enlistment correlation: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Lionel Richie: My own songs saved me

Celebs

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper TODAY

22 hours ago

NBC

Lionel Richie says his own songs helped him.

Many people have turned to music at sad times in their lives. Singer Lionel Richie is no different -- except the music he turned to was his own.

Richie told the U.K. Mirror that in the 1990s, he was going through a divorce and fighting depression

"Then a friend said to me: ?Lionel, I have some inspirational tapes I want you to listen to,'" Richie recalled to the newspaper. "He handed me my own songs with certain ones underlined and I started listening to my lyrics ? this time from the point of view of someone who needed that message.

?I used to look out into the audience and wonder why that guy was crying to one of my songs and now I get it -? it just hits something in your core," Richie said.

The singer also admitted that he wasn't always there for daughter Nicole when she was growing up. ?When Nicole was young I was trying to become Lionel Richie," the singer said. "I wasn?t there as much as I should have been. ... These days we are incredibly close and I am a very proud grandfather. She?s a wonderful mother.?

Richie will start his first U.S. tour in a decade this fall. "I have never had a job in my life," he told the Mirror. "This is still my hobby and I want to use the gift for good."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/lionel-richie-my-own-songs-saved-me-depression-6C10488483

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Kerry pushing Israel, Palestinians to resume talks

JERUSALEM (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, engaged in breakneck shuttle diplomacy to coax Israel and the Palestinians back into peace talks, is flying to the West Bank on Sunday to have a third meeting in as many days with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials have declined to disclose details of the past three days of closed-door meetings, but Kerry's decision to fly from Jerusalem to Ramallah, West Bank, to see Abbas again before he leaves the region was an indication that the secretary believes there is a chance of bringing the two sides together.

"Working hard" is all Kerry would say when a reporter asked him at a photo-op whether progress was being made.

Despite the lack of readouts, there are several clues that the meetings have been more than routine chats.

Most of Kerry's meetings have lasted at least two hours and several of them were much longer. His initial dinner meeting Thursday night with Netanyahu was clocked at four, and the one Saturday night in a hotel suite with the Israeli prime minister and his advisers lasted more than six hours.

After the meeting broke up past 3 a.m., Kerry took a pre-dawn stroll in Jerusalem with senior advisers. Kerry, the sleeves on his white shirt rolled up his arms, walked with a security escort to a park near the hotel, gesturing and talking with his top advisers on the Mideast peace process.

There were still more hints that Kerry's discussions might be gaining traction.

Legal, military and other officials accompanied Netanyahu at the meeting, perhaps an indication that discussions had reached a more detailed level.

Kerry canceled a visit to Abu Dhabi on his two-week swing through Asia and the Mideast because of his extended discussions on the Mideast peace process in Jerusalem and Amman, Jordan.

And just the sheer number of meetings since Thursday ? three with Netanyahu and soon-to-be three with Abbas ? could indicate that the two sides are at least interested in trying to find a way back to the negotiating table.

A senior U.S. State Department official said Kerry would travel to Ramallah on Sunday to meet Abbas. The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the negotiations by name and requested anonymity.

The meeting, however, will further squeeze Kerry's itinerary. He's scheduled to be at a Southeast Asia security conference on Monday and Tuesday in Brunei ? some 5,400 miles from Israel. On the sidelines of the conference, Kerry is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an exchange that likely will focus on National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. Kerry also is to have a trilateral discussion with Japanese and South Korean officials that likely will include the topic of North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

For now, however, Kerry has his head in the Middle East. Except for quick flights to meetings in Amman, Kerry mostly has been holed up on the upper floors of a hotel near Jerusalem's Old City engaged in deep, serious conversations about the decades-old conflict. On other floors, the hotel has been hosting large family gatherings, and noisy children in party clothes have been running up and down the hallways, oblivious to Kerry's presence.

There is deep skepticism that Kerry can get the two sides to agree on a two-state solution. It's something that has eluded presidents and diplomats for years. But the flurry of meetings has heightened expectations that the two sides can be persuaded to restart talks, which broke down in 2008, at the least.

So far, there have been no public signs that the two sides are narrowing their differences.

In the past, Abbas has said he won't negotiate unless Israel stops building settlements on war-won lands or accepts its 1967 lines ? before the capture of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in a Mideast war that year ? as a starting point for border talks. The Palestinians claim all three areas for their future state.

Netanyahu has rejected the Palestinian demands, saying there should be no pre-conditions for talks.

Abbas made significant progress with Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, in talks in 2007 and 2008, but believes there is little point in negotiating with the current Israeli leader.

Netanyahu has adopted much tougher starting positions than Olmert, refusing to recognize Israel's pre-1967 frontier as a baseline for border talks and saying east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital, is off the table. Abbas and his aides suspect Netanyahu wants to resume talks for the sake of negotiating and creating a diplomatic shield for Israel, not in order to reach an agreement.

Abbas has much to lose domestically if he drops his demands that Netanyahu either freeze settlement building or recognize the 1967 frontier as a starting point before talks can resume. Netanyahu has rejected both demands. A majority of Palestinians, disappointed after 20 years of fruitless negotiations with Israel, opposes a return to talks on Netanyahu's terms.

While details of the ongoing discussions have remained closely held, it has not quelled speculation. Midday Saturday, news reports said a four-way meeting was going to be held in coming days with the U.S. Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians at the table.

