619: Droves of Jihadis

Maps upside down

Ham park experience

Coins too many

Austin costs

water bottles to scare away cats

McCartney Noro Virus

turtles in a bin - yummy!

No tipping!

50hz vs 60hz

Work hours

I've been listening to NA 619 and you mentioned that you're not changing anyone's minds. I just wanted to let you know that you've changed my mind on may topics: I was all in on global warming and if you'd asked me about net neutrality, I'd have rallied behind it.

But I think I'm like a lot of people in this country: we hear sound bites and quick clips and just assume that 97 out of 100 scientists can't be wrong. I heard about No Agenda through TWiT and Linux Outlaws and finally decided to listen. You two were saying things that were completely against what I believed! But you said these things with (gasp!) evidence and anti-examples from the media.

Now I'm hooked and while I've only been listening since 602, I've scheduled a small monthly donation and donated double nickles on the dime a couple times already, with serious aspirations of becoming a knight.

My main reason for emailing, though, is to make sure you know that you *do* change some peoples' minds and that JCD's email is MUCH harder to find than yours, which is probably why you get all his hate mail.

I've been propagating the formula and I look forward to each new episode and pad my time with old ones.

Thanks!

Andrew Benz

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Thu, 22 May 2014 13:07

On one hand, you have companies like Netflix, Level 3, and countless consumer advocates, who say that the industry's large ISPs are letting their peering links (and therefore your YouTube and Netflix performance) saturate to force content companies into increasingly expensive and anti-competitive paid interconnection deals. On the other hand, you've got the nation's biggest ISPs and a few analysts who work with them proclaiming this is all business as usual and there's "nothing to see here."What does Google Fiber think about things? In a new Google Fiber team blog post, the company says they don't need to charge content companies for interconnection because they don't need to, and because what Google has found is truly industry "business as usual" involves a little give and take that benefits everyone in the chain:

quote:

We give companies like Netflix and Akamai free access to space and power in our facilities and they provide their own content servers. We don't make money from peering or colocation; since people usually only stream one video at a time, video traffic doesn't bog down or change the way we manage our network in any meaningful way '-- so why not help enable it?You'll note that's an immeasurably different tale from what incumbent ISPs and analysts like Dan Rayburn are claiming. For example, compare Google Fiber's explanation with that of AT&T, who claims Netflix is trying to get a "free ride," even if everybody along the chain pays a significant amount for bandwidth and transit already, and paying AT&T customers are the ones requesting and paying for the content. From an AT&T blog post last March:quote:

As we all know, there is no free lunch, and there's also no cost-free delivery of streaming movies. Someone has to pay that cost. Mr. Hastings' arrogant proposition is that everyone else should pay but Netflix. That may be a nice deal if he can get it. But it's not how the Internet, or telecommunication for that matter, has ever worked.Now note the contrast in the explanation of the streaming content ecosystem by Google Fiber director of network engineering Jeffrey Burgan. Burgan points out how offering free colocation and interconnection (joining Netflix's free Open Connect CDN, for example) is just common sense and good business for everybody in the chain:quote:

But we also don't charge because it's really a win-win-win situation. It's good for content providers because they can deliver really high-quality streaming video to their customers. For example, because Netflix colocated their servers along our network, their customers can access full 1080p HD and, for those who own a 4K TV, Netflix in Ultra HD 4K.It's good for us because it saves us money (it's easier to transport video traffic from a local server than it is to transport it thousands of miles). But most importantly, we do this because it gives Fiber users the fastest, most direct route to their content. That way, you can access your favorite shows faster. All-in-all, these arrangements help you experience the best access to content on the Internet '-- which is the whole point of getting Fiber to begin with!

Again, that's contrasted with AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, who want the public to believe that hitting content companies up for additional money via direct interconnection fees is "how things have always worked." Most people, if they've followed AT&T's efforts to impose unreasonable tolls on content at every possible opportunity for most of the last decade, should have a general idea which side of the aisle the truth falls on with this issue.

What the fuck?!?!?!?!?

As the legendary co-founder of ACT UP and the Gay Men's Health Crisis Larry Kramer said this week to the NY Times:

“Anybody who voluntarily takes an antiviral every day has got to have rocks in their heads,” Mr. Kramer said, describing the side effects of drugs he has taken. “There’s something to me cowardly about taking Truvada instead of using a condom. You’re taking a drug that is poison to you, and it has lessened your energy to fight, to get involved, to do anything.”

I've closely followed and extensively researched Gilead's Truvada PReP and read the iPrEx studies, clinical trials, FDA public statements, the insights of medical experts globally to be able to be able to separate the facts about the drug from the claims pushed by Gilead's far reaching multimillion dollar marketing/advertising/editorial campaign; I've attached to this email a copy of what essentially is a well sourced fact sheet I created myself about Gilead's Truvada PReP. Feel free to share it with others if you find it a useful resource.

The CDC's blatant pushing of an unproven, highly ineffective, very expensive, toxic drug as their Safer Sex Option epitomizes the fact that Pharmaceutical giants control the CDC and FDA.

The horrific reality is that if the clinical studies about Gilead's Truvada PReP are accurate, a little less than 50% of those taking the drug will become infected with HIV. But lucky for those folks, they are already conditioned to take one toxic pill each day to "prevent" HIV so when they contract HIV they can simply transition to one of Gilead's one pill a day HIV treatment options and continue to be a Gilead customer for life. (That is if the proliferation of PReP in the population doesn't result in a mutated strain of HIV that cannot yet be treated).

Hoping this horrific corruption might interest you and merit visibility because frankly people are only exposed to the claims being pushed by Gilead's propaganda and not the fact.

All my best,

Brian

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Thu, 22 May 2014 14:15

Start Talking. Stop HIV., a new phase of CDC's Act Against AIDS initiative, seeks to reduce new HIV infections among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men* by encouraging open discussion about a range of HIV prevention strategies and related sexual health issues between sex partners. Effective partner communication about HIV can reduce HIV transmission by supporting HIV testing, HIV status disclosure, condom use, and the use of medicines to prevent and treat HIV.

Though they only represent 2% of the overall population, gay and bisexual men''including those who inject drugs''account for over half of the 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States (57%, or an estimated 657,800 people), and two-thirds of all new HIV infections each year. A 2011 study in 20 U.S. cities with high AIDS prevalence found that 18% of gay or bisexual men had HIV. That's about 1 in 6 men. Of those men, 33% did not know they had HIV.

Your life matters and staying healthy is important.

No matter the type of relationship, communication can be key to finding the right prevention strategy that works for you and your partner.

*For the purposes of this website, when we refer to gay and bisexual men, we are including all men who have sex with men.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 14:14

What is PrEP?''PrEP'' stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. The word ''prophylaxis'' means to prevent or control the spread of an infection or disease. The goal of PrEP is to prevent HIV infection from taking hold if you are exposed to the virus. This is done by taking one pill every day. These are some of the same medicines used to keep the virus under control in people who are already living with HIV.

Why take PrEP?With 50,000 new HIV infections each year in the United States, and no cure or vaccine available, prevention is key. When taken every day, PrEP can provide a high level of protection against HIV, and is even more effective when it is combined with condoms and other prevention tools.

Is PrEP a vaccine?No. PrEP medicine is not injected into the body and does not work the same way as a vaccine. A vaccine teaches your body to fight off infection for several years. For PrEP, you take a pill every day by mouth. The pill that was shown to be safe and to help block HIV infection is called ''Truvada'' (pronounced tru v duh). Truvada is a combination of two drugs (tenofovir and emtricitabine). If you take PrEP daily, the presence of the medicine in your bloodstream can often stop HIV from taking hold and spreading in your body. If you do not take PrEP every day, there may not be enough medicine in your bloodstream to block the virus.

Should I consider taking PrEP?CDC recommends that PrEP be considered for people who are HIV-negative and at substantial risk for HIV.

For sexual transmission, this includes anyone who is in an ongoing relationship with an HIV-positive partner. It also includes anyone who 1) is not in a mutually monogamous* relationship with a partner who recently tested HIV-negative, and 2)is a

gay or bisexual man who has had anal sex without a condom or been diagnosed with an STD in the past 6 months; orheterosexual man or woman who does not regularly use condoms during sex with partners of unknown HIV status who are at substantial risk of HIV infection (e.g., people who inject drugs or have bisexual male partners).For people who inject drugs, this includes those who have injected illicit drugs in the past 6 months and who have shared injection equipment or been in drug treatment for injection drug use in the past 6 months.

For heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV and the other does not, PrEP is one of several options to protect the uninfected partner during conception and pregnancy.

People who use PrEP must be able to take the drug every day and to return to their health care provider every 3 months for a repeat HIV test, prescription refills, and follow-up.

* Mutually monogamous means that you and your partner only have sex with each other and do not have sex outside the relationship.

How well does PrEP work?In several studies of PrEP, the risk of getting HIV infection was much lower'--up to 92% lower'--for those who took the medicines consistently than for those who didn't take the medicines.

See our PrEP web page for a brief description of these studies.

Is PrEP safe?Some people in clinical studies of PrEP had early side effects such as an upset stomach or loss of appetite, but these were mild and usually went away in the first month. Some people also had a mild headache. No serious side effects were observed. You should tell your health care provider if these or other symptoms become severe or do not go away.

How can I start PrEP?If you think you may be at substantial risk for HIV (see ''Should I consider taking PrEP''), talk to your health care provider about PrEP. If you and your provider agree that PrEP might reduce your risk of getting HIV, he or she will conduct a general physical and test you for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Your blood will also be tested to see if your kidneys and liver are working well. If these tests show that PrEP medicines are likely to be safe for you to take, your provider may give you a prescription. If you do not have health insurance, your provider can talk to you about medication assistance programs that help pay for PrEP for some patients.

If you do take PrEP, you will need to follow up regularly with your health care provider. You will have blood tests for HIV infection and to see if your body is reacting well to Truvada. You will also receive counseling on sexual or injection drug use behaviors.

It is important to take your medicine every day as prescribed. You will receive advice about ways to help you take it regularly so that it has the best chance to help you avoid HIV infection. Tell your provider if you are having trouble remembering to take your medicine or if you want to stop PrEP.

How do I speak to my doctor or other health care provider about PrEP?Please see the brochure Talk to Your Doctor About PrEP in English and Spanish, which has some questions that you should ask your health care provider when discussing if PrEP is right for you.

How can I get help to pay for PrEP?PrEP is covered by most insurance programs, but if you do not have insurance, your health care provider can talk to you about medication assistance programs that help pay for PrEP medicine.

If I take PrEP, can I stop using condoms when I have sex?No, you should not stop using condoms because you are taking PrEP. If PrEP is taken daily, it offers a lot of protection against HIV infection, but not 100%. Condoms also offer a lot of protection against HIV infection if they are used correctly every time you have sex, but not 100%. PrEP medicines don't give you any protection from other infections you can get during sex (like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis), but condoms do.

So you will get the most protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases if you consistently take PrEP medicine and consistently use condoms during sex.

How long do I need to take PrEP?You should discuss this with your health care provider. There are several reasons that people stop taking PrEP. For example,

If your risk of getting HIV infections becomes low because of changes in your life, you may want to stop taking PrEP.If you find you don't want to take a pill every day or often forget to take your pills, other ways of protecting yourself from HIV infection may work better for you.If you have side effects from the medicine that are interfering with your life, or if blood tests show that your body is reacting to PrEP in unsafe ways, your provider may stop prescribing PrEP for you.How long do I have to be taking PrEP before it is effective?Scientists do not yet have an answer on how long it takes PrEP to become fully effective after you start taking it. Some studies suggest that if you take PrEP every day, it reaches its maximum protection in blood at 20 days, in rectal tissue at about 7 days, and in vaginal tissues at about 20 days. Talk to your health care provider about when PrEP might be effective for you.

Can I stop and start taking PrEP?No. Some people wonder if they can take PrEP for a few days or weeks, stop for awhile, and then start again. This is sometimes called ''intermittent'' PrEP. All available research shows PrEP's effectiveness declines greatly if it is not taken consistently, so intermittent use is NOT recommended. PrEP must be taken every day to give the best protection against HIV.

Can you start PrEP after you have been exposed to HIV?PrEP is only for people who are at ongoing substantial risk of HIV infection. For people who need to prevent HIV after a single high-risk event of potential HIV exposure'--such as sex without a condom, needle-sharing injection drug use, or sexual assault'--there is another option called postexposure prophylaxis, or PEP. PEP must begin within 72 hours of exposure. See our PEP Q&A for more information.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 13:19

Tech + Health05.21.14

When Angelina Jolie bravely wrote about her double mastectomy last year, it sparked both applause and criticism. Now, a study shows some breast cancer patients unnecessarily undergoing the procedure.

The ''Angelina effect'' is no doubt, incredibly powerful. This of course refers to Angelina Jolie's ability to significantly guide the decision making of millions of Americans, simply through the expression of her own personal opinion'--including her decision to undergo a preventative double mastectomy, a surgery designed to remove all traces of breast tissue.

According to Jolie's New York Times op-ed last year, an extensive family history of breast and ovarian cancer, combined with the presence of the BRCA1 gene in a genetic test, helped her make the decision. Her choice to undergo this serious surgery and then make her personal experience public drew both praise and concern. I feel that she accomplished at least one very important milestone: She forced Americans to start thinking critically about their health.

A high profile celebrity demonstrating laudable courage and openness highlighted the intensely personal struggles faced by the 235,030 Americans diagnosed with breast cancer and the 40,030 who will pass away from the disease this year. However, critics underlined concerns about the effects of such knowledge and whether it would result in the overutilization of genetic testing and radical surgery.

A study published today in JAMA Surgery from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center provides a foundation for these concerns. The study aimed to help elucidate the common motivations for pursuing a double mastectomy. Nearly 1,500 women, who were treated for breast cancer and did not demonstrate any evidence of recurrence, participated in this study.

The authors found that 18 percent of patients considered the possibility of a double mastectomy, while 8 percent went on to have the surgery. The study notes that nearly 3 out of every 4 women in the study population reported significant concern about cancer recurrence and that women who underwent the double mastectomy were even more likely to express worry over recurrence. Interestingly, the author's reported that roughly 70 percent of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy did not have the genetic factors that would predispose them to cancer in the healthy breast.

Roughly 70 percent of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy did not have the genetic factors that would predispose them to cancer in the healthy breast.

The current standard of care for breast cancer varies based on a patient's history and the nature of the cancer. Surgery, the focus of the study's authors, is used to surgically excise cancerous tissue. It ranges from a lumpectomy'--removing only the tumor and little else'--to modified radical mastectomy'--in which the whole breast, many lymph nodes, and even some of the underlying chest wall muscle, is removed. Comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment may also include radiation, chemo, hormone, and targeted immune- therapy.

It would seem that a certain population of patients feel that if they have cancer in one breast, it is sure to follow in the other. Fortunately, what we know about breast cancer refutes this claim. The current consensus amongst surgeons, oncologists, and scientists is that removal of the non-affected breast will not mediate the risk of recurrence. The exception is for women possessing a family history significant for breast or ovarian cancer or those with a genetic mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Collectively, this is about 10 percent of all women diagnosed with breast cancer. These women have hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome, in which the majority of cancers are associated with mutations in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Women with HBOC hold a lifetime risk of 50-85 percent for breast cancer and 15-40 percent for ovarian cancer. For women without this genetic background, there is no medical reason to believe that the cancer could be lying dormant in the other breast. A cancer diagnosis in one breast does not increase the probability of recurrence in the unaffected breast for women without the aforementioned risk factors.

Breast cancers are classified by where they begin and if they are likely to spread beyond that initial location. A breast mass can be in situ'--confined to the area it originated in, or invasive/infiltrating. Roughly 1 in 5 new breast cancer diagnoses will be ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is considered either non-invasive or pre-invasive. However around 80 percent of breast cancers are Invasive Ductal Carcinomas (IDC).

There are further classifications based on the molecular make-up of the tumor that can be used to guide treatment. A key area of current research focuses on these ''molecular subtypes'' with the hope of finding a subgroup of cancers that have a genetic code that makes them susceptible to a targeted treatment.

While this study holds implications for health care usage and policy, it most significantly highlights the need for better patient education. A double-mastectomy is a serious operation and calls for a challenging recovery. The point of this study is not to fault anyone who has or has not chosen to undergo the procedure. Rather, it calls on doctors to focus on educating patients and truly understanding a patient's worries and motivations.

If a double mastectomy provides a certain level of anxiety relief for patients, should surgeons proceed? As we improve detection, treatment, and molecular analysis, cancer patients will face even more complex decisions that are rooted in risk, probability, and quality of life'--and it will be the role of the healthcare practitioner to help deconstruct the data into manageable sets of treatment options.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 13:18

Women with low risk of contracting cancer are requesting procedureMeans they are being over-treated and may suffer long-term harmComes after actress Angelina Jolie last year chose a double mastectomyBy Jenny Hope

Published: 18:19 EST, 21 May 2014 | Updated: 02:43 EST, 22 May 2014

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Brave stance: Angelina Jolie had both breasts removed last year after discovering she had an 87 per cent chance of contracting cancer

Women with breast cancer are increasingly asking for removal of both breasts '' despite there being no medical reason for the surgery.

Most do not have a genetic or family history putting them at higher risk of the disease, warn experts.

As a result, they are being over-treated and may suffer long-term harm, including delays in dealing with the cancer.

The rise in women asking for the procedure comes after actress Angelina Jolie last year chose a double mastectomy for prevention when she discovered gene mutations raised her risk of breast cancer to 87 per cent.

The risk is around 12.5 per cent in the general population.

But a recent study found more than two-thirds of women who had both breasts removed after a cancer diagnosis did not have a medical reason for doing so.

They had a very low risk of developing cancer in the healthy breast because they had no family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutations.

The study was carried out by US researchers, but surgeons in Britain say such requests are on the increase, especially from young patients who want the unaffected breast removed at the same time.

In the US study, of 1,447 women treated for breast cancer, almost 8 per cent had undergone a double mastectomy. But 69 per cent of these women who underwent removal of the unaffected breast at the same time had no genetic or family risk factors.

Study leader Dr Sarah Hawley, from the University of Michigan, said having such a procedure 'does not make sense'. 'Having a non-affected breast removed will not reduce the risk of recurrence in the affected breast,' she added.

'For women who do not have a strong family history or a genetic finding, we would argue it's probably not appropriate to get the unaffected breast removed.'

The research, published in the journal JAMA Surgery, found 18 per cent of the women studied had considered a double mastectomy.

Women with a risky family history and BRCA mutations made up around 10 per cent of those diagnosed.

In the UK it is estimated that up to 1,200 women a year with faulty genes have preventive removal of both breasts, while the number of breast cancer patients opting for simultaneous removal of a second healthy breast is unknown.

Experts warn women are taking overly-drastic steps since Angelina Jolie went public with her procedure

Angie's Aunt died thankful that Jolie could save herself through...

Following Miss Jolie's revelation last year that she had had a double mastectomy, a breast cancer charity reported a four-fold surge in women enquiring about having their breasts removed.

Figures compiled by Cancer Research UK showed the number of calls to its helpline regarding a family history of breast cancer rose in 2013 from 13 in April to 88 for May.

A total of 15,920 people went onto the pages from its website containing information about breast cancer the day of Miss Jolie's announcement, May 14. The previous day just 4,796 visited the site.

'Women who do not have a genetic predisposition or family history are being over-treated'

- Cancer surgeon Prof Kefah Mokbel

Leading breast cancer surgeon Professor Kefah Mokbel said in the past ten years there have been increasing requests for double mastectomies and reconstruction from young women diagnosed with cancer in one breast.

He said: 'They want to minimise the risk, but the study shows that women who do not have a genetic predisposition or family history are being over-treated.'

Genetic testing should be used as an objective measure for women considering having a second unaffected breast removed, he said.

He warned that the procedure carries complications, such as potential psychosexual problems and possible delay in medical treatment of the affected breast, which could reduce chances of survival.

Sally Greenbrook, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'Double mastectomies are not routinely offered to women with breast cancer in the UK unless they have a family history of the disease or a high risk of recurrence as outside of these groups there is no evidence to suggest that this would be of benefit.'

Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Campaign, said: 'Women who are concerned about getting breast cancer in their other breast should speak to their healthcare team who will be able to provide them with support and information about the risks of this occurring and their individual treatment options.'

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Thu, 22 May 2014 13:09

While this contract is headline news for geo-political analysts today, implementation and its real impact are in the future. Some analysts wrote that the stated value of the contract is a placeholder so that pipeline construction can begin soon.

Even if natural gas started flowing today, the contract would help fill, but not satisfy, China's shortfall for natural gas. It also would not offset Russia's losses from a steep reduction in European demand for Russian gas. Russia is diversifying its energy customers and China continues to diversify its energy suppliers.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 06:43

The China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) was a framework for the United States and the People's Republic of China to mutually discuss topics related to economic relations between both countries. The SED was initiated in 2006 by President George W. Bush and President Hu Jintao. The format was such that top leaders of both countries would meet twice a year at locations alternating between China and the US.[1] A total of five meetings were held between 2006 and 2008.

It had been described by a former U.S. Treasury official as "sort of like the G2".[2] The SED was expanded to give the U.S. State Department a bigger role by the Presidency of Barack Obama and renamed the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.[citation needed] Unique attributes to the SED included a jointly drafted and agreed to "Fact Sheet" that detailed all the agreements reached at that round of the SED.[citation needed]

Meetings[edit]First meeting: December 14''15, 2006 (Beijing)Second meeting: May 22''23, 2007 (Washington, DC)Third meeting: December 12''13, 2007 (Beijing)Fourth meeting: June 17''18, 2008 (Annapolis, MD)Fifth meeting: December 4''5, 2008 (Beijing)Representatives[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]

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Source: bertb news feed

Wed, 21 May 2014 17:43

China has signed a landmark deal to buy Russian natural gas worth about 400 billion dollars (£236 billion), giving a boost to diplomatically isolated president Vladimir Putin and expanding Moscow's ties with Asia.

Price negotiations on the 30-year deal continued into the final hours of a two-day visit by Mr Putin to China, during which both sides had said they hoped to sign an agreement.

