Texas DA slain in his home; had armed himself

This undated photo taken from the Kaufman County, Texas, website shows Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland. McLelland and his wife were found killed in their house, Saturday, March 30, 2013, two months after one of his assistants was gunned down near their office, authorities said. (AP Photo/Kaufman County)

This undated photo taken from the Kaufman County, Texas, website shows Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland. McLelland and his wife were found killed in their house, Saturday, March 30, 2013, two months after one of his assistants was gunned down near their office, authorities said. (AP Photo/Kaufman County)

File- This Jan. 31, 2013 file photo shows David Byrnes, Sheriff of Kaufman County, right, bowing his head as Mike McLelland, District Attorney of Kaufman County answers questions at a news conference at the Kaufman Law Enforcement Center in Kaufman, Texas. McLelland and his wife where found dead in their home Saturday March 30, 2013. Authorities are investigating. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, David Woo, File )

In this Saturday, March 30, 2013 photo, authorities work in the middle of Blarney Stone Way where Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and wife Cynthia McLelland were found dead in their home in Forney, Texas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Ian C. Bates) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; AP MEMBERS ONLY

In this Saturday, March 30, 2013 photo, caution tape surrounds the home of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and wife Cynthia McLelland who were found dead in their home near Forney, Texas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Ian C. Bates) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; AP MEMBERS ONLY

In this Saturday, March 30, 2013 photo, police block off Blarney Stone Road in Forney, Texas, where Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and wife Cynthia McLelland were found dead in their home near Forney, Texas. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Ian C. Bates) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; AP MEMBERS ONLY

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) ? Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland took no chances after one of his assistant prosecutors was assassinated two months ago. McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere he went and took extra care when answering the door at his home.

"I'm ahead of everybody else because, basically, I'm a soldier," the 23-year Army veteran boasted in an interview less than two weeks ago.

On Saturday, he and his wife were found dead in their home just outside the town of Forney, about 20 miles from Dallas, killed in an attack for which authorities have given no motive.

"Everybody's a little on edge and a little shocked," Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said. "It appears this was not a random act."

The killings came less than two weeks after Colorado's prison chief was gunned down at his front door by a white-supremacist ex-convict, and two months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot to death in a parking lot a block from his office Jan. 31. No arrests have been made in Hasse's slaying.

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes confirmed Sunday that the McLellands had been shot. As for whether their deaths were related to Hasse's slaying, Byrnes said there was nothing to indicate that "for sure," but declined to discuss it further during a news conference.

McLelland himself, in an Associated Press interview, raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang. McLelland, elected DA in 2010, said that Hasse hadn't prosecuted any cases against white supremacists but that his office had handled several, and those gangs had a strong presence in the area.

"We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," McLelland said after Colorado's corrections director, Tom Clements, was shot to death March 19 when he answered the doorbell.

Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said recently the FBI was checking to see if Hasse's killing could be related to Clements'. Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist who authorities believe killed Clements, died in a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies about 100 miles from Kaufman.

McLelland, 63, said after Hasse's slaying that he carried a gun everywhere he went, even to walk his dog. He figured that was where assassins were more likely to try to get him. He said he had warned all his employees to be constantly on the alert.

"The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it," he said of the danger, "because they're going to need it more in the future."

The number of attacks on prosecutors, judges and senior law enforcement officers in the U.S. has spiked in the past three years, according to Glenn McGovern, an investigator with the Santa Clara County, Calif., District Attorney's Office who tracks such cases.

But they're still rare. McLelland is the 13th prosecutor in the U.S. that the National Association of District Attorneys has recorded killed since the organization began keeping track in the 1960s.

For about a month after Hasse's slaying, sheriff's deputies were parked in the district attorney's driveway, said Sam Rosander, a McLelland neighbor.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation into the McLellands' deaths.

McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were the parents of two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas. The couple had moved into the home a few years ago, Rozell said.

"Real friendly, became part of our community quickly," Rozell said. "They were a really pleasant happy couple."

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Associated Press writers Michael Graczyk in Houston, Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth and Peter Banda and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-31-District%20Attorney%20Dead-Texas/id-17043b57ad934c5b865c35ef4c4a09a7

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Kelly: Gun checks need mental health component

FILE - In a Jan. 30, 2013 file photo Mark Kelly testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The daughter of former astronaut Mark Kelly was walking her dog Shiner on Goff Island Beach when the dog bolted, ripping the leash from her hand and fatally attacking a beached baby sea lion Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

FILE - In a Jan. 30, 2013 file photo Mark Kelly testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. The daughter of former astronaut Mark Kelly was walking her dog Shiner on Goff Island Beach when the dog bolted, ripping the leash from her hand and fatally attacking a beached baby sea lion Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Gun control activist Mark Kelly says a proposed national gun background bill under discussion in the Senate should include better access to mental health records that could prevent psychologically disturbed people from obtaining guns.

Kelly, a former astronaut and husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said Sunday that the suspect accused of severely wounding his wife could not have bought the guns he wielded if a background check had exposed his mental problems.

Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to shooting Giffords and killing six people in Tucson in January 2011. Case records released last week showed Loughner passed a background check despite evidence of his agitated mental state.

Kelly pressed for the proposed background check law in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-31-Gun%20Control-Mark%20Kelly/id-e33a7fdbd9cf45e0b37bee5e52b7da24

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Filmmaker who rescued Romanian orphans is killed - Charlotte ...

ENCINITAS, Calif. A documentary filmmaker known for helping rescue children from squalid Romanian orphanages in the early 1990s was fatally shot following a dispute over the trimming of shrubbery outside his Southern California home, officials said Friday.

John Charles Upton Jr., 56, was found dead Thursday on a dirt path in the yard of his Encinitas home, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said. Michael Vilkin, 61, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and was being held without bail, pending arraignment Tuesday, authorities said.

Upton, after learning of the plight of Romanian orphans, publicized the brutal conditions and was instrumental in bringing an estimated two dozen orphans to America for medical care and adoption.

Vilkin, in an interview conducted in county jail, told KGTV in San Diego he fired gunshots in self-defense after Upton menaced him with a gun during a dispute over foliage.

Vilkin said he owns vacant property next to Upton's home, and the two men had a disagreement over trimming shrubs.

"I did not go to him," Vilkin told the station. "He came to me threatening and pulled a gun (on) me."

Upton's brother, Michael Upton, told U-T San Diego that his brother and Vilkin previously argued about trees.

Upton's work in Romania also gained the attention of influential activists, inspiring billionaire philanthropist Richard Branson and actress Jessica Lange to help rescue youngsters from Romania.

Upton went on to create an online network of films about charitable causes.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/03/29/3948632/filmmaker-who-rescued-romanian.html

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Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Business and labor groups moved close Friday to resolving a dispute over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to stall negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate, officials said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining.

