says Marie Colvin not targeted

Monday, March 4, 2013, 02:54 PM - News Stories Syrian president insists Marie Colvin was not deliberately targeted in army shell attack. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad told The Sunday Times his troops did not target Marie Colvin, the paper's foreign correspondent who was killed in a rocket attack last year.? The 56-year-old reporter was killed in the Syrian city of Homs in February 2012 alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik when the building they were staying in, which was being used as a makeshift media centre, was shelled by the Syrian army...?
(PressGazette)

The Dangerous Logic of the Bradley Manning Case. After 1,000 days in pretrial detention, Private Bradley Manning yesterday offered a modified guilty plea for passing classified materials to WikiLeaks. But his case is far from over?not for Manning, and not for the rest of the country. To understand what is still at stake, consider an exchange that took place in a military courtroom in Maryland in January...
(New Republic)

Take the Iraq War Reading Pledge. This will be the 10th anniversary of the bombing of Baghdad, that began a war that was declared "mission accomplished" within two months of its start and that ultimately lasted more than eight years...
(Causes.com)

ZDNet cuts U.S. bloggers as it refocuses on global coverage. Business technology news site ZDNet has cut five bloggers from its staff in the past few weeks as it continues to realign its organization into a global one.? ZDNet has a long history of writing about the technology industry, and CNET acquired it for $1.6 billion in July 2000. In 2003, ZDNet refocused to more closely cover business technology. In May 2008, CBS Interactive purchased CNET, and since that time, ZDNet has existed as a combination of technology blog network and news outlet...
(VentureBeat)

Love Letter To War Photographer Killed In Syria Leaves Journalist In Choked Silence. A BBC Radio 4 presenter was so overcome by emotion that he fell silent on air for more than ten seconds today after hearing a moving poem by the girlfriend of a French photographer killed in Syria.? Paddy O?Connell struggled to compose himself following a reading of a love letter from Emilie Blachere to Remi Ochlik, who died alongside Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin in the besieged city of Homs last year.? After the end of the poem, which was read by Miss Blachere herself, the airwaves were plunged into silence for about 12 seconds before the presenter regained enough composure to speak again...
(Business Insider)

Hostile Teacher Writes ?The Guns Are Loaded? On Chalkboard, Asks Kids If They?d ?Care To Try Me??. An Indiana teacher is on leave today after he wrote a variety of threats for his students on his classroom?s chalkboard. After calling his student?s idiots, he noted that his ?guns are loaded.? The teacher concluded his menacing message by asking if his students would ?care to try me??
(Mediaite)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Research: Did tweets direct bombs in Libya?

Sunday, March 3, 2013, 01:17 PM - Twitter

Image credit: Defense.gov

John Wihbey over at Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab has summed up what's "new and fresh" in digital media academic research.

There are many interesting articles in the story, but one stands out more than the others - Crisis Mapping Intelligence Information During the Libyan Civil War: An Exploratory Case Study.

The study was conducted by researchers at Georgetown and the State Department.

Wihbey writes, "This eye-opening paper (from authors who have U.S. government and intelligence affiliations) examines whether or not Twitter users in Libya effectively provided ?tactical military intelligence? that proved crucial to Western intervention and helped enforce a no-fly zone. The answer seems to be ?yes.?

Here?s an abstract of the paper:

?Throughout the Libyan Civil War, Twitter users took the initiative to collect and process data for use in the rebellion against the Qadhafi regime, including map overlays depicting the situation on the ground. These data, in some cases, were processed in a way to make it easily consumable by NATO and coalition forces in their eventual enforcement of a No Fly Zone over Libya in mid-2011. This paper investigates whether the information collected and disseminated by Twitter users constituted tactical military intelligence. Some argue that to take advantage of open source information available through the Internet, organizations like NATO must first tackle the challenge of ?determining how to deal with the huge amount of unstructured data in a useful and/or meaningful way.? On the contrary, this article shows how some crisis maps created during the Libyan Civil War met the minimum requirements to be considered tactical military intelligence.?

