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রবিবার, ৩০ জুন, ২০১৩
NSA Spied On European Union States At Brussels And UN, Der Spiegel Says Edward Snowden Documnets Show
Der Spiegel cited from a September 2010 "top secret" National Security Agency document that it said the fugitive former NSA contractor had taken with him to Hong Kong and which its journalists had seen in part, Reuters reported.
The document outlines how the NSA bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, not only listening to conversations and phone calls but also gaining access to documents and emails. The document explicitly called the EU a "target."
The revelation is the latest in a cascade of disclosures set off by Snowden's flight.
According to Der Spiegel, the NSA also targeted telecommunications at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home to the European Council that groups EU national governments, by using a remote maintenance unit.
Without citing sources, the magazine reported that more than five years ago security officers at the EU had noticed and traced several missed calls to NSA offices within the NATO compound in Brussels.
Each EU member state has rooms in Justus Lipsius with phone and Internet connections, which ministers can use.
The spying methods resemble those reportedly?used by the British at the 2009 G20 Summit in London, which saw the UK's Government Communications Headquarters into phones and computers used by heads of state. That surveillance campaign was uncovered by a separate Snowden leak earlier this month.
Snowden fled from Hawaii to Hong Kong in May, a few weeks before publication in the Guardian and the Washington Post of details he provided about secret U.S. government surveillance of Internet and phone traffic. He has been holed up in a Moscow airport transit area since last weekend.
To contact the editor, e-mail:
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IPhone and iPad apps for absolute beginners / Rory Lewis and Chad Mello.
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Source: http://sjpl.org/iphone-and-ipad-apps-absolute-beginners-rory-lewis-and-chad-mello
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GIFs of the Week: June 24-28, 2013
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/gifs-of-the-week-june-24-28-2013
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শনিবার, ২৯ জুন, ২০১৩
Kate Middleton and Prince William release new baby details
Kate Middleton, now officially 'Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge,' still won't say if the heir to the crown is a boy or a girl, but she's revealing a few other facts.
The former Kate Middleton (at left, in yellow) attends a garden party hosted by Queen Elizabeth II on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, central London in May. On Thursday, the royal spokesperson announced some of Kate and William's plans.
Toby Melville/Pool/AP
EnlargeWith Prince William and the former?Kate?Middleton?expecting their first child in mid-July ? and much of the world interested in the birth of a future monarch ? the royals' office has released some of the couple's plans, although many details are still being kept private.?Kate?has made several public appearances recently but is expected to keep a low profile in the final weeks of her pregnancy. Here is the latest news about the infant who will, upon entering the world, be third in line for the British throne.
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KING OR QUEEN?
Royal officials can't say ? and it's not because they are being coy, it's because?Kate?and William have not found out ? and don't plan to.
"They don't know the sex of the baby and have decided not to find out," said a royal official who spoke on condition of anonymity under Palace guidelines for distributing information to the press.
PACING THE HALLWAY OR IN THE ROOM WITH HIS WIFE?
Officials said William "fully intends to be present at the birth." The birth is expected to take place at the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's hospital in central London. That is the hospital where William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, were born.
WHO'S IN CHARGE?
A spokesman said the medical team will be led by royal gynecologist Dr. Marcus Setchell.
WILL THE PUBLIC KNOW WHEN?KATE?IS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL?
Officials said there will be no advance notice. The public will be told once she has settled in her room in the early stages of labor, the spokesman said, anticipating that this would be within an hour of her arrival at the hospital.
HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND OUT THAT AN HEIR TO THE THRONE HAS BEEN BORN?
Through a mix of tradition and social media. Officials said a royal aide will emerge from the hospital with a signed bulletin on foolscap-sized paper carrying the Buckingham Palace letterhead. The bulletin will be given to an official who will be driven to the Palace, where it will be posted on an easel in public view in front of the building. At the same time the bulletin is posted, there will be an announcement on Twitter and the media will be formally notified. The document will give the baby's gender, weight and time of birth.
AND THE NAME?
Not so fast. Officials said they don't know how quickly a name will be chosen. When William was born, it took a week before his name was announced.
VISITING HOURS?
Officials said royals and members of the?Middleton?family are likely to visit, but Queen Elizabeth II is not expected to visit at the hospital because she will be on her summer vacation at the Balmoral estate in Scotland.
WHERE'S DADDY?
William plans to take two weeks paternity leave and then return to his military duties as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in Wales.
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Chrome OS dev channel gains Quickoffice powers, lets users edit native Excel and Word files
Chrome OS hardware continues to proliferate, and on the software front, Google continues to add features to the platform in the hopes of persuading more folks to exit the traditional PC paradigm. Today marks a significant step in achieving that latter goal, as the dev channel of Chrome OS has received the ability to edit Excel and Word files thanks to Quickoffice integration. While it's not ready for public consumption just yet, it shows that Google's getting close to fulfilling its promise to deliver native doc editing to the Pixel and other Chromebooks.
Should you be among those on the dev channel of Chrome OS, you can enable the functionality now by going to chrome://flags, enabling document editing and restarting your machine. According to developer François Beaufort -- the man who discovered the functionality -- editing's still a glitchy process, but the more folks that use the feature now, the faster the problems can be found and fixed. The power of productivity is in your hands, people, so get cracking squashing those bugs!
Via: The Next Web
Source: Fran?ois Beaufort (Google+)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lbi5dXCPYsA/
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শুক্রবার, ২৮ জুন, ২০১৩
Suspect in Boston Marathon bombing indicted
FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)
FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)
FILE - In this April 15, 2013 file photo, medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - In this April 15, 2013, file photo, blood from victims covers the sidewalk on Boylston Street, at the site of an explosion during the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston. At right foreground is a folding chair with the design of an American flag on the cover. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
BOSTON (AP) ? A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a 30-count indictment against the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, and many of the charges carry the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was indicted on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death.
Three people were killed and more than 260 injured in twin explosions near the finish line of the marathon on April 15. The charges also cover the death of MIT police officer Sean Collier, who authorities say was shot to death in his cruiser by the Tsarnaevs a few days after the bombing.
Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed following a shootout with police on April 19.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured later that day hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. According to the indictment, he wrote a message on the inside of the boat that said, among other things, "The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians," ''I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished," and "We Muslims are one body you hurt one you hurt us all."
The Tsarnaev brothers had roots in the turbulent Russian regions of Dagestan and Chechnya, which have become recruiting grounds for Islamic extremists. They had been living in the United States for about a decade.
Authorities said each of the brothers placed a knapsack containing a shrapnel-packed pressure cooker bomb near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race. The bombs went off within seconds of one another.
The U.S. attorney's office says 17 of the charges against Tsarnaev could bring life in prison or the death penalty.
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US boss held in China leaves plant after payout
FILE - In this Tuesday, June 25, 2013 file photo, American Chip Starnes, co-owner of Specialty Medical Supplies, speaks to the media from a window as he is held hostage by angry workers inside his plant at the Jinyurui Science and Technology Park in Qiao Zi township of Huairou District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China. Sternes detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday, June 27, after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, June 25, 2013 file photo, American Chip Starnes, co-owner of Specialty Medical Supplies, speaks to the media from a window as he is held hostage by angry workers inside his plant at the Jinyurui Science and Technology Park in Qiao Zi township of Huairou District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China. Sternes detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday, June 27, after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Chu Lixiang, director of Huairou district workers union, holds up a letter of settlement during a press conference held at a medical supply plant in Beijing, China, Thursday, June 27, 2013. An American boss of the factory detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a union representative said the two sides reached agreement in a pay dispute. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chu Lixiang, director of Huairou district workers union, is followed by journalists after a press conference held at a medical supply plant in Beijing, China, Thursday, June 27, 2013. An American boss of the factory detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a union representative said the two sides reached agreement in a pay dispute. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chu Lixiang, director of Huairou district workers union, holds up a letter of settlement during a press conference held at a medical supply plant in Beijing, China, Thursday, June 27, 2013. An American boss of the factory detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a union representative said the two sides reached agreement in a pay dispute. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
BEIJING (AP) ? An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute.
Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off.
The workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, said that the company owed them unpaid salary, that they believed the entire factory was shutting down and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India.
Starnes said the workers' demands were unjustified. Neither he nor district labor official Chu Lixiang gave details of the agreed compensation. Chu said all the workers would be terminated, although Starnes said some would be rehired later.
"It has been resolved to each side's satisfaction," Chu told reporters at the plant. She said they had been sorting out paperwork until 5 a.m. and that 97 workers had signed settlement agreements.
Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing.
"Yes!! Out and back at hotel," Starnes wrote in a text message. "Showered.. 9 pounds lost during the ordeal!!!!!!"
Police in Huairou district had made no moves to halt the labor action but guarded the plant and said they were guaranteeing Starnes' safety while local labor officials brokered negotiations.
It is not rare in China for managers to be held by workers demanding back pay or other benefits, often from their Chinese owners. Police are reluctant to intervene, as they consider it a business dispute, and local officials typically are eager to see the matter resolved in a way least likely to fuel unrest.
The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories.
About 80 workers started blocking all exits starting last Friday, and Starnes had spoken to reporters in recent days through the barred window of his factory office.
Earlier Thursday, he said in a telephone interview that he had been forced to give in to what he considered unjustified demands. He summed up the past several days as "humiliating, embarrassing." At the beginning of his captivity, workers had deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights and banging on windows of his office, he said.
"We have transferred our funds from the U.S.," he said. "I am basically free to go when the funds hit the account here of the company."
Starnes told the AP he planned to get back to business, and even rehire some of the workers who had been holding him.
He previously said the company had been winding down its plastics division, with plans to move it to Mumbai. When he arrived in Beijing last week to lay off the last 30 people, workers in other divisions started demanding similar severance packages.
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Iran, Shiites' protector - sometimes
Iran sees itself as a key defender of Shiites in other countries, but only when strategically helpful.?
A Shiite cleric prays at the shrine of Saint Ali Akbar, in northern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 23. A divide between Shiites and Sunnis are now more virulent than ever in the Arab world because of Syria's civil war.
Vahid Salemi/AP
EnlargeThe savage beating to death this week of four Shiite Muslims by a Sunni mob in Egypt set off a predictable chain reaction in Iran, which has long cast itself as the protector of Shiites around the world.?
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Iran condemned the Cairo killings and ?any act of extremism and violence which contradicts Islam,? and called upon ?the sensible and revolutionary Egyptian nation, through its prudent leaders [to] exercise vigilance vis-?-vis plots to foment discord among various schools of Islam.?
A prominent Shiite cleric in Iran?s religious center of Qom went further, speaking about an ?anti-Shia project in Egypt [which has] caused the intensification of sectarian [violence], emergence of crimes and legalization of bloodshed.?
But even though Iran has stepped up the rhetoric, it has done little else ? evidence that the Islamic Republic?s willingness and ability to intervene on behalf of embattled fellow Shiites depends?more?on strategic?than religious?calculations, analysts say.
The Cairo killings come amid an escalation of sectarian tensions between the two main denominations all over, especially in Syria.?That divide presents a dilemma for Iran, which has always presented its 1979 Islamic revolution as a pan-Islamic model?for Sunnis and Shiites alike.?
For example, although Iran?s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is officially referred to as the ?Leader of the World?s Shia," in a 2008 speech he says, ?Even those who were not Shia Muslims were attracted to the Islamic revolution. Millions of our Sunni brothers in Arab, African, and Asian countries were attracted to the Islamic revolution, and this [1979 revolution] was a blow to the enemies.?
Playing into Western hands
?Iran?s response to this massacre in Egypt is quite typical of how it has approached sectarian division,? says Roxane Farmanfarmaian, who teaches politics and international relations at Cambridge University in Britain.
?Iran has consistently stated that Muslims must act and stand together, and that any division or conflict between the Sunni and Shia only plays into Western hands that think of Islam as violent,? says Ms. Farmanfarmaian. ?It will support Shia when it?s geopolitically important and useful, but it has to have that extra dimension before it supports Shia?per se.?