"They're saying a four-way summit, did you hear that?" Netanyahu asked Kerry during a photo-op before his latest meeting with Kerry.

"I did," Kerry replied.

There is speculation that talks are going well and that they're headed nowhere.

Asked if the two sides were close to resuming negotiations, Israeli Cabinet Minister Gilad Erdan told Channel 2 TV: "Regrettably, so far, no."

___

Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-pushing-israel-palestinians-resume-talks-214829857.html

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China orders round-the-clock patrols in Xinjiang following recent series of bloody clashes

By Christopher Bodeen

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING ? Chinese paramilitary troops began conducting round-the-clock patrols Sunday in the northwestern region of Xinjiang following a series of bloody clashes that have killed at least 56 people over the last several months.

Police in the region also released new details about a clash Wednesday that authorities said left 35 people dead, including 11 attackers, blaming it on a violent gang of Muslim extremists.

The order for the patrols by the People?s Armed Police was issued by the ruling Communist Party?s top law enforcement official, Meng Jianzhu, at an emergency meeting late Saturday in Xinjiang?s regional capital, Urumqi. The action came just days ahead of the July 5 anniversary of a 2009 riot between Xinjiang?s native Uighur people and Han Chinese migrants in the city that left nearly 200 people dead.

Troops must patrol in all weather conditions, ?raise their visibility, maintain a deterrent threat and strengthen the public?s sense of security,? Meng said, according to a notice posted to the Public Security Ministry?s website.

While the region is basically at peace, ?the determination of the ?three forces? at home and abroad to create chaos in our Xinjiang remains alive and they are taking every opportunity to devise and carry out activities to make trouble and sow destruction,? Meng said. The three forces is China?s standard term for anti-government foes representing separatism, terrorism and religious extremism.

Bordering Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Xinjiang (shihn-jeeahng) has long been home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule among parts of the Uighur (WEE?-gur) population opposed to large-scale Han Chinese migration, and angered by strict communist restrictions on Islam and their Turkic language and cultural institutions.

However, recent incidents point to a growing level of violence and the apparently growing influence of radical Islam, in spite of a massive security presence spread across the vast region, which is more than twice the size of Texas.

In Wednesday?s incident, assailants attacked police and government offices in the town of Lukqun in the region?s usually quiet east in one of the bloodiest incidents since the 2009 Urumqi rampage. Authorities searching for suspects have sealed off the area. Other independent reports put the death toll as high as 46.

According to a police statement posted on the Xinjiang government?s official website, the attackers were members of a 17-member extremist Islamic cell formed in January by a man identified by the Chinese pronunciation of his Uighur name, Aihemaitiniyazi Sidike.

The statement said the cell regularly listened to recordings promoting violence and terrorism and from mid-June had been raising funds, buying knives and gasoline, and casing various sites in preparation for an attack.

On Tuesday, however, authorities captured one of the members, and fearing they would be discovered before they could act, Sidike ordered the gang to assemble before dawn Wednesday and attack, the statement said. They attacked and burned a police station, patrol cars, township government offices and a building site, along with shops and a beauty parlour, it said, adding that their 24 victims included 16 Uighurs, eight Han and two women.

Police shot to death 11 people at the scene, wounded and captured four others, and seized the final member of the gang on Sunday following a search.

Following that incident, more than 100 knife-wielding people mounted motorbikes in an attempt to storm the police station Friday in Karakax county in southern Xinjiang?s Hotan region, where the population is overwhelmingly Uighur. Elsewhere on Friday, an armed mob staged an attack in the township of Hanairike, according to the news portal of the Xinjiang regional government. Few details were given about the incidents and there was no official word on deaths, injuries or arrests.

However, U.S. government-backed Radio Free Asia said at least two Uighurs were killed in the Karakax violence, which it said began after Friday prayers at a local mosque that had been raided the week before by police because its resident Imam had defied strict rules on sermon topics. The station said that police fired at Uighurs on motorcycles who were chanting religious slogans and that the violence later spread to the city of Hotan, where groups of young men set fires along a major downtown road.

The recent wave of violence began with a deadly clash on April 24 in western Xinjiang that left 21 people dead, including police officers and local government officials. The government said the violence broke out after neighbourhood security inspectors uncovered a bomb-making ring that was planning a major attack in the city of Kashgar.

In that and other incidents, the attackers were reportedly inspired by jihadist teachings and literature smuggled into the country or downloaded from the Internet. China has accused Uighur activists based overseas of orchestrating the 2009 violence in Urumqi and plotting other incidents, charges the groups have denied, saying they are merely advocating for Uighur civil and religious rights.

One overseas group, the Washington, D.C.-based Uyghur American Association, which uses a different spelling of Uighur, has called for an independent investigation into Wednesday?s incident in Lukqun and questioned the government?s claim that it was an act of terrorism.

While the loss of life was ?extremely upsetting,? China is worsening tensions by ratcheting up security and treating all Uighurs with hostility, the group?s president, Alim Seytoff, said in a statement.

?The way the Chinese state has managed this incident follows a pattern familiar to others that have happened in the past. After imposing a blackout of news and maintaining tight control of information, the state then uses its propaganda apparatus to label the incident ?terrorism? without presenting any evidence that can be independently proved,? Seytoff said.