The talks stalled late last week amid a dispute over wages for workers in the new program, and senators left town for a two-week recess with the issue in limbo. Finger-pointing erupted between the AFL and the chamber, with each side accusing the other of trying to sink immigration reform, leaving prospects for a resolution unclear.

But talks resumed this week, and now officials from both sides indicate the wage issue has been largely resolved. An agreement would likely clear the way for a bipartisan group of senators to unveil legislation the week of April 8 to dramatically overhaul the U.S. immigration system, strengthening the border and cracking down on employers as well as remaking the legal immigration system and providing a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

The new visa program would bring up to 200,000 lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The number of visas would fluctuate according to demand, and the workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs workers can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship.

The new visas would cover dozens of professions such as long-term care workers and hotel and hospitality employees. Currently there's no good way for employers to bring many such workers to the U.S.; an existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

Officials with the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce said there's an agreement for workers to get paid prevailing wages for the industry they're working in. The labor organization had accused the chamber of trying to pay workers in the new program poverty-level wages, something the chamber disputed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-29-Immigration/id-97eaf0e45ae449849cfe2427e6757668

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University of Washington to Offer Its First Ever Online-Only Degree ...

I'm all for exploring innovative ways to extend affordable access to quality higher education, especially for students who find their vocation in low-paying (if much needed) professions. But I'm really not confident that online-only degrees are they way to go.

The University of Washington will offer a new low-cost online bachelor?s degree completion program in early childhood and family studies. Pending final approval, the program will start in the fall.

[...] The Early Childhood and Family Studies degree, which is the first online-only bachelor?s completion program to be offered by the UW, will prepare individuals to work in child care, preschools, social and mental health services, parent and family support, and arts organizations.

So, um, the UW's first ever online-only bachelor's degree will be granted in program training people in a profession that consists mostly of face-to-face interpersonal interaction? I mean, if distance learning is so magical, why train preschool teachers at all? Wouldn't it be cheaper and more effective to just hand all the toddlers iPads and let them teach themselves?

The UW online degree costs $160 per credit ? which is about equivalent to $7,000 for a year of full-time study ? regardless of where students live.

No doubt that's cheaper, sure. But in every sense of the word. And it's not just the students (and their students) who might not get the value out of this that they expect. If the UW is selling a degree for $7,000 a year (and with relaxed admission requirements), won't that devalue the degrees of students paying almost twice the price? Top schools like the UW stand to cheapen their brand if they're not careful.

The program will be administered by UW Educational Outreach, which received a Next Generation Learning Challenges grant partially funded by the Gates Foundation, to help offset costs of developing the degree. The grant includes offering several core classes in early childhood education free to the public, as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the Coursera platform.

What a great humanitarian Bill Gates is, promoting education reforms that in no way generate profits for the industry on which he built his fortune. (But then, all those libraries Andrew Carnegie built sure did use a lot of steel, so I guess I shouldn't be too cynical.)

I don't mean to come off as a Luddite. There's a place in higher education for online learning. But let's be clear: The main advantage of MOOCs is that they're cheaper. Not better, or for the most part, not even just as good. Just cheaper.

And if our public policy solution to the crisis in higher education funding is focused on making college cheaper, well, in the end, chances are we'll get what we pay for.

Source: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/29/university-of-washington-to-offer-its-first-online-only-degree

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Eva Mendes Needs to Stare at Ryan Gosling's Face More

Let's be honest: We make a point of looking at Ryan Gosling as much as possible. Whether he's on the red carpet, the big screen or sitting right in front of us, it's easy to get lost staring at his handsome face. That's why we've noticed that Gosling's character in The Place Beyond The Pines has a dagger tattoo dripping a drop of blood right below his left eye.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/eva-mendes-needs-stare-ryan-goslings-face-more/1-a-531223?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aeva-mendes-needs-stare-ryan-goslings-face-more-531223

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Former US soldier accused of fighting with al Qaeda group in Syria

via YouTube

Video of US Army veteran Eric Harroun filming militants celebrating a crashed helicopter was cited in the FBI affadavit. This clip has not been edited or verified by NBC News.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

A former U.S. soldier has been charged with fighting with an al Qaeda group in Syria after allegedly posting photographs of himself posing with military hardware on the internet, officials said in a statement.

Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, Ariz., was accused of using a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, an alias of al Qaeda in Iraq, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney?s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia.

?Harroun, a U.S. citizen who served with the U. S. Army from 2000 to 2003, was charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to use a destructive device outside of the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted,? the statement said.

?According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Harroun allegedly crossed into Syria in January 2013 and fought with members of the al-Nusrah Front against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria,? it added. ?The affidavit alleges that Harroun was trained to use an RPG by members of the terrorist organization and that he fired an RPG and posted online multiple photographs of himself carrying or posing with RPGs and other military weapons.?

?Harroun allegedly participated in attacks led by the al-Nusrah Front and was part of an RPG team, for which he carried anti-personnel and anti-armor rockets,? it said.

600 terrorist attacks
Al Qaeda in Iraq has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization since October 2004.

?The al-Nusrah Front is one of several aliases used by the 'al Qa?ida in Iraq' terrorist organization, and since November 2011 the group has claimed responsibility for nearly 600 terrorist attacks in Syria,? the statement said.

U.S. officials have called for Assad to step down in Syria and have offered non-lethal support to the rebels, but there is concern about militant groups like al Qaeda affiliates fighting alongside other rebel forces.

Israel fears al Qaeda elements will establish themselves close to the border and threaten to fire chemical weapons and long-range rockets captured from the Syrian army into Israel.

The statement said Harroun appeared in a federal court in Alexandria, Va., Thursday.

Harroun was arrested on Wednesday upon returning to the United States at an airport outside Washington, Reuters said. He has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

He was medically discharged from the army after being injured in a car accident, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, Reuters reported.

The criminal charge of "conspiring to use a destructive device outside of the United States" carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Harroun appeared in two videos that indicated he was engaged in military action with rebel forces against the Syrian government, Reuters reported. In one video, he said: "Bashar al-Assad, your days are numbered. ... Where(ever) you go we will find you and kill you," according to the affidavit.

In March, the FBI conducted three voluntary interviews of Harroun at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, during which he stated that he wanted to fight with the Free Syrian Army against the Assad regime, the affidavit added.

Harroun allegedly told the FBI that during his fighting in Syria he shot about 10 people but did not know whether he killed any of them, the affidavit said, according to Reuters. He also said he hated al Qaeda and did not know any al Qaeda members, the affidavit said. On Wednesday in the United States, the FBI conducted another voluntary interview during which Harroun allegedly said that he knew the al-Nusrah Front had been designated a terrorist organization, according to the affidavit.