Mr. Morsi has condemned the killing of Shiites as a ?heinous crime.? And the country?s leading Sunni religious establishment, Al-Azhar, said the killings were against Islam and urged the ?harshest punishment.? But?Morsi ? the Muslim Brotherhood president who will mark one year as Egypt?s first democratically elected president on?June 30???is also accused of giving free rein to fundamentalist Sunnis known as Salafists, who consider Shiites heretics.
Spilling over from the Syrian war
Many of the most troublesome sectarian tensions today are spilling over from the Syrian war, afflicting Lebanon and Iraq.?Iran?s critics accuse it of deepening?those?divisions with its support of the Syrian government, even though fellow Syria?allies Russia and China?have no pro-Shiite agenda.?
Speaking in April, Khamenei sought to?minimize?the split. He said that the Assad regime is not Shiite (although?its Alawite roots are a Shiite sect), nor are its opponents Sunni, even though ?Western propaganda and dependent regional media? try to depict it that way.
Yet even the fighters themselves have?increasingly?described their?battle as a sectarian fight. As Iran and Hezbollah (with Russia) have enabled Assad?s forces to make recent military gains, the Sunni states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Jordan (with the US and Europe) have bolstered support for the opposition.
New risks
Iranian leaders have long recognized that specific talk?from them?about defending Islam?s minority Shiites does not go over well with majority Sunnis,?and adds stress to?religious faultlines that date back 14 centuries.?
And in apparent recognition of the new risks of sectarian hatred spiraling out of control, Iran?s President-elect Hassan Rohani has stated that a top priority after he is sworn in will be mending relations with Saudi Arabia. He took similar conciliatory steps a decade ago as the head of Iran?s Supreme National Security Council.
The pragmatism in Iran's selective support of fellow Shiites can be found in Bahrain, the?tiny Persian Gulf sheikhdom where Shiites?began?pro-democracy protests in?early 2011. Iran?did nothing to prevent Saudi Arabia from sending military forces to bolster the government as it crushed the protests.
Such signals from Tehran means Iran ?is not going to go out on a limb for Shia?per se, it?s going to go out on a limb for unity,? says Farmanfarmaian. ?When it comes down to being ?Shia vs. political expediency,? as in the case of Bahrain, [Iran] certainly sees no reason to show up on those beaches and get into a war.?
In March 2011, Khamenei said: ?Do not make [Bahrain ] a Sunni and Shia issue; this would be the biggest favor ? for the enemies of the Islamic nation?. There exists no Sunni-Shia conflict.?
Then last February, Khamenei explained the result: ?The rulers of Bahrain claimed that Iran is involved in the events of Bahrain. This is a lie. No, we are not involved,? he said. ?If we had interfered, the conditions would have been different in Bahrain.?
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/o_UCSNuf6SA/Iran-Shiites-protector-sometimes
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রবিবার, ২৩ জুন, ২০১৩
Ohio air show resumes after stuntwoman, pilot die
CINCINNATI (AP) ? An air show in southwestern Ohio reopened with a moment of silence Sunday, a day after a pilot and wing walker died in a horrifying, fiery crash in front of thousands of spectators.
The Vectren Air Show near Dayton closed after Saturday's crash but resumed Sunday in honor of pilot Charlie Schwenker and veteran stuntwoman Jane Wicker, both of Virginia.
The two were killed when their plane crashed suddenly in front of spectators who screamed in shock as the aircraft quickly was engulfed in flames. No one else was hurt.
Video of the crash showed their plane gliding through the sky before abruptly rolled over, crashing and exploding into flames. Wicker had been sitting atop the 450 HP Stearmans.
The decision to resume the show a day after the crash was an emotional one supported by Wicker's ex-husband, said air show general manager Brenda Kerfoot.
"He said, 'This is what Jane and Charlie would have wanted,'" Kerfoot said. "'They want you to have a safe show and go out there and do what you do best.'"
Wicker, 44, of Loudon, Va., was a mother of two boys and engaged to be married, Kerfoot said. Schwenker, 64, of Oakton, Va., was married.
The cause of the crash is unclear and the conclusion of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board likely will take months.
Debris from the crash was cleared Saturday after investigators collected what they needed.
Wicker, a seasoned wing walker, was performing Saturday at the Dayton air show for the first time.
Wicker's website says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said.
In one post on Wicker's site, the stuntwoman explains what she loved most about her job.
"There is nothing that feels more exhilarating or freer to me than the wind and sky rushing by me as the earth rolls around my head," says the post. "I'm alive up there. To soar like a bird and touch the sky puts me in a place where I feel I totally belong. It's the only thing I've done that I've never questioned, never hesitated about and always felt was my destiny."
She also answered a question she said she got frequently: What about the risk?
"I feel safer on the wing of my airplane than I do driving to the airport," she wrote. "Why? Because I'm in control of those risks and not at the mercy of those other drivers."
A program for the air show touted Wicker as performing "heart-stopping" feats and who did moves that "no other wing walker is brave enough to try."
"Wing riding is not for this damsel; her wing walking style is the real thing," the program said. "With no safety line and no parachute, Jane amazes the crowd by climbing, walking, and hanging all over her beautiful ... aircraft.
"Spectators are sure to gasp as this daredevil demonstrates in true form the unbelievable art of wing walking," it says.
On the video of the crash, an announcer narrates as Wicker's plane glides through the air.
"Keep an eye on Jane. Keep an eye on Charlie. Watch this! Jane Wicker, sitting on top of the world," the announcer said, right before the plane makes a quick turn and nosedive.
Some spectators said they knew something was wrong because the plane was flying low and slow.
Thanh Tran, of Fairfield, said he could see a look of concern on Wicker's face just before the plane went down.
"She looked very scared," he said. "Then the airplane crashed on the ground. After that, it was terrible, man ... very terrible."
In 2011, wing walker Todd Green fell 200 feet to his death at an air show in Michigan while performing a stunt in which he grabbed the skid of a helicopter.
In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane slammed into the runway while performing loop-to-loops and caught fire.
Organizers were presenting a trimmed-down show and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.
