Twitter lawsuit threatened over alleged Hezbollah aid

Hezbollah-controlled al-Manar television currently maintains a Twitter account with roughly 7,500 followers.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center is threatening legal action against Twitter
• The center claims Twitter has aided Hezbollah and al-Shabaab by allowing them to use its services
• The center notes that U.S. law prohibits any aid to officially designated terrorist organizations
• A free speech advocate warns of a possible restriction of Internet freedom

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Is Twitter aiding and abetting terrorism?

The director of an Israeli legal outfit says yes, and is threatening to sue the micro-blogging site if it doesn't change its policies.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, sent a letter to Twitter on Thursday asserting that the company is violating U.S. law by allowing groups such as Hezbollah and al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab to use its popular online network.

"It has come to our attention that Twitter Inc. provides social media and associated services to such foreign terrorist organizations," Darshan-Leitner wrote.

"Please be advised that (doing so) is illegal and will expose Twitter Inc. and its officers to both criminal prosecution and civil liability to American citizens and others victimized" by Hezbollah, al-Shabaab and other foreign terrorist entities.

Twitter declined to comment when contacted by CNN.

In her letter, Darshan-Leitner noted that Hezbollah and al-Shabaab are officially designated as terrorist organizations under U.S. law. She also cited a 2010 Supreme Court case -- Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project -- which upheld a key provision of the Patriot Act prohibiting material support to groups designated as terrorist outfits.

"Your provision of social media and associated services to Hezbollah and other foreign terrorist organizations would constitute the type of seemingly innocuous material support that would render your company and you personally criminally and civilly liable," she told Twitter CEO Richard Costolo.

Hezbollah-controlled al-Manar television currently maintains a Twitter account with roughly 7,500 followers. Other groups considered terrorist organizations by the United States also maintain accounts. Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, posts regularly on at least one government-controlled account.

Darshan-Leitner says she realizes there will be stiff opposition to a potential lawsuit from free speech advocates, but told CNN she nevertheless hopes Twitter will change its policies.

"Once you bring it to their attention, they cannot say that they don't know," she said.

Aden Fine, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, told CNN that the Supreme Court "has not directly addressed the issue of whether any speech allegedly supportive of a designated terrorist organization is unlawful." But "the government can't force private companies to censor lawful speech just because the government doesn't like the speech or the people making the speech," he said.

Fine noted that since the Internet depends on private companies such as Twitter to function, any clampdown or adverse ruling could be used to restrict everyone's online communications.

Social networks Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been lauded for the role they played in the Arab Spring, a series of anti-regime protests that erupted across the Middle East starting in late 2010. The online networks and instant messaging services were used extensively to spread the word about demonstrations, especially in the case of the Egyptian uprising that toppled longtime strongman President Hosni Mubarak.

A number of governments, however, have started arguing for stricter controls. Authorities in the United Kingdom say rioters used social the networks to coordinate mass civil disobedience earlier this year in London. State prosecutors in Mexico have accused two people of terrorism and sabotage by claiming that their Twitter posts helped spread false rumors about a school attack, leading to real-life violence on the streets of Veracruz.

The Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center describes itself as a civil rights organization dedicated to "combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes that support them through lawsuits litigated in courtrooms around the world." It supported a similar campaign earlier this year directed at social media giant Facebook.

Among other things, the center succeeded in getting Facebook to pull down a page created by Palestinian activists calling for a "Third Intifada" against Israel.

CNN's Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/30/world/meast/israel-twitter-lawsuit/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

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income tax in india [updated]

sir iwant to dicuss my idea for getting black money to india ,taxtion system of india income tax . sir pls give me 2 hours so that i can get my idea of getting black money and more tax payer i am not joking give me chance tax must be paid by heart not by force so that india can become superpower taxpayer should also get reservation in their children education sir pls give me chance inform me 15 day before so that i can do prepartion sir yeh badi sharm ki bat hai 120 crore population and only 6 crore tax payer that is pan card holder sir give chance to give my idea .

Source: http://ndtvprofit.uservoice.com/forums/40941-general/suggestions/2482156-income-tax-in-india

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GOP's Santorum fighting to contend in leadoff Iowa (AP)

MASON CITY, Iowa ? Rick Santorum isn't going down without a fight. In fact, that fight seems to be lifting him ? at exactly the right time.

The Republican presidential candidate who has logged more miles in Iowa than any of his rivals is starting to see his work begin to pay off with a growing list of supporters and a new poll that shows the little-known former Pennsylvania senator vaulting into contention here five days before the Jan. 3 caucuses.

"We've got momentum," Santorum, a long-overlooked candidate in the GOP race, told people at a diner Wednesday in Independence, a day after sounding a similar tone in Mason City. He told reporters: "I have a shot and I'm feeling better about that shot every day, the top three. This could be a late-breaking race. Now we just have to get over the hurdle of convincing people we can win."

By evening, the candidate was telling CNN "hard work pays off, as it does in most areas of life" after the network, in conjunction with Time, released a survey that moved him from the back of the pack to third place behind Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Indeed, there is new evidence that Iowa Republicans, many of whom are still undecided and looking for a consensus conservative, are starting to give Santorum a fresh look as the caucuses loom and the prospect of a victory by Romney or Paul ? considered less conservative than their rivals ? becomes more realistic.