Of course, I?m only assuming it?s an interesting article, because it turns out you have to be a Harvard grad or something to read the entire paper.

Kidding...

You have to pay a fee, or have a society membership, or some institutional access in order to view the full research paper.? Pretty much the same thing.??

Granted, Virginia Tech is the Harvard of the Southern U.S.

More at Nieman Journalism Lab.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

The Indian Army has joined Twitter

Saturday, March 2, 2013, 02:48 PM - Twitter, News Stories

The Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information, that's a mouthful, has joined Twitter.

The official account @adgpi

As reported by Hindustan Times, "Sources say that the Army is soon proactively going to make its presence known on social media with an official Facebook page or even a youtube channel in the offing."

The article does make mention of the U.S. military's use of social media, saying the US Army leads the way on social media in terms of armies of the world.

While the Indian Army is only now getting acquainted with social media, the US Army has literally hundreds (if not thousands) of official and unofficial social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so on.

The first tweet sent out by the Indian Army was yesterday and included a picture of paratroopers of India and Bangladesh preparing for a jump (pictured above).

As of today, the Indian Army has nearly 2,000 followers on Twitter.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

News: "Jedi mind meld" upsets sci-fi fans

Saturday, March 2, 2013, 10:40 AM - News Stories Sci-fail: Genius Obama says he ?can?t do a Jedi mind meld? [video]. Set your phasers to ?facepalm.? While speaking this morning on sequestration, President Obama dropped this little nugget...
(Twitchy)

Syrian Electronic Army?s Twitter hacking campaign racks up another victory. If you want a view into the governments arrayed on either side of Syria?s civil war, the Syrian Electronic Army?s hacking of the Qatar Foundation?s Facebook and Twitter accounts is a good place to start...
(Quartz)

CJP urged to take notice of tribal journalist?s killing. Expressing resentment over the assassination of Malik Mumtaz, a senior journalist from North Waziristan, Khyber Union of Journalists President Arshad Aziz on Thursday urged the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take notice.? ?It is astonishing that the chief justice is active on all fronts but seems silent about growing violence against journalists,? the KUJ president said while addressing a protest rally...
(Pakistan Today)

Veteran Pakistani journalist gunned down in Baluchistan. March 1, 2013, New York--Pakistani authorities should investigate today's murder of a journalist in the country's restive Baluchistan province, determine the motive, and apprehend the perpetrators immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.? Unknown gunmen killed Mehmood Jan Afridi while he was headed to a local press club from his home in the city of Kalat, according to The Associated Press and local news reports. News accounts did not immediately report further details of the attack...
(CPJ)

Remembering a World War II veteran and artist. We are learning more about the sudden passing of a local World War II veteran. Captain Ed Reep died Wednesday, just 43 days before he was scheduled to fly to Washington D.C. as part of the next Kern County Honor Flight. At the age of 95, Captain Ed Reep's heart suddenly failed. He was surrounded by his family when he passed, and now his family is surrounded by his art, pieces he created serving in World War II and beyond...
(KGET TV 17)

Author to tell story of Irish Civil War unit in Springfield. A Nashville, Tenn. author will be at the Illinois State Military Museum Saturday to share stores about a Civil War regiment of Irish Americans and the flag they followed into battle...
(The State Journal-Register)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

IDF angered over soldiers' social media posts

Friday, March 1, 2013, 11:54 PM - News Stories

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been dealing with their share of social media scandals as social media use increases among the ranks.

Last month, a photograph posted to the Instagram account of 20-year old IDF sniper Mor Ostrovski caused outrage online.? The photo showed a Palestinian boy's head in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle.

In November 2012, the IDF?s own social media division, which live tweeted and blogged its conflict with Hamas, caused a bit of an uproar after its social media chief Lt. Sacha Dratwa posted a picture of himself to Facebook.? The photo showed Dratwa at the beach with his face covered in mud with a caption that read: "Obama Style".