State-run newspapers reported Sunday that Xinjiang was calm, and state broadcaster CCTV ran interviews with pro-government Muslim clerics and residents of Urumqi, both Chinese and Uighur, who denounced violence and expressed confidence in the government?s ability to maintain security.

China has also sought to enlist other countries in the region in the fight against violence in Xinjiang, and on Saturday the national legislature ratified a pair of agreements on anti-terrorism co-operation and joint drills under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Chinese and Russian-dominated grouping of Central Asian states.

05:55ET 30-06-13

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Source: http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/china-orders-round-the-clock-patrols-in-xinjiang-following-recent-series-of-bloody-clashes-2/581082/

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Stewart on 'Daily Show': 'I wanna come home!'

Anna Chan TODAY

June 28, 2013 at 11:09 AM ET

Jon Stewart is in the Middle East working on his first directorial project, but the host of "The Daily Show" took a few minutes to check in on his program via Skype Thursday.

Temporary host John Oliver told Stewart that not much had changed on the show since the now-director started his 12-week leave of absence.

"The only key things are we play softball against the Mets on Monday, and Bruce Springsteen comes to play every Tuesday night," Oliver jested. "We didn't think they'd be things you'd enjoy."

Turns out they are things Stewart would enjoy.

"What?! That's my favorite musician! What?! I wanna come hoooome!" Stewart jokingly cried.

Earlier, a newly bearded Stewart told Oliver that he was "doing a phenomenal job" holding down the fort, but that he wasn't tuning in every night.

"I don't watch it all the time because it's too weird," Stewart said. "It's like watching someone have sex with your wife's desk."

The comedian said he missed his staff "like crazy cakes." Though he's enjoying his work on "Rosewater," an adaptation of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari's best-selling memoir "Then They Came For Me," he called the experience "weird as hell."

The film and memoir tell the tale of Bahari's arrest by the Iranian government in 2009 while he was there covering the election results. He was tortured for 118 days. After his October release, Bahari appeared on "The Daily Show" in late November to share details of his captivity.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/jon-stewart-daily-show-i-wanna-come-home-6C10479750

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Delaware Gun Bill Defeated In State Senate

DOVER, Del. -- A bill that would have expanded the ability of Delaware authorities to prohibit people with mental health issues from having guns was defeated Thursday in the state Senate even after being revised to placate the National Rifle Association and other critics.

Senators voted 13-to-6 Thursday to reject the measure, which was pushed by Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. His father, Vice President Joe Biden, has been spearheading the administration's efforts to expand background checks and pass other gun restrictions since the mass shooting last December at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 dead.

The Delaware legislation had cleared the House with only one dissenting vote.

"I'm very disappointed. This was a commonsense piece of legislation," Beau Biden said. "... I can't explain what happened today in the state Senate."

The bill had been pulled from the Senate agenda Tuesday, but Rep. Michael Barbieri, the chief sponsor, said he was unaware of any problems prior to Thursday's Senate vote.

"I'm pretty shocked, especially since we compromised on our side" said Barbieri, D-Newark. "I thought we had appeased everybody, including the NRA."

After successfully pushing for an amendment to raise the standard of proof for taking away someone's guns, the NRA took a neutral stance on the bill, neither endorsing nor opposing it. The NRA had said it would oppose the bill unless the standard of proof for declaring a person dangerous was changed from "a preponderance of evidence" as initially written, to "clear and convincing evidence."

"We no longer consider the bill a significant threat to law-abiding gun owners," NRA lobbyist Shannon Alford told the Senate.

But lawmakers said they received several calls in opposition to the bill just prior to the vote.

"Today, our phones were flooding," said Senate sponsor Margaret Rose Henry, a Wilmington Democrat. "... It was a grassroots effort at the last minute that really threw things off."

The bill would have required mental health providers, including licensed school counselors, to call police if they believed a person posed a danger to himself or others. Police would investigate and would refer the case to the attorney general's office if they believed the person shouldn't have access to a gun.

The attorney general's office could then ask a judge to prohibit the person from buying or possessing a gun. The judge also could order the seizure of any guns that the person owns.

But some critics feared the legislation would infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms and make it difficult for them to get their guns returned. Some lawmakers also expressed concern that the legislation could discourage people from seeking mental health treatment for fear that their firearms could be seized.

"I think it went beyond what was correct in being able to confiscate someone's guns," said Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, R-Milford.

Beau Biden described the bill as a direct response to mass shootings such as the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo. The suspect in that shooting, which left 12 people dead and 70 injured, was being seen by a psychiatrist before the attack.

Said Biden: "I'm not giving up on this."

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/27/delaware-gun-bill_n_3513905.html

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White House Unveils Final Plan on Coverage for Contraception ...

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By Steve Reinberg and E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporters

FRIDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) ? The Obama administration on Friday issued what it called final rules that let religious organizations opt out of providing contraception coverage in their health insurance plans, as mandated by the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

The White House said employers at non-profit religious organizations such as houses of worship, hospitals and universities won?t have to offer free access to birth control, but their insurance companies will be made directly responsible for doing so.

Women who request birth control will be able to get it free of co-pays or premiums, as required by the Affordable Care Act. But non-profit religious organizations can refuse to cover birth control, leaving the woman?s insurance company with the responsibility of coverage.