Santorum tried to press that point at a Dubuque furniture store, acknowledging anger in the electorate while also saying: "If you want to stick it to the man, don't vote for Ron Paul. That's not sticking it to anybody but the Republican Party."

In recent days, Santorum's crowds have started growing as he rallies conservatives with a pit bull's pugnaciousness, and just a touch of anger. He began airing a new radio ad Wednesday that, while less obvious than a television spot, can be effective in reaching niche conservatives in rural Iowa. And now, the poll that shows him with 16 percent of support in Iowa.

But he still faces hurdles. His cash-strapped campaign has only just started running TV ads, and his organization is small in a state whose contests rely on the ability of campaigns to turn out a slew of supporters.

Even so, Iowans could end up giving him credit for campaigning in the state the old-fashioned way ? in living rooms, coffee shops and town squares ? even as his rivals relied mostly on TV ads, debates and media interviews. Santorum has built his organization painstakingly, having visited all 99 counties, including at times when there was only one GOP activists to greet him.

His rise comes at a critical moment: conservatives have tested others ? helping several candidates rise and quickly fall ? and now are focusing on the caucuses, just five days away.

"Rick Santorum could be a real surprise," said former Dallas County GOP Chairman Rob Taylor.

He has earned the support of a number of key backers of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Republican caucuses. They include former gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, conservative Sioux City radio host Sam Clovis and some influential evangelical pastors.

Santorum landed the endorsement Tuesday of evangelical conservative activists Alex and Brett Harris, founders of Huck's Army, a national group that supported Huckabee's 2008 campaign. On Wednesday, Steve Sukup, a conservative business leader and former state legislator, announced he was supporting Santorum.

"He's the only candidate in this race I trust," said Chuck Laudner, a veteran Iowa GOP operative who introduced Santorum to more than 100 party activists on Santorum's fourth trip to Mason City. "And he's a fighter."

As if to prove the point, Santorum launched into a speech filled with pokes at the national media and his rivals. For 90 minutes, he tore into President Barack Obama, Hollywood and moderate Republicans ? and, by implication, rival Romney.

While Santorum's profile in Congress as a social-issues crusader bought him entree with influential evangelical conservatives in Iowa, it's his unhesitating attack on liberals that seems to be fueling his rise in internal polls by rival campaigns.

"Let's look at colleges and universities," Santorum said in the ballroom of the restored Frank Lloyd Wright Park Inn Hotel on Mason City's town square. "They've become indoctrination centers for the left. Should we be subsidizing that?"

Santorum tossed out Harvard University's motto, "Veritas," Latin for truth. "They haven't seen truth at Harvard in 100 years."

Santorum refers to Obama as a "radical." Just as easily, though, he calls his own party's leaders "the good old guys you can count on to sell out in the end."

Even in entertaining questions from voters, he is frank and at times pointed.

"No, you're missing my point," he told Mason City Republican Julia Jones, a retired factory worker, as he tried to explain Social Security.

Jones, who walked into the event weighing Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, liked what she heard ? and decided to support Santorum.

"He doesn't soften the edges, but he doesn't talk down to you either," Jones said. "He's just in-depth."

___

Associated Press writer Mike Glover in Independence, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_el_pr/us_santorum_the_fighter

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Khan Academy Jumps To 4M Uniques Per Month (Up 4X From Last Year)

Oh, how I love Reddit AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) posts. In almost all cases, the inherent down-to-earth nature of a community-driven interview leads the most interesting of people to open up in genuine, honest ways that they otherwise might not in a one-on-one interview. Plus, they're almost always jammed with all sorts of interesting facts and stats. Take this AMA with Khan Academy's founder, Salman Khan, for example. Currently the top post on Reddit, Khan has spent the last two hours detailing everything from their recent growth and his workflow to the team's plans for the future.

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

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North Korea begins memorial for Kim Jong Il

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, center, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, center, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean successor Kim Jong Un salutes as the funeral procession of late leader Kim Jong Il returned to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean military personnel cry during a funeral for late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in snowy Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN)

In this image made from KRT video, Kim Jong Un, foreground, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, salutes as he walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession for the late North Korean leader in snowy Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. Walking behind Kim Jong Un is Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

In this image made from KRT video, North Korean military personnel attend the funeral for late leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans packed the main plaza in Pyongyang as the nation's next leader looked on from a balcony at a solemn memorial for late leader Kim Jong Il Thursday.

Kim Jong Un stood watching from a balcony at the Grand People's Study House overlooking Kim Il Sung Square, flanked by the top party and military officials.

It was a cold, gray day as the memorial began with a silent tribute for the man who led his 24 million people with absolute rule for 17 years after taking power following the 1994 death of his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.

A sea of soldiers filled the square, often the site of the massive military parades that Kim Jong Il loved, some of the seen stamping and trying to keep warm before the ceremony began.

The entire country is engulfed in sadness, a solemn Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the ceremonial head of state, told the crowd. State television showed a smiling photograph of Kim Jong Il below him.

The memorial was taking place on the second day of funeral ceremonies for Kim Jong Il, who died of a heart attack Dec. 17 at age 69, according to state media.

The events are being watched closely for signs to who will take power in the next era of leadership in the country founded by Kim Il Sung in 1948 and led since then by the Kim family.