The air show, one of the country's oldest, usually draws around 70,000 people and has a $3.2 million impact on the local economy. Without military aircraft and support, the show expected attendance to be off 30 percent or more.
___
Online:
Raw video of crash: http://bit.ly/11Vf7JA
___
Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-air-show-resumes-stuntwoman-pilot-die-131204772.html
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RIP Snapjoy: The Dropbox-Acquired Photo Service Is Shutting Down
Snapjoy, the online photo storage service that Dropbox acquired in December, has some bad news today for its users: it is shutting down. The company noted the information in a blog post, as well as in an email it's currently sending out to users (I am among them: I'm copying the text below).Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wY5pjh4GI-Q/
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Expert: Michael Jackson was totally sleep-deprived
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Michael Jackson's inability to learn new dance moves and remember the lyrics to his songs were symptoms that the singer was totally sleep deprived by the time of his death, a sleep expert told a jury Friday.
Charles Czeisler said reports by workers on Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts that the entertainer was losing weight, exhibiting signs of paranoia and his condition seemed to be deteriorating were consistent with someone who hadn't gotten any real sleep in a long time.
The sleep deprivation was likely caused by Jackson's use of the anesthetic propofol, which Czeisler said would put the singer in a drug-induced coma and not meet his body's need for actual sleep. Studies showed that similar levels of sleep deprivation resulted in the deaths of laboratory animals and would likely cause the death of a human, he said.
The extreme nature of Jackson's sleep deprivation would have shortened the singer's life unless he received appropriate treatment, Czeisler said. With proper treatment, Jackson could have continued to tour and perform for many years, he testified.
Czeisler relied heavily on summaries of testimony provided by a plaintiff's lawyer and emails from choreographers and others working on Jackson's "This Is It" tour to form his opinion. The testimony detailed Jackson's missed rehearsals and reports that he was picking up dance moves slowly, as well as that he requested a teleprompter to display lyrics to his songs.
"The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said.
The Harvard professor and sleep researcher is testifying as a sleep expert in a lawsuit filed by the singer's mother against concert promoter AEG Live LLC.
On cross-examination by AEG defense attorney Kathryn Cahan, the researcher acknowledged that he hadn't reviewed actual testimony from the case, including statements from AEG executives that they thought the singer appeared fine and had stellar rehearsals before his death.
Czeisler, who is being paid $950 an hour for his work on the case, said he reached his opinion after reviewing deposition transcripts, medical records and other evidence shown to jurors during Katherine Jackson's eight-week trial against AEG.
A lawyer for Katherine Jackson summarized the evidence used to form the basis for Czeisler's opinion in a 17-minute, 1,833 word question that caused the trial to grind to a halt on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
Michael Koskoff's inquiry was posed as a hypothetical question to Czeisler that included a summary of testimony, passages of emails already shown to jurors and other evidence presented during trial.
A judge said the question contained details that are inadmissible in the trial and misstated several other details. Superior Court Yvette Palazuelos opted not to strike the question from the record but allowed Koskoff to clarify it. That process took another 19 minutes on Friday.
Attorneys spent roughly an hour arguing over the structure of the lengthy question, leaving jurors waiting for nearly 30 minutes on Friday.
Czeisler earned more than $250 listening to the initial question, and more than $300 listening to Koskoff clarify it. Czeisler is a Harvard-educated sleep expert who has consulted on sleep issues for sports teams, the Rolling Stones, ex-NBA player Shaquille O'Neal and government agencies such as the CIA and U.S. Marshals Service.
In all, he estimated that he had spent 120 hours on the case, which would earn him $114,000.
Katherine Jackson's negligent hiring suit claims AEG Live is responsible for her son's death because it failed to properly investigate Conrad Murray, who was convicted of giving Jackson a fatal dose of propofol, and missed warning signs about his health.
AEG denies it hired Murray or could have known that the former cardiologist was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid.
___
Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expert-michael-jackson-totally-sleep-deprived-180920143.html
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Brazil: 150K protest against govt corruption
SAO PAULO (AP) ? About 150,000 anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday and engaged police in some isolated, intense conflicts. Anger over political corruption emerged as the unifying issue for the demonstrators, who vowed to stay in the streets until concrete steps are taken to reform the political system.
Across Brazil, protesters gathered to denounce legislation, known as PEC 37, that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes ? which many fear would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians.
Federal prosecutors were behind the investigation into the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history, the so-called "mensalao" cash-for-votes scheme that came to light in 2005 and involved top aides of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva buying votes for their legislation in congress.
Last year, the supreme court condemned two dozen people in connection to the case, which was hailed as a watershed moment in Brazil's fight against corruption. However, those condemned have yet to be jailed because of appeals, a delay that has enraged Brazilians.
"Dilma is underestimating the resolve of the people on the corruption issue," said Mayara Fernandes, a medical student who took part in a Sao Paulo march that drew 30,000 people on Saturday. "She talked and talked and said nothing. Nobody can take the corruption of this country anymore."
Elsewhere in Brazil, police estimated that about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in the city of Belo Horizonte, 30,000 shut down a main business avenue in Sao Paulo, and another 30,000 gathered in the city in southern Brazil where a nightclub fire killed over 240 mostly university students, deaths many argued could have been avoided with better government oversight of fire laws.
In Belo Horizonte, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to pass through a barrier and hurled rocks at a car dealership. Salvador also saw protests turn violent.
The angry protests continued despite a prime-time speech the night before from President Dilma Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship. During her 10-minute address she backed the right to peaceful protest but sharply condemned violence, vandalism and looting.
Rousseff promised she would always battle corruption and that she would meet with peaceful protesters, governors and the mayors of big cities to create a national plan to improve urban transportation and use oil royalties for investments in education.
Anger over hikes in bus and subway fares in several cities originally ignited the protests, and a brutal police crackdown on demonstrators last week in Sao Paulo sent the nation into the streets during the largest public demonstrations Latin America's biggest nation has seen in two decades.
Many Brazilians, shocked by a week of protests and violence, hoped that Rousseff's words after several days of silence from the leader would soothe tensions and help avoid more violence, but not all were convinced by her promises of action.
Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university who joined the crowd, said she was "frustrated and exhausted by the endless corruption of our government."