?The health care law helps ensure that millions of women have coverage for critical preventive services without cost sharing,? Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, deputy director of policy and regulation at the Center for Consumer Information, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during an afternoon news conference.

These services include contraception ?because there are tremendous health benefits for women that come from using contraception,? she said.

Friday?s revised rules are similar to earlier proposed rules, in which houses of worship such as churches can exclude contraceptive coverage from their health plans for their employees and their dependents.

?Today?s announcement reinforces our commitment to respect the concerns of houses of worship and other non-profit religious organizations that object to contraceptive coverage, while helping to ensure that women get the care they need, regardless of where they work,? Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

The revised rule, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2014, follows more than a year of protests and legal action from Roman Catholics, conservative Protestants and many employers who maintain that the contraception provision in the Affordable Care Act ? the Obama administration?s sweeping 2010 health reform law ? violates their religious beliefs on birth control.

It?s not clear if Friday?s announcement will satisfy opponents of the contraception provision.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court in Denver ruled that Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain, can proceed with its challenge to the birth-control mandate and won?t be subject to fines.

The changes offered Friday appear to be the Obama administration?s attempt to satisfy both sides on the issue ? religious leaders who object to providing contraception to employees, and those who wish to see that all women retain free access to birth control.

The White House first found itself embroiled in a political fight with Catholic Church officials after a Jan. 20, 2012, announcement that all religious-affiliated employers, with the exception of churches and other houses of worship, would have to cover free birth control as part of routine preventive care for women. These institutions were given until August 2013 to comply with the rule.

More information

For more on birth control, visit the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/06/28/white-house-unveils-final-plan-on-coverage-for-contraception-2/

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Friday, June 28, 2013

How Hackers Beat The NSA In The '90s And How They Can Do It Again

FILE PHOTO NSA Compiles Massive Database Of Private Phone Calls

While the world parses the ramifications of the National Security Agency's massive snooping operation, it's important to remember an earlier government attempt at data collection and, more important, how a group of hackers and activists banded together to stop it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SYe3YiXcLmc/

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New maps depict impact of HIV in America

June 27, 2013 ? Today, on National HIV Testing Day, the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University launched its annual update of AIDSVu, including new interactive online maps that show the latest HIV prevalence data for 20 U.S. cities by ZIP code or census tract. AIDSVu also includes new city snapshots displaying HIV prevalence alongside various social determinants of health -- such as poverty, lack of health insurance and educational attainment.

AIDSVu -- the most detailed publicly available view of HIV prevalence in the United States -- is a compilation of interactive online maps that display HIV prevalence data at the national, state and local levels and by different demographics, including age, race and sex. The maps pinpoint areas of the country where the rates of people living with an HIV diagnosis are the highest. These areas include urban centers in the Northeast and the South, and visualize where the needs for prevention, testing, and treatment services are the most urgent.

"Our National HIV/AIDS Strategy calls for reducing new HIV infections by intensifying our efforts in HIV prevention where the epidemic is most concentrated. AIDSVu provides a roadmap to identifying those high-prevalence areas of the HIV epidemic and showing where the local testing resources are located," says Patrick S. Sullivan, PhD, DVM, professor of epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, and the principal researcher for AIDSVu. "The addition of new city data means that AIDSVu now displays data from 20 U.S. cities. This expanded city information is critical because most HIV diagnoses in the United States occur in cities."

The free, interactive online tool's new data and features include:

National maps displaying 2010 data at the state-and county-level, the most recent national HIV prevalence data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Interactive maps of HIV prevalence data by census tract for Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

New ZIP code level maps for five U.S. cities -- Memphis, Orlando, San Diego, Tampa and Virginia Beach; and updated ZIP code maps for Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles County, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan and Washington, D.C.

HIV prevalence maps alongside social determinants of health -- poverty, lack of health insurance, median household income, educational attainment and income inequality -- in side-by-side map views for 20 cities, in addition to the existing state views.

AIDSVu maps illustrate the geographic variations in the HIV epidemic across the United States:

The national map shows significantly higher rates of people living with HIV in the Northeast and the South than in much of the rest of the country. AIDSVu's city maps demonstrate that, in many cities, there is a pattern of heavily impacted urban cores with relatively lower impact in areas further from city centers.

The data on AIDSVu's maps can be viewed by race/ethnicity. AIDSVu shows that HIV disproportionately affects black and Hispanic/Latino Americans, and that these disparities exist in both major metropolitan areas and rural areas.

AIDSVu also provides downloadable and printable resources -- including slide sets of the various map views available on the site -- to help those who work in HIV prevention and treatment educate others about the U.S. epidemic.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Emory Health Sciences.

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

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/gExrqg0VsxY/130627142555.htm

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Obama clashes with African host over gay rights

President Barack Obama listens as Senegalese President Macky Sall speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace, in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama looks out of the "door of no return" during a tour of Goree Island, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Goree Island, Senegal. Goree Island is the site of the former slave house and embarkation point built by the Dutch in 1776, from which slaves were brought to the Americas. The "door of no return" was the entrance to the slave ships. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, speaks with Senegalese President Macky Sall during a bilateral meeting at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. President Obama landed in Senegal Wednesday night to kick off a weeklong trip to Africa, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president's lack of personal engagement during his first term. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he poses for a picture alongside U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, second right, Senegalese President Macky Sall, right, and Senegalese First Lady Mariame Faye Sall at the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Obama arrived in Senegal Wednesday night to kick off a weeklong trip to Africa, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president's lack of personal engagement during his first term. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

People line the motorcade route of U.S. President Barack Obama on his way to meet with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Thursday praised the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage as a "victory for American democracy" but clashed with his African host over gay rights in a sign of how far the movement has to go internationally.