On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of mourners had lined the streets as Kim Jong Il's hearse had made its way through the snowy streets in a 2 1/2-hour-long funeral procession.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-28-AS-Kim-Jong-Il-The-Funeral/id-a1d5914b55f44485a79529814a0c54ef

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Advanced Technology Labs Israel: Year in Review

Posted by Adi Diamant, director of Advanced Technology Labs Israel

The latest in a series of posts from the directors of Microsoft Research?s labs worldwide, this one from Adi Diamant of Advanced Technology Labs Israel (ILABS).

ILABS has enjoyed a productive year, full of tech transfers and with a clear vision to continue and increase impact with more innovative ideas and breakthrough technologies in the areas of computer vision and interaction mining.

Computer Vision
During 2011, our OneVision researchers presented new, advanced technologies for face detection, recognition, and tracking, resulting in significantly improved algorithms that provide much better accuracy, recall, and efficiency.

Based on our unique combination of product-driven research and creative engineering, we managed to transfer our solutions to various product groups across Microsoft. Bing Images, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Phone, and Kinect benefited from improved face-detection and face-recognition solutions from our lab, and we continue to improve our face library to extend those contributions.

Bing Search
Collaborating with colleagues from Microsoft Research, our applied researchers contributed several new, improved features for Bing. We continue to foster innovative solutions to support Bing?s task-completion strategy, to improve Bing?s usability and relevance, and to leverage social networks to enhance the Bing experience.

Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/inside_microsoft_research/archive/2011/12/28/advanced-technology-labs-israel-year-in-review.aspx

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Payroll Tax Fight, Weak GOP Field Helps Obama

Even though House Republicans are now wisely folding their tents, their disarray this week over extending a payroll tax cut has left a sour taste at year's end in Washington, contributing in no small part to an even bigger political story: the resurrection of President Obama and his fellow Democrats heading toward the 2012 elections.

After the debt ceiling debacle of last summer, the conventional wisdom among many political analysts was that Obama would go the way of President Jimmy Carter, that Republicans would lose a few seats in the House but retain control, and that the GOP would surge into power in the Senate. In short, Republicans were looking for a clean sweep.

Related Topics: Obama administration

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/12/26/payroll_tax_fight_weak_gop_field_helps_obama_269905.html

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13 reported found dead in truck in eastern Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Dec 26 ? Thirteen bodies were found in an abandoned truck in eastern Mexico yesterday, local media reported, as a turf war between drug cartels spreads far from the border with the United States.

The truck was found during a routine security patrol near the border between the eastern states of Veracruz, a major oil-producing region, and Tamaulipas, local media said, citing state officials.

Messages left at the site suggested the dead were killed in a rivalry between criminal gangs, local media said.

Violent drug cartels that have long menaced Mexico?s northern border with the United States have moved into states such as Veracruz as they battle rivals for control of drug routes and other criminality.

On Thursday, three American citizens were killed in Veracruz when gunmen attacked the bus in which they were travelling.

On Friday, the tortured bodies of 10 people were found in Veracruz as a turf war between the Zetas gang and Gulf drug cartels intensifies.

In September, 35 bodies were dumped along a downtown highway in the Veracruz city of Boca del Rio.

More than 45,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. ? Reuters

Source: http://allnews.rss.themalaysianinsider.com/c/33362/f/567634/s/1b42c595/l/0L0Sthemalaysianinsider0N0Cworld0Carticle0C130Ereported0Efound0Edead0Ein0Etruck0Ein0Eeastern0Emexico0C/story01.htm

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Afternoon Offshores, Hermosa Beach, California -.jpg

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N. Korea: Military Generals Real Rulers, not Kim Jong Un (Time.com)

The policy under Kim Jong Il, North Korea's late Dear Leader, could not have had a name that was more straightforward: "military first politics." For most of Kim's 17-year reign as dictator, North Korea's military -- the Korean People's Army, or KPA -- got pretty much whatever it wanted. Even during the crippling famine, which killed tens of thousands in the late '90s, food was diverted to the military. Better a soldier with a full stomach, even if almost everyone else were starving, Kim seemed to think. "His position toward the military was one of weakness," says Christopher Hill, formerly the chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party nuclear talks.

Little wonder, then, that nearly everyone who tries to figure out what is happening in the world's most isolated regime believes that, in the wake of Kim's sudden death on Dec. 17, it is the military brass who will be firmly in control of the country, even as the young Kim Jong Un formally becomes what the Koreans call the suryong (supreme leader). "The military," says Hill, "will clearly be a critical factor in determining whether the [Kim] family dynasty survives." (See "After Kim Jong Il: A Look at the Kim Family Tree.")

Some analysts have argued that the North Korean brass were already deeply resentful that Kim Jong Un, in his late 20s, was last year given four stars and a position as vice chairman of the Central Military Committee "without having served a day in the military," as Victor Cha, who ran Asia policy on George W. Bush's National Security Council, recently put it. "Such a system," Cha says, "simply cannot hold."

This may overstate the regime's fragility, precisely because it underrates just how deeply rooted the Kim family dynasty is in North Korea and how deeply the KPA's interests are aligned with its continuation. The key man to watch, analysts say, is Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff in Pyongyang and, like Kim Jong Un, a chairman of the Central Military Committee, the key military policymaking body in the country. (See pictures of North Koreans mourning the death of Kim Jong Il.)