An article this week by BBC News discusses the IDF?s mounting social media problems and recent incidents, including punishments they?ve dished out.

Though the IDF isn?t the only military in the world with its share of problems dealing with social media, because it?s mostly 18-21-year-olds serving in the military, it is a particular challenge, points out Yolande Knell.

According to the article, Israeli military commanders were recently told to stop recruits from uploading videos and pictures "not appropriate to the spirit of the IDF".

The directive comes shortly after two soldiers were sent to military prison for 14 and 21 days for posting a clip of the Harlem Shake to YouTube in February.

Read the full story here.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Military blogs added to Milblogging (Feb' 13)

Thursday, February 28, 2013, 08:24 PM

More than two dozen military blogs were added to the Milblogging index in the month of February --- many of them spouse blogs, several veterans, and more.? Pay them a visit and tell ?em Milblogging.com sent you.

Military Families for Justice, Military Families for Justice Team, United States, Official Blog for the organization Military Famili...

FraNk The NCO, Bob Helms, United States, Mildly Disgrunted, Mostly Content, Military NCO

Bloggin' Scogin, Becca, United States, My foray into the life of a military wife and the ...

Cautious Crow, Amber Crow, United States, Carefully navigating through life as a veteran, mi...

Semper Familia Life, Suzy Leanos, United States, Living the Marine Corps family life through Latina...

Marrying The Army, MilliGFunk, United States, A strategic marketing and brand professional who's...

The Professional Army Wife, Rachel Tringali, United States, I'm an army (military) spouse working as a PR prof...

The Kidwell's | Our Life as Airmen, Breeanna, United States, Recents: Graduate from University of South Flor...

Red, White, & Marine Wife, Kym, United States, I'm Kym...a Marine Wife, Daughter, and Sister. I'm ...

More Than a Military Spouse, Jessica, United States, My name is Jessica and I am a military spouse. Her...

Military Wife Life, Carrie, United States, Send me (Carrie, owner of MWL) or another veteran ...

Warmemoir, J.E. McCollough, United States, A counterintelligence Marine's recollection of the...

Our Wounded Family, Pauliesgirl77, United States, I've been the wife of a medically retired Army vet...

Yellow Ribbon Diary, Alia, United States, Wife, Mommy, Lover of God. Writing about the thing...

Glimpses of the Military Life, Allison, United States, Thanks for stopping by! My name is Allison. I am a...

Soldier Girl's Thoughts, Not specified, United States, she's simply JUST a: veteran, mom, spouse and mult...

The Air Force Wife, Rachel, United States, My name is Rachel. I am 19 years old and currently...

My Crazy Life as a Navy Wife, Lashon, United States, TIME SURE DOES FLY WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE MAN YOU LOV...

Army Wives Club, Jennifer Ray-Stewart, United States, Army Wives Club brings you resources and informati...

My Life as a Navy Wife, Katie H, United States, Hi ya'll, thanks for stopping by and welcome to my...

Eight Days a Week, Abbie, United States, Hello, my name is Abbie, I'm 22 years old and rece...

Chairman's Corner, Not specified, United States, A category dedicated strictly to the Chairman of t...

Successful Military Wife, Kaye Putnam, United States, A site to empower & educate military spouses to cr...

Fallen Heroes Afghanistan, Not specified, Not Specified, This website is a tribute to all foreign military ...

Soldiers Magazine, Not specified, United States, Soldiers Magazine is produced by the Defense Media...

The Long War Journal, Multiple editors and contributors, United States, The Long War Journal is dedicated to providing ori...

Chronicles of a Navy Wife in Perpetual Motion, Sar Mon, United States, I am a well seasoned military spouse. I started th...

On The Fly, Jessica, United States, I'm a twenty-something Pennsylvania girl who curre...