The U.S. Attorney's office said a lawyer would be appointed for Harroun, Reuters reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Syrian rebels ask US to shoot down Assad's warplanes with Patriot missiles

Arab nations set to declare the right to arm Syrian rebels

Syria chaos looms large over Obama's Israel trip

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a1fb2fb/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C290C175126340Eformer0Eus0Esoldier0Eaccused0Eof0Efighting0Ewith0Eal0Eqaeda0Egroup0Ein0Esyria0Dlite/story01.htm

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Same Sex Marriage before the US Supreme Court - The People's Law

I want to begin this piece by plainly stating that I stand in support of same sex marriage and in opposition to any law or practice that discriminates against anyone based upon their race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

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This week the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal statute that limits the federal government?s recognition of marriage to one man and one woman.? The petitioners in the case argue that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it denies same sex partners equal protection under the law and infringes upon the fundamental civil right to marriage.?? After witnessing two days of legal oral argument many court watchers are predicting that the Defense of Marriage Act will be found unconstitutional, not on equal protection grounds, but on the basis of the 10^th Amendment by finding that it intrudes too far upon the ability of the individual states to legislate marriage within their borders.? Such a ruling would allow the Supreme Court to avoid deciding the issue of Constitutional protections for same sex relationships.? It is a time-honored tradition by the Supreme Court that if it can avoid deciding an issue, it will.

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A decision based upon 10^th Amendment grounds would basically toss the issue back to each state to decide. It would continue the status quo of relationships that have the force of law in one state but are completely disregarded in another. The ruling may also allow same sex marriages to be recognized for the tax purposes and federal benefits, even when that marriage is not recognized by a particular state.? This outcome could become even more complicated in situations where a state administers a federal program such as social security disability claims. ??In theory I think that the full faith and credit clause contained in Article 4, section 1 of the Constitution obligates states to recognize all legal marriages in the state where the marriage took place.? Thus, even a state that refuses to legalize same sex marriages might be required to recognize a same sex marriage performed in another state.? However, I suspect that the reality will be that states where same sex marriages are not legal will continue to refuse to recognize those marriages.

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If, as many expect, this issue is returned to the States, I do not expect Florida to take a leadership role in the legalization of same sex marriage.?? Historically, Florida has brought up the rear regarding issues of civil and human rights.?? Our schools were among the last in the nation to desegregate.? We lead the nation when it comes to incarcerating children in adult prison, often sending more children to prison than all other states in the nation combined. ??Married women in Florida were denied the right to contract until 1943.? In 2008 the Florida Constitution was amended to limit the State?s recognition of marriage to one man and one woman.?? Not only does this amendment preclude the State of Florida from giving legal status to same sex marriage, it also serves to preclude recognition of civil unions or any equivalent to marriage.

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During the oral arguments Justice Scalia, as is his habit, drew the argument back to the founding fathers and their vision of the nation.? For Justice Scalia the Constitution appears to be constrained by an 18^th century world-view of morality and justice.? However, we live in a complex technological society that could hardly have been envisioned by our founding fathers.? Our experiences over the 225 years since our Constitution was first ratified have deepened our understanding of justice and human rights.? This growth and change is reflected in our Constitution with the addition of amendments such as the 14^th Amendment containing the Equal Protection Clause, which was added in 1868, following the civil war.? It was under the equal protection clause that the US Supreme Court decided the case of Loving vs. Virginia in which the Court ruled that restricting marriage based upon racial classifications violated the equal protection clause of the 14^th Amendment, thus making laws restricting inter-racial marriages unconstitutional.

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One does need to be concerned that, if the Supreme Court rules only on 10^th Amendment grounds, the Court could be opening the door to weakening the decision in Loving vs. Virginia.? It is important to note that the State of Virginia raised the 10^th Amendment argument in defense of its law against inter-racial marriage. The Court rejected this argument by finding that the right to marry is a fundamental civil right and that a state cannot deprive a person of such a right absent due process and a compelling state interest.? However, the Court now finds that it should defer to the individual states based upon 10^th Amendment grounds, one has to wonder if states could return to outlawing inter-racial marriages?

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It is important to keep all this in perspective.? Social change is often an erratic and conflicted process.? When I was a child growing up in the 1970?s the very idea of same-sex marriage being legal in our state or country was almost inconceivable.? Today that has changed and homophobia is no longer widely tolerated in our society.? Hopefully, one day soon all people in our State and throughout our nation can have the right to have legal recognition of their relationships and families.

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About Law Office of David H. Abrams

David H. Abrams allies himself with individuals and families in order to create opportunities for access to social and economic justice through the transparent, ethical, and analytical practice of bankruptcy, consumer rights, and social security disability law. David has gained reputation as a leader in the practice of bankruptcy law (Chapter 7 and 13), Social Security Disability law, guardianship and Elder care law, debt relief, and consumer protection law through diligent work, scholarship, and constant innovation. He is a frequent and sought after speaker on issues of law as it applies to the economic lives of individuals and families. He possesses an uncompromising commitment to helping his clients navigate the challenges and transitions en route to new beginnings. David will seek to make himself your most valuable advocate by providing exemplary and affordable legal counsel and advocacy. He has followed his heart and principles in creating a culture of empathy, courtesy, and integrity. Call him today to find out how he may be able help, as the first consultation is always free. Phone: 850.224.7653 http://dhabramslaw.com/

Source: http://bigbendbankruptcy.com/2013/03/29/same-sex-marriage-before-the-us-supreme-court/

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Facebook to hold Android event Thursday

NEW YORK (AP) ? Facebook has invited journalists to the unveiling of what it calls its "new home on Android."

Next Thursday's event will take place at the company's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters. Facebook isn't providing further details. There has been speculation about a "Facebook phone" for a few years. Facebook has long said it would not make its own phone. Rather, such a phone would likely integrate Facebook deeper into the phone's software.

Citing unnamed sources, the tech blog TechCrunch says Facebook Inc. will launch a modified version of Android that embeds Facebook deeply into the operating system, on a phone made by HTC Corp.

A Facebook rival, Google Inc., makes the Android software that Facebook and HTC would be using under that scenario. Google makes the software available on an open-source basis, meaning others including rivals are free to adapt it for their needs. Amazon.com Inc. does just that in modifying Android to run its Kindle tablet computers.

More than half of Facebook's 1.06 billion monthly users access it on a mobile device. A deeper integration would help Facebook with its mobile aspirations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-29-Facebook-Android%20Event/id-f7909eee24a34253a262881250f5dfca

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What matters (and what doesn't) when buying a gaming desktop ...

Want to game on a PC? Buy a desktop. While notebooks have come a long way over the last decade, they are, to this day, an inherently compromised solution. Fast processors and video cards consume gobs of power and produce tons of heat, so mobile systems have to cut back on performance while packing on the pounds.

That leaves desktops to bear the weight of PC gaming. Even a modest system can put current consoles to shame and run today?s most demanding games at 1080p. Want more? You can have it. The most powerful gaming rigs are several times faster than the least powerful, and every gradation of performance between those extremes is available.

Yet, there?s more to the equation than raw horsepower. Upgradability, storage, and add-on cards also deserve thought. This guide will help you cut through the confusion and buy an amazing gaming desktop computer at a surprisingly low price.?

