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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

3 freight trains collide in Amarillo, Texas,4 crew hurt

<h3> 3 trains collide near school outside Amarillo, Texas.</h3><h3></h3><a abp="863" class="bia uh_rl" href="https://www.google.com/url?url=https://plus.google.com/u/0/114611573736939535480&rct=j&sa=X&ei=KA1DUsP9KaqI2wWuhYG4AQ&ved=0CJ8BEPwdMBA&q=BNSF+&usg=AFQjCNFvMykqrceimmPqATbs-t7FVQMrbQ" id="DqlqL1P5PdoLpM:" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 151px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; width: 151px;" tag="bia"><img abp="864" align="middle" alt="" border="0" class="th imgthumb17" name="imgthumb17" 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" style="margin: 0px;" title="https://plus.google.com/114611573736939535480" /></a>AMARILLO (September 25, 2013)--Three freight trains have collided in the Texas Panhandle, derailing up to 30 cars and leaving four crewmembers hurt including two with critical injuries.<br /><br />The Department of Public Safety says the accident happened before dawn Wednesday just east of Amarillo.<br /><br />Sr. Trooper Chris Ray says an eastbound train rear-ended a stopped train, and that a westbound train then collided with the two-train wreck.<br /><br />BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Faust says two crewmembers on the first train have non-life threatening injuries and that two from the second train are critically hurt.<br /><br />Faust says the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers and that no hazardous materials spilled.<br /><br />Authorities are trying to determine what caused the accident.<br /><br /><div abp="244">Three freight trains collided in a rural area outside Amarillo, Texas early Wednesday, leaving four people injured, two of them critically, <a abp="246" href="http://www.newschannel10.com/category/72489/news">reports CBS Amarillo station KFDA-TV</a>, citing Potter County Rescue and Amarillo Emergency Management.</div><div abp="244"><br /></div><div abp="247">The collision occurred across the street from a school, but it will be in session Wednesday, the station says.</div><div abp="248"></div><div abp="249">All three were Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains.</div><div abp="249"><br /></div><div abp="250"></div><div abp="251">One engine was on its side. Power lines were down and on some of the trains' cars.</div><div abp="252"></div><div abp="253">Authorities were checking for fuel leaks.</div><div abp="253"><br /></div><div abp="254"></div><div abp="255">It wasn't clear what the trains were carrying, but none of the cargo was hazardous, authorities said.</div><div abp="256"></div><div abp="257">No evacuations were ordered.</div><div abp="257"><br /></div><div abp="258"></div><div abp="259">The cause of the collision was under investigation.</div><h3>Dozens of cars derail when 3 freight trains collide in Texas Panhandle, 4 crewmembers hurt.</h3><div><div>Three freight trains collided in the Texas Panhandle before dawn Wednesday, derailing up to 30 cars and injuring four crewmembers, including two critically.</div><div><br /></div><div>An eastbound BNSF Railway train rear-ended a stopped train, then moments later a westbound train collided with the two-train wreck, just east of Amarillo, according to the Department of Public Safety. The accident was reported shortly after 4:30 a.m.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The wreckage was mangled up," said Sr. Trooper Chris Ray.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joe Faust, a spokesman for Fort Worth-based BNSF, said no hazardous material spilled and that the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cause of the accident was under investigation, Faust said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two workers on the first train suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Two crewmembers on the second train were critically injured and transported to an Amarillo hospital, Faust said. Names of the workers and details of their injuries were not immediately released.</div><div><br /></div><div>Preliminary estimates indicate between 20 and 30 cars derailed, Faust said. Rail traffic was being rerouted and heavy equipment would be used to clear the tracks, he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust said there was no immediate timetable for clearing the tracks.</div><div><br /></div><div>No nearby residents were in danger due to the accident.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>Three Freight Trains Collide In Texas; Four Crew Members Injured.</h3></div><div><img abp="254" alt="Claremore_Rail_Train_20130709112956_JPG" height="480" islarge="false" src="http://media2.kjrh.com//photo/2013/07/09/Claremore_Rail_Train_20130709112956_320_240.JPG" style="display: block; margin: auto;" title="Claremore_Rail_Train_20130709112956_JPG" width="640" /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Three freight trains collided early Wednesday in the Texas Panhandle, leaving four crew members injured, two critically.</div><div><br /></div><div>About 30 cars derailed in the crash.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Department of Public Safety said the accident happened before dawn Wednesday just east of Amarillo, where an eastbound train rear-ended a stopped train, and then a westbound train collided with the two-train wreck, Senior Trooper Chris Ray said.</div><div><br /></div><div>BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Faust says two crew members on the first train suffered non-life threatening injuries and that two from the second train are critically hurt.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust says the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers and that no hazardous materials spilled.</div><div><br /></div><div>Authorities are trying to determine what caused the accident.</div></div><div><br /></div>

3 freight trains collide in Amarillo, Texas,4 crew hurt

3 trains collide near school outside Amarillo, Texas. AMARILLO (September 25, 2013)--Three freight trains have collided in the Texas Panhan...

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

A brief history of recent Russian-US high officials’ meeting cancelations

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUM5nmmKXVRbXpYiNizbc7V4DCb2azkokkgMJnp-cBfpTnaZ7TKc-qsD_jRIKFkwNzFZTjwzjozy7vy8xBAtk1HPKrw-veGFPpOyx1j-CCqNApbpYphKsK4V1ghf03rIENb3AIQYbbYQ/s1600/012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUM5nmmKXVRbXpYiNizbc7V4DCb2azkokkgMJnp-cBfpTnaZ7TKc-qsD_jRIKFkwNzFZTjwzjozy7vy8xBAtk1HPKrw-veGFPpOyx1j-CCqNApbpYphKsK4V1ghf03rIENb3AIQYbbYQ/s320/012.jpg" width="320" /></a>March 1999 – Russian Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov flying towards the US orders to the plane to turn back midair and cancels the trip after he learns that NATO starts military operation against Yugoslavia and the US Air Force bombs Belgrade.<br /><br />September 2012 – US President Barack Obama calls off his trip to the APEC summit in Vladivostok due to his taking part in the Democratic National Convention, a key event in the presidential race.<br /><br />May 2013 – Russian President Vladimir Putin decides not to take part in the G8 summit at Camp David, as he is busy forming a government following his inauguration. He instead delegates Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to attend the summit.

A brief history of recent Russian-US high officials’ meeting cancelations

March 1999 – Russian Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov flying towards the US orders to the plane to turn back midair and cancels the trip after...

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

BofA/Countrywide To Pay $335 Million For Predatory Lending Practices Against African American And Latino Borrowers.

Archive-Dec. 21, 2011 History-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder just announced that Bank of America has agreed to pay out a $335 million settlement with the Justice Department for predatory mortgage lending practices.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvfuMdN3Vefw8J23G6GWZX60s5Jt0MftmPnZ5nK9A7r5tyBCX9Zj1OejJSn60gu5jboVC0IcnHC7dQW1WqVZro6o_KOIW1YDNMfOsfMz5RRfu_HXSoSPoOFf6gaQEdo9F7wl4lZxm5G4/s1600/brian-moynihan-eric-holder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvfuMdN3Vefw8J23G6GWZX60s5Jt0MftmPnZ5nK9A7r5tyBCX9Zj1OejJSn60gu5jboVC0IcnHC7dQW1WqVZro6o_KOIW1YDNMfOsfMz5RRfu_HXSoSPoOFf6gaQEdo9F7wl4lZxm5G4/s1600/brian-moynihan-eric-holder.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />This will be the largest fair lending settlement in history, and, as Bank of America would like to point out, is a result of practices at Countrywide before the bank bought the lender.<br /><br />Here is what the Department of Justice found at Countrywide: From 2004 to 2008, the height of the housing bubble, Countrywide purposely charged over 200,000 black and Latino qualified borrowers more for their mortgage loans than similarly qualified white borrowers.<br /><br />The short story is that Countrywide steered those black and Latino borrowers toward riskier sub-prime loans, even when they qualified for prime loans, or simply charged them higher rates. These borrowers paid an average of tens of thousands of dollars more than they should have, that includes costs up front and throughout their mortgage.<br /><br />Countrywide also illegally required spouses to surrender their claim to a mortgage as a condition of approval. So: in order for a man to qualify for a mortgage (for example) his wife would have to sign away her right to that mortgage.<br /><br />Most of these cases took place in California, Countrywide's headquarters, and 2/3 of the victims were Latinos — Countrywide knew how to market to them: "se habla espanol", said their advertisements.<br /><br />For this investigation, the Department of Justice and other agencies looked at 2.5 million loans. Officials are saying that victims that were steered to subprime loans (called "residential steering") will be paid the most.<br /><br />To put how widespread this was in perspective: Latino families across the U.S. lost 2/3 of their household wealth during the financial crises. A significant portion of that was because their houses lost value or because many families lost their houses, period.

BofA/Countrywide To Pay $335 Million For Predatory Lending Practices Against African American And Latino Borrowers.

Archive-Dec. 21, 2011 History-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder just announced that Bank of America has agreed to pay out a $335 million set...