Obama said recognition of gay unions in the United States should cross state lines and that equal rights should be recognized universally. It was his first chance to expand on his thoughts about the ruling, which was issued Wednesday as he flew to Senegal, one of many African countries that outlaw homosexuality.

Senegalese President Macky Sall rebuffed Obama's call for Africans to give gays equal rights under the law.

"We are still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality," Sall said, while insisting that the country is "very tolerant" and needs more time to digest the issue without pressure. "This does not mean we are homophobic."

Obama said gay rights didn't come up in their private meeting at the presidential palace, a mansion that looks somewhat similar to the White House. But Obama said he wants to send a message to Africans that while he respects differing personal and religious views on the matter, it's important to have nondiscrimination under the law.

"People should be treated equally, and that's a principle that I think applies universally," he said.

A report released Monday by Amnesty International says 38 African countries criminalize homosexuality. In four of those ? Mauritania, northern Nigeria, southern Somalia and Sudan ? the punishment is death. These laws appear to have broad public support. A June 4 Pew Research Center survey found at least nine of 10 respondents in Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria believe homosexuality should not be accepted by society.

Papi Nbodj, a 19-year-old student who stood by the road to the presidential palace to see Obama's arrival, said homosexuality is against the religious beliefs of most in Senegal.

"We are in a Muslim country, so we certainly cannot have it here," he said. "And for me it's not OK to have this anywhere in the world."

Sall sought to reassure Obama that gays are not persecuted in Senegal. But under Senegalese law, "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex" can be punished by up to five years in prison.

Ndeye Kebe, president of a human rights organization that works with homosexuals called Women's Smile, disputed Sall's contention that gays are not discriminated against.

"I know of around a dozen people who are in prison for homosexuality as we speak," she said. "There wasn't any real proof against them, but they were found guilty and they are in prison."

And as recently as February of 2008, police rounded up men suspected of being homosexual after a Senegalese tabloid published photographs of a clandestine gay wedding in a suburb of Dakar. Gays went into hiding or fled to neighboring countries, but they were pushed out of Gambia by the president's threat of decapitation.

As for Wednesday's court ruling, Obama said he's directing his administration to comb through every federal statute to quickly determine the implications of a decision that gave the nation's legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans.

He said he wants to make sure that gay couples who deserve benefits under the ruling get them quickly. Obama said he personally believes that gay couples legally married in one state should retain their benefits if they move to another state that doesn't recognize gay marriage.

"I believe at the root of who we are as a people, as Americans, is the basic precept that we are all equal under the law," he said. "We believe in basic fairness. And what I think yesterday's ruling signifies is one more step towards ensuring that those basic principles apply to everybody."

Obama also offered prayers for former South African President Nelson Mandela, who is gravely ill, ahead of Obama's planned visit to his country this weekend. Obama said he was inspired to become political active by Mandela's example in the anti-apartheid movement of being willing to sacrifice his life for a belief in equal treatment.

"I think he's a hero for the world," Obama said. "And if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."

Hundreds awaited Obama behind barricades later at Goree Island on Africa's westernmost point, where Africans were said to be have been shipped off into slavery across the Atlantic Ocean. Obama peered out at the crashing waves through the island's "Door of No Return," at first by himself and later joined by his wife, Michelle, and two daughters. Emerging minutes later, Obama said the site painted a powerful picture of the magnitude of the slave trade as he reflected on the ties many in the U.S. share with the continent.

"For an African-American, an African-American president, to be able to visit this site gives me even greater motivation in terms of human rights around the world," he said.

Obama's focus in Senegal is on the modern-day achievements of the former French colony after half a century of independence. Sall ousted an incumbent who attempted to change the constitution to make it easier for him to be re-elected and pave the way for his son to succeed him. The power grab sparked protests, fueled by hip-hop music and social media, that led to Sall's election.

"Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and one of the strongest partners that we have in the region," Obama said. "It's moving in the right direction with reforms to deepen democratic institutions."

But such people-powered democratic transitions are not always the story of the African experience. Fighting and human rights abuses limited Obama's options for stops in his first major tour of sub-Saharan Africa since he took office more than four years ago. Obama is avoiding his father's homeland, Kenya, whose president has been charged with war crimes, and Nigeria, the country with the continent's most dominant economy. Nigeria is enveloped in an Islamist insurgency and military crackdown.

Obama's itinerary in Senegal was designed to send a message, purposefully delivered in a French-speaking, Muslim-majority nation, to other Africans in countries that have not made the strides toward democracy that Senegal has. Obama also met with civil society leaders at the Goree Institute and visited the Supreme Court to speak about the importance of an independent judiciary and the rule of law in Africa's development.

___

Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi and Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar and Julie Pace in Goree Island, Senegal, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-27-Obama/id-cfd9dcd4d765438f9740549037cfaf81

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L.A., Owens Valley settle dispute over dust control

By Louis Sahagun

June 26, 2013, 10:17 p.m.