One size doesn?t fit all

Most gamers start with the hardware inside a computer. We?ll cover that soon enough, but, before we get there, let?s talk about the exterior.

Gaming computers now come in many shapes and sizes. There are small systems like the?Falcon Northwest Tiki, mid-size towers like the?Acer Predator,?and monoliths like the?Origin Genesis.

Small systems are, well, small. They are unobtrusive and fit where larger systems simply can?t. They?re ideal for gamers who lack a large desks or want to use the desktop in a home theater. Going small can limit future upgrade options, however, and some pint-sized PCs?make a lot of noise.

Mid towers are a good compromise and are ideal for most people. They?re small enough to fit under, on, or in a typical desk, yet large enough to offer upgradability and acceptable cooling. Flair, or lack thereof, is the only flaw. Most mid towers look like any other ho-hum desktop.

Finally, we come to the monoliths known as full towers. These are often so large that they won?t fit on top of a desk without hanging off the front or rear, and a few full towers are so tall they won?t even fit under a desk. A full tower system can also carry a slightly higher premium over a mid tower. However, full towers are easy to upgrade and can handle hardware that won?t fit in smaller PCs.

Some custom manufacturers, like Origin and CyberPower, offer a selection of cases during customization. We recommend the full tower if you can find room for it, but make sure you understand the size before buying. Otherwise, a mid tower is best. Smaller systems can be great, but are also a niche solution. You should only buy one if space is at a premium or you?re dead set on a small system for aesthetic reasons.

Start with the heart: The processor

When you buy a gaming desktop, be it a customized model from a boutique or a pre-made model from Dell or HP, the processor will be the first specification you see ? and for good reason. The processor determines how a system will perform in most software.

Your first choice will be between dual- or quad-core processors. We recommend a quad unless your budget is extremely low ($1,500 or less). A dual-core processor is often fine, but some modern games make use of additional cores and can be crippled by a dual-core CPU.

Gamers with a lot of money may be lured in by Intel?s six-core processors. These are priced at a premium and not worthwhile for gaming. We only recommend them to buyers who have absolutely no concern about a rig?s final price. The same can be said of Intel?s Extreme Edition processors.

Also, we suggest you avoid AMD. Though potentially competitive at a few price points, and boasting up to eight cores, all of the company?s processors fail to offer solid single-thread performance. That?s a problem for games because most place their heaviest load on just one or two cores.

A great GPU makes a great gaming PC

The video cards sit side-by-side with the processor in importance. This one component is entirely responsible for drawing the beautiful graphics you see onscreen. Faster video cards allow better, smoother graphics and a more immersive experience.

As a gamer, you?ll want to stay away from low-end cards. In Nvidia?s stable, this means you want to stay away from products that have a 20, 30, or 40 in their model number (like the GT 630). In AMD?s product line, you want to stay away from cards that have a 4, 5, or 6 as the second digit in the model number (like the Radeon 6670).

The price-performance sweet spot usually sits with mid-range cards like the Nvidia GTX 660 and AMD Radeon HD 7850. These can handle almost any game in 1080p with full detail. If you want to make sure that games run well, or you want to play at an even higher resolution, like 2560 x 1600, you should move up to an even more powerful card.

While shopping, you may sometimes find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different memory. More memory does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but more memory does allow a video card to handle more data before choking. We recommend at least 1GB of memory if you have a display below 1080p resolution, and at least 2GB of memory if your display is 1080p or above.

We don?t recommend multiple video cards. Though potentially quick, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential. They?re also louder and hotter than a single card.

Don?t waste money on too much RAM

Our recent review of the?Acer Predator?provided the perfect example of how marketing is sometimes placed before performance. That system, which is relatively affordable, came to us with 32GB of RAM. Thirty-two! As in 30, and then two more.

That?s insane, yet not uncommon. Why? RAM is currently inexpensive, so adding more makes a system seem powerful to uneducated consumers at minimal cost. But, don?t fall for it. The majority of games sold today will run well on a computer with only 4GB of RAM (as we proved in our?Steam Box build). For a serious gaming rig, however, 8GB is our recommendation. Anything on top of that is effectively useless.

Additional memory doesn?t make a game run more quickly; it merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 8GB should instead be put towards a component that matters.

Solid-state drives are expensive, but useful

Most computers sold today come with at least a 500GB mechanical hard drive and, in most cases, a 750GB or 1TB model. More space is better, but unused space isn?t needed, so our recommendation is simple: buy as much space as you need.

Whether or not you should buy a computer with a solid-state drive is a more difficult question. SSDs are many times more expensive than mechanical drives when measured by gigabyte-per-dollar. They also have no impact on in-game performance. Still, we recommend that you buy an SSD if you can afford one that offers over 200GB of storage. Why?: load times.

A solid-state drive is many times quicker than a mechanical drive. For games, this means a level that could take 30 seconds to load on a normal drive instead loads in 5 to 10 seconds. Games with short load times may sometimes load almost instantly.

If you do choose a solid-state drive, make sure it?s also the drive that contains the operating system. You?ll gain the benefit of quick boot times and fast operation in day-to-day use. This is also why we don?t recommend an SSD with less than 200GB of space. With Windows installed, a small drive can only contain a handful of games.?

Don?t lose money on the kitchen sink

?

After you?ve nailed down the processor, video card, RAM and hard drive you?ll start to browse through a wide selection of extras including sound cards, Ethernet adapters, additional USB ports, and more.

These extras aren?t required. Today?s motherboards ship with a built-in sound card, Ethernet adapter, and gobs of connectivity. Some even come with standard Wi-Fi. These have made peripheral cards far less of a necessity.

That doesn?t mean they?re useless, but skip it if you don?t already?know?that you need a certain add-on card for a specific reason.

Conclusion

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better??

A gaming desktop is a balancing act. No one component should dominate without bringing the others up to par, and unnecessary hardware should be axed to keep the price down. For example, a system with 32GB of RAM and a dual-core processor doesn?t make sense. The money spent on memory could be far better spent on a fast quad-core.

Restraint is required to perfect the balance. When you buy a gaming desktop, you?ll be bombarded by ads, both on manufacturer websites and elsewhere, that insist what you?really?want is a fancy Ethernet card that allegedly improves multiplayer games, or a triple-GPU rig, or a computer the size of a cat.

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better?? The information in this guide will help you answer that question, and if the answer is no, you don?t need it.?

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-buy-a-gaming-desktop/

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SAfrica: Mandela responds positively to treatment

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's presidency says 94-year-old Nelson Mandela is responding positively to hospital treatment for a recurring lung infection.

The office of President Jacob Zuma also said in a statement Thursday that the former president and anti-apartheid leader remains under observation.

Mandela was admitted late Wednesday to a hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital.

Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in South Africa. He has repeatedly had lung problems.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/safrica-mandela-responds-positively-treatment-151601463.html

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OT/Birthdays? | Step Talk

I was raised a Jehovah's Witness, so I never had a birthday. Never went to a birthday party. Everything I've learned about birthday procedure I've picked up by going to birthday parties my daughters were invited to.

My exBF teased me one time because I didn't have ice cream at my D6's birthday party. I didn't know that was a requirement.

Anyway, at what age do you phase out the traditional birthday party for kids? My eldest will be turning 15 this year, and since I've been divorced I've usually done a small party for her- invited a couple of her friends over for pizza and cake, that sort of thing.

I'm thinking as she gets older she won't want a party and maybe I'd take her out for dinner instead. Would this be age appropriate for her birthday?

Source: http://www.steptalk.org/node/128794

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Amanda Knox retrial: a tale of two countries' legal systems

Amanda Knox likely will not return to Italy for the murder retrial, and a new verdict is probably years away. In that time, much will be learned about the interaction of two 'very different legal systems.'

By Daniel B. Wood,?Staff writer / March 27, 2013

In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo Amanda Knox cries after hearing the verdict that overturned her conviction and acquitted her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, in 2011.

Pier Paolo Cito/AP/File

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The decision by the Italian Supreme Court to retry American Amanda Knox for murder will highlight the differences between the two country?s legal systems and test how extradition treaties operate when citizens are convicted of crimes in a foreign country.

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The 25-year-old former exchange student in Perugia, Italy, was convicted in 2009 of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, and sentenced to 26 years in prison. She served almost four years before the verdict was overturned in 2011.

?This case will be very valuable for the spotlight it shines on how two countries with very different legal systems will behave in a high-profile case,? says Robert Pugsley, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

He and others say it is unlikely that Ms. Knox will go to Italy for the trial, but she could be tried ?in absentia? (without her presence), and the verdict is likely still years away. Most analysts also agree that the US likely would not extradite Knox if the Italian court sentences her to more time.

General rules about extradition among Westernized countries hinge on the rights of the accused or convicted person in the country where they are located. So, for example, the US would not extradite Knox if it felt the Italian trial would expose her to "double jeopardy" ? a concept that violates the US Constitution.

?The Fifth Amendment includes a double jeopardy clause ? stating that ?[no] person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb,? ? says Ian Wallach, a criminal attorney in Los Angeles, who clerked at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. ?Having Ms. Knox tried again would violate the USA?s public policy against double jeopardy.?

The reverse can also be true. Some countries refuse to extradite murder suspects to the US unless there is an agreement between the two countries that the death penalty won?t be sought, because the death penalty violates that country's public policy.

A key issue in the Knox case could be how the US State Department perceives the new development: Is it a new trial or the continuation of the one already completed? ?This is a very fascinating case and will shed lots of light on this,? says Luz Nagle, a professor at Stetson College of Law in Tampa, Fla..

The case is opening a window on how foreign courts operate, and how that affects Americans caught in them.

For its part, Italy guarantees defendants three levels of trial before a conviction is considered definitive, and both sides are granted the right to appeal ? a system that developed after World War II to prevent some of the abuses of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The flip side is that some high-profile officials have eluded prosecution for years, notably former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who moved from trial to trial for 20 years.

?Americans are getting a good, long look at how careful the Italian system has become, but also how incredibly long it takes,? says Professor Nagle.

Other analysts caution against jumping to any conclusions before a written opinion is issued by Italy?s highest court, known as Cassation.

?We need to wait to read that opinion before we try to understand it,? says Mr. Wallach. ?First, we would be offended if anyone accused our judges of acting with improper motives. Second, we will know what the reasoning was once that decision is made public.?

In the meantime, Americans should relax, he says. ?We should do our best to respect the legal processes of other countries, and know that we have means to protect our own citizens from being subjected to outcomes of policies that are different from ours.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/4OMidqNbTi4/Amanda-Knox-retrial-a-tale-of-two-countries-legal-systems

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Sports centre closes for line-marking | Toowoomba Chronicle

Topics:? fitness, highfields, sports, toowoomba

THE indoor sports stadium of the Highfields Fitness and Recreation Centre will be temporarily closed to members and the general public for a two-week period starting April 2.

With the various user groups enjoying the school holiday break, new line marking will be undertaken on the flooring to meet approved standards for the many soccer, netball, basketball, tennis, volleyball and badminton groups that use the centre.

This work is due to commence Tuesday, April 2 and will be finalised by Friday, April 12.

Undertaking this line marking work will now enable the centre to cater for regional, state and national titles as well as enhance the facility for the Highfields sporting community.

Centre management would like to thank members and the general public for their understanding while this work is occurring.

For any questions, please call the Highfields Fitness and Recreation Centre on 4699 6530.

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Source: http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/sports-centre-closes-line-marking/1810446/

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Powerball winner's outstanding debt: child support

By Dave Warner

(Reuters) - The winner of one of the biggest Powerball jackpots of all time owes $29,000 in overdue child support payments, the Passaic County, New Jersey, sheriff's office said on Thursday.

Pedro Quezada, 44, a county resident who is married and the father of five children ages 5 to 23, was the sole winner of a $338 million jackpot on Saturday.

Because he chose the lump sum option, instead of annual payments over 30 years, he will actually receive $211 million, lottery officials said on Thursday. Officials said that is the third-largest lump sum payment in Powerball history.

The lottery will take out a total of 28 percent in federal and state taxes, which would leave Quezada, who until this week was the owner of a bodega in Passaic, New Jersey, with about $152 million.

His Apple Deli & Grocery now has a "for sale" sign on the door. Quezada told reporters on Tuesday that the business is now closed.

Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said in a statement that his office is attempting to notify Quezada about the support payment. He said that generally the state's lottery division would pay the judgment out of the winnings.

"Like everyone else, until this warrant is satisfied, Mr. Quezada is subject to potential arrest," the statement said.

The child support issue dates back to 2009, according to local media reports.

Quezada could not be reached for comment.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powerball-jackpot-winner-owes-29-000-child-support-163424715.html

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Same-Sex Parents May Face Harsher Criticism Than Others - Health ...

WEDNESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) ? Bystanders judge same-sex parents more harshly than straight parents, according to a new study.

Researchers examined people?s responses to the actions of gay and straight parents, and found that gay parents were much more likely to be viewed negatively in identical situations involving poor parenting behaviors.

?We noted that when parents displayed favorable parenting behaviors like comforting an upset child, gay and straight parents were judged in a similar, positive manner,? Sean Massey, of the interdisciplinary research group for the study of sexuality and gender at Binghamton University, in New York, said in a university news release.

?However, if parents got frustrated ? raised their voice or slapped their child on the hand ? the gay parents were judged more negatively than the straight parents,? said Massey, a research associate professor.

The findings, published in the March issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, are important because holding gay parents to a different standard adds additional stress to the already stressful job of being parents, Massey said.

This type of attitude may also harm same-sex couples? chances of adopting or becoming foster parents, Massey said in the news release.