Ri, 69, is a third-generation elite who over the years established a close relationship with Kim Jong Il, and over the past two yeas was photographed at various public events seated alongside the late Dear Leader. He is also said to be close to Kim's sister as well as his brother-in-law Chang Sung Taek, the man who some believe is now Kim Jong Un's "regent," the power behind the throne who will be calling the shots. Ri is also a graduate of the Kim Il Sung Military Academy, as is Kim Jong Un. Diplomats and intelligence analysts believe there is no scenario under which the young Kim could have been elevated to the position of successor over the past two years without the brass's approval. "He's there because the military officials believe they can control him, at least for several years, and there's no other institution that can hold the place together," says an East Asia?based intelligence official. On Thursday, in fact, Reuters -- quoting an unnamed official with "close ties" to Beijing and Pyongyang -- reported that a "collective leadership'' arrangement has already been agreed to by Kim Jong Un and top military officials. (TIME has been unable to confirm this.) "The military has pledged its allegiance to Kim Jong Un," Reuters quoted its source as saying.

Most likely, that is vice versa. The military's powerful position in North Korean society can hardly be overestimated. Not only is it the overseer of the country's nuclear program -- the ultimate guarantor of Pyongyang's security -- but it is also its largest employer. There are over 1.1 million soldiers in the KPA's five branches, or nearly 20% of the male population between the ages of 17 and 54. It is also, therefore, the country's most powerful economic entity, the largest consumer of goods in the country as well as an exporter of missiles and nuclear technology via the shadowy Second Economic Committee, run by a man about whom little is known in the outside word -- Park Se Bong -- except for his reputed close ties with the ruling Kim clan. "Again, the boy would not be in this position if people like Park had strenuously objected," says the intelligence source. "People are reacting too much to the so-called suddenness of Kim Jong Il's death. This is a guy who had a severe stroke three years ago. For a while there, he looked like death warmed over. The idea that the regime didn't have its ducks in a row, that everyone assumed the Dear Leader was going to be around for another decade or more, doesn't withstand scrutiny. And the regime very much includes the military." (See "Kim Jong Il's Most Dangerous Legacy: A Thriving Nuclear-Export Business.")

It's also critical to understand, a variety of sources say, that North Korea is nothing if not a "kleptocracy," as Hill puts it. The centrality of the KPA means that senior military officials get their beaks wet as much as anyone, calling in favors (economic and otherwise) whenever they choose. Consider a small, recent example: a TIME correspondent visited a newly opened university in Pyongyang a few weeks ago, one in which the students were pretty much all elite, politically connected kids. How connected? Remember that all other college students in North Korea this year were not attending classes; they were out on construction sites, building monuments and memorials in anticipation of the glorious 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth in April 1912. All college students, that is, except those at the Science and Technology University that TIME visited.

There, a senior officer in the KPA with the rank of general recently visited the school's president, in order to arrange a place for his son. No freezing-cold construction sites for him, 100th anniversary of the Great Leader be damned. Loyalty to the Kim dynasty among the brass extends only so far; they do pretty much what they want, and it may well be that the young, inexperienced Kim Jong Un works for them now, not the other way around.

See pictures of North Korea's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un.

See TIME's Top 10 Everything of 2011.

View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20111224/wl_time/08599210298500

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Video: Christie won?t say no to running for VP

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45780121#45780121

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Introduction To Designing For Windows Phone 7 And Metro

20. Dec, 2011

? ? Microsoft?s new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 (WP7), introduces a fresh approach to content organization and a different UX, based on the Metro design language and principles that will be incorporated into Windows 8. It also targets a different market than its predecessor: instead of being designed mainly for business and technology workers, WP7 is targeted at active people with a busy life, both offline and online, and who use social networks every day, whatever their background. Why Should Designers Care? First, it?s a new interface, so you have space to create and develop some new ideas for it.

View original post here:
Introduction To Designing For Windows Phone 7 And Metro

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artViper designstudio is specialized in validating website design, programming in PHP and AJAX as well as mySQL. We're eager to design graphically impressive sites with convenient content and functions. As we want to share some of this knowledge, this blog has been created - may you find something of interest! Have fun.

Source: http://www.artviper.net/wp/2011/12/introduction-to-designing-for-windows-phone-7-and-metro/

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Windows 7 volume lowering issue UNLIKE most

Hi, I am posting this here because the Winamp forum likes to not respond to its users. THey respond to some, but not others. Very selective. As such I am not getting help for my problem, so I thought I'd peek my head in here.

This is the same problem many others have complained about:

Windows 7 adds the feature of individual volume sliders for every application you run.

Windows 7 then lowers the volume of winamp to about 20%.

For most people with this problem, the problem is that Control Panel->Sound->Communications has the checkbox "diminish volume of other applications when communications are detected".

Thing is - I never had that on in the first place. I turned it off months ago and have verified that it's definitely off.

I don't even use a microphone to communicate -- even my FB chat and gmail chat are disabled. But it doesn't matter because the communications setting is turned off.

And it STILL happens. Sometimes more than once a day. Always when I am asleep and not even using the computer or running any software I wasn't already running before.

I go to bed with the music at the right volume and wake up full of adrenaline thinking the power has gone out because the music is so quiet I can't hear it over the traffic outside.

And no, I can't switch from DirectSound to WaveOut because I use both with different soundcards / different rooms.

(Nor would I want to take away winamp's separate-volume capabilities. Music is way louder than movies, and if you want to switch between the two without making your friends jump out of the couch, music needs to be lowered in volume when switching between.)