Feeling bloggy., B, United States, i'm b. my huz is henry. he is so cool.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

News: Manning trial updates - blogs, Twitter

Thursday, February 28, 2013, 04:42 PM - News Stories Bradley Manning military trial updates: live-blogs, who to follow on Twitter, and analysis. Army private Bradley Manning pleaded guilty on Thursday to 10 of the 19 total charges made by the US that he leaked unprecedented amounts of classified material to Wikileaks, the anti-secrecy organization run by Julian Assange...
(Boing Boing)

China says US regularly hacks its military sites. Two Chinese military Web sites received about 144,000 hacking attacks on average a month last year, of which about two-third had originated from the United States.? In a statement published Thursday on China's Ministry of Defense Web site, spokesperson Geng Yansheng said the ministry's site as well as the Web site of China Military Online--which is operated the Chinese army--faced "serious threat from hacking attacks" since their establishment. The number of hacks targeting the two sites also had risen steadily in recent years, he said...
(ZDNet)

New Slaying Highlights Perils Of Journalism In Pakistan's Tribal Areas. The Taliban has dissociated itself; the Pakistan Army has extended its condolences; and government functionaries, politicians, and civil-society representatives have offered condolences as "unidentified" armed men took the life of another journalist in Pakistan's perilous tribal areas on February 27...
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Press Availability on Syria. SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon again. I just have a very brief statement, then I?m happy to take a few questions. I just got to look outdoors and actually see that it is a beautiful day here in Rome, and I want to again thank our host, the Foreign Minister, and thank Italy for bringing us here today. We?re enormously appreciative and I?m very grateful to them for that, and also to all of the partner nations who came here today. I have to tell you that around that table was a very important, competent, and powerful group of countries ranging through Europe down into the Gulf as well as Turkey and Egypt, and everybody was unanimous in their conclusions...
(U.S. Department of State)

Bradley Manning pleads guilty to being Wikileaks source, denies 'aiding the enemy'. US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning has pleaded guilty on 10 counts involving disclosing information to an unauthorized person, but has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including "aiding the enemy." On Thursday afternoon, military judge Colonel Denise Lind accepted Manning's guilty pleas, while prosecutors said they plan to pursue the 12 contested charges at trial. The guilty pleas cover less serious offenses of misusing classified information and carry a combined maximum sentence of 20 years. If convicted of aiding the enemy, Manning could be imprisoned for life...
(The Verge)

Bradley Manning court papers released after Pentagon bows to pressure. The Pentagon has acceded to pressure from news organisations and human rights groups protesting secrecy surrounding the prosecution of the WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, releasing 84 previously unpublished rulings and orders into the public domain.? The Pentagon's decision to post on the internet scores of rulings made by the presiding judge, Colonel Denise Lind, and other judges involved in the court martial process, provides the first crack in the army's approach to public information in the trial...
(Guardian)

Book tells story of Alameda's woman family in World War II.? On a July day in 1938, a young couple stepped off the dock at Pier 88 in New York City and boarded the SS Normandie, setting off for what they thought would be a six-week vacation in their native France.? Instead, Alice and Emile Pothron were delayed more than a year and later separated as the Nazis swept across Europe. They then endured nearly two more years of hardship until they met again in Portugal and could return to the United States...
(Contra Costa Times)

Google, Facebook And Twitter Ordered To Delete Photos By UK Law Enforcement. It seems that, once again, the UK is going censorship crazy and not realizing how that only attacts more attention to that which they're trying to censor. This time, it involves some photos that were posted online of one Jon Venables, who at the age of 10, murdered 2-year old James Bulger, in a rather horrifying story. Venables was released from jail in 2001, at the age of 19 (though he has since gone back to prison). Photos of Venables, now 30 years old and apparently using a new identity to avoid his past, appeared online...
(Techdirt)

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

AFP Twitter hacked, graphic Syria pics posted

Thursday, February 28, 2013, 04:31 AM - Twitter, News Stories The Twitter account of news service Agence France-Presse (AFP) was hacked on Tuesday.