?We feel that it is very important for social workers and adoption counselors to be made aware of the effects of modern anti-gay prejudices and they need to educate themselves and develop policies that help protect against these potential biases,? Massey said.

He noted that hundreds of thousands of children in the United States are waiting to find a foster or adopted family, but there is a shortage of people willing to take them into their homes. Gay parents can provide homes for these children, but this study suggests they may be at a disadvantage.

?Raising awareness of these attitudes is a critical step in being able to utilize a potentially valuable pool of prospective adoptive and foster parents, but it is also vital to improving the day-to-day lives of our families and our children,? Massey said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement Sunday supporting same-sex marriage and restating its support for the adoption of children by gay families.

More information

The U.S. Health and Human Services Administration has more about gay and lesbian adoptive parents.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/03/27/same-sex-parents-may-face-harsher-criticism-than-others/

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China jails 20 on jihad, separatism charges in restive Xinjiang

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-jails-20-jihad-separatism-charges-restive-xinjiang-103943828.html

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Iran's support for Syria still appears strong - but is it hedging its bets?

Even as it continues to provide military support to the Syrian regime, staunch ally Iran is making preparations for life after President Assad.?

By Scott Peterson,?Staff writer / March 28, 2013

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, welcomes Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, March 2.

Mahdi Marizad, Fars News Agency/AP

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When the Arab League handed Syria?s long-vacant seat to the Syrian opposition on March 26 and endorsed military aid for anti-regime rebels, the first and loudest complaints came from Iran.?

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Despite a two-year rebellion that has seen 70,000 deaths and 1 million refugees, Iran has not veered from its staunch support for Syria?s embattled President Bashar al-Assad, whose?regime it considers a critical piece of its anti-US, anti-Israel "axis of resistance."

The Arab League's decision set a ?dangerous precedent? that would only ?add to the problems,? warned Iran?s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. It would even ?bring an end to the [Arab League?s] role in the region,? asserted his deputy, Hossein Amir?Abdollahian.

The Iranian complaints are the diplomatic side of an on-the-battlefield proxy war in Syria, with both sides reportedly receiving a surge of weapons from outside powers in recent months.?Iranian military and financial support for Mr. Assad has been stepped up with near-weekly flights?(and Russia still continues normal sales to its ally). Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, meanwhile, have ferried fresh weaponry to the rebels, with CIA support.

United Nations envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi says the Syrian conflict is becoming a ?playground for competing regional forces.?

As the mish-mash of rebel forces capture more ground, more regime military bases and hardware, and key civilian targets, few analysts predict that Assad?s regime will survive in its current form, or that Syria?s longstanding ruler will be alive when it is over. Even Iran, despite its unbending public support for Assad, appears?to be preparing for a post-Assad world.

"Iran so far was successful; without Iran's money and strategic help, Assad would have fallen much earlier," says Mehdi Khalaji, an Iran specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "But in terms of policy, they have a Plan B?. So even if Assad falls, to some extent Iran would be able to protect its interests."

'Plan B'?

That plan may hinge on a pro-regime militia Iran helped to create called Jaysh al-Shabi. The militia could protect Syria's Alawites ? the Shiite Muslim offshoot to which Assad and much of his regime belong ? if they are relegated to only a portion of the country?in northwest Syria, along the coast to the border with Lebanon.?

It's possible that no side will gain a decisive advantage and, with all sides backed by powerful international friends, the country will break along sectarian and ethnic fault lines, with Alawite and Kurdish sections, and a larger Sunni portion.?

Since its 1979 Islamic revolution,?Iran has used Syria as a conduit for weapons, cash, and support for the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah,?and later?Hamas and Islamic Jihad,?all of which form a frontline against Israel. If Assad falls, Iran could lose that channel.?

Iran?s Revolutionary Guard commander has been quoted as saying that the?Jaysh al-Shabi, a mix of Shiite and Alawite groups, is modeled after Iran?s ideological Basij militia,?a large volunteer force that has been used to quell street unrest. Senior US officials, who added Jaysh al-Shabi to its list of sanctioned groups last December,?have described it as ?an Iran-Hezbollah joint venture.?

?In terms of propaganda, no, I think the Iranians in the near future would not admit this possibility [of Assad falling],? says Mr. Khalaji.

But Iran's Plan B with the pro-regime militia means that even if Assad is removed, as long as an Alawite enclave continues to exist in Syria, Iran may still manage to maintain direct links with militant groups. "By helping them, [Iran would] make sure that some part of Syria can be used as a bridge to reach Lebanon and the Palestinian territories," adds Khalaji."

Gulf, West come together

At the Arab League meeting in Doha, Qatar, countering any Iranian support for the Assad regime may have been behind the readiness to recognize the anti-government coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

?We demand ? all forms of support from our friends and brothers, including our full right for self-defense,? said Syrian opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib after taking Syria's seat at the Arab League meeting.?

That has reportedly?been happening already. The airlifting of military aid?by?Arab governments and Turkey to Syrian rebels?with CIA help??expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year,? The New York Times reported on March 24. According to the Times, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar ??Sunni Muslim nations wary of Iranian influence in the region ? have carried out?160 military-style cargo flights?bringing weaponry to Turkey and Jordan, from which the weapons are smuggled into Syria.?

?The intensity and frequency of these [weapons] flights are suggestive of a well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation,? Hugh Griffiths of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute told the Times.?

Not enough

Likewise, Iran has ?significantly stepped up? military support for Assad, according to a mid-March report by Reuters.?

The Iranian effort ?suggests the Syrian war is entering a new phase in which Iran may be trying to end the battlefield stalemate by redoubling its commitment to Assad? and giving the regime a ?crucial lifeline,? Reuters reported, citing Western diplomats and a Western intelligence report from last September.

The intelligence report described shipments, primarily through Iraqi airspace, ranging from communications gear and drone parts to ?advanced strategic weapons? such as shore-to-sea missiles and ballistic missiles.

?None of this will be decisive; Assad will lose,? says Kenneth Katzman, an analyst for the Congressional Research Service in Washington. ?You?re not going to change the outcome unless you are shipping big-ticket items, which I don?t think anybody is.?

Assad?s military stores are slowly being eroded: Helicopters and planes have been shot down, and many tanks have been taken out?and some captured by rebels and turned against government forces.?

The Iranians "can?t do much more, because to do more would risk getting things captured and exposed," says Mr. Katzman.??To some extent the [Iranian] mentality is the same as Assad?s mentality: Just be tough, show as much strength as possible, and you?re going to be able to?power through it. I think they?ve?overestimated their ability to save Assad.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/VsdYlkY-mfg/Iran-s-support-for-Syria-still-appears-strong-but-is-it-hedging-its-bets

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Why the biblical epic is back in Hollywood ? especially on cable (+video)

After decades of slim pickings for faith-based programming, Hollywood and cable channels are turning back to biblical and religious themes, and, notably, big audiences.