Mr Putin was in Shanghai for an Asian security conference where China's president called for a new model of Asian security co-operation based on a regional group that includes Russia and Iran and excludes the United States.

The gas deal gives Moscow an economic boost at a time when Washington and the European Union have imposed visa bans and asset freezes on dozens of Russian officials and several companies over Ukraine. It allows Russia to diversify its markets for gas, which now goes mostly to Europe.

The agreement "opened the door for Russia to enter into Asia's gas market", said Keun-Wook Paik, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Politically the deal has provided "a breathing space for Russia", Mr Paik said. "Russia, and Putin, can demonstrate it's not completely isolated because of the Ukraine crisis. Russia has demonstrated that they have a very reliable strategic partnership with China."

Russia's economy has been bruised by its dispute with the West over Ukraine's tilt towards the European Union, a shift that inflamed Moscow's insecurities about declining influence and sparked its annexation of Crimea in March.

The supplies will help to ease gas shortages in China, the world's second-largest economy, and curb reliance on coal.

The agreement calls for Russian government-controlled Gazprom to supply state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) with 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually, Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov told the Associated Press. That would represent about a quarter of China's current annual gas consumption of nearly 150 billion cubic metres.

The contract is worth a total of 400 billion dollars, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Russian news agencies. That figure is greater than the GDP of South Africa. Gas is due to begin flowing to China as early as 2018.

The US treasury secretary, Jacob Lew, appealed to China during a visit last week to avoid taking steps that might offset sanctions. However, American officials have acknowledged China's pressing need for energy.

The contract is "particularly important" at a time when Europe has threatened to cut gas imports and reduce its dependence on Russia because of the Ukraine crisis, said Alexander Lukin, a deputy head of the Russian Diplomatic Academy under the country's Foreign Ministry, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.

"We will be able to show to Europe that we have other customers," Mr Lukin said.

Alexei Pushkov, a Kremlin ally who is head of the international affairs committee of the Russian parliament's lower house, said on Twitter: "The 30-year gas contract with China is of strategic significance. Obama should give up the policy of isolating Russia: It will not work."

CNPC announced it had signed a deal but it gave no details.

Mr Putin met yesterday with Chinese president Xi Jinping while gas negotiations continued in private.

The Russian leader's visit is a "major step towards a strategic partnership of the two nations", said Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, according to RIA Novosti.

The Ukraine crisis and Western sanctions on Russia had raised expectations Moscow would compromise to secure the gas deal.

The price appears to be closer to the level Russia wanted, according to analyst Xizhou Zhou, of IHS Energy. In exchange, the two sides dropped a requirement for prepayment that was a feature of Chinese purchases of Russian oil, he said.

"This higher price level reflects China's willingness to pay more for cleaner fuel," said Mr Zhou in a report.

China and Russia have been negotiating the deal for more than a decade but had been hung up over the gas price.

"Gazprom is under increasing geopolitical and competitive pressure to diversify its market towards the East, while China's gas market remains supply constrained as demand continues to surge," said Mr Zhou.

Russia will invest 55 billion dollars (£32.5 billion) in fulfilling the contract while China will invest at least 20 billion dollars (£11.8 billion), Mr Putin told Russian reporters in Shanghai. He said the gas price would be based on a formula linked to that of oil and oil products.

Plans call for building a pipeline to link China's north east to a line that carries gas from western Siberia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. The development of a gas centre on the Pacific will allow Russia to export to prosperous markets in Japan and South Korea.

"Without any overstatement, it will be the world's biggest construction project for the next four years," Mr Putin said.

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Source: euronews

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:21

Britain's Prince Charles has landed himself in hot water after he reportedly compared Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler over Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Charles, who is on an official visit to Canada, was said to have made the comments to a woman who fled the Nazis and lost family members in the Holocaust.

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Source: SCG News - World News, Politics & Analysis

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:10

Yesterday the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and a plethora of western news outlets were excited to announce that Russia and China had failed to finalize a long awaited multi-billion dollar gas deal during Putin's two day visit to Shanghai. If you do a search for "China and Russia Fail to Reach Deal on Gas Plan" you'll see what I mean.

They spoke too soon.

The deal, which has been a decade in the making, was sealed on the second day of the visit. Russia will supply 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China each year, for thirty years. Though the official price for the gas remains secret the total agreement is estimated to be worth over $400 billion.

"The price is satisfactory for both sides." Putin said in a statement to the Russian news channel Rossiya.

The obvious assumption here is that Russia was motivated to finalize this arrangement quickly to provide a counter balance to threats of sanctions from the U.S. and western Europe. Europe relies on Russia for 30% of its gas imports, and some western politicians have been calling to reduce that dependence.

The joint statement issued by China and Russia yesterday openly condemned the use of unilateral sanctions. In that context, the timing of this deal may very well have been designed to send a message. Kremlin officials however deny this.

"Obviously what's happening in our relations with the West is an impetus to look for new partners, and strengthen our ties with people who are more trustworthy partners," said Andrei Klimov, deputy chair of the international affairs committee of the Russian Federation Council. "It's not about revenge or something. It's purely practical."

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Boko Haram appears to be mounting an offensive in that attacks on successive days are not its usual style. On the other hand, the past might not be a helpful guide for prediction because Boko Haram is changing, or has changed.

The attacks are very different in character and widely separated. They evidence a multiplication of fighting cells, diversity in tactics, and significant support among the northern population.

The attacks are not evidence of central command and control in that general guidance and cell phones are sufficient to achieve the effects. The largest worry is that the terrorist group is evolving into an insurgency. More frequent attacks aimed at seizing and holding territory will be indicators of that transformation.

A final point is that the attacks indicate Boko Haram remains defiant and aggressive in the face of international outrage and responses. Northern Nigeria is in trouble.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 07:21

The 1996 Personal Audio player incorporated a novel mechanism for automatically identifying and retrieving media files representing episodes in a series as those episodes became available. This mechanism was later widely adopted as the industry-standard technique called ''podcasting.'' Later, serialized TV shows started using the technology in a similar fashion. As disclosed in the patent, The Personal Audio server stored a compilation file that described individual media files that represented episodes in a sequence. The compilation file was stored at a predetermined URL known to the Personal Audio player and was updated as new episodes became available. The client player could then fetch the current version of the compilation file from time to time when connected to the Internet, and download new episodes identified in the compilation file so that they could be played immediately on request, even when the client player was disconnected from the Internet.

Today, podcasts and other forms of episodic content typically take the form of an industry standard RSS or Atom compilation file, the URL for which is stored by the client player device when the user ''subscribes'' to the podcast. By 2013, it is expected that more than 39 million users will listen to podcasts and millions more will watch serialized TV shows in this manner.

Personal Audio's 1996 precursor to podcasts and episodic content delivery is described and claimed in Personal Audio's U.S. Patent 8,112,504 and an additional pending divisional application, both of which are entitled ''System for disseminating media content representing episodes in a serialized sequence.''

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Thu, 22 May 2014 07:01

Apple Inc. (AAPL), ordered by a jury to pay $8 million for violating patents with its music playlists on the iPod, won a U.S. court ruling that Personal Audio LLC can't seek additional damages from use on the iPad, iPhone and Macs.

The decision today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in Lufkin, Texas, effectively shuts off efforts by Personal Audio to pursue a second patent-infringement lawsuit that it filed against Apple after the July 8 jury verdict.

''The court finds that the jury's selection of lump sum as the appropriate form of reasonable royalty clearly represents a damages award giving Apple a fully paid up license that covers all past and future use of the patented technology,'' Clark said in a decision posted on the court's website.

Personal Audio, a patent licensing company with an office in Beaumont, Texas, sued Apple in 2009 for $84 million in damages, claiming infringement of two patents. The inventions cover an audio player that can receive navigable playlists and can skip forward or backward through the downloaded list.

The case is Personal Audio LLC v. Apple Inc., 09cv111, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Lufkin).

To contact the reporter on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Allan Holmes at aholmes25@bloomberg.net

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Thu, 22 May 2014 07:00

May 21, 2014 - 05:16 PM EDT '-- AAPL: 606.31 (+1.60, +0.26%) | NASDAQ: 4131.538 (+34.646, +0.85%)

Saturday, July 30, 2011 · 10:02 am ·15 Comments

''Apple Inc., ordered by a jury to pay $8 million for violating patents with its music playlists on the iPod, won a U.S. court ruling that Personal Audio LLC can't seek additional damages from use on the iPad, iPhone and Macs,'' Susan Decker reports for Bloomberg.Advertisement:Limited Time: Students, Parents and Faculty save up to $200 on a new Mac.

''The decision [on Friday] by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in Lufkin, Texas, effectively shuts off efforts by Personal Audio to pursue a second patent-infringement lawsuit that it filed against Apple after the July 8 jury verdict,'' Decker reports. '''The court finds that the jury's selection of lump sum as the appropriate form of reasonable royalty clearly represents a damages award giving Apple a fully paid up license that covers all past and future use of the patented technology,' Clark said in a decision posted on the court's website.''

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: That's it, troll. Back under your bridge now, you're cut off.

Related articles:After $8 million jury verdict against Apple, troll wants more and sues over iPhone 4 and iPad 2 '' July 20, 2011Eastern Texas court orders Apple to pay $8 million in patent trial over iPod playlists '' July 9, 2011

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Thu, 22 May 2014 06:58

Adam and Dr.Drew show | Adam Carolla and Dr.DrewSkip to contentDOWNLOADDr. Drew is joined once again by Randy and Jason Sklar to discuss their new special 'What Are We Talking About?' They also discuss Teen Mom and the Sklar Brother's experience with addiction in friends and family. Additionally, they take listener phone calls and emails asking how to form relationships and whether or not to rekindle a dormant relationship.Superfan Sidebar >>

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DOWNLOADDrew is joined by Jason and Randy Sklar this week to discuss their new album 'What Are We Talking About?' They also take listener phone calls on the dangers of Adderall use while in recovery, breaking off an engagement after a 10-year relationship, and how to help an out-of-state relative who is struggling with addiction.Superfan Sidebar >>

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DOWNLOADAuthor and comic Annabelle Gurwitch joins Dr. Drew and guest co-host Mike Catherwood to talk about her new book 'I See You Made An Effort: Compliments, Indignities and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50.' They also discuss the phenomenon that Mike is experiencing with random fans sending him unsolicited nude photos and answer listener questions including one on how fast a relationship should progress.Superfan Sidebar >>

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DOWNLOADDrew welcomes his Loveline co-host Mike Catherwood to fill in for Adam while he's off shooting Road Hard. Drew and Mike discuss Mike's new show 'The Collective', a strange shift in Mike's sexual habits since the birth of his child, and they take listener phone calls on treatment, relationships and much more.Superfan Sidebar >>

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Hello Adam,

Just a quick note here. In my sociology class we are discussing gender/sex/race and the dominant/minority cultures. I noticed people were using the term misogyny, and remembered you asked on the show if there was a reverse misogyny term. Only one person in class knew the term (including the teacher didn't know) and that term is misandry. The student, a feminist in the Game Art and Design program, pointed out how misandry "basically doesn't exist".

Hope that helps. Looking forward to Thursday!

Safe travels.

Christopher

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Thu, 22 May 2014 12:45

19 hours ago May. 21, 2014 - 10:28 AM PDT

Twitter's ability to block certain tweets or users from being seen in specific countries, a somewhat Orwellian feature it calls the ''country-withheld content'' tool, seems to be getting more popular, according to the Chilling Effects clearinghouse, which tracks such things: tweets and/or users are now being blocked in Pakistan as well as Turkey, and a pro-Ukrainian account is apparently unavailable to users who try to view it from inside Russia, at the request of the government.

In much the same way that Google now shows different maps to users depending on whether they live in Russia or Ukraine, Twitter is shaping the view that its users have of the world around them. Is this a clever way of getting around censorship, or does it ultimately just disguise the problem?

Twitter first introduced the selective censorship tool in 2012, after repeated requests from a number of countries to remove tweets that were judged to be illegal, such as pro-Nazi comments in Germany. When it was launched, the company said that Twitter would do its best to avoid using it as much as possible and to remain the ''free-speech wing of the free-speech party,'' to use a phrase popularized by Twitter's former general counsel Alex Macgillivray.

The best of all the unpleasant options?Zeynep Tufekci, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and an expert in the effects of social-media use during events like the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, wrote at the time it was introduced that the policy was the best available way for Twitter to protect free speech while also trying to expand its network into new parts of the world. As she described it in a blog post:

''In my opinion, with this policy, Twitter is fighting to protect free speech on Twitter as best it possibly can'... previously, when Twitter would take down content when forced to do so by a court order, it would disappear globally. Now, it will only be gone in the specific country in which the court order is applicable. This is a great improvement.''

As Tufekci pointed out, Twitter's approach is a lot better than that taken by Facebook, which routinely deletes content from its platform with little or no warning, and virtually no attempt at transparency. To take just one example, pages posted by dissidents in Syria that are devoted to the chemical weapon attacks of last year are being deleted, which blogger Brown Moses has pointed out is thereby depriving the world of a crucial record of those events.

It's also true that Twitter has a much better track record of fighting for the free-speech rights of its users than just about any other platform: it alerted users that the Justice Department was asking for their personal information in relation to a WikiLeaks investigation, even though it was asked not to do so, and it fought hard in a French court for the right not to turn over user data related to tweets that broke that country's laws on homophobia and anti-Semitic content.

Selective censorship is still censorshipAll that said, however, not everyone is convinced that selective censorship is the best possible approach for Twitter to take. Jillian York, the Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, seemed frustrated by the company's increasing use of the ''country-withheld content'' tool, judging by some of her comments on Twitter '-- and some critics of Tufekci's stance on the issue have argued that the feature actually makes the problem worse by making it less obvious that censorship has occurred.

For me, the troubling thing about Twitter's selective content-blocking tool is that, like Google's selective adjusting of the borders between countries based on where the user is located, it almost makes censorship too easy '-- just another feature box that can be checked '-- and that encourages governments like those in Turkey and Pakistan to use it for anything that seems even remotely offensive or irritating, a list that seems to grow by the day.

By selectively removing that content or changing the borders on maps for certain users, the world becomes a little less open, without most people even realizing that it is happening. Would it be better if there was a hue and cry every time such actions were taken, so that people who don't happen to check Chilling Effects would know about it and be able to protest? Perhaps. I confess I don't really know. But making censorship easier shouldn't be the goal, I don't think.

Free speech doesn't always succumb to a public onslaught from governments or corporations with hidden agendas and massive resources '-- sometimes it dies the death of a thousand small cuts, without so much as a whimper.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 17:50

Edward Snowden photographed in Moscow, Russia December, 2013. Photo: Barton Gellman/Getty Images

In June 2013, Edward Snowden was sitting in his room at the Mira hotel in Hong Kong, watching the world react to the first of his explosive leaks about the NSA's out-of-control surveillance, when he was tipped off that the NSA might be closing in on him.

Snowden's identity as the source of the documents was still unknown to the public. But through a ''net-connected device'' he installed at his now-abandoned home in Hawaii to watch out for the watchers '-- presumably an IP surveillance camera with microphone '-- he knew when two people from the NSA showed up at the house looking for him, an NSA ''police officer'' and someone from human resources.

This is one of the new details revealed in No Place to Hide, the much-anticipated book by journalist Glenn Greenwald, who worked with Snowden and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras to publish a number of blockbuster stories about the NSA.

Snowden had known it would only be a matter of time before the NSA was on his trail '-- he had intentionally left electronic footprints behind that would help the agency identify him as the leaker.

Though he could have covered his tracks '-- the NSA's internal security was so poor the agency failed to catch him downloading thousands of documents over many weeks '-- he hadn't wanted his colleagues to be subjected to needless suspicion or false accusations during the inevitable investigation that would follow the leaks. Snowden in fact intended to reveal his identity with the first story that was published, but Greenwald convinced him to wait so that the public's initial reactions would be focused on the NSA leaks and not the leaker.

The book, which is being released today, provides an extensive look at Greenwald's earliest encounters '-- online and in person '-- with the mysterious whistleblower who for months would only identify himself as Cincinnatus. It also expands on existing reporting about the agency's spy operations through the publication of more than 50 previously unpublished documents.

Although there may be little in the documents that's startling to anyone who has carefully followed the leak revelations over the last year, the book does a good job of providing an overview of what the documents and stories have revealed until now, while adding fresh detail. [One complaint with the book, however, is the lack of an index. Greenwald has said he plans to publish it online today, but this won't likely satisfy readers with print copies who don't want to jump on their computer or phone each time they want to find something in the book.]

Among the fresh details he reports '-- the NSA routinely intercepts networking devices such as routers, servers, and switches as they're in transit from U.S. sellers to international customers and plants digital bugging devices in them, before repackaging them with a factory seal and sending them on their way. Although it's been previously reported that the NSA, CIA and FBI intercept laptops to install spyware, the tampering with network hardware would potentially affect more users and data.

He also reports that U.S. telecoms partnering with foreign telecoms to upgrade their networks help subvert foreign networks for the spy agency.

''The NSA exploits the access that certain telecom companies have to international systems, having entered into contracts with foreign telecoms to build, maintain, and upgrade their networks,'' he writes. ''The US companies then redirect the target country's communications data to NSA repositories.''

Glenn Greenwald's new book.

In addition to this information, Greenwald devotes a fair amount of space in the book to bashing the Washington Post, the New York Times and other media for failing to hold the government accountable. Within these outbursts, though, readers can see the impetus for First Look Media '-- the new media venture he launched this spring with Poitras, Pierre Omidyar and others '-- making it clear why he jumped ship from the Guardian when he did.

Though he ultimately was grateful to the Guardian for help publishing the stories and documents, Greenwald got so impatient with the paper over several delays with the first story that he considered publishing the stories and documents on his own at nsadisclosures.com.

''Risky. But bold. I like it,'' Snowden told him about the plan. But friends and colleagues wisely advised against it, reminding him of the legal minefield he was entering if he went out on his own.

Greenwald also addresses how the Guardian and the Post got into a battle over the PRISM scoop, causing the latter to rush a story to print that was incorrect. It turns out a government official tipped off the Post that the Guardian was about to publish its own PRISM story, after the Guardian contacted officials for comment.

Contacting the government for comment is standard procedure to give officials a chance to make a case for withholding truly sensitive information. But in this case, Greenwald writes, the official exploited the process that was designed to protect national security simply to ''ensure that his favored newspaper would run the story first.''

All of these are interesting asides, but it's clear that the focus of the book is on Snowden and the tale of how the leaks came to be. Nearly half of the book is devoted to this backstory and to the man responsible for one of the most significant intelligence leaks of the century.

Though the broadstrokes of the story are by now well-known, Greenwald augments it with new details that paint a remarkable picture of the many obstacles and missteps that occurred along the way that could easily have short-circuited the whole operation.

It all began when Snowden made his first contact with Greenwald on Dec. 1, 2012 in an anonymous email sent under the name Cincinnatus '-- a reference to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a virtuous Roman statesman and farmer who in the 5th century BC was called to Rome during a time of crisis to serve as dictator. Cincinnatus resigned his post just two weeks later, after resolving the crisis, and returned to his fields, thus establishing his legacy as someone who wielded power only when it was called upon for the public good.

Like Cincinnatus, Snowden intended that once his own task was completed he, too, would fade into the background. Though unlike Cincinnatus, he would never be able to fade into his former life.

Snowden as Cincinnatus urged Greenwald in the email to install PGP, so the two could communicate securely. But Greenwald famously ignored the request. Cincinnatus tried again, helpfully providing step-by-step instructions, and Greenwald ignored this request, too. Two months later in January 2013, he provided a 10-minute video to walk Greenwald through the process, and Greenwald, busy with other projects, again did nothing.

It wasn't until April, that things started to come together. During a visit to New York, Greenwald heard from Poitras who asked to meet him. She told him about an important anonymous source she had, apparently without knowledge that the source had contacted Greenwald months before. In fact, the connection between Snowden and Cincinnatus wouldn't occur until after the first stories were published, when Greenwald suddenly remembered the long-abandoned Cincinnatus and sent him an email to say he'd finally installed PGP. It was then that Snowden spelled it out for him that he was Cincinnatus.

Following the initial meeting with Poitras and other discussions, Greenwald was certain the source was legitimate and contacted his editor at the Guardian, a paper he had only recently joined.

But while he was still getting up to speed on the encryption and security programs the source wanted them to use, Poitras introduced a wrinkle '-- she'd been communicating with the Washington Post about one story the source wanted the paper to publish '-- the PRISM story '-- but the relationship had quickly soured. She had taken the story to Bart Gellman, a freelance reporter for the Post, who was eager to proceed. But the Post's lawyers were not. The anonymous source had insisted on a meeting in Hong Kong, but the lawyers argued against it, and the paper refused to pay Poitras's expenses if she went.

Furious with the Post, Poitras asked Greenwald to go with her to Hong Kong instead. He'd already seen a sample of the documents '-- a file containing 25 documents that the source had called ''the tip of the tip of the iceberg.''

On their way to the airport, Poitras reached into her backpack and pulled out a USB flash drive. ''Guess what this is?'' she asked Greenwald. ''The documents. All of them.''

For the next sixteen hours, Greenwald sat on the plane to Hong Kong poring over the files, completely unmolested, while the stewardesses passed out cocktails and snacks around him.

Remarkably, the man who had become one of the government's biggest agitators over its warrantless wiretapping program and other constitutional breaches held within his hands a weapon with the power to bring down the surveillance state, and there was no one around to stop him.

Greenwald was amazed at how organized the documents were. Snowden had arranged them all carefully in folders, sub-folders and sub-sub-folders according to issue and importance, clearly indicating that he had read and understood each one. He had even provided glossaries of acronyms and program names as well as supporting documents that weren't meant to be published but were included simply to provide context.

One of the last files Greenwald examined, right before he landed, was the file he should have read first. The file, named ''README_FIRST,'' contained Snowden's full name, his Social Security number, CIA alias, and agency ID number.

Snowden, he soon learned, was more than a systems administrator for the intelligence community. During his stint with the CIA in Switzerland, he was considered the top technical and cybersecurity expert in the region and had been chosen to provide President Obama with support at the 2008 NATO summit in Romania. He had trained to become a high-level cyber operator and had seen things that few see.