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Niger profile

A vast, arid state on the edge of the Sahara desert,Niger endured austere military rule for much of its post-independence history and is rated by the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/" target="_blank">UN </a>as one of the world's least-developed nations.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkb1TuBlQuBISwe5Ngc9UZOgD-TJunhwuI3J-LBMv69_T-VQO43yKnMMf1Z1zUPPkGRno8HSwbRVWQsJreV2Z99I0tMadBL9kSLsR2tNDcPNX1clxsY78VLas21okH10ySWcojtoSj_Q/s1600/map_niger.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkb1TuBlQuBISwe5Ngc9UZOgD-TJunhwuI3J-LBMv69_T-VQO43yKnMMf1Z1zUPPkGRno8HSwbRVWQsJreV2Z99I0tMadBL9kSLsR2tNDcPNX1clxsY78VLas21okH10ySWcojtoSj_Q/s1600/map_niger.gif" /></a></div>The drought-prone country sometimes struggles to feed its people. Its main export, uranium, is prone to price fluctuations and agriculture is threatened by the encroaching desert. Niger is bargaining on oil exploration and gold mining to boost its fortunes.<br /><br />Historically a gateway between North and sub-Saharan Africa, Niger came under French rule in the late 1890s.<br /><div><div>After independence in 1960 its progress was stymied by political instability and a five-year drought, which devastated livestock and crops.</div><div><br /></div><div>With little primary education, Niger has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Its health system is basic and disease is widespread.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a break of a decade, Niger again experienced an insurgency by Tuareg rebels in the north in 2007.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) complained that a 1995 peace deal that ended the previous insurgency has never been fully implemented and that the region remains marginalised. The group demands greater autonomy and a larger share of uranium revenue.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Farmer harvesting millet in Niger" height="350" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/61232000/jpg/_61232926_niger_millet_g.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="624" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A farmer harvests a plentiful crop of millet in Niger, which however, is frequently at the mercy of food shortages</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In 2009, the MNJ and the government held talks in Libya, at which they committed themselves to a "total and comprehensive" peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1999 voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution providing for presidential and legislative multi-party elections. These took place later in the year and saw Mamadou Tandja elected as president.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr Tandja introduced a new constitution in 2009 to extend his powers in a move described by the opposition as a coup. He was himself overthrown in a coup at the beginning of 2010.</div><div><br /></div><div>Niger banned the centuries-old practice of slavery in 2003. But anti-slavery organisations say thousands of people still live in subjugation. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13943662#" target="_blank">source</a></div></div><div><h3>Related Internet links:</h3><ul class="related-links"><li class="column-1  first-child"><a href="http://www.gouv.ne/">Niger  government</a> </li><li class="column-1 "><a href="http://www.nigerportal.com/">Niger portal</a></li><li class="column-2 "><a href="http://www.irinnews.org/Africa-Country.aspx?Country=NE">UN news about  Niger </a></li></ul></div><div><ul><li><strong>Politics</strong>: President Tandja changed the constitution to stay  in power, but was ousted in a coup in 2010. Polls to restore civilian rule were  held in January 2011</li><li><strong>Security</strong>: Tuareg nomads seeking greater autonomy for the  north have been waging a low-level war. Fears of Al Qaeda activity have been  heightened by the kidnapping of foreigners</li><li><strong>Economy</strong>: Niger is a leading producer of uranium, and is  rich in other minerals. It started pumping oil in 2011. UN rates it as one of  world's poorest countries</li><li><strong>International</strong>: Niger shares borders with seven countries.  Some boundaries are disputed </li></ul></div>

Niger profile

A vast, arid state on the edge of the Sahara desert,Niger endured austere military rule for much of its post-independence history and is rat...

Monday, May 13, 2013

Belize:Workers bulldoze Mayan pyramid, use rock to build road

<br /><h4>A construction company destroyed a Mayan pyramid in Belize, using its rock in a road-building project.</h4><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqgXxGCnceC2m-v043v2E0hLEmwhjUGYl-b1Px2a5I4yhCvDnVRxKx0o67NxaO7snkeAZY82r3zZUUWgIPsY1VWHWLzpK3Pg5TGfwgBxJ5ed6TdgOn8xs5dEA56zKWtX-JSkSVvOQvxDc/s1600/mayan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqgXxGCnceC2m-v043v2E0hLEmwhjUGYl-b1Px2a5I4yhCvDnVRxKx0o67NxaO7snkeAZY82r3zZUUWgIPsY1VWHWLzpK3Pg5TGfwgBxJ5ed6TdgOn8xs5dEA56zKWtX-JSkSVvOQvxDc/s1600/mayan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />BELIZE CITY, Belize — A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project, authorities announced on Monday.<br /><br />The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Jaime Awe, said the destruction at the Nohmul complex in northern Belize was detected late last week. The ceremonial center dates back at least 2,300 years and is the most important site in northern Belize, near the border with Mexico.<br /><br />"It's a feeling of incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity. ... They were using this for road fill," Awe said. "It's like being punched in the stomach, it's just so horrendous."<br /><br />Nohmul sat in the middle of a privately owned sugar cane field, and lacked the even stone sides frequently seen in reconstructed or better-preserved pyramids. But Awe said the builders could not possibly have mistaken the pyramid mound, which is about 100 feet tall, for a natural hill because the ruins were well-known and the landscape there is naturally flat.<br /><div><div>"These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It's just bloody laziness," Awe said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Photos from the scene showed backhoes clawing away at the pyramid's sloping sides, leaving an isolated core of limestone cobbles at the center, with what appears to be a narrow Mayan chamber dangling above one clawed-out section.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Just to realize that the ancient Maya acquired all this building material to erect these buildings, using nothing more than stone tools and quarried the stone, and carried this material on their heads, using tump lines," said Awe. "To think that today we have modern equipment, that you can go and excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard that and completely destroyed this building. Why can't these people just go and quarry somewhere that has no cultural significance? It's mind-boggling."</div><div><br /></div><div>Belizean police said they are conducting an investigation and criminal charges are possible. The Nohmul complex sits on private land, but Belizean law says that any pre-Hispanic ruins are under government protection.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Belize community-action group Citizens Organized for Liberty Through Action called the destruction of the archaeological site "an obscene example of disrespect for the environment and history."</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not the first time it's happened in Belize, a country of about 350,000 people that is largely covered in jungle and dotted with hundreds of Mayan ruin sites, though few as large as Nohmul.</div></div><div><div>Norman Hammond, an emeritus professor of archaeology at Boston University who worked in Belizean research projects in the 1980s, wrote in an email that "bulldozing Maya mounds for road fill is an endemic problem in Belize (the whole of the San Estevan center has gone, both of the major pyramids at Louisville, other structures at Nohmul, many smaller sites), but this sounds like the biggest yet."</div><div><br /></div><div>Arlen Chase, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, said, "Archaeologists are disturbed when such things occur, but there is only a very limited infrastructure in Belize that can be applied to cultural heritage management."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Unfortunately, they (destruction of sites) are all too common, but not usually in the center of a large Maya site," Chase wrote.</div><div><br /></div><div>He said there had probably still been much to learn from the site. "A great deal of archaeology was undertaken at Nohmul in the '70s and '80s, but this only sampled a small part of this large center."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqsooD2bhUHZallkX_enKmJCIiYXLMqr-7dKpXZ2vGJbYsIp-6vcVDFwhF7bAgCca5rM7dBTZ0eMexZ6X_AnqQULTnXS3V-_3_9VBkl3P7yPigHgSxmcW08HC7Gfn9_Lnii635c2ZgLrW/s1600/mayan1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqsooD2bhUHZallkX_enKmJCIiYXLMqr-7dKpXZ2vGJbYsIp-6vcVDFwhF7bAgCca5rM7dBTZ0eMexZ6X_AnqQULTnXS3V-_3_9VBkl3P7yPigHgSxmcW08HC7Gfn9_Lnii635c2ZgLrW/s1600/mayan1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Belize isn't the only place where the handiwork of the far-flung and enormously prolific Maya builders is being destroyed. The ancient Mayas spread across southeastern Mexico and through Guatemala, Honduras and Belize.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't think I am exaggerating if I say that every day a Maya mound is being destroyed for construction in one of the countries where the Maya lived," wrote Francisco Estrada-Belli, a professor at Tulane University's Anthropology Department.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Unfortunately, this destruction of our heritage is irreversible but many don't take it seriously," he added. "The only way to stop it is by showing that it is a major crime and people can and will go to jail for it."</div><div><br /></div><div>Robert Rosenswig, an archaeologist at the State University of New York at Albany, described the difficult and heartbreaking work of trying to salvage information at the nearby site of San Estevan following similar destruction around 2005.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Bulldozing damage at San Estevan is extensive and the site is littered with Classic period potsherds," he wrote in an academic paper describing the scene. "We spent a number of days at the beginning of the 2005 season trying to figure out the extent of the damage. ... After scratching our heads for many days, a bulldozer showed up and we realized that what appear to be mounds, when overgrown with chest-high vegetation, are actually recently bulldozed garbage piles."</div><div><br /></div><div>However small the compensation, bulldozing pyramids is one very brutal way of revealing the inner cores of the structures, which were often built up in periodic stages of construction.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The one advantage of this massive destruction, to the core site, is that the remains of early domestic activity are now visible on the surface," Rosenswig wrote.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>

Belize:Workers bulldoze Mayan pyramid, use rock to build road

A construction company destroyed a Mayan pyramid in Belize, using its rock in a road-building project. BELIZE CITY, Belize — A construction ...