By Gloria Goodale,?Staff writer / March 27, 2013

This publicity image shows Diogo Morcaldo as Jesus, right, in a scene from "The Bible," on History Channel. After a hiatus, religion is back on cable television and on the big screen.

AP Photo/History, Joe Alblas

Enlarge

From a new six-hour ?Jesus of Nazareth? to History Channel's 10-hour epic "The Bible" and GSN?s popular ?The American Bible Challenge? ? not to mention Amish, Jewish, and Mormon-themed scripted and unscripted shows ? the TV landscape is?suffused with heavenly programming.

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Add a gaggle of Bible-based feature films headed to the local cineplexes in the near future, and it?s pretty clear that Hollywood has gone and got religion in a pretty serious way, say industry insiders as well as media and religion experts.

This is both a shift from recent trends and a return to earlier days in Tinsel Town.?Hollywood certainly had a history of Biblical epics stretching for decades, from Cecil B. DeMille's ?The Ten Commandments" (1923) to Franco Zefferelli?s ?Jesus of Nazareth? (1977).?But religion had fallen out of fashion in more recent decades, especially on broadcast television. Now it's back, primarily on cable, as well as in film.

The industry has become increasingly vocal in support of progressive causes, says Ben Bogardus, journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. This has led to an "echo chamber? in which the teams in the writer?s rooms for popular sitcoms and dramas only hear their own views reinforced by like-minded colleagues.

With writers wanting to push the envelope on progressive issues and seeing religious groups as tending to oppose such ideas, he says, what developed was a??very insular attitude about religion in many parts of the entertainment industry.?

Hollywood?s big epiphany about the importance of the religious segment of the viewing audience came in 2004, when Mel Gibson?s independently made ?Passion of the Christ? stunned the industry with its nearly half-billion-dollar box office worldwide.

?There is a big community of people who want to watch shows that respect their commitment and faith,? says Paul Lauer, CEO of Motive Entertainment in Santa Monica, who marketed ?Passion.?

After "Passion," studios tried to ramp up their faith-based offerings, with mixed results. Studios created faith-based divisions and hired scholars and archeologists. But New Line Cinema's epic "The Nativity Story" (2006) fell flat at the box office. Studios were chastened.

Still, Hollywood has many churchgoers in its midst who have kept a low profile over the years, says Mr. Lauer, ?What has changed is they are coming out of the closet and making their presence felt, as the industry has expressed more interest in reaching that audience.?

Faith-based programming has been more successful on cable television, where costs are lower and producers are constantly trolling for new ideas. ?Like most television forms, faith-based productions cycle in and out of popularity just like variety, comedy, and drama. They can also be evergreens ? in April of 2012, 'The Ten Commandments' won the evening for ABC playing for the umpteenth time during the Easter/Passover season,? points out Allen Sabinson, dean of Drexel University?s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, via e-mail.

?From a business point of view, these often expensive productions can be financed with partners from across the world contributing to the production costs in return for broadcast rights in their own territories. These are stories that play across borders and continents,? he says.

As for what?s behind this latest wave, Mr. Sabinson suggests that the current social and political climate has primed the pump for inspirational programming. ?Their renewed popularity is related in part to the fact that there are so many problems in the world today, and these timeless stories provide some comfort and relief from the daily headlines on war, disasters, and economic troubles,? he says.

The surge in faith-based programming finding an audience is no surprise, agrees Julie Byrne, an expert in media and religion at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. ?Religion is one of the most distinctive aspects of the American identity,? she says.

?Faith and God are largely pass? in most European countries,? she adds, but it is still a very active force in American life. She points to the 2008 PEW Religious Landscape Survey that found 85 percent of Americans self-identify as Christian. ?If you add to that figure additional people who might believe in God but are not necessarily Christian or any other specific religion, you have a large media-consuming population ready for shows that speak to their interests.?

Audiences should have no illusions about the financial motivation behind this surge, suggests Wil Gafney, a professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

"It is no accident that the History Channel 'Bible' series is accompanied by a massive marketing campaign, includes Bible study guides and a follow-up novel,? she points out, adding, ?it is also the case that studios copy each other when they think one or another has an idea that is likely to sell.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Y1MIfQ80FqE/Why-the-biblical-epic-is-back-in-Hollywood-especially-on-cable-video

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Photo shows China's first lady singing to Tiananmen troops after crackdown

BEIJING (AP) ? A photo of China's new first lady Peng Liyuan in younger days, singing to martial-law troops following the 1989 bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, flickered across Chinese cyberspace this week.

It was swiftly scrubbed from China's Internet before it could generate discussion online. But the image ? seen and shared by outside observers ? revived a memory the leadership prefers to suppress and shows one of the challenges in presenting Peng on the world stage as the softer side of China.

The country has no recent precedent for the role of first lady, and also faces a tricky balance at home. The leadership wants Peng to show the human side of the new No. 1 leader, Xi Jinping, while not exposing too many perks of the elite. And it must balance popular support for the first couple with an acute wariness of personality cults that could skew the consensus rule among the Chinese Communist Party's top leaders.

The image of Peng in a green military uniform, her windswept hair tied back in a ponytail as she sings to helmeted and rifle-bearing troops seated in rows on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, contrasts with her appearances this week in trendy suits and coiffed hair while touring Russia and Africa with Xi, waving to her enthusiastic hosts.

"I think that we have a lot of people hoping that because Xi Jinping walks around without a tie on and his wife is a singer who travels with him on trips that maybe we're dealing with a new kind of leader, but I think these images remind people that this is the same party," said Kelley Currie, a China human rights expert for the pro-democracy Project 2049 Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

"It's using some new tools and new techniques, for the same purposes: to preserve its own power."

Peng, 50, a major general in the People's Liberation Army who is best known for soaring renditions of patriotic odes to the military and the party, kept a low profile in recent years as her husband prepared to take over as Communist Party chief. Her re-emergence has been accompanied by a blitz in domestic, state-run media hailing her beauty and charm, in a bid to harness the singer's popularity to build support for Xi at home and abroad.

"Peng Liyuan: Let the world appreciate the beauty of China," declared the headline of a China News Service commentary that said the first lady's elegant manners, conversation and clothing would highlight Chinese culture. Her presence on diplomatic trips would demystify the first family for the Chinese public, the commentary said.

Chinese First Lady, Madame Peng Liyuan, left,, waves as she is accompanied by Tanzanian First Lady, Salma Kikwete, right, at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Sunday March 24, ... more? Chinese First Lady, Madame Peng Liyuan, left,, waves as she is accompanied by Tanzanian First Lady, Salma Kikwete, right, at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Sunday March 24, 2013. Liyuan is accompanying her husband, Chinese President in his first African tour since he became president of the second largest economy in the world. (AP Photo/ Khalfan Said) less? ?

However, the government is stepping into little-charted and possibly treacherous waters for China.