''I could watch drones in real time as they surveilled the people they might kill,'' he told Greenwald during their meeting in Hong Kong. ''You could watch entire villages and see what everyone was doing. I watched NSA tracking people's Internet activities as they typed. I became aware of just how invasive US surveillance capabilities had become. I realized the true breadth of this system. And almost nobody knew it was happening.''

From the moment Greenwald and Poitras landed in Hong Kong, things moved quickly. Greenwald began writing his NSA stories the first day he and Poitras interviewed Snowden and had four of them completed that night. He was determined to beat the Post to publication in order to set the tone for how the issues would be discussed.

The moment the first story published '-- the FISA Court order that revealed the government's bulk phone records collection program '-- the clock began ticking loudly on Snowden's freedom. But despite the grim outlook he faced, Snowden slept soundly each night.

He told Greenwald that he felt ''profoundly at peace'' with what he'd done.

''I decided a while ago that I can live with whatever they do to me. The only thing I can't live with is knowing I did nothing.''

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Wed, 21 May 2014 17:49

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 '' 430 BC) was a Roman aristocrat and statesman whose service as consul in 460 BC and dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC made him a model of civic virtue.[1]

Cincinnatus was regarded by the Romans, especially the aristocratic patrician class, as one of the heroes of early Rome and as a model of Roman virtue and simplicity.[2] He was a persistent opponent of the plebeians.[2] When his son, Caeso Quinctius, was convicted and condemned to death, Cincinnatus was forced to live in humble circumstances, working on his own small farm, until an invasion caused him to be called to serve Rome as dictator, an office which he resigned two weeks later, after completing his task of defeating the rivaling tribes of the Aequians, Sabines, and Volscians.

His immediate resignation of his near-absolute authority with the end of the crisis has often been cited as an example of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, lack of personal ambition and modesty. As a result, he has inspired a number of organizations and other entities, many of which are named in his honor.

Biography[edit]Early career[edit]Politically, Cincinnatus was a persistent opponent of attempts to improve the legal situation of the plebeians.[2] His son Caeso Quinctius often drove the tribunes of the plebeians out from the forum, the heart of Roman political life, preventing them from reaching a formal decision.[3] In 461 BC, these actions finally resulted in a capital charge against Caeso. After Caeso was released on bail and escaped to the Etruscans, he was condemned to death in absentia and his father had to pay an immense fine, forcing him to sell most of his lands and retire to a small farm, where he and his family were able to subsist on the work of his hands.[4]

The following year, Cincinnatus was elected suffect consul. During his consulship, his main adversary was the Plebeian TribuneGaius Terentilius Harsa. During this time period, the Roman senate was preoccupied with a war against the Volsci, a neighbouring Italic people. Though Cincinnatus was initially able to prevent their enactment, Terentilius attempted to use the upheaval associated with the war effort to push through a series of reforms which were specifically to benefit the proletarii and peasantry, including a proposal to draw up a code of written laws applicable equally to patricians and plebeians '-- an early push for what would eventually become the Ten or Twelve Tables.

Dictator[edit]In 458 BC, the Romans were fighting the Aequi and the Sabines. The consul Minucius Esquilinus had led an army against them, but had been trapped by the Aequians in the Alban Hills and was attempting to fight off a siege. A few Roman horsemen escaped and returned to Rome to tell the senate what had happened. The senate fell into a panic and authorized the other consul for the year, Horatius Pulvillus, to nominate a dictator. Horatius nominated Cincinnatus for a dictatorial term (also known as Magister Populi or "Master of the People") for six months.[5]

A group of senators were sent to tell Cincinnatus that he had been nominated dictator. According to Livy, the senators found Cincinnatus while he was plowing on his farm. Cincinnatus cried out "Is everything all right?" They said to Cincinnatus that they hoped "it might turn out well for both him and his country," and then they asked him to put on his senatorial toga and hear the mandate of the senate. He called to his wife, Racilia, telling her to bring out his toga from their cottage.[5]

When he put on his toga, the senatorial delegation hailed him as dictator, and told him to come to the city. He then crossed the Tiber river in a boat provided by the senate, as his farm was on the far side of the river. When he reached the other side of the Tiber, he was greeted by his three sons and most of the senators. Several lictors were given to him for protection.

The next morning, Cincinnatus went to the Roman forum and nominated as his Master of the Horse (his second in command) Lucius Tarquitius, who was considered one of the finest soldiers in Rome. Cincinnatus then went to the Roman popular assembly and issued an order to the effect that every man of military age should report to the Campus Martius'--the Field of Mars, god of war'--by the end of the day.[6]

Once the army assembled, Cincinnatus took them to fight the Aequi at the Battle of Mons Algidus. Cincinnatus led the infantry in person, while Tarquitius led the cavalry. The Aequi were surprised by the double attack and were soon cut to pieces. The commanders of the Aequi begged Cincinnatus not to slaughter them all.[7]

Cincinnatus did not want to cause any unnecessary bloodshed, and told the Aequi that he would let them live if they submitted to him and brought their leader, Gracchus Cloelius, and his officers to him in chains. A yoke was set up, made up of three spears, and the Aequi had to pass under it, bowing down while confessing that they had been conquered. After this, the war ended and Cincinnatus disbanded his army. He then resigned his dictatorship and returned to his farm, a mere fifteen days after he had been nominated dictator.[8]

Later events[edit]He came out of retirement again for a second term as dictator (439 BC) to put down a conspiracy of Spurius Maelius, who supposedly was planning to become king. He was nominated by his old friend and relative, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus, consul of the year. Maelius was killed immediately when the Master of the Horse was sent to bring him to trial and the incipient coup perished with him. Once more he resigned his commission.[citation needed]

Within his lifetime Cincinnatus became a legend to the Romans. Twice granted supreme power, he held onto it for not a day longer than absolutely necessary. The high esteem in which he was held by his compatriots is illustrated with an anecdote from the end of his life: one of his sons was tried for military incompetence. The great Capitolinus defended him by asking the jury who would go to tell the aged Cincinnatus the news in the event of a conviction. The son was acquitted because the jury could not bring itself to break the old man's heart.[citation needed]

Named in his honor is the town of Cincinnato, in Lazio, Italy. In the United States he was honored with the name of the town of Cincinnatus, New York and the Society of the Cincinnati which, in turn, lent its name to the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

George Washington was often compared to Cincinnatus for his willingness to give up near-absolute power once the crisis of the American Revolution had passed and victory had been won, and the Society of the Cincinnati is a historical association founded in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War to preserve the ideals of the military officer's role in the new American Republic.

Edward Snowden communicated to journalist Glenn Greenwald using the pseudonym Cincinnatus. [9]

See also[edit]^N.S. Gill. "Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus". About.com. Retrieved 2008-08-25. ^ abc"The Early Roman Republic". Retrieved 11 September 2012. ^Livy translated by William Gordon in 1813 (26 BC), Ab Urbe Condita, "Under his conduct, the tribunes had frequently been driven out of the forum" ^Livy, Book 3, sect 14, Project Gutenberg.^ abLivy, Ab Urbe Condita, 3.26^Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, 3.27^Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, 3.28-9^Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, 3.29^By Kim Zetter (2012-12-01). "Glenn Greenwald's Pulse-Pounding Tale of Breaking the Snowden Leaks | Threat Level". WIRED. Retrieved 2014-05-19. References[edit]Primary sources[edit]Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 26-29"'...it was determined that a dictator should be appointed to retrieve their shattered fortunes, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was appointed by universal consent.It is worthwhile for those persons who despise all things human in comparison with riches, and who suppose that there is no room either for exalted honour, or for virtue, except where riches abound in great profusion, to listen to the following'..."Project Gutenberg version of Ab Urbe ConditaSecondary material[edit]W. Ihne, History of Rome, i.Dante, Paradiso, canto 15, line 127E. Pais, Storia di Roma, i. ch. 4 (1898)Schwegler, R¶mische Geschichte, bk. xxviii. 12Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Credibility of early Roman History, ch. xii. 40 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cincinnatus, Lucius Quinctius". Encyclop...dia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. External links[edit]PersondataNameCincinnatusAlternative namesLucius Quinctius CincinnatusShort descriptionRoman politician and military figureDate of birth519 BCPlace of birthRoman RepublicDate of death430 BCPlace of deathRoman Republic

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Thu, 22 May 2014 06:33

Google's ad ambitions may reach further than you think. In a newly revealed letter to the SEC, the company said it could someday be serving ads on "refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities," as part of a larger point about breaking out mobile ad revenue. As the definition of "mobile" expands, the company argued, it could encompass nearly any device that isn't a conventional computer.

The idea is particularly relevant after Google acquired Nest for $3.2 billion earlier this year, along with its next-generation thermostat and smoke detector. Together with Google Glass and the company's newly formed automotive partnerships, Google has already made inroads into most of the categories mentioned. Of course, none of those platforms are serving ads yet, but the letter suggests that advertising is still very much a part of Google's longterm plans.

Update:In a statement to Venturebeat, Google denied that the statement applied to its Nest acquisition, saying: "Nest, which we acquired after this filing was made, does not have an ads-based model and has never had any such plans."

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Source: Valleywag

Wed, 21 May 2014 17:55

S

On Wednesday, Ebay will ask all users to change their passwords due to a massive cyberattack that hit the encrypted password database. The company says that no financial data that was compromised, and there's no evidence of unauthorized user activity. Either way, you can change your Ebay password right here.

So how did something like this happen to one of the biggest websites on the planet? A website that's responsible for hundreds of billions of dollars worth of transactions every year? Well, the details remain vague, but Ebay says the hackers hit "a small number of employee log-in credentials, allowing unauthorized access to eBay's corporate network." And from there, they got access to countless Ebay user accounts.

It's unclear if Ebay knew about the security vulnerability before the attack. (Target knew about their flaw a few months ago, when a data breach affected 110 million customers, and probably made you get a new debit card.) Ebay did say that the breach happened between late February and early March, though the company only detected the breach two weeks ago. Why they waited so long to tell users that their accounts were compromised is also unclear.

But again, according to Ebay's press release, nobody touched your money this time. All they got were each and every "eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth." Holy crap that's a lot of personal information. It's easy enough to change your password. It's a lot harder to change your name, physical address, phone number, and date of birth. [Ebay]

Note: As far as we know, the breach did not affect PayPal. You should still change your PayPal password, though, because why the heck not? Your money is in there, and you should keep it safe.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 05:29

This post is available in 5 languages:EnglishWe are happy to announce that on April 25, 2014, the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees approved a new privacy policy. The new privacy policy explains how we collect, use and manage the information of over twenty million registered users and 490 million monthly unique visitors to the Wikimedia projects.

But the policy wouldn't have been possible without support from users like you. The new privacy policy is the result of a community consultation spanning over eight months.

A need for a changeEarly 2013, we recognized that our privacy policy, which hadn't been updated since 2008, did not address a number of new technologies or provide enough detail to our users about how their information was being handled. But the Wikimedia way is unique '-- we knew that we could not develop a privacy policy without the help of the very user community the privacy policy is intended to protect. So, we launched an open call for community input on June 18, 2013, to find out what issues mattered to you and what you wanted to see in a new policy.

Armed with that input and mindful of the sensitivities invoked by recent revelations of mass governmental surveillance programs, we created an initial draft proposal for a new privacy policy and opened up a 5.5-month long online discussion.

Wikipedia: built through collaboration.

Perfecting the privacy policy through consultationOur initial draft of the new privacy policy underwent thorough review by the Wikimedia community and sparked some spirited debate. In fact, the discussion surrounding the privacy policy, data retention guidelines and access to nonpublic information policy[1] totaled over 195,000 words and resulted in over 250 changes to the documents. What emerged was a much stronger policy that reflects the global Wikimedia community's values.

For more information about the consultation process and how the new policy differs from the old one, please see our previous post.

What happens now?With the Board's approval, we will begin a month-long notice period to give everyone another chance to review the new privacy policy. Following the notice period, the policy will officially go into effect.

We thank all those that participated in this open and collaborative process, which resulted in a privacy policy that was truly developed in the wiki way. In that spirit, the new privacy policy is licensed under a free license so that anyone can reuse and build upon it when creating their own privacy policies.

Michelle Paulson, Legal Counsel*Geoff Brigham, General Counsel

* We would like to express our sincere thanks to all those that made this policy possible '-- we could not have created this policy without a truly interdepartmental effort and the valuable participation and feedback from the Wikimedia global community. Special thanks goes to James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas and Tiffany Li for their incredible support during this process.

'†‘The Access to Nonpublic Information Policy was also approved by the Board of Trustees on April 25, 2014. Please note, however, certain requirements under that policy will only be triggered once we have completed building necessary tools and have given community members impacted by those requirements notice as outlined in the policy.

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SpanishLanzando una Pol­tica de Privacidad hecha al estilo WikiEstamos felices de anunciar que el 25 de abril de 2014, la Fundaci"n Wikimedia y su Junta de Administradores aprob" una nueva pol­tica de privacidad. La nueva pol­tica de privacidad explica c"mo recolectamos, usamos y manejamos la informaci"n de ms de 20 millones de usuarios registrados y 490 millones de visitantes al mes a los proyectos Wikimedia.

Pero la pol­tica no hubiese sido posible sin el apoyo de usuarios como ustedes. La nueva pol­tica de privacidad es el resultado de una consulta a la comunidad a lo largo de 8 meses.

Una necesidad de cambioEn 2013 reconocimos que nuestra pol­tica de privacidad, la cual no hab­a sido actualizada desde 2008, no hac­a referencia a nuevas tecnolog­as o prove­a suficientes detalles a nuestros usuarios de c"mo ser­a manejada su informaci"n. Pero la manera de Wikimedia es ºnica '' - supimos que no podr­amos desarrollar una pol­tica de privacidad sin la ayuda de la mism­sima comunidad de usuarios que la pol­tica de privacidad intenta proteger. As­ que lanzamos un llamado abierto para la participaci"n de la comunidad el 18 de junio de 2013, para averiguar qu(C) problemas les importan y qu(C) quieren ver en la nueva pol­tica.

Armados con el documento abierto y conscientes de las recientes revelaciones de varios programas de vigilancia masiva gubernamentales, creamos una propuesta inicial para la nueva pol­tica de privacidad y abrimos una discusi"n en l­nea de 5 meses y medio.

Wikipedia: Hecha a trav(C)s de colaboraci"n.

Perfeccionando la pol­tica de privacidad a trav(C)s de la consultaNuestra propuesta inicial de la nueva pol­tica de privacidad pas" por revisi"n de la comunidad Wikimedia y deton" un debate entusiasta. De hecho, la discusi"n concerniente a la pol­tica de privacidad, lineamientos de retenci"n de informaci"n, y la Pol­tica de Accesso a la Informaci"n Privada. La Pol­tica de Acceso a la Informaci"n Privada tambi(C)n fue aprobada por la Junta de Administradores el 25 de abril de 2014. Sin embargo, por favor tomen en cuenta que ciertos requisitos bajo esa pol­tica de privacidad sern puestos en marcha ºnicamente hasta que hayamos terminado de crear las herramientas necesarias y que hayamos dado aviso a los miembros de la comunidad afectados por tales requisitos segºn est definido en la pol­tica. Han sido contabilizdas ms de 195,000 palabras y dieron como resultado ms de 250 cambios en los documentos. Lo que surgi" fue una pol­tica de privacidad mucho ms fuerte que refleja los valores de la comunidad global Wikimedia.

Para obtener ms informaci"n sobre el proceso de consulta y c"mo la nueva pol­tica de privacidad difiere de la anterior, por favor consulte nuestra publicaci"n anterior.

Qu(C) pasa ahora?Con la aprobaci"n del Comit(C), comenzaremos un per­odo de aviso de un mes de duraci"n para darle a todos otra oportunidad de revisar la nueva pol­tica de privacidad. Despu(C)s del periodo de aviso, la pol­tica entrar en vigor oficialmente.

Agradecemos a todos aquellos que han participado en este proceso de colaboraci"n, que ha dado como resultado una pol­tica de privacidad que en verdad que ha sido desarrollada al estilo Wiki. En ese esp­ritu, la nueva pol­tica de privacidad est regida bajo una licencia libre, de tal modo que cualquiera reutilizarla y partir de ella para crear sus propias pol­ticas de privacidad.

Michelle Paulson, Consejera Legal* Geoff Brigham, Consejero General

* Nos gustar­a expresar nuestro ms sincero agradecimiento a todos aquellos que hicieron posible esta pol­tica de privacidad '' no habr­a sido posible sin un esfuerzo interdepartamental de gran magnitud, y la valiosa participaci"n y retroalimentaci"n de la comunidad global Wikimedia. Agradecimientos especiales a James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas,y a Tiffany Li por su incre­ble apoyo en este proceso.

FrenchLancement d'une politique de confidentialit(C) btie la fa§on d'un WikiNous sommes heureux d'annoncer que le 25 avril 2014, le conseil d'administration de la Fondation Wikimedia a approuv(C) une nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C). La nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C) explique comment nous collectons, utilisons et g(C)rons les informations de plus de vingt millions d'utilisateurs enregistr(C)s et de 490 millions de visiteurs uniques mensuels des projets Wikimedia.

Mais la politique n'aurait pas (C)t(C) possible sans l'aide d'utilisateurs comme vous. La nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C) est le r(C)sultat d'une consultation de la communaut(C) (C)tal(C)e sur 8 mois.

Un besoin de changementD(C)but 2013, nous nous sommes rendu compte que notre politique de confidentialit(C), qui n'avait pas (C)t(C) mise jour depuis 2008, ne prenait pas en compte des technologies nouvelles, ou ne fournissait pas assez de d(C)tails nos utilisateurs sur la fa§on dont leurs donn(C)es sont utilis(C)es. La m(C)thode Wikimedia (C)tant unique '-- nous savions que nous ne pouvions pas concevoir une politique de confidentialit(C) sans l'aide des chers utilisateurs que cette politique de confidentialit(C) entend prot(C)ger. Nous avons donc lanc(C), le 18 juin 2013, un appel g(C)n(C)ral contribution aupr¨s de la communaut(C), pour connaitre les probl¨mes rencontr(C)s et ce que vous vouliez voir ajouter dans la nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C).

Avec ces contributions, et conscients de la sensibilit(C) li(C)e aux affaires r(C)cemment r(C)v(C)l(C)es de programmes gouvernementaux de surveillance de masse, nous avons cr(C)(C) une (C)bauche initiale de proposition d'une nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C) et nous avons ouvert une discussion en ligne de 5 mois et demi.

Wikipedia : produit par la collaboration.

Am(C)liorer la politique de confidentialit(C) au travers d'une consultationNotre proposition initiale de politique de confidentialit(C) a subi une relecture minutieuse par la communaut(C) Wikimedia, et a provoqu(C) des d(C)bats de haut niveau. Plus pr(C)cis(C)ment, autour de la politique de confidentialit(C), des principes de conservation des donn(C)es, et de la politique d'acc¨s aux informations non-publiques[1] totalise plus de 195 000 mots et a fait l'objet de plus de 250 modifications de documents. Il en a (C)merg(C) une politique plus solide, qui refl¨te les valeurs de toute la communaut(C) Wikimedia.

Pour plus d'informations sur le processus de consultation et les diff(C)rences entre la nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C) et l'ancienne, voir l'article pr(C)c(C)dent.

Que se passe-t-il maintenant?Avec l'approbation par le Conseil d'Administration, nous allons commencer une p(C)riode d'information d'un mois pour donner tous une autre occasion de relire la nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C). Apr¨s cette p(C)riode d'information, la politique de confidentialit(C) prendra officiellement effet.

Nous remercions tous les participants de ce processus ouvert et collaboratif, qui a conduit une politique de confidentialit(C) r(C)ellement con§ue comme un Wiki. Dans cet esprit, notre nouvelle politique de confidentialit(C) est diffus(C)e sous une licence libre, pour que chacun puisse la r(C)utiliser et la prendre comme base pour cr(C)er sa propre politique de confidentialit(C).

Michelle Paulson, Conseill¨re juridique* Geoff Brigham, Avocat Conseil

* Nous voudrions exprimer nos sinc¨res remerciements tous ceux qui ont rendu possible la r(C)daction de cette politique de confidentialit(C) '-- nous n'aurions pu (C)crire cette politique sans un r(C)el effort entre d(C)partements, la participation de grande valeur et les retours de toute la communaut(C) Wikimedia. Nous remercions particuli¨rement James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas, et Tiffany Li pour leur incroyable investissement dans le processus de r(C)daction.

'†‘La politique d'acc¨s aux informations non-publiques a aussi (C)t(C) approuv(C)e par le Conseil d'Administration le 25 avril 2014. Il faut noter toutefois que certaines obligations de cette politique ne seront effectives qu'une fois le d(C)veloppement des outils n(C)cessaires termin(C), et que les membres de la communaut(C) concern(C)s par ces obligations auront (C)t(C) pr(C)venus comme pr(C)cis(C) dans notre nouvelle politique.

ItalianoUna Politica sulla Privacy Costruita in Stile WikiSiamo lieti di annunciare che il 25 aprile 2014, la Board of Trustees della Wikimedia Foundation ha approvato una nuova politica sulla privacy. La nuova politica spiega come raccogliamo, usiamo e gestiamo le informazioni su pi¹ di venti milioni di utenti registrati e 490 milioni di visitatori unici dei progetti Wikimedia.

Ma non sarebbe stato possibile giungere a quest orisultato senza il supporto di utenti come te. La nuova politica sulla privacy ¨ il risultato di una consultazione comunitaria durata pi¹ di otto mesi.

Il bisogno di cambiamentoAll'inizio del 2013, abbiamo notato che la nostra politica sulla privacy, che non era stata aggiornata dal 2008, non prendeva in considerazione le ultime tecnologie n¨ forniva sufficienti dettagli agli utenti su come i loro dati venivano gestiti. Ma lo stile Wikimedia ¨ unico '-- sapevamo che non avremmo potuto sviluppare una politica sulla privacy senza l'aiuto della stessa comunit di utenti che questa avrebbe protetto. Cos¬, abbiamo lanciato una richiesta di contributi da parte della comunit il 18 giugno 2013, per capire quali aspetti vi interessassero maggiormente e cosa voleste vedere nella nuova policy.