Los Angeles and the Owens Valley have reached a settlement in their dispute over new measures to control dust storms that have blown across the eastern Sierra Nevada since L.A. opened an aqueduct a century ago that drained Owens Lake.

Under terms of the agreement, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will fast-track mitigation measures that do not use water, and the utility will be allowed to lay down a thinner layer of gravel to suppress dust. The recently discovered location of a Native American massacre at Owens Lake will be excluded from mitigation efforts because they would disturb the 328-acre site.

The utility has already spent $1.2 billion on dust mitigation measures that began 16 years ago on orders from the Owens Valley air pollution agency, the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District. In 2011, Great Basin ordered the DWP to do even more by taking steps to control dust on an additional 2.9 square miles of lake bed, including the area later found to include the massacre site.

The agreement pledges the DWP to provide Great Basin with a one-time contribution of $10 million to cover the costs of controlling dust at nearby Keeler Dunes, which lie just east of the dry lake.

Also, the utility will have the right to audit Great Basin's books on an annual basis to verify that the funds were used to quench dust rising off the dunes, according to the 14-page settlement that is subject to the approval of the DWP Board of Commissioners.

The settlement comes after three months of intense negotiations between the two agencies ? as well as state air pollution regulators and L.A. water officials. The agreement was hastened by the discovery of the spot where 35 Paiute Indians were shot to death by U.S. cavalry soldiers and local ranchers in 1863. Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Reservation tribal leaders want the site left undisturbed.

DWP and Great Basin officials declined to comment, pending a mutual announcement expected to come Thursday.

The dispute underscored acrimony that has simmered between the DWP and Owens Valley residents since the early 1900s, when city agents posed as farmers and ranchers to buy up land and water rights for the aqueduct needed to slake the thirst of the growing metropolis to the south. The city's 233-mile-long aqueduct reduced the lake to a dry expanse that is the largest single source of particulate matter air pollution in the country.

A federal court judge in May dismissed a lawsuit filed by the DWP that alleged that Great Basin was forcing the city to waste billions of gallons of High Sierra water on dust control measures.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/xKr75RPbQmE/la-me-dwp-pollution-20130627,0,3471191.story

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CNN Reviving 'Crossfire' With Newt Gingrich, S.E. Cupp, Stephanie Cutter and Van Jones

By Tim Molloy

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - CNN is reviving "Crossfire" in the fall with conservative hosts Newt Gingrich and S.E. Cupp and liberals Stephanie Cutter and Van Jones.

The show previously ran from 1982 to 2005. The four hosts will also appear on CNN's other coverage. Cupp is joining CNN from MSNBC, which she is one of the network's most prominent conservative voices as a host of "The Cycle."

"Following the successful launches of 'Around theWorld,' 'The Lead with Jake Tapper,' and 'New Day,' we felt it was the right time to turn our attention next to 'Crossfire,'" said Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN. "This will be the next step in reinvigorating our lineup of live programs."

Newt Gingrich is the former Speaker of the House and former Republican presidential candidate. The former Fox News contributor has published 24 books.

Cupp is the author of "Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity" and co-author of "Why You're Wrong About the Right." She will continue her role as a contributor to TheBlaze. She is also a columnist at the New York Daily News and a contributing editor at Townhall Magazine.

Stephanie Cutter is a partner at Precision Strategies, a strategic consulting firm started with three veterans from the Obama 2012 campaign team. She served as the deputy campaign manager for President Obama's re-election campaign and joined Obama's 2008 campaign as Michelle Obama's chief of staff and senior adviser to then Senator Obama.

Van Jones is the founding president of Rebuild the Dream, an organization that searches for ways to improve the U.S. economy. He is the author of two The New York Times best selling books, "The Green Collar Economy" and "Rebuild the Dream." In 2009, Jones worked as the green jobs advisor for the Obama administration.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cnn-reviving-crossfire-newt-gingrich-e-cupp-stephanie-230724413.html

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Saudi Arabia says Syrian war on rebels is 'genocide'

By Lesley Wroughton

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday the Syrian government's attempts to suppress a rebellion amounted to "genocide" and called for rebels to get military aid to defend themselves, in a sharp escalation of rhetoric over the conflict.

Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah, Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal criticized Iran, Russia and Hezbollah for backing and arming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Syria is facing a double-edged attack. It is facing genocide by the government and an invasion from outside the government ... (It) is facing a massive flow of weapons to aid and abet that invasion and that genocide. This must end," he said.

The prince did not spell out what he meant by genocide but the kingdom has accused Assad of using air and artillery strikes against heavily populated civilian areas.

The Syrian war has also become increasingly sectarian, pitting the president, from an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, against rebels mostly from the country's Sunni Muslim majority.

The fighting has accentuated sectarian divisions across the region. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states have already sent arms to the insurgents, while analysts and diplomats say Shi'ite power Iran, along with Russia, is among Assad's main suppliers.

Prince Saud said the world's top oil exporter "cannot be silent" at the recent decision by Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah to send fighters into Syria to back Assad - the latest sign of how Syria's neighbors are getting entangled.

"The most dangerous development is the foreign participation, represented by Hezbollah and other militias supported by the forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," the prince said, repeating a call for rebels to be armed.

"The kingdom calls for issuing an unequivocal international resolution to halt the provision of arms to the Syrian regime and states the illegitimacy of the regime," he added.