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Israel attacks Damascus research centre: Syrian media

<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSp1WWNSlXWEjZcs9npkW2xV7ijgiVGTVXeL3b8t5nI-pTjW0za1CikwEhuHDit6igY3lmdnmbT4m0VI1VE_u3Mz2HUqM4q5JXStrTH4jitk2kXJSXXQVrUqyPTTtSEFGyjeK8tYDtQmK/s1600/136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSp1WWNSlXWEjZcs9npkW2xV7ijgiVGTVXeL3b8t5nI-pTjW0za1CikwEhuHDit6igY3lmdnmbT4m0VI1VE_u3Mz2HUqM4q5JXStrTH4jitk2kXJSXXQVrUqyPTTtSEFGyjeK8tYDtQmK/s1600/136.jpg" /></a>DAMASCUS — Israel carried out a rocket attack on the Jamraya scientific research centre in Damascus overnight, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported Sunday.<br /><br />The agency did not say whether there were any wounded or dead.<br />The "Israeli attack aims at loosening the noose around the terrorists in the eastern Ghouta" region, near Damascus, Syrian television added.<br />There was no immediate comment from the White House in Washington on the reported attack.<br />If confirmed, the attack would be Israel's second this week against Syria. US media reports say Israel targeted a weapons shipment to the militant group Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon overnight Thursday to Friday, but the Jewish state has refused to confirm or deny the bombing.<br /><br />A diplomatic source in Lebanon told AFP the operation destroyed surface-to-air missiles recently delivered by Russia that were being stored at Damascus airport.<br /><br />Israel implicitly confirmed it staged an air strike on Syria in late January as President Bashar al-Assad accused the Jewish state of trying to further destabilise his war-torn country.<br /><br />That air strike targeted surface-to-air missiles and an adjacent military complex believed to house chemical agents, a US official said at the time.<br />Damascus threatened to retaliate, further fuelling fears of a regional spillover of a civil war the UN says has left at least 70,000 people dead since March 2011.<br />Activists, meanwhile, said the bodies of 62 civilians, including children, were found in the northwest port of Banias a day after an assault by regime troops and the opposition Syrian National Coalition warned against what it called "ethnic cleansing".<br />CNN said US and Western intelligence agencies were reviewing information suggesting Israel had launched an air strike overnight on Thursday.<br />Washington does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace during the raid, it added.<br />US President Barack Obama, speaking to Spanish-language Telemundo television, said Israel was justified in protecting itself against arms shipments to Hezbollah.<br />"The Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organisations like Hezbollah," he said, without commenting directly on last week's reported strike.<br />"We coordinate closely with the Israelis, recognising that they are very close to Syria, they are very close to Lebanon."<br />Lebanon's military said pairs of Israeli aircraft entered their airspace three times on Thursday night and stayed for two to three hours at a time.<br />NBC cited US officials as saying the primary target was believed to be a weapons shipment headed for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group closely allied with President Bashar al-Assad's regime.<br />One said the raid was probably tied to delivery systems for chemical weapons, but CNN cited officials as saying there was no reason to believe Israel had struck chemical weapons storage facilities.<br />A Syrian military source denied the raid had taken place at all, and an Israeli defence official would say only the Jewish state "was following the situation in Syria and Lebanon, with an emphasis on transferring chemical weapons and special arms".<br />But a diplomatic source in Lebanon told AFP the operation destroyed surface-to-air missiles delivered by Russia that were being stored at Damascus airport.<br />On Friday, SANA reported that rebels had fired two rockets at the airport at dawn, hitting a kerosene tank.<br />The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 62 bodies found in Banias were those of civilians killed by the army on Friday.<br />"We have identified 62 citizens by their names, photos, or videos, including 14 children, and the number could rise because there are dozens of citizens who are still missing," a statement said.<br />The opposition Coalition condemned "a proliferation of massacres that is transforming into an ethnic cleansing operation like that carried out by Serbian forces in Bosnia 20 years ago".<br />The Observatory has said at least 50 people had been killed in the Sunni village of Bayda, just south of Banias, on Thursday.<br />"Some were summarily executed, shot to death, stabbed or set on fire," it said.<br />Washington said it was "appalled" by the reported killings in Bayda.<br />Another 10 people were killed in the Banias district of Ras al-Nabaa on Friday, the Observatory said, distributing grisly footage of dead bodies, including those of children.<br />The reported killings triggered panic in the Banias region.<br />"Hundreds of families are fleeing Sunni neighbourhoods in Banias in fear of a new massacre," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said earlier.<br />Elsewhere, regime forces and Hezbollah fighters advanced towards the town of Qusayr in central Homs province, where at least 16 people were killed, the Observatory said.<br />With the violence mounting and pressure on Washington to arm Syria's outgunned rebels, Obama came close to ruling out deploying US troops to Syria.<br />"As a general rule, I don't rule things out as commander-in-chief because circumstances change," Obama said on Thursday in Costa Rica.<br />"Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria -- American boots on the ground in Syria -- would not only be good for America but also would be good for Syria."<br />Speculation has mounted that his administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after the White House said last week Assad had probably used chemical weapons on his own people.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s320/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />

Israel attacks Damascus research centre: Syrian media

DAMASCUS — Israel carried out a rocket attack on the Jamraya scientific research centre in Damascus overnight, the official Syrian news agen...

Obama: Strong economy depends on security

<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM11d0ZpAX6H-GIcq1aUcoqRmIKRxtTDyPMx7_VlFvXobiLdCzl844-YGoNdgx1yqXg75GybJYaJtD3tKPsb_F3QwOoMXQTr_N6j87af1s1w6lDgqS5KStqMpE3giepxHnH_ZB7auZa1wV/s1600/usnews.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM11d0ZpAX6H-GIcq1aUcoqRmIKRxtTDyPMx7_VlFvXobiLdCzl844-YGoNdgx1yqXg75GybJYaJtD3tKPsb_F3QwOoMXQTr_N6j87af1s1w6lDgqS5KStqMpE3giepxHnH_ZB7auZa1wV/s1600/usnews.png" width="200" /></a>US President Barack Obama has stressed the importance of security during a speech to Central American business leaders. Obama is in Costa Rica for a summit with regional leaders.<br /><br />"Security is important, it is very hard to create a strong economy when people are personally feeling insecure. There has been a lot of emphasis on immigration, and I understand why that is. Obviously it is of great importance to this region and to the United States. We shouldn’t lose sight of the critical importance of trade and commerce and business to the prospects both for Costa Rica, the United States and the entire hemisphere." Barack Obama, US President said.<br /><br />Obama’s comments on Saturday came just weeks after the World Bank warned that rising violence from drug cartels and street gangs in Central America is costing the region up to 8 percent of gross domestic product and could hinder future growth.<br /><br />Analysts believe drug cartels are the driving factor behind rising violence in the region, which also grapples with widespread youth street gangs that extort businesses and pay off corrupt officials.<br /><br />The atmosphere of insecurity could harm the investment climate in the region and divert already scarce government resources to crime reduction efforts and away from spending to boost economy activity.<br /><div><br /></div>

Obama: Strong economy depends on security

US President Barack Obama has stressed the importance of security during a speech to Central American business leaders. Obama is in Costa Ri...