So what do *I* do?

As far as I can tell, even though I've been using it since the 1990s - Winamp can no longer meet my needs because of this. Really it's Windows 7's fault, but Winamp is the only app that's getting lowered to 20% all the time. No others are. Just winamp. Every. Night.

I am at wit's end here. I haven't owned a cd player for over 5 years because winamp has always met my needs. My needs expanded, i have 3 stereos in 3 rooms, and winamp controls them all.

Now my needs aren't being met (because of Windows 7, which is fixing many other things that were broken for me).

Is there a fix here?

I will happily provide more information. If someone would just respond...

Source: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/680881-windows-7-volume-lowering-issue-unlike-most.html

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Why the L.A. Schools Healthy Food Experiment Failed (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The L A. Times has a story that illustrates the limits of what can only be described as food nannyism. An attempt to force Los Angeles public school children to eat health food in the school cafeteria has collapsed.

The attempt was well meaning. Out went hamburgers, corn dogs, pizza, and tacos. In went such tempting delicacies as beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads. The idea was the combat childhood obesity by serving up healthier food that was lower in fat, sugar, and sodium.

Unfortunately the public school children of L.A. rejected the new menu en masse. Children started bringing more food from home. A black market for fast food had arisen. A lot of the healthy food went uneaten and had to be thrown out.

Part of the problem is that the food that students found delicious during the taste tests did not actually resemble the food that was served up at the school cafeterias in L.A. Complaints about the food were rampant and some of it even made some of the students sick. One suspects that food created in a test marketing kitchen would be of higher quality than something prepared on a mass scale in a school cafeteria. It is easier to mess up vegetable curry than pizza or hamburger. One's experience suggests that even a mediocre pizza is better than no pizza.

The L.A. school district should have test marketed the new menu items under real world (i.e. school cafeteria) conditions. Teachers and administrators should have been part of the test market sample. The school district should have also explored ways to make pizza and hamburger healthier without compromising on taste. A turkey burger actually works fairly well if prepared with the right spices.

In the meantime, the experience of the L.A. schools illustrates the limits to nanny state mandates. People should eat healthier, but one cannot force them to do so without instituting ridiculous draconian measures. People must be enticed to eat healthy, with food that would not, if the accounts are accurate, choke a goat if it tried to consume it.

Source: L.A. schools' healthful lunch menu panned by students, Teresa Watanabe, L.A. Times, Dec 17, 2011

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111221/cm_ac/10731371_why_the_la_schools_healthy_food_experiment_failed

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Largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. chooses iPhone over Android for newsrooms

The largest newspaper publisher in the United States has decided on the mobile tech its reporters will carry -- and it's not good for Android. Gannett newspaper division president Bob Dickey, in an internal memo published by the independent Gannett Blog, announced that the company had purchased thousands of iPad 2s and iPhone 4Ss, which will reach newsrooms in January. 

What's that have to do with Android, you ask? When I left the employ (yes, voluntarily) of Gannett a little more than two years ago -- well, let's just say the sites I write for now were better equipped to cover news on the run back then than a honest-to-goodness "real" newsroom. In late 2010 or early 2011 (can't remember which), my former editor decided to get everyone who wanted one a Motorola Droid X. That was done at the local level though, on a pretty small scale. The purchase of thousands of iPads and iPhones on a national scale is a pretty big deal, and pretty disappointing to this newsroom survivor who makes his living off Android now.

On the other hand, just wait an hour or two and Android will have activated enough new devices to make up for Gannett's decision. OK. I feel better now.

Source: Gannett Blog

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/JfLstBZb7wA/story01.htm

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Gingrich, Clinton had stormy partnership (The Arizona Republic)

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Weighing Astronauts Is the Best Kinect Hack Yet [Video]

Astronauts can now keep check on their physique thanks to Kinect. And it's nothing to do with playing Kinect Sports — it's the latest hack from a team of European scientists. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2UpUf2dul8s/weighing-astronauts-is-the-best-kinect-hack-yet

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House GOP leaders want new payroll tax cut bill

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, second from left, briefs reporters after lawmakers from both political parties came together on an 11th-hour deal to keep the government from shutting down, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, Boehner, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of Calif., and Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, second from left, briefs reporters after lawmakers from both political parties came together on an 11th-hour deal to keep the government from shutting down, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, Boehner, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of Calif., and Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 following the Senate vote to approve legislation extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and long-term jobless benefits for two months. Obama says it would be "inexcusable" for Congress not to extend a payroll tax cut for the rest of 2012 when lawmakers return from their holiday break. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky leaves the floor after the Senate passed legislation extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. The action also extends long-term unemployment benefits for another two months. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 following the Senate vote to approve legislation extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and long-term jobless benefits for two months. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama pauses while making a statement at the White House in Washington, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. Obama says it would be "inexcusable" for Congress not to extend a payroll tax cut for the rest of 2012 when lawmakers return from their holiday break. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Top House Republicans said Sunday they oppose a bipartisan, Senate-approved bill that extends a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months and said congressional bargainers need to write a new version lasting a longer time.

Their comments, along with a House GOP conference call Saturday in which lawmakers voiced strenuous objections to the Senate bill, made clear that House Republicans were intent on changing the measure and left its ultimate fate uncertain.