KERRY TALKS

Kerry has returned to the Middle East after a two-day visit to India and, his aides say, will continue efforts to strengthen the Syrian opposition and revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

In Jeddah, Kerry held discussions with Prince Saud and Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who coordinates the kingdom's efforts to topple Assad.

The discussions included Washington's plans for providing direct military support to General Salim Idriss of the Supreme Military Council, the military wing of Syria's main civilian opposition group.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will arm the rebels but has not disclosed what type of assistance he will provide.

Kerry is trying to ensure that the aid to the rebels is properly coordinated among the allies, in part out of concern that weapons could end up in the hands of extremist groups.

"Our goal is very clear, we cannot let this be a wider war. We cannot let this contribute to more bloodshed and prolongation of the agony of the people of Syria," he said at the conference.

A meeting between Kerry and European and Arab counterparts in Doha last week agreed to increase support for Syria's rebels although there was no consensus over providing arms, with Germany and Italy strongly opposed.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict, which began as a protest movement against Assad.

(Reporting By Mahmoud Habboush and Lesley Wroughton, Editing by Angus McDowall and Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-says-syrian-war-rebels-genocide-160955544.html

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Rock out like it's 1972! Black Sabbath tops charts

Music

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper TODAY

13 hours ago

Chelsea Lauren / WireImage

Black Sabbath, shown with original drummer Bill Ward at left, in 2011. Ward does not play on the band's new album, but Ozzy Osbourne says he has hopes the original lineup will return for the next one.

It took 45 years, but they did it: Black Sabbath's new album, "13," topped the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 155,000 copies in its first week. It also topped the UK albums chart.

"Thanks for allowing Sabbath into your homes for the past 43 years," the band tweeted.

The group's Twitter account also sent out a photo of a page in Billboard showing Sabbath topping the list, beating out albums by Daft Punk and Justin Timberlake.

Fans responded quickly to Sabbath's thank you.

"no Thank YOU for the best Music made!!!!!" wrote Dan McFeely.

"THANK YOU BLACK SABBATH FOR YOU!! EVEN WHEN WE HAD TO ARGUE WITH OUR CATHOLIC MOTHERS THAT U WERE NOT DEVIL MUSIC!" wrote another fan.

"13" features the return of lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, who joins original Sabbath members Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi and Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk. Original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward does not play on the album due to a contract dispute. But Osbourne says the band is working on another new album and wants Ward back for it.

"We would have loved to have Bill on this album," Osbourne reportedly told The Pulse of Radio.com. "Maybe we can work things out by the next one."

Osbourne did suggest that Ward may need some help on the drums. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper," he said. "I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something."

But Ward had better work things out with Sabbath quickly. Osbourne said a new album will be quick. "It won't take another 35 years. I'm 65 now. There's no (expletive) recording studios in the afterlife."

Reviews of "13" have generally been positive. Rolling Stone compared the album to early Sabbath, writing that "13" "revisits, and to an extent recaptures, the crushing, awesomely doomy spectacle of their first few records." And AllMusic.com says, "the results are unexpectedly brilliant, apocalyptic, and essential for any die-hard metal fan."

Black Sabbath plans a 20-city North American tour, beginning July 25 in Houston.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/black-sabbath-thanks-fans-first-chart-topping-album-6C10441573

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Pats release Hernandez in homicide investigation

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2013 file photo, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez runs after a catch during the second half of an AFC divisional playoff NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Foxborough, Mass. Hernandez has been taken from his home in Attleboro, Mass. in handcuffs, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from his house. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2012 file photo, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez (81) tries to break free of Buffalo Bills linebacker Chris Kelsay (90) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass. Hernandez has been taken from his home in handcuffs, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from his house. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

The New England Patriots didn't wait for Aaron Hernandez's legal troubles to play themselves out.

Hours after police arrested Hernandez in connection with a homicide probe Wednesday, the Patriots cut the tight end who had signed a five-year deal with New England just last summer.

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing," the team said in a statement. "We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do."

Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs early Wednesday, more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez's house.

Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old member of the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17. Officials ruled the death a homicide but did not say how Lloyd died.

The NFL released a statement expressing sympathy to Lloyd's family.

"The involvement of an NFL player in a case of this nature is deeply troubling. The Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez, who will have his day in court," it read. "At the same time, we should not forget the young man who was the victim in this case and take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to Odin Lloyd's family and friends."

The 23-year-old Hernandez was an All-American at Florida and part of a tight end duo in New England that was among the league's most productive.

But heading into the 2010 NFL draft at least one team said it took him off its draft board ? refusing to select him under any circumstances ? and all of the other teams in the league bypassed him repeatedly as he fell to New England in the fourth round.

Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a single drug test in college ? reportedly for marijuana ? and was up front with teams about it.

Ever since he became entangled in the investigation into Lloyd's death, other off-field issues have become public.

A South Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club. The man, who lost his right eye, told police after the February incident that he did not know who shot him.

The Boston Globe reported that Hernandez lost his temper and threatened teammate Wes Welker during an argument in the team's weight room shortly after being drafted.

Hernandez became a father to a daughter on Nov. 6, and he said it made him think.

"I'm engaged now and I have a baby. So it's just going to make me think of life a lot differently and doing things the right way," he said. "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm going to try to do the right things, become a good father and (have her) be raised like I was raised."