U.S. X-51A aircraft sets record in final test

<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JaqCa13UmUHVjVaNQTOL0Fku9gTanZE38nMuwLg4WpdM4Qh2gqhM2nH8JpQg_W_R5Qig63fPmG4-XfaVYuQNOTFOQcwCNlf-a28XmSpSiEy1hWL_jBEW5Cq-rf0quGOoz2YjaVYFT15a/s1600/Waverider.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JaqCa13UmUHVjVaNQTOL0Fku9gTanZE38nMuwLg4WpdM4Qh2gqhM2nH8JpQg_W_R5Qig63fPmG4-XfaVYuQNOTFOQcwCNlf-a28XmSpSiEy1hWL_jBEW5Cq-rf0quGOoz2YjaVYFT15a/s1600/Waverider.JPG" width="400" /></a>WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Air Force announced Friday its X-51A Waverider aircraft has achieved the longest hypersonic flight in history, flying for three and a half minutes on scramjet power at more than five times the speed of sound.<br /><br />The final flight of the unmanned aircraft built by Boeing reached Mach 5.1 over the Pacific Ocean on May 1. It traveled over 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes.<br /><br />"It was a full mission success," said Charlie Brink, X-51A program manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate. "I believe all we have learned from the X-51A Waverider will serve as the bedrock for future hypersonics research and ultimately the practical application of hypersonic flight."<br /><br />With the test, the U.S. Air Force has successfully completed a 300-million-dollar, nearly decade-long hypersonic test program that reportedly can be used to deliver strikes around the globe within minutes.<br /><br />The X-51A took off from the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress. It was released at approximately 15,000 meters and accelerated to Mach 4.8 in about 26 seconds powered by a solid rocket booster.<br /><br />After separating from the booster, the cruiser's scramjet engine then lit and accelerated to Mach 5.1 at 18,000 meters.<br /><br />After exhausting its 240-second fuel supply, the vehicle continued to send back telemetry data until it splashed down into the ocean and was destroyed as designed.<br /><br />"This demonstration of a practical hypersonic scramjet engine is a historic achievement that has been years in the making," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works, in a statement.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4NmbLg7k4CGetwm9aRJlyFb1xX1v-64cDhxNziuQuzIG0ItJainA8ytv58tNInqabnXFGx3mpcanpuy63xZMdUZA6_pxWPI-JayZkZQlB2C3puqNLwpQ52rGWIJtybFRWB6gktZ0nmna/s1600/wer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4NmbLg7k4CGetwm9aRJlyFb1xX1v-64cDhxNziuQuzIG0ItJainA8ytv58tNInqabnXFGx3mpcanpuy63xZMdUZA6_pxWPI-JayZkZQlB2C3puqNLwpQ52rGWIJtybFRWB6gktZ0nmna/s1600/wer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />"This test proves the technology has matured to the point that it opens the door to practical applications, such as advanced defense systems and more cost-effective access to space," said Davis.<br /><br />This was the last of four test flights for X-51A. The first occurred in May 2010. It was hailed as a success, as the vehicle flew for nearly 200 seconds and reached approximately Mach 5. The next two flights, in June 2011 and August 2012, both failed.<br /><br />The Air Force said that X-51A is a technology demonstration program and was not designed to be a prototype for weapon system. It was designed to pave the way to future hypersonic weapons, hypersonic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and future access to space.<br /><br />Since scramjets are able to burn atmospheric oxygen, they don't need to carry large fuel tanks containing oxidizer like conventional rockets, and are being explored as a way to more efficiently launch payloads into orbit.<br /><div><br /></div>

U.S. X-51A aircraft sets record in final test

WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Air Force announced Friday its X-51A Waverider aircraft has achieved the longest hypersonic flight in history, flying ...

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

After tragedies like Boston, misinformation abounds

<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRaE4SKHwo0iwJcKfZD6aByoXeyV6QBXJQK_BmvsFkY09jZwM47QgDV4eNn2Ndfh1AM_WMO-ftnN_OmdkGTV0uhMtTpv8vA4oRGR9D1PmG-wuAdwSAj9XPTB2T6R24YxwW6H-f92KdJhA/s1600/%2540publimetro.us.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRaE4SKHwo0iwJcKfZD6aByoXeyV6QBXJQK_BmvsFkY09jZwM47QgDV4eNn2Ndfh1AM_WMO-ftnN_OmdkGTV0uhMtTpv8vA4oRGR9D1PmG-wuAdwSAj9XPTB2T6R24YxwW6H-f92KdJhA/s1600/%2540publimetro.us.gif" width="320" /></a>The technology that brings us instant reporting can also spread rumor and falsehood. Consumers should be wary of sources trying to be first rather than accurate.<br /><br /><br /><br />It's been two days since twin bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring at least 175. At a press conference Tuesday, a series of officials – federal, state and local – summarized what we know about the perpetrator and motive behind the crime: Not much.<br /><br />And just as in past tragedies, much of what we do know – or think we know – will turn out to be wrong.<br /><br /><br />Cell phones, 24-hour online news, and technologies like Twitter have given us instant delivery of news about events like the Boston bombings. That information can have value – think of the cell phone pictures we see from natural disasters long before the news cameras arrive.<br /><br />But the instant reporting can also contain rumor and amplify falsehood.<br /><br />Following the December mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., dozens of news outlets incorrectly identified the shooter as Ryan Lanza, the brother of the actual suspect, Adam Lanza. The errors persisted for much of the day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiYujUkzKZgPBsaLw2Xu9CnoETKhwviD-oPBEfF0dISiMtmLmGiW_YkWQRSpBjp1QVxw-3cVTJdRlU3QbFjJ3BQcyD2nDMb6VCcbf84Nn230s5tcm869UAcpm-1PJmB2tZQbcArEeBjeN/s1600/us.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiYujUkzKZgPBsaLw2Xu9CnoETKhwviD-oPBEfF0dISiMtmLmGiW_YkWQRSpBjp1QVxw-3cVTJdRlU3QbFjJ3BQcyD2nDMb6VCcbf84Nn230s5tcm869UAcpm-1PJmB2tZQbcArEeBjeN/s1600/us.gif" /></a>During the January 2011 massacre in Tucson, Ariz., there was a false report that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had been killed, a report that even reached Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly. (Mother Jones rounds up similarly botched crisis reporting stretching back to 9/11.)<br /><br />"Immediacy is a value and it's a positive value," said Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior writing scholar for the Poynter Institute. "Verification is a positive value. And the two don't always go together."<br /><br />Clark says verification, which is "time consuming and labor intensive," faces incredible challenges in a new cycle where technology and competition demand speed.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Boston had its own collection of false and misleading reports. The New York Post reported 12 people dead for most of the day Monday, though the death toll was only three. The Associated Press had to walk back a story about cell phone service being shutdown in Boston to prevent terrorists from remotely detonating unexploded devices. The network was simply struggling under the heavy call load.<br /><br />In fact there were no unexploded devices at all. The two bombs that went off were the only ones, officials said Tuesday. Widespread reports said other bombs had been found, defused, and collected as evidence.<br /><br />And it appears that a Saudi man taken into custody on the day of the bombings was merely another witness. Bystanders had tackled him when he was seen running away from the bombings, like nearly everyone else.<br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><div>Clark similarly noted a cable news "crawl" – the moving banner at the bottom of the screen – that "said they were looking for a dark skinned or black man, wearing a hoodie, who had a foreign accent. I said to myself, 'Oh my God, where is that information coming from?' That is information that is not very likely to lead to the arrest of a guilty party, but may cast suspicion on a lot of innocent people in the Boston area."</div><div><br /></div><div>Beyond the mistakes made in the press – often attributable to credible sources who themselves had wrong information – there is the hysteria that takes hold on social media: Speculation quickly passed on as fact, the all-to-hasty search for who to blame, and conspiracy theories, like radio host Alex Jones's immediate claim that Boston bombings were a "false flag" – an act of the government itself that would be used to scapegoat opponents and press new policies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slate's Jeremy Stahl on Tuesday penned a timely guide for journalists on how to use Twitter  during tragedies like Boston, and stresses the use of local, eyewitness, and official sources.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiYujUkzKZgPBsaLw2Xu9CnoETKhwviD-oPBEfF0dISiMtmLmGiW_YkWQRSpBjp1QVxw-3cVTJdRlU3QbFjJ3BQcyD2nDMb6VCcbf84Nn230s5tcm869UAcpm-1PJmB2tZQbcArEeBjeN/s1600/us.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiYujUkzKZgPBsaLw2Xu9CnoETKhwviD-oPBEfF0dISiMtmLmGiW_YkWQRSpBjp1QVxw-3cVTJdRlU3QbFjJ3BQcyD2nDMb6VCcbf84Nn230s5tcm869UAcpm-1PJmB2tZQbcArEeBjeN/s1600/us.gif" /></a>Government officials are in their own bind, forced to walk a fine line between keeping the public informed and compromising the investigation. President Obama and top diplomatic officials were excoriated in the wake of the attack that killed four U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, for providing early details on the attack that turned out to be at least partially untrue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Clark's advice to news consumers is to be skeptical, to look at multiple sources, and to test their reliability over time. "Even people who have lots of time to write about events ... weeks and months and years ... can still get it wrong," he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>And as for the flood of post-tragedy news reports, "I see no evidence that getting it first and being wrong is the doorway to a new business model," Clark said. "Quite the contrary."</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>

After tragedies like Boston, misinformation abounds

The technology that brings us instant reporting can also spread rumor and falsehood. Consumers should be wary of sources trying to be first ...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Mysterious stone structure found beneath Sea of Galilee