The Senate used a 89-10 vote Saturday to approve the legislation, which was negotiated by Senate GOP and Democratic leaders and backed by strong majorities of senators from both parties. The House planned to vote on the measure Monday.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Sunday that the bill ? which includes the payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits and a halt to scheduled Medicare reimbursement cuts for doctors ? needs to last an entire year. That was the original goal of President Barack Obama and congressional leaders as they worked on the legislation in recent weeks.

As if to suggest other changes he would like in the legislation, Boehner mentioned a provision that would block Obama administration anti-pollution rules and "reasonable reductions in spending" that were in a House-passed version of the payroll tax bill that the Senate ignored.

"It's pretty clear I and our members oppose the Senate bill," Boehner said on "Meet the Press" on NBC. He added, "I believe two months is just kicking the can down the road."

House Republicans dislike the Senate bill for many reasons, including its lack of what they consider real spending cuts and its removal of restrictions on Obama administration rules. Others are unhappy about extending unemployment benefits or cutting the payroll tax, which is used to finance the Social Security system.

Laena Fallon, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said when the House votes on the bill Monday, it would either formally request negotiations with the Senate or approve changes "so that it is responsible and in line with the needs of hard-working taxpayers and middle-class families."

Her emailed statement did not specify what those changes might be.

The White House and Democrats, who were initially the driving force for the legislation over some GOP reluctance, sought to blame Republicans for any delay the House demands might create. Unless Congress acts by Jan. 1, the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits expire and the Medicare cut in doctors' payments will take effect.

"Instead of threatening middle-class families with a thousand-dollar tax hike, Speaker Boehner should bring up the bipartisan compromise that Senator McConnell and I negotiated," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a written statement.

Keeping this year's 2 percentage point payroll tax cut in effect through 2012 would produce $1,000 in savings for a family earning $50,000 a year.

Reid said Boehner had asked him and McConnell to work out a compromise. House Republicans have said they played no role in last week's talks between the two Senate leaders.

"I really think it is very unlikely that the House would disrupt this overwhelming compromise six days before Christmas," said Gene Sperling, director of the White House's National Economic Council.

The Senate bill would force Obama to make a decision in the next two months on whether to build the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The president had initially said he would postpone a decision on the 1,700-mile-long pipeline until after next year's elections and threatened to kill the payroll tax bill if it included the pipeline provision. But he backed off this week as the Senate payroll compromise took shape.

Republicans strongly support the pipeline, which is supposed to pump oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas, for the thousands of jobs it is expected to create. Unions favor the plan but environmentalists oppose it, forcing Obama to choose between two Democratic constituencies.

The Senate bill says Obama can reject the pipeline only if he decides building it would not be in the national interest.

Congressional leaders had hoped that approval of the tax measure would end their work and let them send lawmakers home for the year. It is unclear how long it would take House and Senate leaders to work out any new compromise on the legislation, but Boehner suggested it could done in the next two weeks.

The Senate bill would extend this year's 4.2 payroll tax rate through February. Without congressional action, that rate would return to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1, costing 160 million workers a two-month tax break. A $50,000-a-year wage earner would save about $170.

The bill would continue extra unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed, which would also expire Jan. 1. It would also prevent a 27 percent cut in doctors' Medicare reimbursements from occurring on New Year's Day, a cut that could discourage some physicians from treating Medicare-covered patients.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-18-US-Congress-Rdp/id-f958c08d12e9467587af74234a1280e7

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Clashes in Cairo after rumors of activist's beating

Khaled Elfiqi / EPA

A woman is taken away by the Egyptian army during clashes in central Cairo on Dec. 16, 2011.

Reuters reports from CAIRO:

Protesters clashed with military police in central Cairo on Friday after rumors spread that an anti-government activist was detained at a sit-in and badly beaten, in the worst violence since the start of Egypt's first free election in decades.

Police fired in the air after dawn to try to disperse around 300 demonstrators who said they were angered by images posted online of the man - named as Abboudi Ibrahim - being supported by a crowd, his face badly bruised and eyes swollen and shut.

The fighting continued and, by mid-morning, the area around the cabinet office and parliament was strewn with rubble as soldiers and men in plainclothes threw stones from the roofs of state buildings down on protesters, who hurled back rocks. Continue reading.

Amr Hafez / AP

Protesters throw rocks and firebombs at military police as another waves a national flag during clashes near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, in Egypt on Dec. 16, 2011.

Khaled Elfiqi / EPA

Protesters try to enter to the Prime Ministry building in central Cairo on Dec. 16, 2011. Dozens of protesters have been camping for three weeks outside the government headquarters near Tahrir Square to prevent new Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri from entering.

Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images

Egyptian soldiers beat with their batons a protester during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Dec. 16, 2011 after demonstrators threw petrol bombs and set fire to furniture in front of the nearby parliament.

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Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/16/9490909-clashes-in-cairo-after-rumors-of-activists-beating

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What Exactly Will an iPad 3 Look Like? (NewsFactor)

Even while iPad 2s are flying off store shelves this holiday shopping season, rumors are swirling around what the iPad 3 will look like -- and when it will be released.

As usual, mum is the word at Apple on both fronts. But that's not keeping analysts from speculating. The rumors suggest everything from a full feature retina display to 4G LTE connectivity to better cameras to the addition of the Siri virtual assistant and beyond.