"It was good Dilma spoke, but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say. All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."
Around her, fathers held young boys aloft on their shoulders, older women gathered in clusters with their faces bearing yellow and green stripes, the colors of Brazil's flag.
In the northeastern city of Salvador, where Brazil's national football team played Italy and won 4-2 in a Confederations Cup match, some 5,000 protesters gathered about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the stadium, shouting demands for better schools and transportation and denouncing heavy spending on next year's World Cup.
They blocked a main road and clashed with riot police who moved in to clear the street. Protesters said police used rubber bullets and even tossed tear gas canisters from a helicopter hovering overhead. The protesters scattered and fled to a nearby shopping mall, where they tried to take shelter in an underground parking garage.
"We sat down and the police came and asked us to free up one lane for traffic. As we were organizing our group to do just that, the police lost their patience and began to shoot at us and throw (tear gas) canisters," said Rodrigo Dorado.
That was exactly the type of conflict Rousseff said needed to end, not just so Brazilians could begin a peaceful national discussion about corruption but because much of the violence is taking place in cities hosting foreign tourists attending the Confederations Cup.
Brazil's news media, which had blasted Rousseff in recent days for her lack of response to the protests, seemed largely unimpressed with her careful speech, but noted the difficult situation facing a government trying to understand a mass movement with no central leaders and a flood of demands.
With "no objective information about the nature of the organization of the protests," wrote Igor Gielow in a column for Brazil's biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, "Dilma resorted to an innocuous speech to cool down spirits."
At its height, some 1 million anti-government demonstrators took to the streets nationwide on Thursday night with grievances ranging from public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for international sports events.
Outside the stadium in Belo Horizonte where Mexico and Japan met in a Confederations Cup game, Dadiana Gamaleliel, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, held up a banner that read: "Not against the games, in favor of the nation."
"I am protesting on behalf of the whole nation because this must be a nation where people have a voice ... we don't have a voice anymore," she said.
She said Rousseff's speech wouldn't "change anything."
"She spoke in a general way and didn't say what she would do," she said. "We will continue this until we are heard."
___
Associated press writers Tales Azzoni and Ricardo Zuniga in Salvador, Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Rob Harris in Belo Horizonte contributed to this report
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-150k-protest-against-govt-corruption-235445043.html
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iOS 7 and the state of the jailbreak: Is there still a need?
When Apple announced iOS 7 last week at WWDC, I wasn't surprised to see that many jailbreak concepts had again made their way into stock iOS. If anything, this year more than ever, Apple took lots of cues from jailbreak tweaks new and old and made them their own in a way that only Apple can do. iOS 7 is one of the biggest overhauls we've seen since its inception and that may leave a lot of people wondering if there's a place for jailbreak anymore.
This year a few different staple jailbreak tweaks got sherlocked by Apple. Let's take a look at which ones did, which ones didn't, and where that leaves the state of the jailbreak when it comes to iOS 7.
The most obvious jailbreak tweak that made an appearance (finally) in iOS 7 is SBSettings, which has been redesigned and refined by Apple in the form of Control Center. SBSettings has been around almost since the inception of jailbreak itself and it's typically one of the first tweaks any veteran jailbreaker installs.
Not only does SBSettings give jailbreakers access to basic settings toggles, it also allows you to install more based on what you need. You can then organize them, delete ones you don't need, and more. Control Center is pretty much SBSettings in Apple form. It's a place where you can have quick access to common settings without having to actually go into the native Settings app. While SBSettings does offer a few more options than Control Center will, such as managing memory, odds are most users will be happy enough with Control Center that they'll have no need for SBSettings unless it's somehow tweaked to work in conjunction with Control Center.
Then there's Auxo. When Apple showed off the updated version of multitasking, I instantly thought of Auxo. For those not familiar, Auxo is a neat little tweak that will show live previews of the apps you have open in multitasking. Auxo makes it possible to see a saved state than looking at an app icon that told you absolutely nothing about what you were doing inside that app.
In usual Apple form, the multitasking that will make an appearance in iOS 7 looks very much like Auxo but with a better coat of paint and larger preview windows.
Outside of Auxo and SBSettings, a lot of iOS 7 dealt primarily with updating the interface and adding new visual elements.
So what does that mean for jailbreak?
It most likely means that jailbreak will probably still play a real role if and when an iOS 7 jailbreak is released. I say this mainly because some of the things we want to be able to do with iOS we still can't, unless we jailbreak. Items such as quick reply messaging are still MIA in stock iOS and it's something apps like BiteSMS have been able to solve. As far as Notification Center goes, there is still a lot of work to be done on Apple's part. While they've managed to segregate it a little better, I still don't have the fine tuned control over it like I do with jailbreak apps like IntelliscreenX or LockInfo.
Then again, Apple has only released one beta so far and a lot could change from now to public release.
Regardless what the public release brings in its final form, one fact remains the same; as iOS continues to improve, so do jailbreak tweaks and apps. Our wants grow larger and we find new things that we want our devices to be able to do. More often than not, it's jailbreak developers that find a way to implement those wants before Apple releases them to the masses. Sometimes the gap between jailbreak and iOS offerings can even span years.
If anything, I'm not disappointed by iOS 7 gaining functionality, I'm excited to see what jailbreak developers make of it and to see the interesting things they'll be able to create.
With all this being said, do you still plan to jailbreak iOS 7 when it becomes a viable option? Why or why not?
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nPPp3BeY_-U/story01.htm
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Will 'The Voice' winner stick with country music?
TV 
8 hours ago
She beat out rock and pop performers and even her fellow country crooners on "The Voice," and now it's time for Danielle Bradbery to decide which style of music she's going to go with for her first album.
Will she stick with what led to her win or branch out? Bradbery revealed her choice during a Friday morning visit to TODAY.
"I've been thinking about it," she said. "I love country, and I would want to be more pop-country. Yeah. I love all genres, but I think pop-country."
She's even landed a record deal with the same label as pop-country princess Taylor Swift. And she has a pal who's done well with the same genre -- Hunter Hayes, who performed alongside Bradbery on "The Voice" finale and happened to be on TODAY Friday for a performance of his own.