Forti di quel contributo e tenendo a mente le sensibilit toccate dalle recenti rivelazioni su programmi governativi di sorveglianza di massa, abbiamo creato una proposta iniziale per una nuova politica sulla privacy e aperto una discussione online lunga 5 mesi e mezzo.

Wikipedia: costruita tramite collaborazione.

Miglioramento della politica sulla privacy tramite consultazioneLa nostra proposta iniziale di politica sulla privacy ¨ stata sottoposta ad un'attenta revisione dalla comunit di Wikimedia ed ha scatenato alcuni dibattiti accesi. Infatti, la discussione riguardo ad essa, alle linee guida sull'archiviazione, e la politica di accesso ad informazioni non pubbliche[1] ha accumulato pi¹ di 195'000 parole e 250 cambiamenti ai documenti. Ci² che ¨ emerso ¨ una politica molto pi¹ forte che riflette i valori della comunit Wikimedia globale.

Per maggiori informazioni riguardo al processo di consultazione e su come la nuova politica ¨ diversa dalla vecchia, si veda il nostro post precedente.

Cosa succede ora?Con l'approvazione della Board, inizieremo un periodo di notifica lungo un mese per dare a tutti un'altra occasione di revisionare la nuova politica della privacy. Dopo il periodo di notifica, la plitica entrer ufficialmente in vigore.

Ringraziamo tutti coloro che hanno partecipato a questo processo aperto e collaborativo, che ha prodotto una politica sulla privacy sviluppata veramente in stile wiki. In quello spirito, la nuova politica sulla privacy ¨ rilasciata con una licenza libera affinch(C) chiunque la possa riusare e sfruttare come punto di partenza per creare le proprie politiche sulla privacy

Michelle Paulson, Legal Counsel* Geoff Brigham, General Counsel

* Vorremmo esprimere il nostro sincero ringraziamento a tutti quelli che hanno reso questa politica possibile '-- non avremmo potuto crearla senza uno sforzo veramente interdipartimentale e con la partecipazione e i commenti della comunit Wikimedia globale. Un ringraziamento speciale a James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas, e Tiffany Li per il loro incredibile supporto durante questo processo.

'†‘Anche la Politica di Accesso ad Informazioni Non Pubbliche ¨ stata approvata dalla Board of Trustees il 25 aprile 2014. Considerate, comunque, che alcuni obblighi derivanti da essa entreranno in vigore quando avremo completato la creazione degli strumenti necessari e avvisato i membri della comunit affetti da essa.

CzechSpouÅt­me Pravidla ochrany osobn­ch ºdajů vytvoÅen v duchu wikiS radost­ oznamujeme, že 25. dubna 2014 schvlila Sprvn­ rada nadace Wikimedia nov Pravidla ochrany osobn­ch ºdajů. Nov pravidla vysvětluj­, jak sb­rme, použ­vme a spravujeme ºdaje v­ce než dvaceti milionů registrovan½ch uživatelů a měs­Än­ch 490 milionů uniktn­ch nvÅtěvn­kůprojektů Wikimedia.

Pravidla by vÅak nemohla vzniknout bez pomoci uživatelů, jako jste vy. Nov pravidla jsou v½sledkem v­ce než osmiměs­Än­ konzultace s komunitou.

PotÅeba_změnyNa začtku roku 2013 jsme si uvědomili, že naÅe Pravidla ochrany osobn­ch ºdajů, kter se nezměnila od roku 2008, neÅeÅ­ Åadu nov½ch technologi­ a dostatečně podrobně nepopisuj­ naÅim uživatelům, jak se s jejich ºdaji zachz­. Ale na projektech Wikimedia vÅechno funguje jinak '' věděli jsme, že pravidla ochrany osobn­ch ºdajů nemůžeme vytvoÅit bez pomoci prvě t(C) komunity uživatelů, kter(C) maj­ tato pravidla chrnit. Takže jsme 18. června 2013 zveÅejnili otevÅenou v½zvu k vyjdÅen­ komunity, abychom zjistili, na jak½ch věcech vm zlež­ a co si pÅejete v nov½ch pravidlech vidět.

Vybaveni těmito informacemi a vědomi si choulostivosti vyvolan(C) nedvn½mi odhalen­mi vldn­ch programů hromadn(C)ho sledovn­ jsme vytvoÅili prvotn­ nvrh nov½ch pravidel a otevÅeli pět a půl měs­ce trvaj­c­ online diskusi.

Wikipedie: vytvoÅeno d­ky spoluprci

Konzultacemi k dokonal½m pravidlům na ochranu osobn­ch ºdajůNÅ prvotn­ nvrh nov½ch pravidel na ochranu osobn­ch ºdajů byl podroben pečliv(C) kontrole komunitou Wikimedia a vyvolal živou diskusi. Ve skutečnosti diskuse kolem Pravidel na ochranu osobn­ch ºdajů, Směrnice pro uchovvn­ ºdajů a Pravidel pÅ­stupu k neveÅejn½m informac­m[1] doshla v­ce než 195 000 slov a vzeÅlo z n­ v­ce než 250 změn v těchto dokumentech. V½sledkem jsou mnohem silnějÅ­ pravidla, kter održej­ hodnoty globln­ komunity Wikimedia.

V­ce informac­ o procesu konzultac­ a rozd­lech nov½ch pravidel oproti star½m najdete v naÅem pÅedchoz­m člnku.

Co se stane teď?Se schvlen­m Sprvn­ rady zahj­me měs­Än­ lhůtu, abychom dali vÅem pÅ­ležitost prohl(C)dnout si nov pravidla. Po t(C)to lhůtě nabudou pravidla oficilně ºÄinnosti.

Děkujeme vÅem, kdo se zºÄastnili tohoto otevÅen(C)ho kolaborativn­ho procesu, jehož v½sledkem jsou pravidla na ochranu osobn­ch ºdajů vytvoÅen opravdu v duchu wiki. Ve stejn(C)m duchu jsou nov pravidla zveÅejněna pod svobodnou licenc­, takže je kdokoli může využ­t a postavit na nich sv vlastn­ pravidla ochrany osobn­ch ºdajů.

* Chtěli bychom upÅ­mně poděkovat vÅem, kdo umožnili vznik těchto pravidel '' tato pravidla bychom nemohli vytvoÅit bez ºsil­ napŭč oddělen­mi a hodnotn(C) ºÄasti a komentÅů od globln­ komunity Wikimedia. ObzvlÅtě děkujeme Jamesi Alexanderovi, Heather Wallsov(C), Luisi Villovi, Roshni Patelov(C), Tobymu Negrinovi, Megumi Yukieov(C), Dariu Taraborellimu, Jorge Vargasovi a Tiffany Liov(C) za jejich neuvěÅitelnou podporu v průběhu tohoto procesu.

'†‘Pravidla pÅ­stupu k neveÅejn½m informac­m schvlila Sprvn­ rada tak(C) 25. dubna 2014. Uvědomte si vÅak, že někter(C) požadavky těchto pravidel budou ºÄinn(C) až pot(C), co dokonč­me pÅ­pravu nezbytn½ch nstrojů a informujeme členy komunity, kter½ch se budou tyto požadavky t½kat, jak je v pravidlech uvedeno.GermanEinf¼hrung einer Datenschutzrichtlinie, erstellt nach Wiki-ArtK¶rperWir freuen uns bekannt zu geben, dass das Board of Trustees der Wikimedia Foundation unserer neuen Datenschutzrichtlinie zugestimmt hat. Die neue Datenschutzrichtlinie erkl¤rt, wie wir die Informationen ¼ber unsere 20 Millionen registrierten Benutzer und die monatlich 490 Millionen Unique Visitors der Wikimedia-Projekte sammeln, benutzen und verwerten.

Doch die Richtlinie w¤re ohne die Unterst¼tzung von Benutzern wie dir nicht m¶glich gewesen. Die neue Datenschutzrichtlinie ist das Ergebnis einer Gemeinschaftsarbeit, die sich ¼ber acht Monate hingezogen hat.

Notwendigkeit f¼r eine Ver¤nderung>Anfang 2013 erkannten wir, dass unsere Datenschutzrichtlinie, die seit 2008 nicht mehr aktualisiert worden war, einigen neuen Technologien nicht mehr entsprach oder unseren Benutzern nicht gen¼gend Details dar¼ber bereitstellt, wie deren Informationen verwendet werden. Aber die Vorgehensweise der Wikimedia ist einzigartig '-- wir wussten, dass wir keine Datenschutzrichtlinie ohne die Hilfe eben derjenigen Benutzer-Community entwickeln konnten, welche die Datenschutzrichtlinie sch¼tzen soll. Also starteten wir am 18. Juni 2013 einen offenen Aufruf zur Mithilfe unserer Community, um herauszufinden, welche Themen euch wichtig sind und was ihr in der neuen Richtlinie sehen wollt.

Ger¼stet mit diesem Input, und unter Ber¼cksichtigung des durch die j¼ngsten Enth¼llungen von staatlichen Massen-'berwachungs-Programmen gesch¤rften Bewusstseins f¼r solche Themen, schufen wir einen anf¤nglichen Entwurf/Vorschlag f¼r eine neue Datenschutzrichtlinie und er¶ffneten eine f¼nfeinhalb Monate lange Online-Diskussion.

Wikipedia: gebaut durch Zusammenarbeit.

Perfektionierung der Datenschutzrichtlinie durch KonsultationenUnser erster Entwurf der neuen Datenschutzrichtlinie durchlief eine gr¼ndliche 'berpr¼fung durch die Wikimedia-Gemeinschaft und entfachte eine beherzte Debatte. In der Tat, die Diskussion um die Datenschutzbestimmungen, Datenaufbewahrungsrichtlinien und Richtlinie ¼ber den Zugang zu nicht-¶ffentlichen Informationen[1] ergaben ¼ber 195.000 W¶rter und resultierten in ¼ber 250 nderungen der Dokumente. Was dabei herauskam, war eine weitaus st¤rkere Richtlinie, welche die Werte der globalen Wikimedia-Gemeinschaft widerspiegelt.

For more information about the consultation process and how the new policy differs from the old one, please see our previous post.

Was geschieht jetzt?Mit der Zustimmung des Boards werden wir eine einmonatige Probefrist starten, um allen eine weitere M¶glichkeit zu geben, die neue Datenschutzrichtlinie nochmals durchzusehen. Nach dieser Frist wird die Richtlinie offiziell in Kraft treten.

Wir danken allen, die an diesem offenen und kooperativen Prozess teilgenommen haben, welcher in einer Datenschutzrichtlinie resultierte, die tats¤chlich auf Wiki-Weise entwickelt wurde. In diesem Sinne steht die neue Datenschutzrichtlinie unter einer freien Lizenz, damit alle diese bei der Erstellung ihrer eigenen Datenschutzrichtlinien wiederverwenden und darauf aufbauen k¶nnen.

Michelle Paulson, Rechtsbeistand* Geoff Brigham, Chefsyndikus

* Wir m¶chten unseren aufrichtigen Dank an alle diejenigen aussprechen, die diese Richtlinie m¶glich gemacht haben '' wir h¤tten diese Richtlinie nicht ohne den wirklich abteilungs¼bergreifenden Arbeitsaufwand und die wertvolle Beteiligung und Resonanz der globalen Gemeinschaft von Wikimedia erschaffen k¶nnen.

Besonderer Dank geht an James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas und Tiffany Li f¼r ihre unglaubliche Unterst¼tzung w¤hrend dieses Prozesses.

'†‘Die Richtlinie ¼ber den Zugriff auf nicht ¶ffentliche Informationen wurde ebenfalls am 25. April 2014 durch das Board of Trustees genehmigt. Bitte beachten Sie jedoch, dass bestimmte Anforderungen im Rahmen dieser Richtlinie erst dann ausgel¶st werden, wenn wir die erforderlichen Werkzeuge bereitgestellt haben und die Community-Mitglieder, welche von diesen Anforderungen betroffen sind, benachrichtigt haben, wie es in der Richtlinie vorgesehen ist.RussianÐ'недÑяем ПоÐ>>итику конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности в стиÐ>>е Ð'икиОсновноеÐ'ы Ñады сообщить, что 25 аÐÑеÐ>>я 2014 Ð"ода ÐоÐечитеÐ>>ьский совет Фонда Ð'икимедиа одобÑиÐ>> новую ÐоÐ>>итику конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности. Ð'овая ÐоÐ>>итика конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности Ñазъясняет, каким обÑазом мы собиÑаем, исÐоÐ>>ьзуем и администÑиÑуем инÑоÑмацию о боÐ>>ее чем 20 миÐ>>Ð>>ионах заÑеÐ"истÑиÑованных участников вики-ÐÑоектов Фонда Ð'икимедиа и боÐ>>ее чем 490 миÐ>>Ð>>ионах уникаÐ>>ьных ÐосетитеÐ>>ей в месяц.

РазÑаботка ÐоÐ>>итики конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности быÐ>>а бы невозможна без Ðомощи участников. Ð'овая ÐоÐ>>итика '' ÑезуÐ>>ьтат ÑиÑоких консуÐ>>ьтаций с сообществом, котоÑые ÐÑодоÐ>>жаÐ>>ись боÐ>>ее 8 месяцев.

Ð'ÐµÑ‚ÐµÑ ÐеÑеменÐ' начаÐ>>е 2013 Ð"ода мы осознаÐ>>и, что наÑа ÐоÐ>>итика конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности, не обновÐ>>явÑаяся с 2008 Ð"ода, не учитываÐ>>а Ñяд новых техноÐ>>оÐ"ий и не ÐÑедоставÐ>>яÐ>>а наÑим ÐоÐ>>ьзоватеÐ>>ям достаточно ÐодÑобностей о том, как обÑабатывается их инÑоÑмация. Ð'о метод Ð'икимедиа уникаÐ>>ен '-- мы знаÐ>>и, что не можем ÑазÑаботать ÐоÐ>>итику конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности без Ðомощи сообщества самих ÐоÐ>>ьзоватеÐ>>ей, котоÑых эта ÐоÐ>>итика конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности ÐÑедназначена защищать. Поэтому мы оÐубÐ>>иковаÐ>>и ÐÑизыв к сообществу 18 июня 2013 Ð"ода, чтобы выяснить, какие воÐÑосы важны дÐ>>я вас и что вы хотите увидеть в новой ÐоÐ>>итике.

Ð'ооÑуживÑись этим ÐÑизывом и Ðомня о неÑвозности, вызванной недавними откÑовениями о ÐÑавитеÐ>>ьственных ÐÑоÐ"Ñаммах массовой сÐ>>ежки, мы создаÐ>>и чеÑновой ÐÑоект новой ÐоÐ>>итики конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности и оÑÐ"анизоваÐ>>и онÐ>>айн-дискуссию ÐÑодоÐ>>житеÐ>>ьностью 5,5 месяцев.

Ð'икиÐедия: создана сотÑудничеством.

ÐовеÑÑенствование ÐоÐ>>итики конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности обсуждениемÐ'Ð°Ñ ÐÑоект новой ÐоÐ>>итики конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности ÐÑоÑёÐ>> Ñевизию сообщества Ð'икимедиа и вызваÐ>> вдохновенные сÐоÑы. Ð--искуссия о ÐоÐ>>итике конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности, ÐÑавиÐ>>ах хÑанения данных и ÐоÐ>>итике достуÐа к неÐубÐ>>ичной инÑоÑмации[1] ÐÑевысиÐ>>а Ðо объёму 195000 сÐ>>ов и ÐÑивеÐ>>а к внесению в документы боÐ>>ее 250 изменений. Ð' ÑезуÐ>>ьтате ÐоÐ>>итика стаÐ>>а сиÐ>>ьней и Ð>>учÑе отÑажающей ценности сообщества Ð'икимедиа.

Рчто теÐеÑь?ПосÐ>>е одобÑения ПоÐечитеÐ>>ьским советом мы начнём уведомитеÐ>>ьный ÐеÑиод ÐÑодоÐ>>житеÐ>>ьностью месяц, чтобы каждый имеÐ>> Ñанс ÐÑосмотÑеть новую ÐоÐ>>итику конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности. ПосÐ>>е уведомитеÐ>>ьноÐ"о ÐеÑиода ÐоÐ>>итика оÑициаÐ>>ьно встуÐит в действие.

Ð'ы бÐ>>аÐ"одаÑим всех тех, кто ÐÑиняÐ>> участие в этом откÑытом ÐÑоцессе сотÑудничества, в ÑезуÐ>>ьтате котоÑоÐ"о ÐоÐ>>итика конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности обÑеÐ>>а истинный вики-стиÐ>>ь. Ð' том же духе, новая ÐоÐ>>итика конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности ÑасÐÑостÑаняется Ðод свободной Ð>>ицензией, чтобы Ð>>юбой моÐ" исÐоÐ>>ьзовать её текст дÐ>>я создания своих ÐоÐ>>итик конÑиденциаÐ>>ьности.

Michelle Paulson, консуÐ>>ьтант Ðо юÑидическим воÐÑосам* Geoff Brigham, консуÐ>>ьтант Ðо общим воÐÑосам

* Ð'ы хотим выÑазить свою искÑеннюю бÐ>>аÐ"одаÑность всем тем, кто сдеÐ>>аÐ>> эту ÐоÐ>>итику возможной '-- мы не смоÐ"Ð>>и бы создать эту ÐоÐ>>итику без Ðоистине междеÐаÑтаментных усиÐ>>ий и ценноÐ"о участия и обÑатной связи со стоÑоны Ð"Ð>>обаÐ>>ьноÐ"о сообщества Ð'икимедиа. Особая бÐ>>аÐ"одаÑность ÐоÐ>>ьзоватеÐ>>ям James Alexander, Heather Walls, Luis Villa, Roshni Patel, Toby Negrin, Megumi Yukie, Dario Taraborelli, Jorge Vargas и Tiffany Li за их невеÑоятную ÐоддеÑжку во вÑемя этоÐ"о ÐÑоцесса.

'†‘ПоÐ>>итика достуÐа к неÐубÐ>>ичной инÑоÑмации быÐ>>а также одобÑена ПоÐечитеÐ>>ьским советом 25 аÐÑеÐ>>я 2014 Ð"ода. ПожаÐ>>уйста, обÑатите внимание, что некотоÑые ÐоÐ>>ожения этой ÐоÐ>>итики будут введены в действие ÐосÐ>>е завеÑÑения создания нами необходимых инстÑументов и ÑассыÐ>>ки уведомÐ>>ений чÐ>>енам сообщества, котоÑых затÑаÐ"ивают те тÑебования, как это обозначено в ÐоÐ>>итике.You can help translating this post(You may need to click on ''Translate to English'' to change the translation language)

2014-05-09: Edited to add missing footnote2014-05-19: Edited to add translation link2014-05-20/21: Edited to add translations, and to add an instruction to the translation link

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Thu, 22 May 2014 05:51

Climate change is putting national treasures at risk and triage is required

May 21, 2014 |By Henry Gass and ClimateWireAs climate threats close in on landscapes and monuments that Americans and tourists have enjoyed for years, park managers, local officials and communities are starting to choose where they will make their stand.Credit: Niagara via Wikimedia Commons

When Trish Kicklighter took over as superintendent for Assateague Island on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 2009, she noticed some differences in how things ran on the 37-mile barrier island compared to her old post in Shenandoah National Park.

For one, the park employed a coastal geologist. That geologist was one of the people who told Kicklighter that not only was the sea around Assateague Island rising, but the island itself was sinking. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Maryland estimated there was a 60 percent chance that the island would reach a tipping point and start breaking up into smaller islands.

"I doubted it would happen during my time there, but it was an opportunity for me to set the stage for future managers," Kicklighter said.

A few months before Kicklighter left the island for another post in West Virginia, it did happen. Superstorm Sandy swept over the northeastern United States in 2011, striking Assateague Island a glancing blow that ripped into boardwalks, parking lots and the historic Coast Guard station boathouse.

Kicklighter, now superintendent of New River Gorge National River in West Virginia, knew something had to be done. The park already had advanced monitoring equipment tracking sea-level rise and subsidence on the island, but over her four years at on the island, she helped draw up a general management plan for Assateague to help guide its transition to a new, watery reality.

Save our lighthouse?Assateague Island is not alone. National parks, historic sites, small communities and even NASA launching pads are under imminent threat from climate change.

A report released yesterday by the Union of Concerned Scientists detailed almost two dozen sites of historical, cultural and operational importance in the United States in immediate danger from varying climate threats.

Sea-level rise and superstorms powered by warmer waters threaten iconic, low-lying landmarks where millions of immigrants took their first steps on American soil, like Ellis Island in New York Harbor, Historic Jamestowne'--the first permanent English colony in North America'--and Fort Monroe, a concrete fortress in southern Virginia where Dutch traders brought the first African slaves to the continent.

Farther west, drought and wildfires threaten ancient cliff dwellings in southern Colorado that predate European arrival by 700 years, and the California breadbasket'--or America's "salad bowl"'--where C(C)sar Chvez began organizing the country's migrant farmworkers.

As these varying climate threats close in on landscapes and monuments that Americans and tourists have enjoyed for years, park managers, local officials and communities are starting to choose where they will make their stand.

In some areas, like Assateague Island, those decisions are already being made. The new ranger station on the island was built on piers and came in pieces, so it can be moved to another area of the island if the ocean migrates too close. The management plan Kicklighter helped create for the island is aiming to gradually remove all permanent infrastructure from the island, turning it into a day-use area.

"It's something we wrestled with at the very beginning when doing the general management plan. How do you deal with a resource if you don't know what it will look like for the next 50 years? And what do you do if the entire reason the national seashore was created may be going away?" Kicklighter said.

"We decided we just have to embrace it."