The loss of Hernandez deprives the Patriots of the second half of one of the league's best tight end tandems. Fellow Pro Bowl selection Rob Gronkowski has had five operations this offseason on his back and broken left forearm.

Hernandez was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2011, when he caught 79 passes for 910 yards and seven touchdowns. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury.

In 38 games over his three NFL seasons, the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Hernandez has 175 receptions for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns. Last summer, the Patriots gave Hernandez a five-year contract worth $41 million just months after the team locked up Gronkowski through 2019.

"Aaron's improved a lot," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said at the time. "He's worked hard, he's improved a lot in all phases of the game ? the passing game, the running game, protection and his overall versatility. He's doing a good job for us."

Despite the size that makes him a capable blocker, Hernandez has the speed and moves of a wide receiver and is elusive after making a catch.

Born in Bristol, Conn., Hernandez played at Bristol High School before attending Florida, where he won the John Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end as a junior in 2009. He was college teammates with two current Patriots ? quarterback Tim Tebow and linebacker Brandon Spikes on the team that won the national championship in 2009.

Hernandez had shoulder surgery in April, but was expected to be ready for training camp. The Patriots did not say which shoulder was operated on.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-26-Patriots-Hernandez%20Released/id-d1155a99510f42609442dc4fc8c6533f

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Nikkei: Microsoft porting first-party game franchises to Android and iOS

Microsoft is selective about where its first-party game franchises appear -- outside of lightweight releases like Kinectimals and Wordament, it prefers to use games as technology showcases and system sellers. It may not be picky for much longer, though, as Nikkei claims that Microsoft has reached a deal with Japan's KLab to develop Android and iOS versions of its first-party titles. The deal reportedly includes adaptations of both PC and Xbox games, and would start with a free-to-play variant of Age of Empires that could launch before the end of the 2013 fiscal year. We've reached out to Microsoft to verify the rumor, but it's clear that the arrangement could be a breakthrough for gamers who aren't wedded to Microsoft's existing mobile strategy.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Microsoft

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Via: Reuters

Source: Nikkei (subscription required)

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

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Xbox Music web version launching next week, Microsoft confirms

Microsoft's Xbox Music will launch on the web "next week," a company representative confirmed to Engadget this afternoon. The service was previously only available to folks using various Microsoft devices and operating systems, from the Xbox 360 to Windows 8 / RT / Windows Phone 8, but the service is going wide online for its next step. The web-based service is expected to launch at music.xbox.com, and looks significantly different from the layout seen above.

The company isn't sharing more details just yet, but a report on The Verge citing unnamed sources has a few more tidbits. Apparently the service will function similarly to Spotify's web version, offering streaming and playlist management through your favorite web browser. Additionally, the Windows 8 app is reportedly getting an update with Windows 8.1, which both changes its look and adds support for SD cards. It's very likely we'll have even more details on Xbox Music's upcoming updates from Microsoft's Build developer conference this week, so keep an eye out!

Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/xbox-music-web-version/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Giant panda gives birth to twin cubs in China

A rare giant panda has given birth to a pair of infant pandas. The panda twins are the first born in captivity this year.

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / June 24, 2013

A researcher holds a newborn giant panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan province. Giant panda Hai Zi gave birth to the world's first twin pandas this year in the reserve on Saturday.

Reuters

Enlarge

In the animal kingdom, this birth was royal.

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A giant panda gave birth to twins in China on Saturday, the first pair of the rare species to be born this year, The Telegraph reported.

Born to panda-mother Haizi in Sichuan province?s Wolong Nature Reserve, in China's southwest, the two cubs join just some 1,900 pandas worldwide (including about 300 endangered animals in captivity).

"This is the first time a giant panda has given birth to twins, anywhere in the world, this year," conservation expert Liu Chunhua told The Telegraph.

While panda twins are not unusual, they pose special challenges because panda mothers tend to ignore one of the twins.? But the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in China has had success in boosting the survival rate of twins by secretly swapping them. The BBC reports:

"Whenever a cub was abandoned after birth, keepers at the Chengdu centre swiftly moved it to an incubator. Panda mothers were tricked into caring for twins as staff stealthily rotated them between their mother and the incubators. The survival rate of cubs rose to 98% through this combination of maternal care and artificial support."

Generally, pandas are difficult to breed, especially in captivity. Female pandas are fertile for only about two or three days a year. Haizi became pregnant after conservationists introduced her to male pandas Bai Yang and Yi Bao in March.

Staff at the reserve have not yet been able to determine the gender of the first-born cub, as its mother is still cradling the baby animal in her arms. But staff have said that its sounds and apparent size suggest that it is healthy.?

The second cub, born some 10 minutes after its sibling, is a female cub weighing under 79.2 grams. That puts the little pink infant at about 1/900 the size of its mother.

The giant panda, the WWF?s mascot animal, is an international symbol of conservation efforts. Efforts to protect its dwindling forest habitat in China and to rescue it from poachers have surged in recent years, with the Chinese government establishing more 50 panda reserves within some 45 percent of the giant panda?s habitat. Still, some 40 percent of China's pandas do not live in protected zones.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/2zHVMOBXwqQ/Giant-panda-gives-birth-to-twin-cubs-in-China

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