A giant "monumental" stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as to its purpose and even how long ago it was built.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGsfPWS35DzIp21jhGmzD3ySzq5L5AsUsEVEuKngLvHKqIrgd-wpXeGkEpZkH7VsS7z0PtigAbPB6nElhWcSQ3fcf0rlqziBvA2F7bbRYJbRcwDfx4yeyY72mj1OcCIRkv-hDa7fDP3g4/s1600/imagesizer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGsfPWS35DzIp21jhGmzD3ySzq5L5AsUsEVEuKngLvHKqIrgd-wpXeGkEpZkH7VsS7z0PtigAbPB6nElhWcSQ3fcf0rlqziBvA2F7bbRYJbRcwDfx4yeyY72mj1OcCIRkv-hDa7fDP3g4/s1600/imagesizer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The mysterious structure is cone shaped, made of "unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders," and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons, the researchers said. That makes it heavier than most modern-day warships.<br />Rising nearly 32 feet (10 meters) high, it has a diameter of about 230 feet (70 meters). To put that in perspective, the outer stone circle of Stonehenge has a diameter just half that with its tallest stones not reaching that height.<br />It appears to be a giant cairn, rocks piled on top of each other. Structures like this are known from elsewhere in the world and are sometimes used to mark burials. Researchers do not know if the newly discovered structure was used for this purpose.<br />The structure was first detected in the summer of 2003 during a sonar survey of the southwest portion of the sea. Divers have since been down to investigate, they write in the latest issue of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.<br /><br /><img alt="" height="120" id="bill-m--finkE3EB8A52-68F6-8329-518F-04F546340D4F.jpg" src="http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=bill-m--finkE3EB8A52-68F6-8329-518F-04F546340D4F.jpg&width=380" width="380" /><br /><div class="photo_credit">Diagram courtesy of Shmuel Marco</div><div class="photo_credit_container">Putting all the data together researchers found that the structure is cone shaped, about 230 feet (70 meters) in diameter and nearly 32 feet (10 meters) tall. It weighs an estimated 60,000 tons.</div><br />"Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 m (3.2 feet) long with no apparent construction pattern," the researchers write in their journal article. "The boulders have natural faces with no signs of cutting or chiselling. Similarly, we did not find any sign of arrangement or walls that delineate this structure."<br />They say it is definitely human-made and probably was built on land, only later to be covered by the Sea of Galilee as the water level rose. "The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is man-made and might be termed a cairn," the researchers write.<br /><strong>More than 4,000 years old?</strong>Underwater archaeological excavation is needed so scientists can find associated artifacts and determine the structure's date and purpose, the researchers said.<br />Researcher Yitzhak Paz, of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University, believes it could date back more than 4,000 years. "The more logical possibility is that it belongs to the third millennium B.C., because there are other megalithic phenomena (from that time) that are found close by," Paz told LiveScience in an interview, noting that those sites are associated with fortified settlements.<br />The researchers list several examples of megalithic structures found close to the Sea of Galilee that are more than 4,000 years-old. One example is the monumental site of Khirbet Beteiha, located some 19 miles (30 kilometers) north-east of the submerged stone structure, the researchers write. It "comprises three concentric stone circles, the largest of which is 56 m (184 feet) in diameter."<br /><strong>An ancient city</strong>If the third-millennium B.C. date idea proves correct it would put the structure about a mile to the north of a city that researchers call "Bet Yerah" or "Khirbet Kerak."<br />During the third millennium B.C. the city was one of the biggest sites in the region, Paz said. "It's the most powerful and fortified town in this region and, as a matter of fact, in the whole of Israel."<br />Archaeologist Raphael Greenberg describes it in a chapter of the book "Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant" (Eisenbrauns, 2011) as being a heavily fortified 74-acre (30 hectares) site with up to 5,000 inhabitants.<br />With paved streets and towering defenses its people were clearly well organized. "They also indicate the existence of some kind of municipal authority able to maintain public structures," Greenberg writes.<br />The research team says that, like the leaders of Bet Yerah, whoever built the newly discovered Sea of Galilee structure needed sophisticated organization and planning skills to construct it. The "effort invested in such an enterprise is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability," they write in their journal paper.<br />Paz added that "in order to build such a structure, a lot of working hours were required" in an organized community effort.<br /><strong>Future exploration</strong>Paz said that he hopes soon that an underwater archaeological expedition will set out to excavate the structure. They can search for artifacts and try to determine its date with certainty.<br />He said that the Israel Antiquities Authority has a research branch capable of excavating it. "We will try to do it in the near future, I hope, but it depends on a lot of factors."

Mysterious stone structure found beneath Sea of Galilee

A giant "monumental" stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as t...

Friday, March 15, 2013

Sherrod lawsuit tests bloggers' freedom of speech rights

Federal employee Shirley Sherrod sued the late blogger Andrew Breitbart and Larry O'Connor, one of his employees, after he posted an edited video that supposedly showed her making racist remarks. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRaE4SKHwo0iwJcKfZD6aByoXeyV6QBXJQK_BmvsFkY09jZwM47QgDV4eNn2Ndfh1AM_WMO-ftnN_OmdkGTV0uhMtTpv8vA4oRGR9D1PmG-wuAdwSAj9XPTB2T6R24YxwW6H-f92KdJhA/s1600/%2540publimetro.us.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRaE4SKHwo0iwJcKfZD6aByoXeyV6QBXJQK_BmvsFkY09jZwM47QgDV4eNn2Ndfh1AM_WMO-ftnN_OmdkGTV0uhMtTpv8vA4oRGR9D1PmG-wuAdwSAj9XPTB2T6R24YxwW6H-f92KdJhA/s1600/%2540publimetro.us.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />O'Connor is asking that the suit be tossed out.<br /><br />WASHINGTON — A colleague of the late conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart is asking a federal court of appeals to throw out a defamation case brought against him by former government employee Shirley Sherrod, saying the lawsuit violates the blogger's right to freedom of speech.<br />Sherrod was ousted from her job as an Agriculture Department rural development official in 2010 after Breitbart posted an edited video of Sherrod, who is black, supposedly making racist remarks. She sued Breitbart, his employee Larry O'Connor and an unnamed defendant for defamation and emotional distress after USDA officials asked her to resign and the video ignited a racial firestorm. Sherrod's lawyers say the unnamed defendant is the person whom they believe passed the video on to Breitbart, though the person's identity remains unknown.<br />Breitbart died unexpectedly a year ago, and his status in the case is unclear as his family does not appear to have notified the court of an estate that can be sued.<br />The case argued before the court of appeals Friday is one of the first high-profile federal lawsuits to test the freedom of speech rights of bloggers. Backed by large news organizations including the New York Times Co., Washington Post Co. and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., who have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case, O'Connor's lawyers argued to have the case dismissed under a District of Columbia statute that aims to prevent the silencing of critics through lawsuits. A federal district court judge rejected their motion to dismiss, citing timing and jurisdictional issues, prompting the appeal.<br />The lawyers told the court of appeals that O'Connor and Breitbart, before he died, stood by the content, saying the blog post was opinion.<br />"What happened here is what happens in journalism every day," said Bruce Brown, a lawyer for O'Connor.<br />Sherrod's lawyers disagree and say dismissal under the District of Columbia statute would violate their right to a trial. <br /><br /><u>The video on Breitbart's website turned out to be edited, and when Sherrod's full speech to an NAACP group earlier that year came to light, it became clear that her remarks about an initial reluctance to help a white farmer decades ago were not racist but an attempt at telling a story of racial reconciliation. Once that was obvious, Sherrod received public apologies from the administration — even from President Barack Obama himself — and an offer to return to the Agriculture Department, which she declined.</u><br /><br />Sherrod's 2011 lawsuit says the incident affected her sleep and caused her back pain. It contends that she was damaged by having her "integrity, impartiality and motivations questioned, making it difficult (if not impossible) for her to continue her life's work assisting poor farmers in rural areas" even though she was invited to return to the department.<br />The video was posted amid ongoing friction between the NAACP and the Tea Party movement, each of which were accusing the other of having racist elements among their ranks. Breitbart said at the time that the video showed the NAACP condoning racist comments from a government official.<br />The full video, however, shows Sherrod explaining to the audience how she eventually became friends with the farmer and helped him save his land from foreclosure.<br />Brown, the lawyer for O'Connor, defended the bloggers' actions and said the suit should be dismissed under the anti-SLAPP law, designed to prevent strategic lawsuits against public participation, because Breitbart's post was opinion. "She was a public official who saw the world through a racial prism," Brown said of Sherrod.<br />The case has been closely watched as a test of the District of Columbia's anti-SLAPP statute.<br />Brown asked the three judges to consider the precedent this case would have.<br />"It is in courts like this where First Amendment law is made," he said.

Sherrod lawsuit tests bloggers' freedom of speech rights

Federal employee Shirley Sherrod sued the late blogger Andrew Breitbart and Larry O'Connor, one of his employees, after he posted an edi...