In 1999, Cape Hatteras National Seashore took a slightly different approach. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse was built in 1870 a comfortable 1,500 feet from the ocean. By 1970, the ocean was 120 feet away. After decades of scientific assessment and debate, public support had shifted toward relocating the lighthouse, and the NPS began planning. On June 17, 1999, hydraulic jacks lifted the lighthouse 6 feet into the air and onto steel mats. Over the course of three weeks, the lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet away from the shoreline to where it stands today.

On its website, the NPS says the move enabled the agency to meet "its obligation to both historic preservation and coastal protection."

At a briefing yesterday to launch the UCS report, Jeffrey Altschul, president of the Society for American Archaeology, indirectly but vividly questioned this approach.

"In the United States, we fight the destruction of historic and cultural properties one at a time," Altschul said. "Unless we change course, we will fight the effects of climate change the same. ... It will be politically attractive to take a 'save our lighthouse' approach, since each action is limited in scope and the resources needed are manageable."

Over time, Altschul said, that strategy will become prohibitively expensive. He added, "It's time to engage in a different conversation. What do we want to save? What sites embody the core cultural values that will diminish us as a nation if we lose them? And what are we willing to let go?"

'We are going to stay in place'So how should America'--or really, Americans'--determine what gets saved? In the words of Alan Spears, director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, who also spoke at yesterday's briefing, who gets in the lifeboat?

Should it be based on cultural importance? On tourist revenue dollars the landmarks create for the local communities? On the cost and scale of the engineering project that would be required to relocate something?

One can imagine the conflicts the debate could incite. Take Fort Monroe near Hampton, Va., the port of entry for America's first African slaves that turned into a haven for escaped slaves fleeing the South to sign up and fight for the Union army. Fort Monroe's cultural importance can't be questioned, but how would you move a seven-sided stone fort?

The local government in Annapolis, Md., has decided to not move anything. The historic City Dock area is 2 to 4½ feet above sea level, and the level of the Chesapeake Bay could rise by 1 to 2½ feet by 2050, according to the UCS report. The city has experienced small-scale "nuisance flooding" three times in the last two weeks.

Following guidelines laid out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in its Cultural Resource Hazard Mitigation Plan, Annapolis is surveying all 140 at-risk buildings in the city, exploring ways to limit floodwater damage and keep buildings intact.

"The cost of doing something can be very small for an individual property," said Lisa Craig, chief of the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission, who spoke at the UCS briefing.

Unlike Cape Hatteras, historic buildings in Annapolis'--which are mostly privately owned'--will likely change as they are modified to withstand periodic flooding and increasingly common extreme storms. Historic Annapolis is the "economic engine" for the city, Craig said, and the town could not afford to lose or relocate it.

"In many communities, you abandon, you protect or you relocate," Craig said. "We don't really have that chance. We are going to stay in place and protect what we have."

Precedents home and abroadAnnapolis is leaning heavily on FEMA's hazard mitigation plan, a document Craig swore by while adding, "We're very proud to be one of the first ones, apparently, to be really using this document from front to back."

Indeed, Annapolis appears to be one of the few cities embracing federal guidance on how to adapt to the threats of climate change, and Craig said she hopes the city's approach will become a model for historic seaport and coastal communities around the country "who want to know how you do it yourself as a local community."

Jeffrey Altschul, from the Society for American Archaeology, added that a national-scale preservation and relocation program is not entirely unprecedented. Historic Scotland'--the country's historic preservation agency'--has developed a robust "scheduling" process that now includes 8,000 of the country's 260,000 recognized historic sites and monuments. The process includes extensive opportunities for local consultation and covers monuments in need of anything from small repairs to demolition or destruction.

In the United States, a similar central process may be necessary. At the least, most experts are stressing the need for increased communication and collaboration among federal, state and local agencies, as well as local communities and stakeholders.

"We need to make adaptation and preparedness a national priority," said Adam Markham, director of climate impacts for the UCS.

After Superstorm Sandy swept through Assateague Island, Kicklighter said, staff were on the right path with their planning and they were "several steps ahead" of other parks in preparing for the impacts of climate change. The island was hard hit, but it could have been worse.

"Assateague could be a winning model in dealing with this," she said.

Kicklighter said she expects the island to transition to becoming a day-use site with primitive camp sites and "great swimming" but not necessarily with the hardened infrastructure its traditionally enjoyed. As it turns out, Assateague could also be a valuable model for saying goodbye.

"Will there always be bridge [to the mainland]?" Kicklighter asked. "There may always be a bridge, but there may not be an island to drive to."

Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

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Thu, 22 May 2014 00:42

Cooper found footage of Amy Kushnir kissing two male Chippenedales on ''Ladies of Dallas''

Amy Kushnir, the Dallas morning talk show host who voiced strong opposition to ESPN airing the first openly-gay NFL draft pick kissing his boyfriend, has made it to CNN '-- on Anderson Cooper's ''Ridiculist.''

The openly gay anchor sarcastically took the ''Ladies of Dallas'' co-host to task for complaining that Michael Sam's brief kiss was ''pushed in faces'' of viewers, and therefore ''wrong,'' because parents did not have a chance to screen the moment in time to approve it for their children.

Also read: OWN Postpones Michael Sam Reality Series

''To Amy Kushnir's argument that nobody shows football players kissing their wives or girlfriends, that's simply not true and I don't think she's being honest when she wouldn't want to see that either,'' Cooper said during the segment (above). ''If you're uncomfortable seeing some kind of affection'... why not just say that and leave the excuses about why you're uncomfortable where they belong: on 'The Ridiculist.'''

When asked by a co-host if she would have the same reaction to a man kissing his wife, Kushnir maintained she would have said ''get a room.''

Also read: Michael Sam's Jersey Is Second-Biggest-Selling of NFL Rookies

Cooper, however, unearthed footage that suggests otherwise, as Kushnir once sat in the arms of two buff, shirtless Chippendales dancers on her own TV show, and (gasp!) kissed each one on the cheek.

''It's okay, she was kissing strippers. And she didn't really even know them,'' Cooper said after airing the evidence of her hypocrisy. ''It's not like two guys who were in love, or anything. That's offensive.''

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Thu, 22 May 2014 00:17

About the Survey/MethodologyThe Anti-Defamation League commissioned First International Resources to research attitudes and opinions toward Jews in over 100 countries around the world. Fieldwork and data collection for this global public opinion project were conducted and coordinated by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research. All interviews were conducted between July 2013 and February 2014.

This study, known as the ADL GLOBAL 100, consists of surveys of the general public in each of the following 101 countries plus the Palestinian Territories in the West Bank & Gaza.

The data is a result of 53,100 total interviews among citizens aged 18 and over, across 101 countries and the West Bank & Gaza. Expected margin of sampling error for the weighted global average is +0.97%, for the countries/territories surveyed with n=500 interviews it is +4.4% and for countries sampled with n=1,000 interviews it is +3.2%. The margin of error is higher for sub-groups within each geography.

Interviews were conducted via landline telephones, mobile phones and face-to-face discussions in 96 languages (including many dialects and pidgin/creole versions).

All respondents were selected at random. Telephone respondents were selected using random-digit dial sampling; face-to-face respondents were selected using geographically stratified, randomly-selected sampling points in each country, and, at the household level using a Kish grid.

Telephone interviewing was only conducted in countries where the combined mobile phone + landline penetration exceeded 90%. In all countries where telephone dialing was conducted, interviews were collected using a combination of landline and mobile phone dialing, in proportion to that particular country's coverage rate for each telephone type.

Within each country, the data was weighted to be reflective of the national population on a number of demographic measures, including age, gender, religion, urban/rural location, ethnicity, and language spoken.

In an overwhelming majority of the countries/territories polled, the samples are fully nationally representative. However, in some countries (China, India, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Uganda, and Vietnam), due to security concerns or extreme logistical challenges, national coverage was not complete. In those situations, sampling points were selected and the data was weighted to ensure the country's interviews were reflective of the national population on key demographic measures other than geography.

For regional and global averages, the data was weighted so that each country's interviews were represented proportionately to that country's adult population.

The source for population data was the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs - Population Division.

For the purposes of this study, countries denoted with an asterisk (*) on the following chart are considered to have a "larger" Jewish population and respondents within those countries were asked an additional battery of questions related to the local treatment of Jews. These countries have an estimated Jewish population that is greater than 10,000, or more than 0.1% of the overall population, or constitute a country where ADL has surveyed in the past. Estimates of Jewish population were sourced from: Sergio Della Pergola, World Jewish Population, 2012.

Algeria11/18 - 11/28/2013Phone500Maghrebi ArabicNationalArgentina*7/26 - 8/8/2013Phone505Spanish (Latin America)NationalArmenia11/25 - 12/10/2013Face-to-Face500ArmenianNationalAustralia*8/7 - 8/25/2013Phone502EnglishNationalAustria*12/5/2013 - 1/6/2014Phone504Austrian GermanNationalAzerbaijan*8/12 - 8/31/2013Phone500AzerbaijaniNationalBahrain11/16 - 12/4/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalBangladesh12/6 - 12/27/2013Face-to-Face500BengaliUrban/rural sample pointsBelarus*11/22 - 12/10/2013Face-to-Face500Russian, BelarusianNationalBelgium*12/9/2013 - 1/7/2014Phone508Dutch, FrenchNationalBolivia11/23 - 12/6/2013Phone502SpanishNationalBosnia and Herzegovina12/13/2013 - 1/7/2014Phone500Croatian, Serbian, BosnianNationalBotswana11/28 - 12/8/2013Face-to-Face500English, SetswanaNationalBrazil*8/7 - 8/22/2013Phone535Brazilian PortugueseNationalBulgaria12/12 - 12/18/2013Phone505BulgarianNationalCameroon11/27 - 12/14/2013Face-to-Face500Cameroonian Pidgin English, French, Fulfulde, EwondoNationalCanada*7/12 - 7/21/2013Phone505English, Canadian FrenchNationalChile*8/3 - 8/16/2013Phone510Spanish (Latin America)NationalChina7/23 - 8/9/2013Phone & Face-to-Face1000ChineseUrban/rural sample pointsColombia11/26 - 11/30/2013Phone500SpanishNationalCosta Rica11/21 - 11/24/2013Phone514SpanishNationalC´te D'Ivoire12/1 - 12/13/2013Face-to-Face500French PidginNationalCroatia12/13/2013 - 1/2/2014Phone511CroatianNationalCzech Republic12/12 - 12/20/2013Phone500CzechNationalDenmark*8/8 - 9/12/2013Phone500DanishNationalDominican Republic11/21 - 11/29/2013Phone504SpanishNationalEgypt8/1 - 8/31/2013Phone500Egyptian ArabicNationalEstonia*12/12 - 12/30/2013Phone503Estonian, RussianNationalFinland*12/4/2013 - 1/8/2014Phone510FinnishNationalFrance*8/6 - 9/13/2013Phone505French (France)NationalGeorgia8/1 - 8/15/2013Face-to-Face500Georgian, RussianNationalGermany*8/6 - 9/11/2013Phone503GermanNationalGhana8/7 - 8/22/2013Face-to-Face509Akan, Asante, Dagaare, Dangme, Dagbani, Ewe, Fanti, Ga, Hausa, TwiUrban/rural sample pointsGreece7/24 - 8/12/2013Phone579GreekNationalGuatemala11/21 - 11/28/2013Phone500SpanishNationalHaiti11/20 - 11/24/2013Face-to-Face503Haitian CreoleNationalHungary*8/1 -8 /26/2013Phone501HungarianNationalIceland12/9/2014 - 1/8/2014Phone510IcelandicNationalIndia7/26 - 8/5/2013Face-to-Face1000Bengali, Hindi, KannadaUrban/rural sample pointsIndonesia7/20 - 8/16/2013Face-to-Face515Banjar, Indonesian, Basa Jawa, Malay, Palembang, Basa SundaUrban/rural sample pointsIran7/23 - 8/4/2013Phone500FarsiNationalIraq7/31 - 8/3/2013Face-to-Face500Gulf ArabicNationalIreland*12/5 - 1/7/2013Phone510EnglishNationalItaly*8/5 - 9/12/2013Phone505ItalianNationalJamaica12/2 - 12/11/2013Phone504EnglishNationalJapan8/2 - 8/12/2013Phone500JapaneseNationalJordan7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Levantine ArabicNationalKazakhstan11/25 - 12/9/2013Face-to-Face500Kazakh, RussianNationalKenya8/3 - 8/18/2013Phone556KiswahiliNationalKuwait7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalLaos11/19 - 12/12/2013Face-to-Face500Lao, Khmu, HmongUrban/rural sample pointsLatvia*12/13/2013 - 1/4/2014Phone500Latvian, RussianNationalLebanon7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Levantine ArabicNationalLibya11/15 - 12/10/2013Phone500Maghrebi ArabicNationalLithuania*12/12/2013 - 1/7/2014Phone503LithuanianNationalMalaysia11/19 - 12/12/2013Face-to-Face500MalayUrban/rural sample pointsMauritius11/20 - 12/16/2013Face-to-Face500Mauritian Creole96% of national territory (4% living on sparsely-populated islands excluded)Mexico*7/27 - 8/9/2013Phone505Spanish (Latin America)NationalMoldova*11/2 - 11/24/2013Face-to-Face591Moldovan, Russian, GagauzNationalMongolia11/18 - 12/4/2013Face-to-Face500MongolianNationalMontenegro12/12 - 12/27/2013Phone503Montenegrin, SerbianNationalMorocco7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Maghrebi ArabicNationalNetherlands*8/7 - 9/12/2013Phone500DutchNationalNew Zealand*12/5/2013 - 1/6/2014Phone500EnglishNationalNicaragua11/20 - 11/25/2013Face-to-Face518SpanishNationalNigeria8/4 - 8/18/2013Face-to-Face500English, Yoruba, IboUrban/rural sample pointsNorway*12/10/2013 - 1/8/2014Phone501NorwegianNationalOman11/15 - 12/5/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalPanama8/4 - 8/16/2013Face-to-Face517Spanish (Latin America)NationalParaguay11/28 - 12/2/2013Phone502SpanishNationalPeru8/1 - 8/7/2013Phone500Spanish (Latin America)NationalPhilippines1/5 - 1/15/2014Face-to-Face500Bicol, Filipino, IlonggoUrban/rural sample pointsPoland*8/9 - 9/16/2013Phone500PolishNationalPortugal*12/12 - 12/19/2013Phone503PortugueseNationalQatar11/15 - 12/1/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalRomania7/26 - 8/7/2013Face-to-Face501RomanianNationalRussia*7/19 - 7/29/2013Face-to-Face502RussianNationalSaudi Arabia7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalSenegal8/13 - 8/22/2013Face-to-Face500Senegalese French, WolofNationalSerbia8/8 - 8/12/2013Face-to-Face538SerbianNationalSingapore11/23 - 12/12/2013Face-to-Face500MalayNationalSlovenia8/5 - 9/11/2013Phone517SlovenianNationalSouth Africa*8/13 - 8/23/2013Face-to-Face532Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, SothoNationalSouth Korea8/1 - 8/7/2013Phone500KoreanNationalSpain*8/6 - 9/10/2013Phone510Spanish (Spain)NationalSweden*8/11 - 9/17/2013Phone501SwedishNationalSwitzerland*8/10 - 9/19/2013Phone500German, French, ItalianNationalTanzania11/29 - 12/16/2013Face-to-Face500KiswahiliNationalThailand8/10 - 8/28/2013Face-to-Face500ThaiNationalTrinidad and Tobago11/26 - 12/3/2013Phone503EnglishNationalTunisia7/24 - 8/14/2013Phone500Maghrebi ArabicNationalTurkey*7/24 - 7/30/2013Phone500TurkishNationalUganda11/29 - 12/8/2013Face-to-Face500English, Luganda, SwahiliNational, but excluded conflict zones adjacent to the Democratic Republic of the CongoUkraine*7/18 - 7/22/2013Face-to-Face510Ukrainian, RussianNationalUnited Arab Emirates11/15 - 12/8/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalUnited Kingdom*8/9 - 9/17/2013Phone510EnglishNationalUnited States*2/6 - 2/12/2014Phone1000English, SpanishNationalUruguay*11/21 - 11/25/2013Phone506SpanishNationalVenezuela*8/3 - 8/12/2013Phone509Spanish (Latin America)NationalVietnam11/19 - 12/12/2013Face-to-Face500VietnameseUrban/rural sample pointsWest Bank and Gaza11/20 - 11/26/2013Phone500Levantine ArabicNationalYemen7/24 - 8/13/2013Phone500Gulf ArabicNationalThe Anti-Semitism IndexSince 1964, the Anti-Defamation League has conducted a series of public opinion surveys in the United States to measure levels of anti-Semitism. An index comprised of 11 questions was developed by researchers at the University of California to be used in these public opinion surveys to provide an analytical tool for identifying respondents who harbor anti-Semitic attitudes and for measuring general acceptance of various negative Jewish stereotypes.

Now, for the first time, the Anti-Defamation League has begun to employ a modified version of that original index of 11 questions for use in a 100+ country global public opinion survey aimed at gauging levels of anti-Semitic attitudes and adherence to traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes across the world.

Before answering the index questions, survey respondents were read the following statement: "I am now going to read out a series of statements, some of them you may think are true and some of them you may think are false. Please say which ones you think are probably true and which ones you think are probably false."

As with previous public opinion research conducted by ADL in the United States, survey respondents who said at least 6 out of the 11 statements are "probably true" are considered to harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. The Index Score for each country represents the percentage of adults in that specific country who answered "probably true" to a majority of the anti-Semitic stereotypes tested.The following are the eleven statements that constitute the ADL GLOBAL 100 anti-Semitism index:

Jewish Stereotypes1Jews are more loyal to Israel than to [this country/the countries they live in]*

2Jews have too much power in international financial markets

3Jews have too much control over global affairs

4Jews think they are better than other people

5Jews have too much control over the global media

6Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars

7Jews have too much power in the business world

8Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind

9People hate Jews because of the way Jews behave

10Jews have too much control over the United States government

11Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust

* Respondents living in countries with an estimated Jewish population greater than 10,000, or more than 0.1% of the overall population, or where ADL has surveyed in the past were read the statement "Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country." Respondents residing elsewhere were read the statement "Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries they live in."Country-specific figures of the number of people who harbor anti-Semitic views are rounded estimates derived from the country's Index Score multiplied by its estimated adult population. These figures are subject to the same margin of sampling error as the country's survey results.

Regional figures of people harboring anti-Semitic views are rounded estimates derived by adding the total number of adults harboring such views within each of the geographies surveyed in a given region. World figures are derived by conducting the same calculation for all countries and territories surveyed. The country totals may not exactly add up to the overall regional and world totals due to the rounding process. These estimates are subject to the same margin of sampling error outlined in this methodology report.

For the Index Score and for the individual index statements, data is broken out by age and gender within countries. Data by religion is also included in countries where more than n=80 interviews were collected among respondents from more than one religious group.

About ADLThe Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all." Now America's premier civil rights/human relations agency, ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.

A leader in the development of materials, programs and services, ADL builds bridges of communication, understanding and respect among diverse groups, carrying out its mission through a network of 27 Regional and Satellite Offices in the United States and an office in Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and abroad through information, education, legislation and advocacy. ADL serves as a resource for government, media, law enforcement, educators and the public.

Learn more about ADL's programs and materials to combat anti-Semitism.

All materials are (C) 2014 Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL and Anti-Defamation League name and related marks and logos are trademarks of the Anti-Defamation League. All rights reserved. Use of this website is subject to ADL's terms of use and privacy policy.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 18:31

codex magica mysterious monuments conspiracy of six pointed starExclusive Intelligence Examiner Report

Head of Bank of Israel Slated to Become Vice Chairman

''Stanley Fischer, who led the Bank of Israel for nine years, has been asked to be the U.S. Federal Reserve's next Vice Chairman once Janet Yellen takes over as chief of the U.S. Central bank...'''--

The Globe and Mail (London)December 12, 2013

Noted author Eustace Mullins, in his classic book, Secrets of the Federal Reserve, shared with us his research that the Federal Reserve system is owned by Jewish bankers and operated solely for their benefit.

The Fed's recent selection of an Israeli citizen, Stanley Fischer, as its Vice Chairman simply confirms Mullins' research. Then there is Janice Yellen, the Jewish banker, who is the new Chairman of the Fed, and of course we should mention such Jewish luminaries as Ben Bernanke, a Jew, who was, until Yellen, the boss of the Fed, and his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, also a Jew.With Yellen at the top and Fischer taking the helm as the #2 at the Fed, all pretense that this is an ''American'' institution is set aside. Fischer was previously, for nine years, the head and Chairman of none other than the Bank of Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel. As such, he reported direct to Jewish billionaires. Now, at the Fed in Washington, D.C., Fischer continues to answer to the same financial bigwigs. What is good for Israel is good for America, even if it is bad.

Fischer, 70, who's also been a top level official at both the Jewish-run World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, guided Israel's economic success even as the U.S. was suffering under the Great Recession that began in 2008. Fischer, born in Zambia, Africa, to wealthy Jewish parents, became a naturalized American citizen, so now he is a dual citizen.Every major U.S. bank is run by Jews. So, Israel is in charge of our financial system. Remember Bernie Madoff, who stole over a hundred billion from investors he conned? Madoff, in prison now, was head of the American branch of Bronfman's World Zionist Congress. All his money was deposited in the Israel Discount Bank, in Tel Aviv.

Americans falsely believe that the Fed, which took over our banks and stock markets in 1913 under Zionist stooge Woodrow Wilson, looks out for the U.S.A. They are wrong. The Fed Reserve System is set up as a global concern for the benefit of rich Jews.

Recently, the first ever audit of the Fed, a partial one, was conducted. I was able to get hold of a copy of that audit, performed under the Dodd-Frank Act. This audit showed that the Fed was pumping up the whole world's flagging economies. Not only banks, but huge corporations got billions in no-interest ''loans'' and bailouts from the Fed.

Recipients included the Deutsche Bank and Volkswagen in Germany, HSBC Bank in China, Barclay's Bank in Great Britain, Nomura Securities in Japan, and Fiat in Italy. Big corporations in America which benefited included IBM, Ford, McDonald's, etc.

At this very moment, the Fed pumps an additional 70 billion each month into the U.S. economy and over 40 billion into the European Community. Ms. Yellen is keeping those printing presses busy, putting out loads of devalued dollars.