In 1963, the glamorous Wang Guangmei, wife of President Liu Shaoqi, wore a tightfitting qipao dress to a state banquet in Indonesia. When the political tides turned against Liu four years later, radical Red Guards forced Wang to don the same dress and paraded her through the streets as a shameful example of capitalist corruption.

Revolutionary leader Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing, played a key role in the same radical campaign in which political opponents were mercilessly persecuted; after his death, she was put on trial and imprisoned, then moved to a hospital where she hanged herself.

The lifespan of Peng's Tiananmen image in the finicky world of the Chinese Internet has so far been short, and she remains a beloved household name with huge domestic popularity. The photo has circulated mainly on Twitter, which is blocked in China. The few posts on popular domestic microblogs did not evade censors for long.

Many young Chinese are unaware that on June 3 and 4, 1989, military troops crushed weekslong pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing with force, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people. Those who do know about the assault tend to be understanding of Peng's obligations as a member of a performance troupe in the all-powerful People's Liberation Army. At the time, her husband Xi was party chief of an eastern city.

"The photo probably has a negative impact more so internationally than domestically," said Joseph Cheng, a political scientist at City University of Hong Kong. He said more scrutiny of Peng is likely and such images could raise questions about Xi's interest in reforms.

"It has been several months now that Xi Jinping has assumed the top leadership role and certainly, we have found no indicator that he is interested in this stage to push serious political reform."

The image is a snapshot of the back cover of a 1989 issue of a publicly available military magazine, the PLA Pictorial, according to Sun Li, a Chinese reporter who said he had taken a photo of it on his cell phone several years ago when it was inadvertently posted on his microblog. Sun said he quickly deleted it and had no idea how it resurfaced on the Internet years later.

Microblog users can easily save images and recirculate them even after the original posts have been deleted. The picture spread further after it was tweeted by the U.S.-based China Digital Times, which tracks Chinese online media.

Warren Sun, a Chinese military historian at Monash University in Australia, said he had little doubt about the authenticity of the image, citing a 1992 academic report as saying that after the crackdown, Peng performed a song titled "The Most Beloved People" in a salute to martial law troops.

While most of her army career has been in singing, the militaristic overtones of many of Peng's public appearances set her apart from Michelle Obama, former French first lady Carla Bruni and most of their counterparts in other countries. But for Peng, the Tiananmen photo was no one-off: She has been in the military since age 18 and has fronted TV music videos featuring dancing lines of men with combat fatigues and heavy weaponry.

She also starred in a song-and-dance number in 2007 that has perky women in Tibetan garb sashaying behind her while she sings an ode to the army that invaded Tibet in 1959. "Who is going to liberate us? It's the dear PLA!" go some of the lyrics. The video has provoked severe criticism from Tibetan rights groups.

In an indication of Peng's appeal in China despite her past, a man whose 19-year-old son was killed in the Tiananmen crackdown said he bears no grudges against her.

"If I had known about this back then, I would have been very disgusted by it. But now, looking at it objectively, it's all in the past," said Wang Fandi, whose son Wang Nan died from a bullet wound to his head. "She was in the establishment. If the military wanted her to perform, she had to go. What else could she do?"

Wang was a teacher at the China Conservatory of Music when Peng had been sent there by the military to study singing in her 20s. Though he never taught her directly, Wang had known who she was and describes her as being modest, a talented folk singer and an outstanding student.

"When I look back at history, I will look at it from other perspectives," Wang said. "Even if she had done something wrong, we shouldn't make a fuss about it. What's important is what happens in the future."

___

Follow Gillian Wong on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gillianwong

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-first-lady-serenaded-tiananmen-troops-103522468.html

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UK banks told to plug ?25 billion capital hole

By Huw Jones and Matt Scuffham

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's banks must raise 25 billion pounds of extra capital by the end of the year to absorb any future losses on loans, the central bank said, less than investors had expected.

Replenishing banks' capital buffers, decimated by the financial crisis and heavy fines for misconduct, is a crucial step for returning part state-owned lenders RBS and Lloyds to full private ownership by the 2015 general election.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the move announced on Wednesday to strengthen banks should also allow them to lend more and support economic growth.

He said plugging the capital shortfall was "manageable" and the banks won't need taxpayers' money.

But UK business minister Vince Cable said forcing banks to raise capital will prolong the time it takes for the economy to recover by further depressing already weak lending to small businesses.

The central bank said major lenders should achieve a core tier 1 capital ratio - a bank's main benchmark of health - of at least 7 percent of their risk-weighted assets.

RBS and Lloyds and two other banks, HSBC and Barclays, dominate the market with 74 percent of deposits.

Banks have already announced some plans to bolster capital which, along with their expected earnings this year, should cover half of the required 25 billion pounds.

The amount they have to raise is less than investors had expected. The central bank said last year the figure could be as high as 60 billion pounds.

Shares in RBS were down 2.6 percent while Lloyds jumped 2.8 percent, with Barclays up 0.6 percent and HSBC flat. The UK stock market was down 0.1 percent.

"You can pretty much guess HSBC is going to be in surplus and that Barclays, RBS and Lloyds have probably got a shortfall and I would guess the shortfall is probably biggest at RBS," Shore Capital analyst Gary Cooper said.

The central bank did not give a breakdown of how much each bank needed to raise.

DIVIDEND CURBS

Banks are expected to say how they will raise the money in the next few weeks. Analysts expect them to continue with measures such as curbing dividends and bonuses and selling assets, although some new capital may be needed.

Banks will have to hold a set amount of capital so they are not tempted to cancel loans to bump up their capital ratios.

Those holding large amounts of risky commercial property or are exposed to struggling euro zone countries such as Greece or Spain will have to hold even more capital above the 7 percent target.

RBS said its capital position was strong and that it was working with regulators, while Barclays said it was "profitable, strong and well-capitalised".

Santander UK said it would continue to maintain its capital ratios above the industry average.

HSBC and Lloyds declined to comment.

Wednesday's announcement outlined two phases: the December deadline for the minimum capital level, five years earlier than the globally agreed timetable under the Basel III accord, and regular stress testing of banks beyond 2014 that will lead to further capital increases.

The big banks are expected to have capital ratios of 10 percent by the end of 2018.

Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, the UK's new banking supervisor from April 1 when the Financial Services Authority is scrapped, will meet banks individually after Easter to vet their plans.

From April, the central bank's Financial Policy Committee, tasked with spotting broader risks in the financial system, has the power to direct regulators to force banks to comply with requests to bolster capital.

Bailey began his checks on how banks calculate risk on their books to determine overall capital requirements last November and has expressed concern about inadequate provisions for losses on loans.

All four of Britain's biggest banks have been hit with fines totalling more than 14 billion pounds so far for mis-selling loan insurance, putting further strain on capital.

UK MPs are also putting pressure on regulators to increase competition in a sector.

(Additional reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boe-lenders-capital-shortfall-25-billion-pounds-094051497--business.html

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