Has anyone confirmed Apple was even going to launch a new iPad in the spring? No. But the first two iPads were unveiled in March 2010 and again in March 2011. And Apple normally likes to update in yearly cycles.

"It's important to note that given Apple's sales so far, Apple does not need an iPad 3," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. "When Apple came out with the iPhone 4S the entire blogging world went nuts because it did not appear to be a radical improvement. But the iPhone 4S has sold millions of units the first day it was available and has posted extremely strong sales ever since."

An iPad 3 Wish List

Greengart's point: Apple is competing in an environment in which the currency is apps, cloud services and an intuitive user interface -- and Apple is leading in two out of those three areas. (Apple cedes the cloud services throne to Amazon, but is still strong in that area.) With this in mind, Apple has no imperative to broker radical change with the iPad.

Despite Apple's dominance, however, Greengart does have a wish list for the iPad 3. For starters, he -- and many others -- would like to see a higher density display that would offer higher resolutions. When compared with the iPhone 4, the iPad's text looks fuzzy.

Then there's the camera. Although most iPad users aren't using the tablet as a primary camera, those who even play with the camera quickly discover that the resolution doesn't match the screen. "You end up with ragged-looking images. While this is no great loss in terms of real-world use cases, it doesn't look right," Greengart said. "Everything else on the iPad looks right. That would be another obvious area of improvement."

Like almost all Apple products, Greengart expects future versions of the iPad to be thinner and lighter. But again, Apple is not under massive pressure to innovate in this area. When comparing the iPad 2 with its tablet competition, the device remains one of the thinner and lighter tablets on the market.

iPad Price Cuts?

One of the larger questions surrounding an iPad 3 launch is how it will affect pricing on the iPad 2. Will the iPad 2 stay in the line-up as a lower-end product with a starting price closer to $399? It's possible.

"Apple has certainly made moves like that in the past with some of its other product lines. But there is no burning need to do so. Apple is not being dramatically undercut on price in most of the nine- and 10-inch competition," Greengart said.

"Apple will see more competition from the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which are offering smaller tablets with less capabilities but significantly lower prices. So it is possible that Apple will respond to that by having an entry model at a lower price point."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111215/bs_nf/81396

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Thai activist gets 15 years for insulting monarchy (AP)

BANGKOK ? A political activist was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison on charges of insulting Thailand's king, the third person to be imprisoned in a month under the country's strict lese majeste law.

The law, which forbids defamation of the monarchy, is being increasingly criticized as an infringement of free speech and an instrument of political persecution.

Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, nicknamed "Da Torpedo" for her aggressive speaking style, has been detained without bail since July 2008 after speaking at rally using impolite language.

The Criminal Court found Daranee guilty of violating the lese majeste law, which provides for a jail term of three to 15 years for anyone who "defames, insults, or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent, or the regent."

Daranee, a journalist, became an activist after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a 2006 coup and delivered fiery speeches at rallies organized by Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters.

Daranee said she would not appeal Thursday's sentence. "I have no will to keep fighting and I will neither lodge an appeal nor seek a royal pardon," she said.

Criticism of the lese majeste law increased last month after a 61-year-old grandfather received a 20-year sentence for four text messages sent from his phone to a government official.

The sentence given Amphon Tangnoppakul was believed to be the heaviest ever received in a lese majeste case because of additional penalties issued under a related law, the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. He denied sending the messages and said he didn't even know how to use the SMS function on his telephone.

The plight of "Uncle SMS," as he became known, has drawn international attention as well to the lese majeste law.

So did the sentencing earlier his month of Thai-born American Joe Gordon to 2 1/2 years in prison for translating excerpts of a banned biography of Thailand's king published by Yale University Press and placing them online. Gordon was in Colorado when the alleged offense occurred and was arrested when he later visited Thailand.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Darragh Paradiso, said the United States has utmost respect for the Thai monarchy, but is "troubled by recent prosecutions and court decisions that are not consistent with international standards of freedom of expression."

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, issued a statement of concern, saying "Such harsh criminal sanctions are neither necessary nor proportionate and violate the country's international human rights obligations."

Lese majeste prosecutions used to be rare in Thailand, and were mostly used for partisan political purposes as a means of smearing opponents.

But the number of high-profile cases has risen in recent years as nervousness about the eventual succession to 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej has increased, with the previously taboo subject of the monarchy's proper role starting to become a matter of public discussion.

However, loyalty to the monarch is still a touchstone of Thai politics, and frank discussion is difficult.

Earlier this year, a movement led by intellectuals and academics began a public campaign for reform of the lese majeste law, officially Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

This was Daranee's second trial. She received an 18-year term in her first trial, but was granted a new trial after courts ruled that her petition against having the first trial closed was not heard in a timely way.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_monarchy

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China reaches out to Myanmar's Suu Kyi (Reuters)

YANGON/BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's ambassador to Myanmar held a rare meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last week, her aide said on Thursday, in the highest level contact in two decades between Beijing and Myanmar's opposition.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin also said the two met, adding that China's top diplomat, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, would travel to Myanmar for a summit next week of Mekong River countries, weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's landmark visit there.

Liu said that ambassador Li Junhua's meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate was in response to a request from her.

"Madame Aung San Suu Kyi has proposed a number of times her desire for contact with the Chinese side, and the Chinese ambassador to Myanmar's meeting was in answer to this," he said, but declined to say when or where the meeting took place.