The Atlantic Wire reports, "Around noon Eastern time, the photographs-only account of news service Agence France-Presse began tweeting images from the conflict in Syria. Except they were not only far below the quality levels of professional photographers, they were graphic images from the war, which the captions depicted as the handiwork of thuggish rebel armies, backed by Western conspirators."

The account @AFPPhoto was suspended by Twitter the same day, but as of yesterday the account is back online and AFP is in control.

AFP tweeted on Wednesday, "Finally! RT @AFP: Here we go, our @AFPphoto account is back up and running with great shot of Pope's farewell today."

The hacker posted graphic images and tweets, which have since been deleted.

The Atlantic Wire managed to capture screenshots of the messages.

Messages ranged from, "#Obama over turns ban against child sodliers while Syria|n rebels continue with the illegal practice" to "#Syria #Obama backed rebels use child to behead prisoners".

There are plenty more.

Read more at The Atlantic Wire (WARNING: GRAPHIC).

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Milestone: USMC reach 2.9MM likes on Facebook

Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 10:43 AM - Facebook

It was over two months ago when I last wrote about the United States Marine Corps on Facebook.

At the time, their Facebook page had just passed 2,840,000 likes.

Well, here's another milestone in the military social media community...

On Monday February 25, the United States Marine Corps passed 2.9 million likes on Facebook.

According to PageData, in the last 7 days the page added nearly 7,000 likes and already has over 1,000 new likes today.

Where does the United States Marine Corps appear on the leaderboards?

As of today, they are ranked 1480th by Total Likes (Overall).

They?re ranked 1st in Total Likes among Government Organization pages.

They?re the 9th Most Talked about page among Government Organization pages.

The page is managed by Marine Corps Recruiting Command and can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/marinecorps

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Army hosting Twitter chat on sequestration

Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 10:22 AM - Twitter The U.S. Army is hosting a Twitter chat from 11am to 12:30pm ET today to discuss the impact of sequestration on Army readiness.

Via Army Live:

There will be three 30-minute sessions so that Army subject matters experts can provide the most up-to-date information to Twitter users participating in the chat:

The first session from 11 ? 11:30 a.m. will answer general questions about Civilian furloughs

The second session from 11:30 a.m. ? 12 p.m. will focus on how the furloughs may affect Army Family services and programs

The third session from 12 ? 12:30 p.m. will focus on questions about the sequestration?s impact to Soldiers and training
To join in on the conversation, go to https://twitter.com/search and search for the hashtag #ArmyChat.

More details on the Twitter chat here.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

Berger makes case for terrorists using Twitter

Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 05:53 PM - Twitter Any reader of this blog knows where I stand on the use of Twitter by terrorists.

Not a big fan I?d say?

However, JM Berger, a terrorism expert who writes for IntelWire, and who is often cited as an authority on the topic in the media, offers up some arguments for allowing the likes of the terrorist group Al-shabaab to remain on Twitter and other social media sites.

According to Berger, within the terrorism studies community, there are two common objections to ?disruptive approaches?.

Berger writes:

?The first objection is that knocking terrorists offline "doesn't work", because when you eliminate one account, the terrorists just open up a new account under a different name - which is exactly what al-Shabab did after a little more than a week. And then, the theory goes, you're back to square one. It's a high-tech game of whack-a-mole.

The second objection is that forcing terrorists off the internet destroys a valuable source of intelligence, because government, academic and private sector researchers rely on these online operations for information about what distant groups are doing and who supports them.?
It?s certainly an interesting piece and worth the read.? Berger also provides a lot of detail and analysis.

To read the full story, go here.

[ Add comment ] ??|??[ 0 trackbacks ] ??|??permalink??|??Discussion??|??Digg this??|??Add to del.icio.us

---

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Next> >>

Source: http://milblogging.com/index.php?entry=entry130311-045919

andrew lloyd webber obscura grok cirque du freak paul pierce pope joan pope joan