Teen eyewitnesses testify at Ohio rape trial

Three teens testified Friday about the alleged sexual assault of a drunken girl after receiving immunity from prosecution.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4ttdoC3SiTIvY42oZQS7j1xAAodHK4i77cuf2S9NohOV9fDcmLYWDEffX5iL6l8BI69G7XdsjGDdQjxIST6j5MNn8uPD8xX7-IkoEG0unsRj-7FI5_0sHY0pp60qadQFkvzeL8ix1IAs/s1600/case.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4ttdoC3SiTIvY42oZQS7j1xAAodHK4i77cuf2S9NohOV9fDcmLYWDEffX5iL6l8BI69G7XdsjGDdQjxIST6j5MNn8uPD8xX7-IkoEG0unsRj-7FI5_0sHY0pp60qadQFkvzeL8ix1IAs/s1600/case.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A judge granted three teenagers immunity from prosecution Friday before they agreed to testify about the alleged sexual assault of a drunken 16-year-old girl after a party in eastern Ohio last summer.<br />Mark Cole, Evan Westlake and Anthony Craig invoked their Fifth Amendment right against testifying for fear of self-incrimination as the trial in Steubenville entered its third day. Testimony from the three is a crucial part of the state's evidence because the West Virginia girl says she doesn't remember what happened.<br />Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'Lik Richmond, 16, are charged with digitally penetrating the girl early in the morning of Aug. 12, first in a car and then in the basement of a house. Mays also is charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. The two maintain their innocence.<br />Cole testified Friday that he took a video of Mays and the girl in the car, then deleted it. Westlake testified he saw Richmond's encounter with the girl in the basement. The third boy, who has yet to testify, said at a hearing last fall that he took a photo of the alleged basement attack that he also deleted.<br />The case has riveted the small city of Steubenville amid allegations that more students should have been charged and led to questions about the influence of the local football team, a source of a pride in a community that suffered massive job losses with the collapse of the steel industry.<br />If convicted, Mays and Richmond could be held in a juvenile jail until they turn 21.<br />Cole, 17, testified that he filmed Mays digitally penetrate the girl in the car. A prosecutor asked him why he then deleted the video later that morning.<br />"It was one of those moments when you realize you did something stupid and wrong that night, so I deleted it," Cole replied.<br />Cole testified he saw Mays unsuccessfully try to have the girl perform oral sex on him later in the basement of Cole's house. Cole also testified that the alleged victim was intoxicated and slurring her words.<br />On cross-examination, defense attorney Walter Madison suggested that the alleged victim was behaving no differently than anyone else the night of the party.<br />Madison, who represents Richmond, suggested that Cole was remembering events differently because so much attention was now being paid to what happened. Cole agreed with Madison's suggestions.<br />Cole testified he saw Mays and the girl asleep under a blanket on the couch later in the morning.<br />"Did anybody behave in a way to make you think that something was wrong?" Madison asked.<br />"No," Cole said.<br />Related: Opening arguments in Ohio teen rape case<br />Westlake, the second witness granted immunity, testified that he saw Richmond digitally penetrate the girl in the basement of Cole's house.<br />"Was she moving?" special prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter asked.<br />"Not at this time," Westlake said.<br />"Was she talking?" Hemmeter asked.<br />"I didn't hear anything," Westlake said.<br />Westlake said the girl appeared to be "pretty drunk" after a large party earlier that night. But he also testified that before the alleged attack in the basement he saw Mays and the alleged victim cuddling, hugging and kissing in the back seat of Cole's car.<br />Westlake also confirmed that he filmed a 12-minute video — later passed around widely online — in which another student, Michael Nodianos, joked about the attack. Women's rights groups have demanded that Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine charge Nodianos with failure to report a crime. DeWine has so far refused to say what he'll do.<br />Westlake said he deeply regrets his actions that night.<br />Craig testified that he saw Richmond's hand in the "crotch region" of the alleged victim.<br />Craig also confirmed he received a text message from the alleged victim the next day in which she said "I remember hearing Trent's voice telling me to do something, but I said, 'No.'"<br />A 16-year-old Steubenville High School student testified that she tried to persuade the alleged victim to return with her and not stay with several students including the alleged defendants.<br />Farah Marcino said the girl brushed off her attempts. "She actually hit one of my friends and said she did not want to go back," Marcino said.<br />Also Friday, the superintendent of Steubenville city schools responded to evidence presented a day earlier that suggested Steubenville football coach Reno Saccoccia would let the players involved off lightly.<br />The coach "took care of it," Mays said in one text introduced by prosecutors.<br />"Like he was joking about it so I'm not worried," Mays said in another text.<br />McVey told The Associated Press on Friday that the district will wait until after the trial to comment. "We'll get everything down that comes out of trial, look at it and go from there," he said.<br />McVey said it's possible Saccoccia could testify at the trial since he was interviewed earlier by state investigators, who also spoke to other football coaches and McVey himself.<br />Special Judge Thomas Lipps is hearing the case without a jury.<br />The Press normally does not identify minors charged in juvenile court, but Mays and Richmond have been widely identified in news coverage, and their names have been used in open court.

Teen eyewitnesses testify at Ohio rape trial

Three teens testified Friday about the alleged sexual assault of a drunken girl after receiving immunity from prosecution. STEUBENVILLE, Ohi...

Arizona woman reviled for son's murder may go free

Debra Milke was one of the most reviled mothers around, convicted in the murder of her 4-year-old son. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBox0pamJWhBXIhMRyINSOvpFdDxZ9LT4dbIfqLld_MlWv5hef-1Gs1AuaFsooi8__AKYqCJh5tjfbOg1SPO_ZX55BrVQm8Zr5Aogf3RZlnrVFDamAVtjanMqGrih2XeE32iWGRDkNPU_I/s1600/Debra+Milke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBox0pamJWhBXIhMRyINSOvpFdDxZ9LT4dbIfqLld_MlWv5hef-1Gs1AuaFsooi8__AKYqCJh5tjfbOg1SPO_ZX55BrVQm8Zr5Aogf3RZlnrVFDamAVtjanMqGrih2XeE32iWGRDkNPU_I/s1600/Debra+Milke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />But now the Arizona woman, who has maintained her innocence from death row, could walk free after an appeals court threw out her conviction.<br /><br />PHOENIX  — Debra Milke was once one of the most reviled mothers around, convicted of dressing her 4-year-old son in his favorite outfit and sending him off to visit a mall Santa Claus with two men who shot the boy execution-style in the Arizona desert.<br />Milke said she had nothing to do with Christopher's death, but a detective testified at her 1990 trial that she had confessed to him — and him alone — in a closed interrogation room. Prosecutors said she killed her son to collect on a $50,000 insurance policy.<br />Now, Milke could walk free, leaving death row behind after a federal appeals court threw out her conviction Thursday because prosecutors had not turned over evidence of the detective's history of misconduct, including lying under oath in other cases.<br />The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel concluded that prosecutors' failure to turn over the evidence deprived Milke's attorneys of the chance to question Phoenix Police Detective Armando Saldate Jr.'s credibility before jurors.<br />And because it was the only direct evidence tying her to the killing, that fact could have swayed the jury, the panel ruled.<br />"No civilized system of justice should have to depend on such flimsy evidence, quite possibly tainted by dishonesty or overzealousness, to decide whether to take someone's life or liberty," according to the opinion by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski.<br />The ruling has raised questions about other cases in which the now-retired Saldate gave testimony.<br />The court noted four cases where judges threw out confessions or indictments because Saldate lied under oath and four instances where cases were tossed or confessions excluded because Saldate violated the suspect's constitutional rights.<br />He was also suspended for accepting sexual favors from a female motorist he stopped and then lying about the encounter, it said.<br />Saldate, who was elected to a county constable post after retiring but has now left that post, could not be reached for comment Friday.<br /><br />Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said he intends to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court and will argue it himself if they accept the case, saying the decision was the first to raise the issue after decades of court hearings.<br />"This is an outrageous crime," Horne said. "Ms. Milke was convicted of arranging for the death of her own child to improve her social life, and I hope to be able to convince the U.S. Supreme court to reverse this 9th Circuit decision."<br />Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who will be charged with deciding whether to retry Milke if the ruling stands, said Friday that he will have to review the available evidence and Saldate's credibility himself before deciding how to proceed.<br />He said there may be more evidence that wasn't used at the 1990 trial. "I want to know what the hell happened, after reading the opinion," Montgomery said. "I want to be able to review the available information and understand for myself."<br />But Montgomery said changes in the way rogue officers are monitored had changed greatly since 1990. Now, officers with credibility problems are tracked in a database so that those issues are caught early and disclosed to defense lawyers when necessary.<br />"The basic concerns that are raised in the 9th Circuit opinion, I do not believe that is anywhere near a systemic issue today," Montgomery said. "This is an instance where I need to make sure what we do is what's right rather than what's expedient."<br />Milke's appellate lawyers, Mike Kimerer and Lori Voepel, said the appeals court's decision sends a clear message to police and prosecutors who don't reveal evidence that could help people accused of crimes defend themselves.<br />"It's one of the most scathing opinions I've ever seen the 9th Circuit write, in terms of talking about the credibility of a police officer or a law enforcement official," Kimerer said. "It almost sets the standard in terms of what we need to expect from law enforcement."<br />For Milke, who has always maintained her innocence, the ruling after 23 years on death row came as a shock, Voepel said.<br />"I said, 'Debra, we have good news. We won,'" Voepel said, recalling a phone call Thursday. "And she said, 'you're kidding, you're kidding," and I tried to explain it to her and she said just give me a minute here to feel this. She's elated, to say the least."<br />Milke, 48, is one of three women on death row in the state.<br />The two men convicted in the Milke case, Roger Scott and former Milke roommate James Styers, are also on death row. Scott confessed during a police interrogation and led detectives to the boy's body. Neither Scott nor Styers testified against Milke.<br />The county attorney at the time, Rick Romley, was not so happy. "If she walks, it's a travesty of justice," Romley told KPHO-TV.<br />Christopher Milke's father, Arizona Mark Milke, was just as adamant.<br />"And they let her walk, the most guilty of the three, uh-uh," he told KPNX-TV in Phoenix. "I know she's guilty, I don't think nothing, I know. I've always known. I'm just ready to get back in that saddle, and ride back into court and let's do it again."

Arizona woman reviled for son's murder may go free

Debra Milke was one of the most reviled mothers around, convicted in the murder of her 4-year-old son. But now the Arizona woman, who has ma...