Before belting out his hits, Hayes gave Bradbery a new guitar. After that, he gave the 16-year-old some advice about what lies ahead for her.
"Enjoy every minute of it," he said. "It's a fast-paced thing, but it's a beautiful thing. The music is wonderful to be a part of. Do your thing. Make sure it's your own music; it's your fingerprint, your soul, your heart."
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শনিবার, ২২ জুন, ২০১৩
Wine Bottles Can Perch On Any Wall Now
If there's one thing you might actually want in your face or protruding into your kitchen, it's a bottle of wine. An aggressive reminder to take a load off is always welcome. And these wine holders can be arranged so the bottles form any shape you want.
Wine Cell created by Fiduz, a Danish design studio, comes in packs of three (though it's unclear how much each pack costs). The holders come in six colors and could potentially be used for an ill-advised, yet obviously awesome game of darts. Let it all hang out. [Bless This Stuff]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/wine-bottles-can-perch-on-any-wall-now-536200579
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11 Ways to Make Foods Shaped Like Penises
Popsicles. Corndogs. Shish kabaobs. There are, you know, options. But sometimes, imagery just doesn't cut it. Here are eleven ways to put penis on the table.
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Jon Stewart appears on Egyptian satirical TV show
CAIRO (AP) ? Jon Stewart took the guest's seat Friday on Egypt's top satirical TV show, modeled after his own program "The Daily Show."
Stewart was brought to the set wearing a black hood and introduced by host Bassem Youssef as a captured foreign spy.
Stewart, wearing a scruffy beard, spoke briefly in Arabic as the studio audience gave him a raucous welcome.
"Please sit down, I am a simple man who does not like to be fussed over," he said in Arabic to laughter.
Youssef, host of the show "Al-Bernameg" and one of Egypt's most popular TV presenters, has been questioned by prosecutors on accusations of blasphemy and insulting the president. Stewart defended his counterpart and friend in one of his monologues after Youssef was interrogated earlier this year, and Youssef has appeared as a guest on the popular New York-based show.
Stewart, who is on a summer-long break from anchoring the Comedy Central fake newscast is in the Middle East making his first movie. He expressed admiration for Youssef in Friday's episode, which was recorded earlier this week during a visit to Cairo.
"Satire is a settled law. If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke, then you have no regime," Stewart said, adding that Youssef "is showing that satire can be relevant."
True to form, Youssef began the weekly show with a series of jokes about Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's appearance and address at a rally last weekend hosted by his hard-line Islamist backers.
The president, Egypt's first freely elected leader, announced at the rally a complete break of diplomatic relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Youssef, however, criticized Morsi for remaining silent and wearing a stone face while one of the rally's organizers denounced as non-believers opposition protesters planning massive, anti-government demonstrations on June 30, the anniversary of the start of the president's term.
Stewart said he was overwhelmed with the generosity of Egyptians but took a jab at Cairo's horrendous traffic. "I flew in three days ago and I have just arrived to do the show," he joked.
Youssef ? known as Egypt's Jon Stewart ? was interrogated in April for allegedly insulting Islam and the country's leader. His questioning drew criticism from Washington and rights advocates. A trained heart surgeon, Youssef catapulted to fame when his video blogs mocking politics received hundreds of thousands of hits shortly after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
Unlike other local TV presenters, Youssef uses satire to mock fiery comments made by ultraconservative clerics and politicians, garnering him a legion of fans among the country's revolutionaries and liberals. He has 1.4 million fans on Facebook and nearly 850,000 followers on Twitter.
During his hiatus, Stewart will be directing and producing "Rosewater" from his own script, based on a memoir by Maziar Bahari. This Iranian journalist was falsely accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2009 while covering Iran's presidential election.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jon-stewart-appears-egyptian-satirical-tv-show-211910354.html
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শুক্রবার, ২১ জুন, ২০১৩
PST: Wambach praises teammates' help?with record
HARRISON, N.J. ? With history set as the backdrop, Abby Wambach exceeded even her own expectations.
The U.S. Soccer centennial banners lined the field at Red Bull Arena, celebrating 100 years of the federation?s existence. But 160 was the only number that would matter by night?s end.
Wambach had a hat trick inside 30 minutes and scored a fourth goal in first half stoppage time to reach 160 goals, breaking Mia Hamm?s previous world record of 158.
?My teammates know me super well,? she said. ?At halftime they were like, ?you are such an extremist. You are all or nothing. When you want to do something you just do it.? I?m very much like my father in that way.?
Wambach credited her teammates for setting her up throughout the night ? and throughout her career. Even on a night when the world?s attention focused on Wambach, the 5-foot-11-inch forward couldn?t help but try to pass off the spotlight.
?I really through and through believe it in my heart, I?m only as good as my teammates allow me to be,? Wambach said. ?Yes, I score a lot of goals and yes I put myself in positions to score goals, but they do to. And I can?t thank my teammates enough.?
Her teammates, however wouldn?t allow the focus to be anywhere but firmly fixed on the No. 20 shirt in white.
?Honestly, we?re always looking for each other,? said Alex Morgan, who has now assisted 13 of Wambach?s 160 career goals. ?Abby, after she scored three, she was like, ?OK, can we please get it to you now? Can we pass it to you? Let?s go. We?re always looking for each other up top. Making runs for each other, so I think that we play well together; we play selflessly and it has shown in the success of the team.?
Goal No. 159, which gave Wambach sole possession of the record, came when she emphatically headed Megan Rapinoe?s corner kick into the net
?She was on two at that point, so obviously it was going through my head. Just put something good ? let her get up there and try to grab something,? Rapinoe said of her thought process on the corner kick.?
Even given Wambach?s prowess, Rapinoe didn?t think the record was reachable pregame.
?I can?t even believe it,? Rapinoe said. ?I didn?t think that she was going to have a hat trick tonight, to be honest.?
Now Wambach wants to move on from the hype and focus on getting ready for the 2015 World Cup ? a trophy that continues to elude her. And her focus on the record isn?t about herself, it?s about helping Morgan break it ?in much less time than I did.?
Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/20/abby-wambach-goals-record-mia-hamm-teammates/related/
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Sexual Well-Being - Threats to Female Reproductive Health - ...
Threats to Female Reproductive Health 0 5
Kbuntu/PhotoSpin Sometimes women encounter reproductive health risks. Below are some examples of what can threaten the female reproductive system.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) include human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), human papillomavirus (HPV, or genital warts), hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and genital herpes, wrote KidsHealth.org.
When left untreated, STDs can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, causing scarring or blocking of the fallopian tubes and cervical changes, said LaterBaby.org.
Toxic shock syndrome is an uncommon but life-threatening illness caused by toxins released into the body during a bacterial infection, stated KidsHealth.org. It can produce high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and shock.
According to LaterBaby.org, smoking can have a serious impact on female reproductive health by interfering with the body?s ability to create estrogen. It can also cause eggs to be more prone to genetic abnormalities; is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage; and has been linked to early onset of menopause.
In addition, smoking has been tied to increases in the likelihood of cervical cancer and pelvic infections.
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to female reproductive health problems including irregular ovulation, amenorrhea, and the abnormal development of the endometrial lining, wrote LaterBaby.org.
LaterBaby.org added that illegal drugs may be universally damaging to female reproductive health. There are even risks to fertility and female reproductive health associated with some legal and over-the-counter drugs. For example, some prescription medications can interfere with ovulation.
Research has shown that exposure to environmental pollutants may pose the greatest threat to reproductive health, warned National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Exposure to lead is associated with reduced fertility, while mercury exposure has been linked to birth defects and neurological disorders.
Source: http://www.empowher.com/sexual-well-being/content/threats-female-reproductive-health
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Novartis heart drug gets FDA's 'breakthrough' status
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis said on Friday U.S. regulators have given breakthrough therapy status to an investigational treatment for patients with acute heart failure, potentially fast tracking its development and approval.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created the "breakthrough therapy" designation earlier this year for medicines deemed likely to demonstrate "substantial improvement" over existing drugs.
Novartis said the FDA's decision was supported by efficacy and safety results from a late stage trial of its serelaxin, which also showed serelaxin reduced patient deaths by 37 percent at six months after acute heart failure compared to those who received standard therapy.
Novartis said late last year serelaxin was one of the most promising drugs in its pipeline, while Deutsche bank analysts said it could potentially rake in $2.5 billion in annual sales.
(Reporting by Martin de Sa'Pinto; Editing by David Cowell)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/novartis-heart-drug-gets-fdas-breakthrough-status-062737860.html
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২০ জুন, ২০১৩
Taliban offer to free US soldier in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The Afghan Taliban are ready to free a U.S. soldier held captive since 2009 in exchange for five of their senior operatives imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay as a conciliatory gesture, a senior spokesman for the group said Thursday.
The offer came as an Afghan government spokesman said President Hamid Karzai is now willing to join planned peace talks with the Taliban ? provided that the Taliban flag and nameplate are removed from the militant group's newly opened political office in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar. Karzai also wants a formal letter from the United States supporting the Afghan government.
The only known American soldier held captive from the Afghan war is U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, 27, of Hailey, Idaho. He disappeared from his base in southeastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009, and is believed held in Pakistan.
In an exclusive telephone interview with The Associated Press from his Doha office, Taliban spokesman Shaheen Suhail said on Thursday that Bergdahl "is, as far as I know, in good condition."
Suhail did not elaborate on Bergdahl's current whereabouts. Among the five prisoners the Taliban have consistently requested are Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former Taliban governor of Herat, and Mullah Mohammed Fazl, a former top Taliban military commander, both of whom have been held for more than a decade.
Bergdahl's parents earlier this month received a letter from their son through the International Committee of the Red Cross. They did not release details of the letter but renewed their plea for his release. The soldier's captivity has been marked by only sporadic releases of videos and information about his whereabouts.
The prisoner exchange is the first item on the Taliban's agenda before even opening peace talks, said Suhail, who is a top Taliban figure and served as first secretary at the Afghan Embassy in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad before the Taliban government's ouster in 2001.
"First has to be the release of detainees," Suhail said when asked about Bergdahl. "Yes. It would be an exchange. Then step by step, we want to build bridges of confidence to go forward."
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected in Doha ahead of Saturday's conference on the Syrian civil war. He was not expected to meet with the Taliban although other U.S. officials might in coming days.
On Wednesday in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. had "never confirmed" any specific meeting schedule with Taliban representatives in Doha.
The reconciliation process with the Taliban has been a long and bumpy one that began nearly two years ago when the U.S. opened secret talks that were later scuttled by Karzai when he learned of them.
It was then that the U.S. and Taliban discussed prisoner exchanges and for a brief time it appeared that the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners would be released and sent to Doha to help further the peace process. But Karzai stepped in again and demanded they be returned to Afghanistan over Taliban objections.
Since then, the U.S. has been trying to jumpstart peace talks and the Taliban have made small gestures including an offer to share power. The Taliban have also attended several international conferences and held meetings with representatives of about 30 countries.
If the Taliban hold talks with American delegates in the next few days, they will be the first U.S.-Taliban talks in nearly 1 ? years.
Prospective peace talks were again thrown into question Wednesday when Karzai became infuriated by the Taliban's move to cast their new office in Doha as a rival embassy.
The Taliban held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday in which they hoisted their flag and a banner with the name they used while in power more than a decade ago: "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." Later, the Taliban replaced the sign to read simply: "Political office of the Taliban."
At the ceremony, the Taliban welcomed dialogue with Washington but said their fighters would not stop fighting. Hours later, the group claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Bagram Air Base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, that killed four American service members.
Karzai on Wednesday announced his government is out of the peace talks, apparently angered by the way Kabul had been sidelined in the U.S.-Taliban bid for rapprochement.
The Afghan president also suspended negotiations with the United States on a bilateral security agreement that would cover American troops who will remain behind after the final withdrawal of NATO combat troops at the end of 2014.
However, Karzai spokesman Fayeq Wahidi said Thursday that the Afghan president is willing to join peace talks with the Taliban if the U.S. follows through with promises he said were made by Kerry in a phone call.