Liu said the ambassador "listened to Aung San Suu Kyi's ideas."

Suu Kyi's chief of staff, Khun Tha Myint, told Reuters that the meeting happened on December 8 at Suu Kyi's residence, and lasted just over one hour.

"The meeting went very well," he said. "It was very cordial and friendly."

Suu Kyi has tried to reassure China, who strongly backed the military regime which locked her up, that she does not consider Beijing an enemy, making remarks to that effect almost immediately upon being released from house arrest last year.

"I am glad that both China and Suu Kyi realize the importance of good ties between Myanmar and China," a retired senior Myanmar diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"Having good ties between Myanmar and China is very important not only for Myanmar and China but also for the stability and prosperity of the entire region."

China's then-ambassador Cheng Ruisheng, who served in Myanmar from 1987 to 1991, met Suu Kyi twice and had previously been the most senior Chinese official to have contact with her, according to Chinese media.

"Since the U.S. visit, we ought to be stepping up our visits and contacts as well," said Lin Xixing, a Myanmar expert at Guangzhou's Jinan University.

"Myanmar needs China even more than it needs the United States if it hopes to resolve it problems with ethnic minorities fighting the government," he added, referring to the various groups whose fighting sometimes pushes refugees into China.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Spokesman Liu did not say exactly when Dai, who outranks the foreign minister, would go to Myanmar nor if he would have any bilateral meetings with government leaders while there.

"China has always strived to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Myanmar and supports the Myanmar government's efforts to advance economic and social development and promote domestic reconciliation," he added.

Sources had told Reuters this week that Chinese premier Wen Jiabao would attend the Mekong River summit next week. It is not clear why Dai is going instead of Wen.

Beijing has long been Myanmar's closest partner. But relations have been strained after the former Burma suspended building a Chinese-funded dam in September, and have been further affected by Washington's tentative moves to re-engage with the once-isolated country.

Clinton met Suu Kyi this month as Myanmar's new civilian government pledged to forge ahead with political reforms and re-engage with the world community.

Clinton's trip follows a decision by U.S. President Barack Obama last month to open the door to expanded ties, saying he saw the potential for progress in a country until recently seen as a reclusive military dictatorship firmly aligned with China.

With sanctions blocking Western investments, China has emerged as Myanmar's biggest ally, investing in infrastructure, hydropower dams and twin oil-and-gas pipelines to help feed southern China's growing energy needs.

China has also counted on Myanmar as a bulwark against what Beijing sees as U.S. attempts to surround China. That could be threatened now Washington has begun contacts with a Myanmar which is embarking on tentative political liberalization.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Sabrina Mao; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/wl_nm/us_china_myanmar

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Bachmann says Gingrich has 'memory challenge' (tbo)

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Video: CNBC Business News Headlines

CNBC's Seema Mody reports the nation is facing a railway strike, with CNBC's Eamon Javers. Also, JetBlue bid $72 million on two choice airport slots; a grand jury is investigating former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; and the Massachusetts AG is suin...

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Android is big in Asia: games return to South Korea (Appolicious)

In a land where smartphone adoption rates are among the highest in the world, South Korea has become one of the most targeted areas for mobile development. Now that restrictions on game approval have been loosened, South Korea can join in the Android gaming fun. As The Wall Street Journal points out, approximately 40 percent of the South Korean population has purchased smartphones in just two years, jumping on a fresh opportunity after mobile software regulations were lessened. And some 20 million South Koreans are now primed for the mobile gaming industry?s more adept innovations.

Google resumed selling games on its South Korean Android Market yesterday, in response to the local government changing the law exempting mobile games from the app store. After Google reversed a self-imposed sales block from April 2010, any publisher can launch a game on the Android Market as long as they accept restrictions on gambling- and sexually-themed products. Android has a 75 percent market share for devices in South Korea, and the gaming industry has become particularly lucrative on the mobile platform. New methods of advertising, micropayments and virtual goods have spread across the industry like wildfire, and established Asian markets are great places to rapidly evolve.

Japan gets early game releases

But South Korea isn?t the only Asian region that?s earned the affections of Android?s mobile gaming industry. Japan is a ready market too. SEGA has been revving-up its Android efforts with back-to-back game releases earlier this month, and plans for an Android launch of Sonic the Hedgehog in December. In fact, if you buy the pre-loaded Android tablet from GameStop, you?ll gain early access. But a new title, Sonic Advance (popular from the GameBoy Advance era), has popped up in the Japanese Android Market. The fast-paced platformer is similar to the original: collect rings, avoid enemies, spring through stage exits and call in your friends for reinforcement.

Given the surging appeal of Japan?s mobile market, where Google has outgrown Apple, game makers find a ripe user base. Sony has been targeting Japan for some time, with an early launch of the PlayStation Vita there. Square Enix has also shared its plans for a big push into the Android Market, making its games available first to Japanese users. The company behind Final Fantasy and Crystal Defenders, is demonstrating that anticipation for Android versions is growing worldwide. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light should be the first to appear outside of Asia as a temporary exclusive for another Sony product, the Xperia PLAY.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_androidapps_com_articles10333_android_is_big_in_asia_games_return_to_south_korea/43758479/SIG=134jhp13i/*http%3A//www.androidapps.com/games/articles/10333-android-is-big-in-asia-games-return-to-south-korea

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