11 dead, dozens hurt in Mexico fireworks explosion

Mexican authorities report that at least 11 people died when a pickup truck carrying fireworks exploded during a village festival.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnkXbY9qAKdnbzJnzPw0aSkHKdulIIV_EwPGVFeQ-Qmwf9ezMBNgSwSRZ5qLkU2hG0ZWakAc2QRHr_gvK-yiNl_Md6y9Qrqp854TMM4yjmi3zCPrbOjwUFoJvmXWCsdsLv9xKQr30HBJh/s1600/seopublimetro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnkXbY9qAKdnbzJnzPw0aSkHKdulIIV_EwPGVFeQ-Qmwf9ezMBNgSwSRZ5qLkU2hG0ZWakAc2QRHr_gvK-yiNl_Md6y9Qrqp854TMM4yjmi3zCPrbOjwUFoJvmXWCsdsLv9xKQr30HBJh/s1600/seopublimetro.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />MEXICO CITY – A truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in a rural village in central Mexico on Friday, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.<br />The blast was set off when a firework malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried, officials said. Seventy people were burned or had other injuries, and at least 45 were taken to hospitals, authorities in the neighboring states of Tlaxcala and Puebla said.<br />"They were in a procession, they were shooting off rockets and it exploded and fell onto the other ones," said Jose Mateo Morales, director of the Tlaxcala state civil protection department. "It was very serious."<br />Human remains and burned clothes were spread around a 100-yard radius, including on rooftops, a photographer at the scene said.<br />The victims were marching in an annual procession in honor of Jesus Christ, the patron saint of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people, Mateo Morales said.<br />At least one child was among the victims, Tlaxcala Gov. Mariano Gonzalez said.<br />Helicopters, dozens of ambulances and soldiers from the area's military base rushed to the village, about 70 miles east of Mexico City.<br />Tlaxcala Bishop Francisco Moreno said he toured the scene of the blast and went to hospitals to visit the wounded. "I blessed all who died and said a prayer for them," the bishop said in his Twitter account.<br />Fireworks are a typical feature of Mexican holidays and religious celebrations but they often are manufactured, stored and transported under unsafe conditions, and the country sees periodic fatal explosions.<br />Jesus Tepactepec is known for its handicrafts manufacturing, including baskets and wood figures, and its annual religious celebration draws artisans from nearby towns who come to sell their wares.

11 dead, dozens hurt in Mexico fireworks explosion

Mexican authorities report that at least 11 people died when a pickup truck carrying fireworks exploded during a village festival. MEXICO CI...

US senator reverses gay-marriage stance after son’s coming out

Conservative US senator Rob Portman of Ohio said in an opinion piece published Friday that he had dropped his opposition to gay marriage after finding out that his own son was gay. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbg15YOSQUVb1E2-hxrvgD2bQ44TXY2fVvncO3wiYkWlnNp8yjWnwj-xrJj3EF06bw7nFrLQIs37cf4KsrcYNN-ClaRXSOnUOH-siKGluFfCI7nkUvq_EZdtmdoblYskRXCdRiF-TnkSpk/s1600/a1.jpg" width="640" /></div><br />Portman is now the only Senate Republican supporting gay marriage.<br /><br />A conservative U.S. Senator once opposed to gay marriage is now supporting it after learning one of his sons is gay.<br />Sen. Rob Portman disclosed his change of heart in interviews with several Ohio newspapers and CNN. In an op-ed published Friday in The Columbus Dispatch he said the decision came after a lot of thought.<br />“I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,” he wrote.<br />As a member of the House in 1996, Portman voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage.<br />Portman’s reversal makes him the only Senate Republican to back gay marriage.<br />Portman said his views on gay marriage began changing in 2011 when his son, Will, then a freshman at Yale University, told his parents he was gay and that it wasn’t a choice but “part of who he was.” Portman said he and his wife, Jane, were very surprised but also supportive.<br />He said it prompted him to reconsider gay marriage from a different perspective, that of a father who wants all three of his children to have happy lives with people they love.<br />Portman told reporters Thursday that his previous views on marriage were rooted in his Methodist faith.<br />“Ultimately, for me, it came down to the Bible’s overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God,” he wrote.<br />The well-known Ohio conservative, a former U.S. trade representative and White House budget chief, was considered but not chosen as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate. Portman told the newspapers Romney was informed about Will’s sexuality last year.<br />Portman’s reversal comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments this month in a challenge to a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act.

US senator reverses gay-marriage stance after son’s coming out

Conservative US senator Rob Portman of Ohio said in an opinion piece published Friday that he had dropped his opposition to gay marriage aft...

Thomson Reuters suspends employee accused of aiding hackers

Thomson Reuters Corp. suspended with pay a deputy social media editor for Reuters.com who has been indicted on charges he aided members of the Anonymous hacking collective, a company spokesman said on Friday.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWe53qzMfa2Qgi1deNZByXBQW5W2KufL2q6B2XQ_ITTMF0E1udcnYyEaRuo9_JvWXoLVQpxU029JPY1WXR6nlVIMhxZSj9KwNKLI8eJaSavY6d_g3gSkPzyIeGCoDQPbvyE2hjdRN9GV4/s1600/Matthew+Keys.jpg" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staff                     / Reuters             <div class="caption">Matthew Keys, deputy social media editor for Reuters.com, is seen in his online profile in this undated photo. </div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Matthew Keys, 26, was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, Calif., on three criminal counts. The alleged events occurred before he joined Thomson Reuters, the indictment indicated.<br /><br />New York attorney Tor Ekeland said that he has been hired to represent Keys and that his client "maintains his innocence."<br />Ekeland said that he is assembling a legal team and that Keys "looks forward to contesting these baseless charges."<br />On Friday, Keys exchanged tweets with some well-wishers on Twitter, telling one of them: "I'm okay."<br />Thomson Reuters spokesman David Girardin confirmed Keys' suspension on Friday but declined additional comment. Keys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br />The indictment accused Keys of giving hackers access to Tribune Co. computer systems in December 2010. A story on the Tribune's Los Angeles Times website was soon altered by one of those hackers, the indictment said.<br />Court filings said Keys had worked for a Tribune-owned television station in Sacramento, operating its Twitter and Facebook feeds. A Federal Bureau of Investigation agent said in a search warrant application that a former colleague told the agency that Keys had been terminated in October 2010.<br />Keys joined Reuters in New York in January 2012. As deputy social media editor, he promoted stories through Twitter and other means. He lives in Secaucus, New Jersey, the Justice Department said.<br />Keys wrote on a personal blog and on a Reuters blog that he had previously obtained access to an elite group of hackers, including one known as Sabu. Sabu, later identified as Hector Xavier Monsegur, became an informant, court records show. Monsegur was publicly identified last year and has pleaded guilty to participating in multiple hacking conspiracies. He is awaiting sentencing.<br />Ekeland represented alleged AT&T iPad email hacker Andrew Auernheimer, aka "Weev," who was convicted last November on hacking conspiracy and identity fraud charges.<br />Keys is scheduled to be arraigned on April 12 in Sacramento, according to the court docket.<br />The case in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, is United States of America v. Matthew Keys, 13-82. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpmtF-XXXFF47LgNPTpS-tN3MrhUlnQM4j8sVlOLvU4BDORHMRcFmompbzaf_DJwkKZF-Srq-GUvkaKyBgKizrRgvfz65bkj97F2-7REtrxcjzAd_lhfAzYlSIcOkA_orjcDKHE0nEljQ/s1600/anon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpmtF-XXXFF47LgNPTpS-tN3MrhUlnQM4j8sVlOLvU4BDORHMRcFmompbzaf_DJwkKZF-Srq-GUvkaKyBgKizrRgvfz65bkj97F2-7REtrxcjzAd_lhfAzYlSIcOkA_orjcDKHE0nEljQ/s1600/anon.png" width="320" /></a></div>

Thomson Reuters suspends employee accused of aiding hackers

Thomson Reuters Corp. suspended with pay a deputy social media editor for Reuters.com who has been indicted on charges he aided members of t...

MLB allows Asian interpreters on mound, but what about Latino?