Wahidi said Kerry promised Karzai that the Taliban flag and a nameplate with their former regime's name would be removed and the U.S. would issue a formal letter supporting the Afghan government and making clear that the Taliban office would not be seen as an embassy or government-in-exile.
Once those commitments are met, Wahidi said, "We would see no problem in entering into talks with the Taliban in Qatar. "
On Thursday, the "Islamic Emirate" nameplate had been removed from the Taliban office. The flagpole inside the compound was apparently shortened and the Taliban flag ? dark Quranic script on a white background ? was still flying but not visible from the street. Journalists gathered at the office shot images of the flag through the gaps in the walls.
The Taliban have long refused to talk to Karzai's representatives but the opening of the office was seen as a first step toward those meetings.
Suhail said the Taliban are insistent that they want their first interlocutors to be the United States. "First we talk to the Americans about those issues concerning the Americans and us (because) for those issues implementation is only in the hands of the Americans," he said.
"We want foreign troops to be pulled out of Afghanistan," he added. "If there are troops in Afghanistan then there will be a continuation of the war."
Suhail indicated the Taliban could approve of American trainers and advisers for the Afghan troops, saying that "of course, there is cooperation between countries in other things. We need that cooperation."
He said that once the Taliban concluded talks with the United States, they would participate in all-inclusive Afghan talks.
Suhail ruled out exclusive talks with Karzai's High Peace Council, which has been a condition of the Afghan president, who previously said he wanted talks in Doha to be restricted to his representatives and the Taliban. Instead, the Taliban would talk to all Afghan groups, Suhail said.
"After we finish the phase of talking to the Americans, then we would start the internal phase ... that would include all Afghans," he said. "Having all groups involved will guarantee peace and stability."
____
Gannon reported from Islamabad, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Brian Murphy in Dubai contributed to this report.
____
Kathy Gannon is AP Special Regional Correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan and can be reached at www.twitter.com/kathygannon
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-offer-free-us-soldier-afghanistan-131626418.html
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Obama relying on untested oversight board on NSA
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers.
The privacy board was to meet Wednesday, its first meeting since revelations that the NSA has been secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. The meeting will be closed to the public.
The board has existed since 2004, first as part of the executive branch, then, after a legislative overhaul that took effect in 2008, as an independent board of presidential appointees reporting to Congress. But hindered by Obama administration delays and then resistance from Republicans in Congress, the new board was not fully functional until May, when its chairman, David Medine, finally was confirmed.
Obama's sudden leaning on the board as a civil libertarian counterweight to the government's elaborate secret surveillance program places trust in an organization that is untested and whose authority at times still defers to Congress and government censors.
"They've been in startup mode a long time," said Sharon Bradford Franklin, a senior counsel at the Constitution Project, a bipartisan civil liberties watchdog group. "With all the concerns about the need for a debate on the issue of surveillance, this is a great opportunity for them to get involved."
It was not clear how much classified information would be discussed at Wednesday's meeting. As late as April 2012, the board's incoming chairman did not have a security clearance and the board did not have the classified, secure meeting area that is necessary to review and discuss classified government material.
The board's five appointees recently got security clearances, said Franklin, who attended the new group's first two meetings in October and March. "The first thing they can do is push for more disclosure and a more well-rounded picture of the surveillance programs," she said.
In an interview with television talk show host Charlie Rose, Obama said he wanted the group to spearhead a national conversation not only on the surveillance programs recently disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, but also "about the general problem of these big data sets because this is not going to be restricted to government entities."
The board's mandate includes privacy as well as national security concerns, so, in theory, it could veer into questions about how Internet companies like Google and Facebook as well as hundreds of other data-mining firms deal with privacy and how government might regulate those entities. But as Franklin and other civil liberties experts said, the board's role is largely advisory, setting out problems and suggesting possible options.
"They have statutory authority in two main areas," Franklin said. "One is evaluating whether safeguards on civil liberties are adequate and the other is in transparency ? informing the public and ensuring the government is more transparent."
But there are still limits on the group's independence when it comes to the public disclosure of classified material. While the board has leeway in scrutinizing classified material and referencing top secret documents, it can only make those materials public if they are first declassified by the government, said Lanny Davis, who was one of the board's first five members.
"They can say anything they want short of putting out classified information," said Davis, a former senior counselor to President Bill Clinton who has worked as a consultant, commentator and representative for several foreign governments.
Davis ran into that brick wall in 2007 when the board was preparing a draft of its report for Congress on government national security programs. One passage in the draft described anti-terrorism programs that represented "potentially problematic" intrusions on civil liberties, but it was deleted at the direction of the White House. Bush administration lawyers made more than 200 other revisions in the report, and while the board accepted most of the changes, Davis quit. Going public with his decision, Davis said he was not reacting to censorship of any classified material but instead the board's structural ties to the executive branch that allowed White House lawyers to heavily edit the report.
"The law as it was then made the board a functional equivalent of White House staff," Davis said. "Congress corrected that by making the board independent. If they have a problem with classified material, they still can't release it on their own. But they can go out and have a press conference complaining about it. Before, they had to defer to the White House."
Congress' revision of the legal authority that set up the board gave Obama the ability to appoint a new group of appointees when he came into office in January 2009. But Obama did not forward his first nominations until December 2010, and they languished among dozens of other nominations in Congress.
The current board is a mix of civil libertarians and former government lawyers. Medine, the chairman, most recently worked as a Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer. James X. Dempsey is a vice president of public policy with the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet civil liberties group. Elisebeth Collins Cook and Rachel Brand both worked as Justice Department lawyers during the Bush administration and are now in private practice. Patricia M. Wald is a former federal judge appointed by President Jimmy Carter.
Three members ? Medine, Cook and Brand ? have worked as lawyers at WilmerHale, a top legal and lobbying shop in Washington. Medine lobbied for several years for data security groups, including Iron Mountain and the National Association for Information Destruction, a trade association for shredding and other information disposal companies. Brand lobbied for Google, T-Mobile and a pharmaceutical association.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-relying-untested-oversight-board-nsa-071956351.html
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