The Fed caused the Great Depression of the 1930s by withdrawing dollars from the economy. The Jewish elite did the same thing in 2007 and 2008 when Alan Greenspan cut the money supply, and they'll do it again in the future. Recessions occur to achieve political goals.

The last President to stand up to these plotting money terrorists was John F. Kennedy. He, like Abe Lincoln, printed Treasury greenbacks, bypassing the Fed with its bogus ''Federal Reserve Notes.'' Before their heroic acts there was brave President Andrew Jackson.

Jackson told the bankers in his inaugural speech, ''I will rout you out.'' And so he did. Once in office he killed the National Bank, the same as today's Fed. On a memorial near his gravesite marker in Tennessee is an epitaph for Jackson. It reads: ''I killed the bank.''

Today, we need to emulate ''Old Hickory'' by killing the Fed. With it should go every one of these lying, devilish big Jew banks'--JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, CitiCorp, et al. Only then will America, and you and I, be free.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 18:27

Stanley "Stan" Fischer (Hebrew: ××× ×'× ×¤××(C)ר'Ž; born October 15, 1943) is an economist. Born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), he holds dual citizenship in Israel and the United States.[1] He served as governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013. He previously served as chief economist at the World Bank.[2] On January 10, 2014, United States PresidentBarack Obama nominated Fischer to be Vice-Chairman of the US Federal Reserve System.[3]

Early life and education[edit]Fischer was born into a Jewish family in Mazabuka, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). When he was 13, his family moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he became active in the Habonim Zionist youth movement. In 1960, he visited Israel as part of a winter program for youth leaders, and studied Hebrew at kibbutzMa'agan Michael. He had originally planned to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but went to the United Kingdom to study after receiving a scholarship from the London School of Economics, and obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in economics from 1962''1966. Fischer then moved to the United States to study at MIT, and earned a Ph.D. in economics in 1969 with a thesis titled Essays on assets and contingent commodities written under the supervision of Franklin M. Fisher.[4][5] He became an American citizen in 1976.

Academic career[edit]In the early 1970s, Fischer worked as an associate professor at the University of Chicago. He served as a professor at the MIT Department of Economics from 1977 to 1988.

In 1977, Fischer wrote the paper "Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule"[6] where he combined the idea of rational expectations argued by New classical economists like Robert Lucas with the idea that price stickiness still led to some degree of market shortcomings that an active monetary policy could help mitigate in times of economic downturns. The paper made Fischer a central figure in New Keynesian economics.[7][8]

He authored three popular economics textbooks, Macroeconomics (with R¼diger Dornbusch and Richard Startz), Lectures on Macroeconomics (with Olivier Blanchard), and the introductory Economics, with David Begg and R¼diger Dornbusch. He was also Ben Bernanke's, Mario Draghi's and Greg Mankiw's Ph.D. thesis advisor.[9]

In 2012, Fischer served as Humanitas Visiting Professor in Economic Thought at the University of Oxford.[10]

Banking career[edit]From January 1988 to August 1990 he was Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist at the World Bank. He then became the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from September 1994 until the end of August 2001. By the end of 2001, Fischer had joined the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the Group of Thirty. After leaving the IMF, he served as Vice Chairman of Citigroup, President of Citigroup International, and Head of the Public Sector Client Group. Fischer worked at Citigroup from February, 2002 to April, 2005.

Central Banks[edit]Bank of Israel[edit]Fischer was appointed Governor of the Bank of Israel in January 2005 by the Israeli cabinet, after being recommended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He took the position on May 1, 2005, replacing David Klein, who ended his term on January 16, 2005. Fischer became an Israeli citizen but did not have to renounce his American citizenship, despite previous concerns that such a step was a prerequisite for the appointment. [11][12][13]

He had been involved in the past with the Bank of Israel, having served as an American government adviser to Israel's economic stabilization program in 1985. On May 2, 2010, Fischer was sworn in for a second term.[14]

Under his management, in 2010, the Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook.[15]

Fischer has earned plaudits across the board for his handling of the Israeli economy in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. In September 2009, the Bank of Israel was the first bank in the developed world to raise its interest rates.[16]

In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Fischer received an "A" rating on the Central Banker Report Card published by Global Finance magazine.[17][18]

In June 2011, Fischer applied for the post of IMF managing director to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, but was barred as the IMF stipulates that a new managing director must be no older than 65, and he was 67 at the time.[19]

Fischer stepped down as governor of the Bank of Israel on June 30, midway through his second term.[20]

U.S. Federal Reserve[edit]In nominating Fischer for Fed Vice-Chair, President Obama stated he brought "decades of leadership and expertise from various roles, including serving at the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Israel".[3] If confirmed, Fischer will replace Vice-Chair Janet Yellen who was appointed Chair in 2013.[21]

Recognition[edit]Fischer received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew University in 2006.[22] In October 2010, Fischer was declared Central Bank Governor of the Year by Euromoney magazine. [23]

He is a member of the Bilderberg Group and attended the Swiss 2011 Bilderberg conference in St. Moritz, Switzerland.[24] He is also a Distinguished Fellow in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Personal life[edit]Fischer is married to Rhoda Fischer (n(C)e Keet), whom he met during his days in Habonim. The couple have three children. When they moved to Israel, Rhoda became honorary president of Aleh Negev, a rehabilitation village for the disabled.

References[edit]^Stanley Fischer firms as top choice to become US Fed vice, The Sydney Morning Herald, via Bloomberg News, December 12, 2013.^Ewing, Jack (12 June 2011). "Bank of Israel Chief Enters Race to Lead I.M.F". The New York Times. ^ abObama nominates former Bank of Israel chief Stanley Fischer as Fed vice chairman, Associated Press, Reuters and Haaretz, January 10, 2014.^Fischer, Stanley. "Essays on assets and contingent commodities". DSpace@MIT. Retrieved January 14, 2014. ^Stanley Fischer at the Mathematics Genealogy Project^(Stanley Fischer (1977) Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optimal Money Supply RuleJournal of Political Economy.^Binyamim Appelbaum (December 12, 2013) Young Stanley Fischer and the Keynesian CounterrevolutionNew York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2014^Dylan Matthews (January 13, 2014) Stanley Fischer saved Israel from the Great Recession. Now Janet Yellen wants him to help save the U.S.Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2014^"Good News". Greg Mankiw's Blog. 18 May 2011. ^"Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Economic Thought", Institute for Strategic Thought, University of Oxford, 5''6 November 2012.^Mitnick, Joshua (13 June 2011). "Israel's Stanley Fischer Announces Bid to Head the IMF". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^Odenheimer, Alisa (12 June 2011). "Fischer's Age, Nationality Are Hurdles in Bid for IMF Post". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^Klein, Zeev (19 January 2005). "Bach c'tee approves Fischer". Globes. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^Filut, Adrian (2 May 2010). "Stanley Fischer sworn in for second term". Globes. Retrieved 2 May 2010. ^Viniar, Olga (20 May 2010). "Israel's economy most durable in face of crises". ynetnews.com. Retrieved 23 October 2010. ^Levy, Tal; Bassok, Moti (25 August 2009). "Israel central bank first in developed world to raise interest". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 October 2010. ^"World's Top Central Bankers 2009". Global Finance. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010. ^"Global Finance Magazine names the World's Top Central Bankers 2010". Global Finance. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010. ^Wroughton, Lesley (13 June 2011). "Lagarde, Carstens shortlisted for IMF race-officials". Reuters. ^"Stanley Fischer to step down as BOI chief". Ynet News. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013. ^Mark Felsenthal and Ann Saphir, Barack Obama taps Stanley Fischer for Fed vice chair, Reuters, January 10, 2014.^"Stanley Fischer: The Israeli economy". bis.org. Retrieved 23 October 2010. ^"Central bank governor of the year 2010: Stanley Fischer's bold moves show the value of experience". Euromoney. October 2010. ^"Bilderberg 2011 list of participants". BilderbergMeetings.org. Retrieved August 24, 2011. External links[edit]Articles"Exchange Rate Regimes: Is the Bipolar View Correct?", International Monetary Fund, Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government, American Economic Association and the Society of Government Economists. Delivered at the Meetings of the American Economic Association, New Orleans, January 6, 2001Stanley Fischer: The Life of an Internationally Renowned Economist, Citigroup, August 13, 2004Why so gloomy on the global economy?, The Banker, 4 October 2004Citigroup's Fischer to Head Israel's Central Bank, Bloomberg, January 9, 2005Israel looks to US for bank chief, BBC News, 10 January 2005C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics: The Israeli Economy: Thriving in a Complicated Environment, Council on Foreign Relations, October 18, 2007PersondataNameFischer, StanleyAlternative namesShort descriptionAmerican economistDate of birth15 October 1943Place of birthNorthern Rhodesia (Now Zambia)Date of deathPlace of death

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Source: Fischer Confirmed to Fed Board

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:26

by Victoria FinkleMAY 21, 2014 1:16pm ET

The Senate confirmed economist Stanley Fischer to the Federal Reserve Board Wednesday afternoon.

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Source: Zero Hedge

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:18

The bells are ringing for the markets, but few are noticing.

The primary driver of all stock prices for the last 5 years has been Fed intervention. The Fed is now actively tapering its QE programs. But more importantly, Fed officials are beginning to leak that the Fed is changing course with its policies.

To understand this, you first need to note that Fed officials are public officials as well as economists. What we mean by this is that when a Fed official speaks in public, their message is carefully crafted. Fed officials hedge their views and find ways of hinting at changes without ever outright saying anything too extreme.

In this sense, it's important to read ''between the lines'' when Fed officials speak. With that in mind, we need to note that the Fed is beginning to hint at a potential exit strategy to its policies.

First off, Janet Yellen hints at an interest rate hike during a press conference. Now Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser is criticizing the Fed's ''interventionist'' actions.

Over the past five years, the Fed and, dare I say, many other central banks have become much more interventionist. I do not think this is a particularly healthy state of affairs for central banks or our economies. The crisis in the U.S. has long passed. With a growing economy and the Fed's long-term asset purchases coming to an end, now is the time to contemplate restoring some semblance of normalcy to monetary policy.

Source: Philadelphia Fed.

The translation to this: the Philadelphia Fed is aware that the Fed is out of control and needs to back off.

Then we get Fed uber-dove Bill Dudley talking about ''eventual interest rate increases.''

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the pace of eventual interest rate increases ''will probably be relatively slow,'' depending on the economy's progress and how financial markets react.

A ''mild'' response ''might encourage a somewhat faster pace,'' Dudley said today to the New York Association for Business Economics.''If bond yields were to move sharply higher,'' on the other hand, ''a more cautious approach might be warranted.''

Source: Businessweek.

This is Bill Dudley'... the man who has claimed that QE is fantastic and that inflation is too low'... now openly talking about when the Fed will begin hiking rates and how it will do so.

The writing is on the Wall. The Fed has reached Peak Intervention with its policies and is now shifting gears. This process will be gradual in nature, but the alleged ''exit strategy'' which the Fed has been avoiding for the last five years will begin looming on the horizon.

The question now is when the markets will take note of this.

This concludes this article. If you're looking for the means of protecting yourself from what's coming, you can pick up a FREE investment report titled Protect Your Portfolio at http://phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/special-reports.html.

This report outlines a number of strategies you can implement to prepare yourself and your loved ones from the coming market carnage.

Best Regards

Phoenix Capital Research

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Source: StratRisks

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:24

Source: Al Jazeera

In a symbolic blow to U.S. global financial hegemony, Russia and China took a small step toward undercutting the domination of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency on Tuesday when Russia's second biggest financial institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in domestic currencies.

The so-called Agreement on Cooperation '-- signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Shanghai '-- could be followed by a long-awaited announcement this week of a massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.

''Our countries have done a huge job to reach a new historic landmark,'' Putin said on Tuesday, making note of the $100 billion in annual trade that has been achieved between the two countries.

Demand for the dollar, which has long served as a safe and reliable reserve currency in international transactions, has allowed the U.S. to borrow almost unlimited cash and spend well beyond its means, which some economists say has afforded the United States an outsize influence on world affairs.

But the BRICS countries '-- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc of the world's five major emerging economies '-- have long sought to diminish their dependence on the dollar as a means of reshaping the world financial and geopolitical order. In the absence of a viable alternative, however, replacing it has proved difficult.

For its part, ''China sees the dominance of the dollar in international trade transactions as a remnant of American global dominance, which they hope to overthrow in the years ahead,'' said Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. ''This is a small step in that direction, to reduce the primacy of the dollar in international trade.''

Some have been tempted to view Tuesday's deal in the context of Putin's showdown with the West over the crisis in Ukraine. After the U.S. and Europe imposed sanctions on Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Putin may have finally made good on promised retaliation against what he views as Western hegemony in Russia's near abroad.

''Breaking the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade between the BRICS is something that the group has been talking about for some time,'' said Chris Weafer, a founding partner of Macro-Advisory, a consultancy in Moscow. ''The Ukraine crisis and the threats voiced by the U.S. administration may well provide the catalyst for that to start happening.''

To be sure, the Russia-China bank deal is mostly a symbolic step. Liza Ermolenko, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, said that the deal was still ''a very small one, in the grand scale of things,'' and that it wouldn't change Russia's reliance on the dollar ''overnight.'' Most of Russia's export contracts in the oil and gas markets are still priced in dollars, she noted, and on a wider scale, replacing the dollar with the ruble is much too risky to even consider.

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Source: VK: Home

Wed, 21 May 2014 18:19

Door: Gabriella Codonesu '' 21/05/14, 18:09

(C) anp. Een scholiere pest een schoolgenootje en filmt dit met een smartphone.

Facebook heeft een pagina in het leven geroepen die pesten moet tegengaan. Op het zogenaamde Bullying Prevention Center legt de website aan ouders, leraren en gepeste kinderen uit hoe pesten te herkennen is en wat je tegen pesten kunt doen. De belangrijkste boodschap: pesten is nooit jouw schuld, het kan iedereen overkomen.

Facebook is voor de pagina een samenwerking aangegaan met twee Amerikaanse wetenschappers van de Yale universiteit. Iemand die gepest wordt, kan dit via de pagina melden. Zowel het slachtoffer als de pester komen dan automatisch op de site te staan. Ouders en leraren krijgen tips om het pesten tegen te gaan.

Ook de pesters zelf kunnen terecht op de pagina. Zij krijgen het advies hun excuses aan te bieden aan hun slachtoffers. Facebook helpt ze hierbij door kant-en-klare spijtbetuigingen aan te bieden. Zo kunnen ze bijvoorbeeld hun excuses aanbieden met: 'Het spijt me wat ik heb gedaan. Ik begrijp waarom je je rot voelt. Ik ga de foto/het bericht nu verwijderen. Ik had het nooit moeten doen. Ik hoop dat je mijn excuses accepteert.'

De pagina is in verschillende talen beschikbaar, waaronder in het Nederlands.

I was listening to NPR this morning and they had a program about common core and education and then at the end they listed the advertiser. I perked up when they said Walton k12. Figured it had something to do with Wal-Mart and I was right.

Here is the link to the website:

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Thu, 22 May 2014 07:40

Education ReformImproving American K-12 student achievement, especially in low-income communities, by investing in organizations and programs that empower parents to choose among high-performing schools and insert competition into public education.

EnvironmentAchieving lasting conservation outcomes in ocean and river systems that benefit both people and wildlife by aligning economic and conservation interests.

Home RegionInvesting in statewide education reform in Arkansas as well as quality of life initiatives in northwest Arkansas and in the delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 07:33

WASHINGTON, USA -- About 190 000 producers, investors and members of agricultural organizations in the Centre Artibonite region in the heart of Haiti will benefit from improved access to local markets and services as a result of a US$58 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) approved on Monday by the World Bank board of directors. This project aims to attract public and private investment, and build resilience to climate shocks."The development of the Central Artibonite region will help fight against extreme poverty that represents the socio-economic situation for more than half the population in the region. It is aligned with the government's efforts to diversify the sources of wealth in the region and develop its potential," said Marie-Carmelle Jean Marie, minister of economy and finance.

The Central Artibonite region is located between three important economic poles: the capital Port-au-Prince in the south, the city Cap-Haitien in the north, and the Dominican Republic in the east. Agriculture is a key sector for the region, which is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and where producers are isolated and lack of reliable roads to connect production to processing sites and local markets. This lack of road infrastructure also limits the economic transit to the capital, the north and the Dominican Republic.

''Nearly 80 percent of traffic is by land in Haiti. Enhancing connectivity for producers by allowing them to move and have access to other economic centers whatever the climatic conditions will have a decisive impact on the economic growth of the region. All-weather roads are also a key asset for investors," said Mary Barton-Dock, World Bank special envoy to Haiti.

Among concrete results to be achieved by the funding are:

' Nearly 190,000 producers and 30 percent of women will benefit from all-weather roads and improved connectivity and logistics for investment, production and trade

' 180km of rural and non- rural roads will be rehabilitated

' 300 local officials will be trained in market management, climate resilience measures in the transport sector and urban planning tools

' 10 rural and urban markets will be rehabilitated

This five year project will be implemented by the Technical Execution Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The funding includes a US$50 million IDA grant and a US$8 million grant from the Strategic Climate Fund.

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Thu, 22 May 2014 13:29

May 19, 2014The Justice Department announced it had filed charges against five members of a Chinese military unit for hacking into the computer systems'... read more

The Justice Department announced it had filed charges against five members of a Chinese military unit for hacking into the computer systems of five American companies and one labor union in order to steal trade secrets.'‚The charges allege that members of Chinese Army Unit 61398 based in Shanghai broke into the networks of SolarWorld, Westinghouse Electric, U.S. Steel, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies and the United Steel Workers Union.'‚According to the charges, the hacking was done in order to gain economic advantages over the American firms. close

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People in this videoAnderson, RobertExecutive Assistant DirectorFederal Bureau of Investigation->Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services BranchCarlin, John P.Assistant Attorney Gen. (Acting)Department of Justice->National Security DivisionMore PeopleHosting OrganizationRelated VideoClips from This VideoView all clips from this video

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Thu, 22 May 2014 06:12

Karen Bleier | AFP | Getty Images

Demonstrators protest May 14, 2014 in front of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington.

The kidnappings have generated an outpouring of concern from the United States, with Obama's wife, Michelle, speaking outabout the crisis. The president himself has resisted some callsfrom Republicans in Congress to send special forces into Nigeriato search for the girls.

U.S. surveillance aircraft have been flying over remote areas of northeast Nigeria for two weeks, and the Pentagonstruck an agreement last weekend to allow it to shareintelligence directly with the Nigerian government.

The U.S. government has also sent officials from the State Department and the FBI to Nigeria to help in the search.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the forces were positioned in Chad to allow the surveillanceaircraft more time above the search areas before refueling.

Watch:Is Nigeria a safe place to invest in?

One of the officials said the flights were being carried out by a Predator drone and that the U.S. forces would beresponsible for launch and recovery of the aircraft, as well asforce protection.

The Predator flights were in addition to unmanned surveillance flights already being carried out by Global Hawkaircraft, the official said.

It was not immediately clear how many Global Hawk drones the U.S. military was using to carry out the search.

The composition of America's surveillance aircraft searching for the girls has changed over time and previously includedmanned aircraft as well. The Pentagon said on Tuesday the mannedsurveillance aircraft required maintenance and there were nomanned flights at the moment.

'--By Reuters

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Thu, 22 May 2014 04:37

Canadian geneticist David Suzuki urged Western governments to lock up politicians who question man-made climate change, telling PBS' Bill Moyers ''our politicians should be thrown in the slammer for willful blindness!''

Suzuki appeared on ''Moyers and Company'' earlier this month to express his abject frustration over politicians, in both Canada and the United States, who refuse to accept the ''settled science'' on man-made global warming.

''Our politicians should be thrown in the slammer for willful blindness!'' he asserted. ''If we are in a position of being able to act, and we see something going on and we refuse to acknowledge the threat or act on it, we can be taken to court for willful blindness.''

''I think that we are being willfully blind to the consequences to our children and grandchildren,'' Suzuki continued. ''It's an intergenerational crime.''

Moyers, a well-known climate alarmist, didn't push back a bit '-- instead gently tabling the idea as impractical.

''The problem is, if that should happen '-- if politicians were to be convicted to willful blindness to the fate of the Earth and future generations '-- there would have to be mass arrests, and lots more funding for new prisons,'' he noted. ''We're not talking about a mere handful of culprits. It's hard to know where to start.''

Willful blindness is a legitimate legal reference in the United States (and, presumably, Canada) used to describe the intentional failure of an individual to become aware of facts pointing to criminal liability.

But arresting politicians for ''being willfully blind'' to facts on climate change would mean criminalizing not only those industries and individuals that emit carbon, but also anyone who dares take an opinion contrary to the ''settled science.''

Perhaps that would fly in Suzuki's home country, which prosecuted conservative writer Mark Steyn a few years ago for his views on Islam. But the good scientist may want to brush up on the U.S. Constitution before making such claims south of the border.

In April, Rochester Institute of Technology professor Lawrence Torcello argued that those who deny global warming are ''criminally negligent'' and that ''the funding of climate denial'' should be an imprisonable offense.

[h/t Huffington Post]

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Thu, 22 May 2014 00:44

World' Lauren Martin 'May 20, 2014 -4:56pm

If you want to keep your jeans from shrinking, stretching, fading or tearing, just don't wash them.

At least, that's how one CEO keeps his customers from complaining about the deteriorating nature of their jeans.

The CEO of Levi, Chip Bergh, recently admitted at a Fortune conference that he has not washed his jeans in over a year and he suggests the same for his customers.

Like pans and college floors, there's no reason to wash anything; it will only detract from the flavor and overall experience.

The jeans enthusiast suggests freezing your jeans once a month to keep them from smelling and, of course, there's always the foolproof plan of Febreze and Axe.

H/T: Business Insider

It's the snack that everyone and their mother can't stop raving about: Nutella. Celebrating its 50th year of existence, Nutella has been taking over the web with countless articles and photos of people enjoying the desired haze...