<div class="abs">Only people who are employed full time by an MLB team are allowed on the field. While Asian interpreters are routine, most teams don't yet have a Latino translator.</div><div class="abs"> </div><section><div class="first" data-class="float1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0odp0kTk7ZDaUa5UoDvTndQp5hIcnEwHSI0hF6RJo9GBF1A1U6GggRPMvrsNR77lakkmUHLZ_WMm5bqXeMF5Vktll_G5YwSNupZzDAK_4fpRR-ckw6w3QASSpaGFWtcZsSWdaxX0N0CCA/s1600/mlb.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /></div><div><div data-class="abs">TAMPA, Fla. — There were times in the low minors when Mariano Rivera felt totally lost on the mound. That was, before he got a good grasp of his cut fastball — and English.   "The manager or coach would tell me something and I didn't understand them," the New York Yankees' closer said. "You nod your head yes, but you have no idea what they are saying."<br />Major League Baseball is trying to ease the language barrier, adopting a new rule that permits interpreters to join mound conferences when pitchers aren't fluent in English.<br />Yet for Latino pitchers, something still might get lost in translation.<br />As it stands, only people employed full time as interpreters can accompany managers and pitching coaches onto the field. And right now most, if not all, are for Asian players. Yu Darvish and Hiroki Kuroda, for example, are routinely provided translators by their teams. But Spanish-speaking players mostly rely on bilingual teammates or coaches to help them, be it on the mound, in the field or in the clubhouse.<br />The reasoning is that Asian players go directly from overseas teams to the majors without time to pick up English in the minors. Also, most linguists consider the transition to be more difficult than it is for Latino players.<br />"It's kind of the same and it's kind of different," Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters said. "For the most part, a lot of the Latin guys that are in the big leagues have been through the minor leagues, have had years of experience in the minor leagues to develop a relationship. Some of the Asian pitchers come over here and it's their first year over here and they haven't had that sort of adjustment time. It's up for debate."<br />Baltimore pitcher Wei-Yin Chen said through Orioles translator Tim Lin that, above all, the rule should be fair.<br />"If I can bring my interpreter, Spanish players should bring their interpreter, too," he said.<br />Rivera agreed.<br />"Yes, that should be allowed," the all-time saves leader said. "Somebody on the team should be allowed to translate for them."<br />Added Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington: "There's validity in exploring that idea."<br />The new rule has already been used by the Chicago Cubs in spring training and will extend into the regular season, which begins March 31. It was approved in January at the owners' meeting and later OK'd by the players' union. Pro baseball in Japan already had such a provision. Translators will be dressed like trainers — in sportswear (shirt and long pants), rather than uniforms or street clothes, and be available on the bench.<br />On opening day last year, more than 28 percent of players on big league rosters were born outside the 50 United States, including more than 200 from Hispanic countries.<br />Of course, any club is welcome to hire a Latino interpreter. A team without one could eventually get some leeway with the new rule.<br />"Well, I think there's going to be a designated interpreter for each club, and I don't think it's going to be a coach," MLB executive Joe Torre said Thursday before managing the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic.<br />"Hopefully, it's going to work well," he said. "Obviously, until we see it happen, we're not going to know for sure. But I think in Major League Baseball we're making an effort to try to make the game better and move along better. With so many international players, to me it made sense."<br />Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is from the Dominican Republic and has focused on perfecting English since becoming a pro. He gladly does interviews in his second language.<br />"Most teams, they don't have interpreters for Latin guys," he said. "It's very hard for Latin players if they don't learn English. I tell that to the young players. You've got to learn."<br />Former A's pitcher Ariel Prieto works full time for Oakland as an interpreter for Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes and former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon. But that's not a common practice among teams.<br />"You as a club choose whether or not to have an interpreter on staff. You can have two, one for Asian players and one for Latin players and have them on your bench. They would have to be employed for that position," Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We don't have the necessity because we have so many bilingual players, but if we didn't, we would get an interpreter because you need to be able to communicate properly."<br />Many teams provide English classes for their minor leaguers, and players from other countries are encouraged by club management and teammates to learn the language.<br />"I tell our young pitchers that the more they know English, the more it will help them on the field and off the field," Rivera said.<br />"You have to know exactly what they're telling you, how they want you to pitch and what they want you to throw. If you are not 100 percent sure, that's no good. It has to be 100 percent," he said.<br />On the Yankees, second baseman Robinson Cano frequently is the go-between for Spanish-speaking pitchers during mound summits — a luxury not enjoyed by most teams. .<br />"Yes, I think someone should be able to translate for them. If it's a coach or teammate, it's someone on the same team," Kuroda said through Yankees interpreter Jiwon Bang.<br />Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, currently managing the Dominican team in the WBC, liked the idea.<br />"Most of the time we want that communication during the game, and I think it's great because some of those kids sometimes, sometimes they feel lost. And we want to be on the same page as much as possible," he said.<br />Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said he's never had trouble getting his message across. Yet Philadelphia catcher Erik Kratz is ready to help any Hispanic pitchers, if necessary.<br />In the minors, Kratz made an effort to learn Spanish "in a conversational way, and in the baseball sense," he said. He might need it — catcher Carlos Ruiz is suspended 25 games to start the season.<br />Kratz likes the new rule, and could see it evolving.<br />"As players, as a union, we're trying to get it right," he said. "The first time on anything, you might need to tweak it."</div></div></section>

MLB allows Asian interpreters on mound, but what about Latino?

Only people who are employed full time by an MLB team are allowed on the field. While Asian interpreters are routine, most teams don't y...

Rocky's house in South Philly on sale for $139,000

<div class="abs">In "Rocky II," Sylvester Stallone's title character buys a South Philadelphia house after losing a bout. This home is now on the real estate market.</div><div class="abs"> </div><section><div class="first" data-class="float1"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIF8qCGP6GJuqkfsSeCibkhczDo_twgHci5AhTMkoWDUB84D-MeqCQ21ZWtAGI4NQNrZykoWUbrw-IVkC6T4hDP5cQ1Wzs7ojkifHZJVqw99JCeEwaa9lyWV_h_AFyy_JfnrAdidG3UfBS/s1600/rocky.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /></div>PHILADELPHIA— Want to live like Rocky Balboa? The Italian Stallion's house is on the market.<br />The home in South Philadelphia was featured in the 1979 movie "Rocky II." In the sequel to the Oscar-winning smash, the fictional boxer played by Sylvester Stallone buys the house after he loses a bout to Apollo Creed but gains fame.<br />The 1,036-square-foot row house has three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms. Asking price: $139,000.<br /><br />Real estate agent Joe Bianco says the home is for sale because the woman who lived there since the time of filming recently died.<br />He says the house was picked for "Rocky II" because the filmmakers "happened to like the front of the home and knocked on the door."<br /> </section>

Rocky's house in South Philly on sale for $139,000

In "Rocky II," Sylvester Stallone's title character buys a South Philadelphia house after losing a bout. This home is now on t...

Poll: Christie most competitive Republican vs. Dem for 2016 race

<div class="abs">A new poll finds New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the Republican who currently does the best in potential matchups with Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential race.</div><div class="abs"> </div><section><div class="first" data-class="float2"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxyGkWl1oT1jUZuOxAIj1yoLYWp0fWm0u0SJCUbLlYraIKil7kKOmsbSuFcxQF_Qs7QVHP11VdAEXKIher2vh73R9aMPA6Y-NciW0MluDYxNSVCSKZ6-CJFWS_D3nBZ9YWWFdze3yQ-P1/s1600/christie.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /></div>WASHINGTON — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the Republican best placed to compete against potential Democratic presidential candidates, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday that also underscored Democrat Hillary Clinton's strength should she run.<br />As Republicans gather in the Washington area this weekend to ponder their future after losing the 2012 presidential race, the poll showed how far the party has to go to regain its footing and be competitive at the national level again.<br />The online survey found that Christie is preferred narrowly when matched up against Vice President Joe Biden, 34 percent to 33 percent, and Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 36 percent to 32 percent.<br />Against Clinton, however, Christie fares far worse. The former secretary of state leads by 48 percent to 28 percent.<br />The brash, portly New Jersey governor has not said whether he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.<br /><br />A moderate who was criticized by some Republicans for praising President Barack Obama's response to Superstorm Sandy last year, Christie was not invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week.<br />"Christie is really the only one in the head-to-heads who gains any ground against the Democratic candidates — not against Clinton, who seems to be the favorite, although we are so far out that these numbers are very soft," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.<br />Among possible Republican candidates, the leader of the 2016 pack is Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee and 2012 vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney.<br />Ryan has been in the news lately for proposing a budget blueprint that would make deep cuts in government spending as a way to balance the U.S. budget in 10 years. The Obama White House has denounced the Ryan budget as draconian.<br />When Republican and independent voters were asked about which Republican they would vote for in 2016, Ryan took a 22 percent share. Sixteen percent said Christie and 14 percent backed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is not believed to be running in 2016 at this stage.<br />Rounding out the field were Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 9 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 6 percent and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal at 3 percent.<br /><strong>CLINTON VERY STRONG</strong><br />The poll showed just how strong Clinton's name recognition is less than two months after the former first lady ended her four years as secretary of state.<br />Clinton leads the Democratic field at 51 percent, far outpacing Biden, who was at 12 percent. She leads all potential Republican challengers by wide margins.<br />Cuomo, who is said to be considering a run, is way back at 4 percent, as is Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker (4 percent), Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (2 percent), Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (1 percent) and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (1 percent).<br />Clinton has said she wants some time off to rest after her grueling global travel schedule and consider her next move. Medical issues, including a blood clot in her head, complicated the final weeks of her time at the State Department.<br />A surprisingly strong showing in the poll came from Rice, who was secretary of state for Republican President George W. Bush. She was a well-received speaker at last year's Republican National Convention.<br />The poll found that she was viewed favorably by 71 percent of Americans, including 80 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents.<br />The survey said 29 percent have an unfavorable view of Rice, who last year was accepted as one of the first women to join the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia where the Masters tournament is played.<br />For the survey, 1,224 Americans aged 18 and over were interviewed online, including 511 Democrats, 447 Republicans and 162 independents.<br />The precision of the Reuters/Ipsos poll is measured by a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for all, 4.9 percentage points for Democrats, 5.3 percentage points for Republicans, and 8.8 percentage points for independents.</section>

Poll: Christie most competitive Republican vs. Dem for 2016 race

A new poll finds New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the Republican who currently does the best in potential matchups with Democratic candidat...