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World' Ashley FernMay 21,4:42pmFeeling hungover? Fret not! Now you can join the fastest proven hangover cure in New York City, The Hangover Club. This idea is capitalizing on the party culture and, honestly, sounds like a great idea. The Hangover Club is currently running a promotion offering one month free in preparation for its NYC launch on May ['...]

World' Sean LevinsonMay 21,3:14pmTwo Brooklyn elementary school kids put a substance similar to rat poison in a teacher's water bottle, which she drank from but is luckily expected to make a full recovery. According to The New York Times, the 9 and 12-year-old students of Public School 315 in Flatbush were arrested on Tuesday and charged with reckless ['...]

World' Ashley FernMay 21,2:59pmMost people would be appalled upon finding a tiny creature in their produce. Apparently, Jesse Fox from Illinois is not most people. Fox went to a local grocery store and purchased a bag of kale only to find a baby frog in the packaging a week later when he went to wash some leaves. How ['...]

Also On EliteThe increasing amount of pathetic mischief teens get away with these days has apparently caused some of us to forget that the point of a senior prank is not to damage school property but give administrators a little laugh in the form of a minor inconvenience. Missing this memo was the graduating class of Teaneck ['...]

My general rule of thumb online is that if something seems too good to be true, it absolutely is. I'm sure there are some genuine texts and emails that have been posted to the Internet at some point in time, but if you think that most correspondences posted online are genuine then you also probably ['...]

The ongoing comparisons of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to Adolf Hitler can largely be attributed to the United Nations' human rights report from last February. This report not only exposed the depth of the country's wide-spread poverty but also the concentration camps in which hundreds of thousands of innocent people are being tortured to ['...]

What would your inbox look like if your dog could send text messages? There's a Tumblr page called ''Text From Dog'' that is dedicated to depicting exactly what types of messages dog owners would get if their best friends could text. The screenshots are simply hilarious because we know our dogs would send these exact ['...]

Learning the dos and don'ts of relationships can be a bumpy road. It has been for me. There's no clear-cut explanation for how to do things. Regardless of how many relationship, love and sex books there are out there, there's no actual instruction manual and there's definitely no right answer. Every experience for every individual, ['...]

Andy Samberg, who made a name for himself producing videos with The Lonely Island on ''Saturday Night Live,'' appeared on the show's season finale last night and his return was nothing short of spectacular. While the show featured a number of fantastic skits, the best part of the night was without a doubt, the return ['...]

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Wed, 21 May 2014 18:13

Release date? According to IMDB, the 99-minute documentary directed by Mark Craig is slated for release in the UK (and hopefully U.S.!) sometime this year, although an exact date isn't listed. There have been advance screenings very recently, at some of which Cernan was present for Q&A sessions ...You can keep up with the status of the film (and see some exclusive astronaut photos) by liking their Facebook page and joining the mailing list on the official site at ...

http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/

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Wed, 21 May 2014 17:59

Thank you very much Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and members of the committee, for the invitation to speak at this hearing. The Administration looks forward to engaging with this Committee and the Congress on this important topic.

I will begin with some introductory remarks before discussing briefly a few international law aspects of the Administration's legal framework for conducting operations pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). I will conclude by laying out a few relevant considerations for establishing our legal framework beyond 2014. My colleague Stephen Preston, General Counsel of the Department of Defense, will then address the current framework under U.S. law for military counterterrorism operations.

As an initial matter, the President has made clear his desire to engage with Congress about the future of the AUMF. The President expressed his commitment to ''move [America] off a permanent war footing'' one year ago in his speech at the National Defense University (NDU), and reaffirmed this commitment in this year's State of the Union address. And the President made clear in his NDU speech that his goal is to engage with Congress and the American people to ''refine, and ultimately repeal'' the AUMF.

As we begin our dialogue on this issue, it will be critical to assess our legal authorities not only within the context of our current military operations, but also in light of future needs, which as of today's hearing may not be fully apparent. At the same time, as the President has said, we must keep in mind going forward that not every collection of thugs that label themselves al Qaeda will pose a threat to the United States that requires the use of military force in response.

International Legal Considerations

Turning now to international legal considerations, as we consider the future of the AUMF, it will be critical to ensure that U.S. actions continue to be grounded firmly in international law. Under international law, the United States has an inherent right of self-defense to use force to respond to an armed attack, or the imminent threat of an armed attack. And, when in an armed conflict, the United States may use force, in accordance with the law of war, to prosecute that conflict. Our use of military force must comply with international law's requirements of necessity, proportionality, distinction, and humanity.

United States use of force abroad is carried out in furtherance of these international law rights and requirements, and the law of war specifically has and will continue to provide the legal framework for U.S. military actions taken in the armed conflict against al Qaeda, Taliban, and associated forces. Going forward, the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department will continue to work to ensure that we exercise our rights consistent with these and other applicable international law principles.

I also want to note that there is a firm basis in international law to support our friends and partners facing the threat of terrorism within their own borders. Even where violent extremists pose a greater threat to these countries than they do to the United States, we can draw from all elements of national power '' including military force, in appropriate cases '' to help them counter these threats. In Mali, for example, we have been providing military aid to French forces to push back terrorists and other extremists. As the President stated in his speech one year ago, ''we must define our effort not as a boundless global war on terror, but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America.'' Indeed, targeted efforts undertaken in partnership with other countries can be highly effective in countering terrorist threats, without keeping the United States on a permanent wartime footing.

Post-2014 Legal Framework

With these principles in mind, let me now outline a few considerations regarding a future legal framework. We are currently working to identify an appropriate U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after 2014. We are also working toward the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which the President has reaffirmed will further our national security, our international standing, and our ability to cooperate with allies in counterterrorism efforts. We also continue to work with our allies and partners to provide assistance and training to increase their capacity to take effective measures against terrorist organizations.

The State Department is joined by many other U.S. agencies in implementing this comprehensive strategy, which includes a broad range of military and other foreign assistance, law enforcement cooperation, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic engagement. All of these efforts are vital to countering threats. This is true even at times '' such as the present '' when we are using military force as part of our response to the terrorist threat. In the long term, the success of our efforts will depend not exclusively on the use of military force, but also on sustained attention to achieving effective governance and the rule of law in countries where terrorist threats proliferate.

We also bear in mind what Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, then in his capacity as General Counsel of the Department of Defense, stated in his November 2012 speech at the Oxford Union. He noted that there will come a ''tipping point'' when our efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda have succeeded to such an extent that we will no longer describe ourselves as being in an ''armed conflict'' with al Qaeda to which the law of war applies. At that point, we will rely primarily on law enforcement, intelligence, foreign assistance, and diplomatic means '' in cooperation with the international community '' to counter any remaining threat posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates. And as we do so, we will retain the authority, under both international and domestic law, to act in national or collective self-defense against armed attacks or imminent threats thereof posed by terrorist groups.

Based on all of these considerations, we would suggest that our efforts to identify a future legal framework be guided by the following principles:

First, any domestic authority that we rely on to use military force should reflect the President's clear direction that we must move America off a permanent wartime footing. As the President stated, this means that we will engage with Congress and the American people to ''refine, and ultimately repeal'' the AUMF, and that the President will not sign a law designed to expand the AUMF's mandate further.Second, any authorization to use military force, including any detention operations, must be consistent with international law.Third, we must continue to enhance our cooperation with partner nations to take action within their own borders, including law enforcement action and other forms of engagement, where those methods provide the most effective and sustainable means of countering terrorist threats.Fourth, the President has made clear that now is the time to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and any future legislation should lift all remaining restrictions on the Commander in Chief's authority to transfer detainees held under the law of war.Finally, we must keep in mind that the President's authority to defend the United States would remain part of any framework that emerges.Thank you very much. I will now turn to Stephen Preston to make his statement. After that, we would be happy to address any questions you might have.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 17:12

May 19, 2014

You do NOT have to answer questions when stopped by the police. The two questions that you should ask them however, are, ''Am I being detained? Am I free to go?''

Although these questions may enrage them, police officers cannot detain you without probable cause. They have to let you go if they do not have reasonable suspicion of you committing a crime.

This lady knows this, and when she finds out that this ''tatted up gangster'' knows it too, she flips her lid.

''Am I being detained o Am I free to go?''

''I'm asking you a question but you can be pulled out of the car and I can search it if you really want,'' says the officer.

''Um, how is that?'' asks the citizen.

''Any way I want. Doesn't mean I can use what I find, but I can do it. So you wanna do that? You wanna play that game? You little hardass?''

And then she threatens him, ''You wanna make it back in one piece?''

The lesson to be learned here is that, even though this psycho blew a fuse, the end result was the same, the driver was 'free to go.'

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Wed, 21 May 2014 16:07

Morten Storm was an informant for intelligence agencies for five yearsMet Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, or Ikirma, in Nairobi in 2008At the time, the Somali terrorist was only a messenger in Al-ShababStorm believes CIA gave him the resources to become a mastermindIkrima is also believed to have lived in London for six to 12 monthsBy Wills Robinson

Published: 14:50 EST, 4 November 2013 | Updated: 06:18 EST, 5 November 2013

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The CIA inadvertently gave a terrorist leader the finances and credibility he needed to mastermind a major attack, claims a former spy.

Intelligence officer Morten Storm from Denmark was asked by the CIA to build a relationship with the head of militant group Al-Shabab, the group behind September's attack, and handed over money and equipment on behalf of Western intelligence agencies to cultivate the group's trust.

In 2008 he started to forge close contacts with the leader Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, also known as Ikirma, in a bid to uncover information on potential targets and planned attacks.

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Extremist: A former spy believes Western intelligence agencies turned Abdikadir Mohammed, also known as Ikirma, from a middle-class Kenyan into a terrorist leader

Agent: Morten Storm (left) converted to Islam after spending time in prison in Denmark. He then became involved in militant activities in Yemen and forged links with fundamentalist leaders including Anwar al-Awlaki

When Storm first met Ikrema he was a messenger for Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, an al Shabaab leader, according to a report by CNN.

Their first encounter was at a Somali restaurant on the first floor of the Jamia shopping mall next door to the main mosque in Nairobi. Two other jihadists were there with Ikrema.

Storm was meeting with Ikrema in order to get messages and equipment to Warsame. Storm was known to Warsame and to Ikrema as a fellow jihadist.

But the relationship broke down in 2012 when Storm left the CIA due to a 'disagreement over a mission' and he now claims the plan to provide Ikirma with money and equipment may have backfired spectacularly.

He also believes that had his relationship with the CIA not faltered he could have helped capture or kill the man believed to have gone on to plan the September attack on Westgate Mall.

Storm converted into to Islam after spending time in prison and developed extreme jihadist views and moved to Yemen in 2001.

He became trusted by fundamentalists and became involved in militant activities, including recruiting soldiers to fight in the Taliban.

However he was recruited by the CIA, MI5 and the Danish intelligence service, PET, as a double agent to information on operations in Yemen and Somalia and prevent attacks in Europe.

When Storm first met Ikirma, he was only a messenger for the jihadists and was sent to pick up an electronic device from the Danish agent by one of the groups then leaders.

Undercover: The former spy from Denmark was working for numerous agencies including the CIA and Denmark's PET while he was trying to infiltrate militant groups in Yemen

Storm became trusted by fundamentalists and became involved in militant activities, including recruiting soldiers to fight in the Taliban

As the relationship developed, Storm claims that the CIA, using him as a middle man, gave him resources, equipment and the authority he needed to mastermind a major terrorist attack, similar to the one in Nairobi which killed 67 people.

Storm, who has since retired from duty, told CNN that in March 2012 PET had offered him one million Danish krone (£125,000) to lead them to Ikrima on behalf of the CIA.

He was offered the job after he was paid £156,000 ($250,000) to meet with Anwar al-Awlaki, an Islamic militant who was killed in a drone strike in 2011.

Storm said Ikrima was at the centre of a global network connecting a number of terrorist operatives in Somalia, Kenya, Yemen, and the West and had emerged as the chief handler of foreign fighters because of his language skills and level of education.

Even though Storm is not aware of the exact role Ikrima played in the attack in Nairobi, he knows his track record and believes he had the capability to be one of the masterminds.

The former agent also insisted he might have been given an insight into the plans had he still been working for Western intelligence, but his relationship with PET and the CIA ended in mid-2012 after a disagreement following a mission in Yemen.

First appearance: Four suspects (left to right) Liban Abdullah Omar, Mohamed Abdi Ahmed, Hussein Hassan and Adan Mohamed Ibrahim stood in the dock today for a hearing at a courtroom in Nairobi accused of playing a part in the Westgate Mall bombing

Capable: Storm was not aware of the direct role Ikrima played in the Westgate Mall massacre, but believes he had the potential to mastermind such an attack

Inner workings: CNN reporter Nic Robertson's interview with Storm provides a rare insight into how an intelligence agency, like the CIA, builds relationships with terrorists

He said: 'I get really frustrated to know that Ikrima had been maybe involved in the Westgate terrorist attack. It frustrates me a lot because it could have been stopped and I'm sad I can't be involved in this.'

'He was one of the smartest ones I met in east Africa.'

One of Ikrima's former associates also told CNN in Nairobi that he was the 'main link' between Somalia and the Kenyan-based militant group Al Hijra.

Now Western counter-terorrism officials fear his reputation in Jihadist circles worldwide will be bolstered by his escape during the U.S.Navy SEAL operation in Somalia last week, and he is now in a position to plan more deadly attacks in Europe and Africa.

CNN reporter Nic Robertson, who interviewed Storm, told MailOnline: 'He is frustrated because he gave equipment and material to Ikrima which allowed him to build up his credibility in Al-Shabab.

'When he first met him 2008, Ikrima was just a messenger in a group and now he is head of the organisation.

'Storm's viewing is that had the CIA paid closer attention to Ikirima and had the plans that were being put in place for Storm to keep closer tabs on him followed through, then there would be more information on their operations and potential targets.

'It would have allowed Storm to develop closer contacts with Ikirma, and would have enabled him to find out what they were thinking and what they were planning.

'His accounts of where he was and what he was doing has all checked out. Encrypted emails he has sent and received show he was in central position in the relationship.

Helpless: Kenya Defence Forces soldiers take their position at the Westgate shopping centre. Storm says he is frustrated knowing he could have prevented the attack

Storm started his jihadist career in Yemen and, after he made contacts contacted the CIA, as well as Danish security agency and MI5.

Mr Robertson added: 'Storm provides a rare opportunity to see inside agencies. It provides a rare insight into the way that they work.

'To get closer into an organisation you need to build relationships. It can be a double-edged sword and in this case it was.

'It put a smart guy in a position of power for a very negative effect.

Tragedy: A man whose relative was killed during the massacre is carried out by hospital staff

'Storm believes the attacks could have been thwarted. He is not involved in this anymore so he doesn't know if Ikrima actually had a direct role.

'But he knows Ikirma's track record. Storm was seen as an important connection who could move between their worlds in Yemen and Somalia and the rest of the world.'

Ikrima is believed to be able to speak five languages - Norwegian, Swahili, Arabic, Somali, and English - which puts him in a position of authority in Al-Shabab.

Now said to be in his late twenties he was born into a middle class Somalian family in Mombassa, Kenya.

His family then moved to Nairobi where the young Ikrima excelled at school in the languages, including French.

After a successful education, he traveled to Norway in 2004, because of the potential economic opportunities in Europe, and took advantage of his Somali ethnicity which allowed him to apply for refugee status.

Despite being given documents to stay in the country, he did not fit in and started to become radicalised.

Just four years later, he left Europe and returned to East Africa.

It is also believed Ikrima spent some time in Britain and lived in London for between six and 12 months.

The CIA would not comment on the story and PET said they could neither confirm or deny they knew Storm.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 12:14

Published time: May 21, 2014 09:29Edited time: May 21, 2014 12:01May 21, 2014. From left: President Vladimir Putin, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and CNPC Chairman Zhou Jiping during the signing of joint agreements in Shanghai. (RIA Novosti/Alexei Druzhinin)

After 10 years of negotiations, Russia's Gazprom and China's CNPC have finally signed a historic gas deal which will provide the world's fastest growing economy with the natural gas it needs to keep pace for the next 30 years.

The total value of the contract is $400 billion, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said. However, the price of gas stipulated in the document remains a "commercial secret."

Assuming the overall price of the contract includes only the cost of supplies of Russian gas, then the $400 billion price tag means China will pay about $350 per 1,000 cubic meters. Delivery price for the contract will be tied to market oil prices, Putin said from Shanghai on Tuesday.

Infrastructure investment from both sides will be more than $70 billion and will be the world's largest construction project, with Russia providing $55 billion up front and China $22 billion. This is Gazprom's biggest contract to date.

Russia will supply China 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year via the eastern 'Power of Siberia' pipeline, which crosses Siberia and reaches China's populous northeast regions. A separate route that could deliver gas to China's western provinces and provide diversification is also in the works, according to Putin.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping on the second day of Putin's two-day state visit to Shanghai.

According to Miller, the deal was set to go through at 4:00pm Shanghai time when he understood "all fundamental issues were resolved."

RT producers were informed of the landmark energy deal prior to its signing after a conversation with Miller.

The deal comes as a part of Russia's larger-scale pivot to Asia and especially China as Western economies threaten sanctions over turmoil in Ukraine. Sanctions by the US and the EU have been mostly limited to visa bans and asset freezes on some of Russia's top officials, while so far only threatening a so-called third round of real economic sanctions against Russian hydrocarbon businesses.

Just ahead of Putin's visit to Shanghai, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev gave reassurance that the agreed price would be fair.

''One side always wants to sell for a higher price, while the other wants to buy for a lower price,'' Medvedev said. ''I believe that in the long run, the price will be fair and totally comparable to the price of European supplies.''

A major breakthrough in negotiations came on Sunday as Gazprom chief Aleksey Miller sat down with his CNPC counterpart, Zhou Jiping, in Beijing to discuss final details, including price formulas.

Although Europe is still Russia's largest energy market '' buying more than 160 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas in 2013 '' Moscow will use every opportunity to diversify gas deliveries and boost its presence in Asian markets.

''I wouldn't look for politics behind this, but I have no doubt that supplying energy to the Asia Pacific Region holds out a great promise in the future,'' Medvedev said.

In October 2009, Gazprom and CNPC inked a framework agreement for the Altai project which envisions building a pipeline to supply natural gas from fields in Siberia via the western part of the Russia-China border.

In March 2013, Gazprom and CNPC signed a memorandum of understanding on Russian gas supplies to China along the so-called eastern 'Power of Siberia' route. When both pipelines are activated, Russia can supply Asia with 68 billion cubic meters of gas annually.

Last year, China consumed about 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas and is expected to consume 420 billion cubic meters per year by 2020.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 11:39

About TechFreedomTechFreedom is a non-profit, non-partisan technology think tank launched in 2011. TechFreedom is excited about the future. Focusing on issues of Internet freedom and technological progress, we work to protect innovation and discovery from powers that fear change. Technology is the great driver of social progress and human well-being, and we aim to keep it that way.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 03:55

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

A "threat stream" from al Qaeda groups has evolved during the past six monthsThe threats target Europe as well as the United StatesOfficial to CNN: So far, "we do not see operational cells of al Qaeda inside the United States"Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, is of particular concern(CNN) -- A series of al Qaeda-based threats to attack American and Western targets in Europe, as well as threats to launch attacks inside the United States, has caused significant concern inside the U.S. intelligence community, CNN has learned.

Officials are trying to determine the extent to which the threats may be linked and determine what it may mean about the strength of al Qaeda in several countries. While the "threat stream" has evolved during the past six months, according to a senior U.S. official, none of the threats has been corroborated.

The official said the threats appear to detail "a lot of activity where intelligence suggests there are operational cells," but so far, "we do not see operational cells of al Qaeda inside the United States," the official said, although he emphasized it could not be ruled out.

U.S. officials as well as analysts have long said they believe al Qaeda is focused on attacking outside the United States because of the difficulty in penetrating U.S. homeland security. But these latest threat streams suggest domestic U.S. targets also continue to be looked at by al Qaeda.

Worry No.1: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

One of the biggest concerns right now remains efforts by Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack inside Yemen, in Europe and inside the United States.

The U.S. Embassy, which was closed several weeks ago, is now expected to remain closed for several more days because of a "credible threat stream," a second senior U.S. official told CNN.

While it's believed AQAP is mainly focused on targeting inside of Yemen, officials say an attempt to attack inside the United States or to recruit others to carry out such an attack cannot be ruled out.

Worry No. 2: Core group inPakistan

Separately, still another official confirms to CNN that the core al Qaeda group in Pakistan is also seeking to place operatives in places to attack U.S. targets overseas and domestically. U.S. officials confirm an operative who uses the code name Abdullah al-Shami, who is living in Pakistan, may now be heading that group's efforts to plan external attacks.

The New York Times first published al-Shami's name in February and noted that U.S. intelligence believes he was born in the United States but moved to the Middle East as a child.

The New York Times reported that as an American-born citizen, al-Shami could be a target for attack by a U.S. drone. U.S. officials refused to comment, but a private sector analyst who has followed the matter in detail told CNN that killing al-Shami had been discussed in the past.

If al-Shami indeed is activity pursuing attacks against the U.S., it would indicate that the core al Qaeda group in Pakistan might be resurgent in its capabilities.

Worry No. 3: Spillover effects from Syria

The third threat stream continues to come from Syria. U.S. officials tell CNN they believe 70 or more Americans have traveled to Syria to fight, and many may have returned home along with other fighters with Western passports.

Over the past several months, the U.S. has sought to closely track all Americans traveling to Syria.

Earlier this month, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on an alleged al Qaeda operative, Abd Al-Rahman Muhammad Zafir Al-Dubaysi Al-Juhni.

Treasury said that in 2013, he was part of a group of senior al-Qaeda members in Syria formed to conduct external operations against Western targets.

It's also believed Al-Juhni was in Pakistan at some point, putting him in a position to have interacted with al-Shami.

Al Qaeda tries, fails to kidnap 2 U.S. Embassy staff in Yemen

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:50

James O'Keefe strikes again!

The conservative journalist duped progressives Ed Begley Jr. and Mariel Hemmingway to get involved in an anti-fracking film that was funded by Middle Eastern oil interests.O'Keefe will unveil the movie at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday!Via The Hollywood Reporter:

James O'Keefe says he duped Ed Begley Jr. and Mariel Hemmingway into agreeing to get involved with an anti-fracking movie while hiding that its funding comes from Middle Eastern oil interests.

Journalist James O'Keefe, known for his controversial undercover sting operations aimed usually at liberals '-- is set to unveil at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday the first of a group of videos that he says will reveal hypocrisy among Hollywood environmentalists.

In the video, obtained exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter and embedded below, actors Ed Begley Jr. and Mariel Hemmingway are duped by a man named ''Muhammad,'' who is looking to make an anti-fracking movie while hiding that its funding is coming from Middle Eastern oil interests.

Muhammad, accompanied by a man pretending to be an ad executive, seemingly has the two actors agreeing to participate in the scheme, even after he acknowledges that his goal is to keep America from becoming energy independent. The meeting, which appears to have been secretly recorded, took place a few months ago at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

And, he's going to release this Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival!Brilliant!

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:43

by Tony Lee20 May 2014, 7:00 AM PDTpost a commentA Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) report released on Tuesday ahead of a panel on the subject at the National Press Club found that from 2007-2012, STEM employment averaged "averaged only 105,000 jobs annually" while the U.S. admitted about 129,000 immigrants with STEM degrees. That means "the number of new immigrants with STEM degrees admitted each year is by itself higher than the total growth in STEM employment." During that time period, the number of U.S.-born STEM graduates grew by an average of 115,00 a year.

Authors Steven Camarota, CIS's director of research, and Karen Ziegler, a CIS demographer, wrote that these numbers are "truly extraordinary" and "it should not be surprising that most STEM graduates (immigrant or native) do not have STEM jobs."

The report, titled, Is There a STEM Worker Shortage? A look at employment and wages in science, technology, engineering, and math, is consistent with research from Georgetown University, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the Rand Corporation, the Urban Institute, and the National Research Council that have also found no evidence that America has a shortage of high-tech workers. And its findings concluded that America "has more than twice as many workers with STEM degrees as there are STEM jobs." When combined with slight wage growth in the STEM fields for more than a decade, the authors concluded that "both employment and wage data indicate there is no shortage of STEM workers in the United States."

"When formulating policy, elected representatives need to consider the actual conditions in the U.S. labor market, rather than simply responding to pressure from employers in industries that wish to hire large numbers of foreign STEM graduates," the authors suggest. "While employers may find this situation desirable, it is difficult to argue this is the interest of American people as a whole."

Yet, as Breitbart News has reported, the "Senate's amnesty bill that passed last year would double and possibly triple the number of high-tech visas" and "House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Bob Goodlatte's (R-VA) 'SKILLS' Act that passed out of his committee would double the number of H-1B visas" to import even more foreign workers.

Using data from the American Community Survey (ACS) that the Census Bureau and the Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) collect, Camarota and Zeigler found that there were 5.3 million immigrant and native-born STEM workers in 2012 compared to 12.1 million STEM degree holders among immigrants and native-born Americans. In addition, only "a third of native-born Americans with a STEM degree actually has a job in a STEM occupation" while "at least 5 million native-born Americans with STEM undergraduate degrees are working in non-STEM occupations."

The authors note that "wage trends are one of the best measures of labor demand" and, "If STEM workers are in short supply, wages should be increasing rapidly. Predictably, though, due to the surplus of STEM workers, "wage data from multiple sources show little growth over the last 12 years," as "real hourly wages adjusted for inflation grew on average just .7 percent a year from 2000 to 2012 for STEM workers."

In addition, since a "majority of workers in all 48 STEM occupations in 2012 were native-born," there is enough data to show that STEM jobs are not undesirable jobs that Americans will not do. In fact, the report found that "STEM graduates earn about 10 percent ($8,754) more in STEM occupations compared to those employed in non-STEM occupations."

The report also found that 1.6 million people without STEM undergraduate degrees are working in a STEM field, and "the vast majority (85 percent) of those working in STEM occupations without STEM degrees are native-born." They note that though the ACS does not note what graduate degrees people have, "the overwhelming majority of non-STEM degree holders who work in STEM jobs do not have graduate degrees."

"This indicates that allowing in large numbers of immigrants who seek STEM employment may create competition for natives who themselves do not have STEM degrees, but who can do such work nonetheless," the authors write.

On a conference call of scholars that Sen. Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) office organized last Friday, Ron Hira, an H-1B expert and public policy professor at Rutgers, said that the IT sector, for instance, has traditionally been "an area of social mobility." And Americans without STEM degrees often have become proficient in IT jobs.

"You've got people who come from working-class backgrounds who go into these sectors," Hira said, as Breitbart News reported. "It's a way of getting into the middle class and the professional class, and that's being cut off."

The authors also noted that when there is a shortage in a STEM field -- like petroleum engineering -- wages predictably have gone up. For instance, real annual wages for petroleum engineers "with only an undergraduate degree were $46,000 higher in 2012 than 2000 '-- 14 times the $3,300 increase for all engineers with only undergraduate degrees" and "nearly $51,00" higher between 2000 and 2012 for those with graduate degrees.

"This is a clear indication that increases in demand can drive up earnings in a STEM occupation," the authors note.

Wages in the STEM fields, though, have remained stagnant, and the authors quote former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who testified that America's "skilled wages are higher than anywhere in the world" and, "if we open up a significant window for skilled guest workers, that would suppress the skilled-wage level and end the concentration of income."

Egged on by the millions the Chamber of Commerce and high-tech lobbies like Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us have spent, Congress has ensured that STEM wages have been suppressed, according to Camarota and Ziegler. But the high-tech industry still perpetuates the myth of a high-tech workers shortage and wants even more H-1B visas.

Michael Teitelbaum, a senior research associate at Harvard Law School whose new book, Falling Behind? Boom, Bust, and the Global Race for Scientific Talent, recently observed that "such claims are now well established as conventional wisdom" and "there is almost no debate in the mainstream."

"They echo from corporate CEO to corporate CEO, from lobbyist to lobbyist, from editorial writer to editorial writer," he wrote. "But what if what everyone knows is wrong? What if this conventional wisdom is just the same claims ricocheting in an echo chamber?"

The evidence shows that the conventional wisdom is terribly wrong.

''No one has been able to find any evidence indicating current widespread labor market shortages or hiring difficulties in science and engineering occupations that require bachelor's degrees or higher," Teitelbaum concluded.

The Rand study cited by authors also found "no evidence that such shortages have existed at least since 1990, nor that they are on the horizon.''

Steve Goodman of Bright Media, whom the authors also cite, is one of the few people in the tech-industry who conceded that the numbers disprove Silicon Valley's conventional wisdom about the shortage of high-tech workers.

''We're Silicon Valley people, we just assumed the shortage was true," he said, "It turns out there is a little Silicon Valley groupthink going on about this, though it's not comfortable to say that."

Camarota and Ziegler, the study's authors, present the uncomfortable numbers and emphasize that "the dramatic increases in STEM immigration called for by employers and many in Congress would seem to be out of step with the absorption capacity of the STEM labor market." They observe that "Congress is almost certainly holding down wage growth and reducing the incentive for native-born Americans to undertake the challenging course work that is often necessary for STEM careers."

"The data indicate that the supply of STEM workers vastly exceeds the number of STEM jobs, and there has been only modest wage growth in these professions," they conclude. "This reality should inform and shape public policy moving forward."

6.7 million natives and immigrants already here with STEM degrees working in non-STEM jobs. There are an additional 1.8 million STEM degree holders in the country not working at all.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:40

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:38

Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, is the commencement speaker at Wake Forest University's graduation on Monday morning. The speech offers Abramson's first public comments since she was fired last week, an event that set off a heated media debate over what happened and how issues of her pay and gender could have played into her firing.

Watch her full speech here:

UPDATE:

Wake Forest has provided a complete transcript of Abramson's remarks. You can read them below.

I think the only real news here today is your graduation from this great university. First of all, congratulations. I'm impressed that your achievements have attracted so much media attention. As well they should.

I'm so happy to be here to share this important day. My own college graduation is still a thrilling memory. In fact, I had breakfast this morning with one of my college classmates, Barclay Rives, now a proud parent of graduate sitting out here. One of my favorite family photos is of my busting-with-pride father at Harvard. A college dropout, he never got to wear his own cap and gown. So he crammed his 6-foot self into mine. He looked silly but radiant. I hope all of you in the Class of 2014 are lucky enough to have at least one parent or someone who helped raise you here today. A shout-out to all the parents, grandparents and others in the audience. My own children are recent college grads, so I know how full your hearts are today because your kids have worked so hard and achieved so much.

President Hatch suggested that I speak to you today about resilience, and I'm going to take his wise counsel. But I'm not quite finished with the parents part.

Very early last Thursday, my sister called me and she said, 'I know dad would be as proud of you today as he was the day you became executive editor of the New York Times. I had been fired the previous day, so I knew what she was trying to say. It meant more to our father to see us deal with a setback and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes. ''Show what you are made of,'' he would say.

Graduating from Wake Forest means you have experienced success already. And some of you '' and now I'm talking to anyone who has been dumped '' have not gotten the job you really wanted or have received those horrible rejection letters from grad school. You know the disappointment of losing or not getting something you badly want. When that happens, show what you are made of.

I was in China recently, and some of you know the New York Times website has been blocked by censors there for more than a year. That means in China that citizens cannot read the most authoritative coverage of their country. Every time I reflexively tried to open the New York Times website, I got the message that said, ''Safari cannot open the page,'' which made me become more and more furious.

While I was I Beijing, one of our Chinese journalists, Patrick Song, was detained for hours by authorities. The government meant to scare and intimidate him. Why was he detained? Simply because he worked as a truthful journalist. So what did he do? He came right back to work and quietly got on with things. ''I did what I believe, and that makes me fearless,'' Patrick told me after his ordeal.

You know, New York Times journalists risk their lives frequently to bring you the best report in the world. That's why it is such an important and irreplaceable institution. And it was the honor of my life to lead the newsroom.

A couple of students I was talking to last night after I arrived, they know that I have some tattoos. One of them asked me, ''Are you gonna get that Times 'T' that you have tattooed on your back removed?'' Not a chance.

I faced a little challenge of my own not long ago. I got run over and almost killed by a truck in Times Square. You may begin to call me Calamity Jill, but stay with me here. But with the seventh anniversary of that accident approaching, I wrote an article about the risk to pedestrians with three Times colleagues who had also been struck and hurt. We mentioned a 9-year-old boy in the top of our story who had been hit and killed by a cab early in the year. A few days after the story was published, I got an email from Dana Lerner. It began, ''Thank you for the article you wrote in last Sunday's Times. The boy you mentioned was my son, Cooper Stock.'' I met with Dana last Thursday and, you know, Cooper was just killed in January, but Dana, her husband and others are already working on a new law to make the streets safer. She is taking an unimaginable loss and already trying to do something constructive.

We human beings are a lot more resilient than we often realize. Resilient and perseverant. And there are so many examples of this. For me professionally, my heroes are Nan Robertson, a ground-breaking reporter at the New York Times, and Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post, which broke the Watergate story. They both faced discrimination in a much tougher, more male-dominated newspaper industry and they went on to win Pulitzer Prizes.

My colleague Jim Risen, who is standing up against an unfair Washington leak investigation, is another hero.

I co-authored a book about Anita Hill, who testified about sexual harassment before an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1990s. The Senators portrayed her as being '' as one of her detractors so delicately put it '' ''a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty.'' She turned that potential humiliation into a great career teaching at Brandeis University and writing books that tell truth to power. Anita was one of the many people who wrote me last week to say they are proud of me. Those messages are so appreciated.

Some of you have faced danger or even a soul-scorching loss, but most of you haven't. And leaving the protective cocoon of school for the working world must seem scary. You will have a dozen different jobs and will try different things. Sure, losing a job you love hurts, but the work I revere, journalism that holds powerful institutions and people accountable, is what makes our democracy so resilient. And this is the work I will remain very much a part of.

My only reluctance in showing up today was that the small media circus following me would detract attention away from you, the fabulous Class of 2014. What total knockouts you are.

What's next for me? I don't know. So I'm in exactly the same boat as many of you. And like you, I'm a little scared but also excited. You know, I don't really think Coach Manning could find as much use much use for me, but right after this speech, I have booked a private session with Andy Chan, whose career-counseling operation is a model for universities around the world.

When I was leaving my office for the last time, I grabbed a book off my shelf, Robert Frost Speaking on Campus. In closing, I'm going to leave you with some wisdom from the Colby College commencement speech the great poet gave in 1956. He described life after graduating as piece of knitting to go on with. What he meant is that life is always unfinished business, like the bits of knitting women used to carry around with them, to be picked up in different intervals. And for those of you who have never knitted, think of it as akin to your Tumblr: something you can pick up from time to time. My mother was a great knitter and she made some really magnificent things. But she also made a few itchy and frankly hideous sweaters for me. She left some things unfinished. So today you gorgeous, brilliant people, get on with your knitting.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:34

Two weeks before he masterminded an assault on two major Libyan cities, Khalifa Hifter hosted a dinner to court a potential ally. Hifter was normally a confident man, a former general who had gone on to spend years in Northern Virginia as an exiled opposition leader before returning home for the 2011 Libyan revolution.

But that night he seemed unsteady.

''Do you think I'm committing suicide?'' Hifter asked his new friend and supporter, businessman Fathallah Bin Ali, as they dined in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Today, Hifter, 71, is leading what may be the most serious challenge to the Libyan government since the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. Attacks by Hifter's forces on rival militias in Benghazi and Tripoli in recent days have left more than 70 people dead and dozens more injured. Militiamen loyal to him have overrun parliament.

Libya may now be sliding into civil war. On Monday, additional militias threw their weight behind Hifter, including those at an air force base in the far-eastern city of Tobruk, fighters who have occupied swaths of the country's oil infrastructure, and members of an important Benghazi militia. Meanwhile, fighters from the powerful city-state of Misurata said they would soon move on Tripoli to counter Hifter's assault.

Forces loyal to a rogue Libyan general attacked the country's parliament Sunday, expanding his eastern offensive against Islamists into the heart of the country's capital. (Associated Press)

Hifter had plotted his operation for months, friends say. His goal is to rid the country of the Islamist militias that he accuses of terrorizing the country, assassinating and kidnapping their political rivals, in the three years since they all fought on the same side to oust a dictator.

Libya's weak central government has failed to form a unified army and police force from the scores of well-armed militias that emerged from the revolution. And it has failed to stop the murders and kidnappings that have plagued this oil-rich country. That has led to an explosive situation in the young democracy.

''At this point, people are desperate,'' said Bilal Bettamer, a 24-year-old Benghazi resident who organized a mass demonstration against the Islamist militias in the city in 2012. He said he was willing to trust Hifter, ''if he proves to be successful, and he proves that it's not just for the personal glory.''

In recent months, Hifter has gathered allies in his stronghold of Beida, 125 miles east of Benghazi, from among a disenfranchised former officers corps. He also has held court with like-minded politicians and tribal leaders in Benghazi, his friends say.

In February he startled the country by going on television and declaring a plan to save the nation. Nothing happened. But Hifter was fed up with the lawlessness in Libya, Bin Ali said as he recalled their meeting.

''We have to stop it,'' Hifter said, according to Bin Ali. Because the interim government and parliament were so ineffectual, ''he decided to go for himself to try to fight for [his] rights,'' the businessman said.

Switched sides in the 1980s

As a young army officer, Hifter took part in the coup that brought Gaddafi to power in 1969. But Hifter switched sides in the late 1980s, after he was captured while fighting for Gaddafi's army in a war in neighboring Chad.

He became the leader of a rebel group called the Libyan National Army, which he claimed received U.S. assistance. He later sought refuge in the United States. He apparently became a U.S. citizen '-- he voted in Virginia in elections in 2008 and 2009, records show.

One member of a prominent Libyan opposition family who knew Hifter when both were living in Northern Virginia noted that he and his family were comfortable. Hifter resided in Falls Church until 2007 and later in a five-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood in Vienna, near the golf course of the Westwood Country Club. He sold the second home in 2010 for $612,000, according to public records.

''They lived a very good life, and nobody knows what his source for compensation was,'' said the acquaintance, who added that Hifter's family was not originally wealthy.

(The former general spelled his name ''Hifter'' on legal documents in the United States. It has also been rendered in reports from Libya as ''Haftar'' and ''Hiftar.'')

When Hifter returned to Libya in 2011, he was welcomed as a hero and leader in the country's burgeoning rebel forces.

But some who knew him said he was arrogant and angled for power.

''He was like a little child. He was actually trying to become the chief of staff,'' said Jallal Galal, a former spokesman for the rebels. After the rebels chose another former general, Abdul Fattah Younis, to lead them, Hifter was irate, Galal recalled.

Hifter's reputation as a prominent opposition figure, his military training in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and his wartime experience in Chad quickly brought him support on Libya's front lines.

But his decades-long absence from the country also earned him suspicion and rivals. Those early splits in the rebel ranks would form the foundation of today's power struggle.

Hifter's uprising began late last week, when forces loyal to him launched a wave of strikes against Islamist militias in Benghazi, setting off fierce battles. On Sunday, two other militias, claiming loyalty to Hifter, attacked the country's General National Congress in the capital before declaring the institution formally dissolved.

''The battle continues until the elimination of terrorism,'' Col. Wanis Bu Khameida, the leader of the pro-Hifter Benghazi militia, said in a televised news conference from the city.

On Monday, the head of Libya's parliament called on his allied militias based in Misurata to come to the embattled legislature's assistance. Militias in various parts of the country began to line up on either side, essentially pitting Islamist forces in Benghazi and their allies from Misurata against Gaddafi-era military officers. The latter group was backed by more-liberal politicians and tribal militias from Tripoli and the western mountains.

In one town in Libya's Nafusa Mountains, two militias stated their support for opposing sides.

The head of Libya's General National Congress, Nouri Abu Sahmein, called Hifter's offensive an ''attempt to wreck the path of democracy'' and said he must be stopped, the Associated Press reported.

Lawmakers undecided

But leading politicians seemed divided about what to do. Members of the country's weak interim cabinet held an emergency meeting Monday and issued a vague open letter to the legislature, suggesting that it vote yet again for a new prime minister '-- replacing one chosen this month '-- and eventually be dissolved.

Parliament was scheduled to convene Tuesday. If it does, it would present a significant test of Hifter's power.

Some of Hifter's allies still appeared undecided Monday on whether they would follow him into an all-out confrontation.

''I'm not sure of his goals. He doesn't seem to have a clear vision of what he's really doing,'' said one lawmaker who is part of a political alliance that is closely tied to the militias that attacked the legislature Sunday. He asked that his name not be published for safety reasons.

Hauslohner reported from Moscow and Abdel Kouddous reported from Tripoli. Hassan Morajea in Tripoli, Erin Cunningham and Lara El Gibaly in Cairo, and Julie Tate and Victoria St. Martin in Washington contributed to this report.

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:19

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Wed, 21 May 2014 02:09

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Wed, 21 May 2014 01:29

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

updated 12:27 PM EDT, Fri May 16, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Solange Knowles, Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce, release a statementTMZ released video showing an altercation between Solange and Jay Z in an elevatorThey say they have "worked through it," saying all families have their problemsThe statement refutes that Solange was intoxicatedFor the latest on what went down inside the elevator, watch "CNN Spotlight: Beyonce" at 10 p.m. ET on Friday.

(CNN) -- We may never know the why -- though there has been no shortage of speculation on the Internet -- but at least now we know what the Carter-Knowles family has to say about their already infamous elevator fight.

Solange Knowles, Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce, have released a statement about surveillance video originally posted by TMZ showing Solange, the younger sister of Beyonce, hitting and kicking her brother-in-law.

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange: The aftermath

HIDE CAPTION

The trio had previously not spoken publicly about the incident in an elevator at the Standard Hotel in New York City following the Met Gala held on May 5. But on Thursday, they broke their silence.

The family referred CNN to a statement they previously gave to the Associated Press. The statement says:

"As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred.

Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred.Statement given by the trio

"They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other and we have moved forward as a united family.

"The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false. At the end of the day, families have problems and we're no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We've put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same."

Following the incident, the sisters were photographed leaving together while Jay Z left in a separate car.

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Tue, 20 May 2014 22:16

At ~17:26:

It's not funny, ValJar.

Via The Blaze:

During her commencement speech at Pomona College, a leading liberal arts institution located in Claremont, California, President Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett made remarks about the president's focus on the so-called ''pay gap'' between men and women (repeating the dubious claim that women make 77% of what men make), Obamacare and other administration agenda items.

But it was when Jarrett deviated to talking more generally about political service that she let loose a joke that some might find a bit unsettling (though the audience seemed to think nothing of it).

Judge for yourself Ms. Jarrett's comments on the government's ability to find information about prospective job hires via the internet.

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Tue, 20 May 2014 09:47

By Mick Krever, CNN

To some, Narendra Modi is a technocrat with a record of economic reform; to others, he is a nationalist who stood by as Muslims were slaughtered in his home state of Gujarat.

No matter the truth, Modi will become India's next prime minister after claiming victory in a landslide election last week.

''He has the ability to completely remake the country,'' writer and historian William Dalrymple told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Monday.

''Maybe people hope that he will do so, and break the logjam of ossified bureaucracy and cut through all the blockages in the system. And they're longing for a strong leader.''

So great is Modi's majority, Dalrymple said, that he is just 30 votes from having a majority that could alter the constitution.

''The worry is that he will turn out to be a kind of Indian Putin '' a nationalist, a strongman.''

The concern, Dalrymple said, stems not just from the Gujarat riots a decade ago, in which more than 1,000 people '' mostly Muslims '' were killed under Modi's watch as chief minister.

''Journalists in Gujarat have had sedition charges slapped against them; human-rights lawyers have had sort of trumped-up charges of corruption put against them.''

''Many people are very frightened. And while we hope that he will be the technocrat, his record in Gujarat is of an authoritarian leader.''

Click above to watch Amanpour's full conversation with Dalrymple, and hear about Modi's alleged role in that fateful violence in Gujarat.

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Tue, 20 May 2014 08:26