How To Take Care of Your Smartphone Battery the Right Way

Your smartphone is a minor miracle, a pocket-sized computer that can fulfill almost every whim. But none of its superpowers matter a bit if it runs out of juice. With removable batteries becoming more and more rare, you've got to take good care of the one you got. Fortunately, it's not to hard keep the lithium-ion powering your everything machine happy if you follow a few simple rules.

Obviously, the first rule for extending your battery life is not using up all your battery life playing candy crush and walking around with Wi-Fi and GPS enabled when you're not using either and really, really need your phone to last that extra hour. But aside from that, there are some basic rules for care and charging, and they're the simplest baseline for a healthy battery.

Top it off

You may vaguely recall hearing something about rechargeable batteries and the "memory effect." You know, that if you don't "teach" your rechargeable batteries their full potential by taking them from totally full to totally empty, they'll "forget" part of their capacity. Well forget all that. Right now. It's wrong.

Battery memory is a real thing, but it applies to nickel-based batteries; your trusty sidekick (literal Sidekick or otherwise) doubtlessly has a lithium-ion battery, and it needs to be treated a little differently. Specifically, it should be topped off whenever you get the chance.

To get the most out of a lithium-ion battery, you should try to keep it north of 50 percent as much as possible. Going from all the way full to all the way empty won't help at all; in fact, it'll do a little damage, and it's even worse if do a full drain on a regular basis. It won't make your battery explode or anything, but it will shorten its lifespan.

But! You don't want to have it charging all the time either; lithium-ion batteries can get overheated. Luckily for you, your charger is smart enough to help with this, and will cut your phone off for a spell once it's full. And to complicate matters a little further your battery doesn't particularly like being all the way full either. In fact, your battery will behave the best if you take it off the charge before it hits 100 percent, and leaving it plugged when it's already full is going to cause a little degradation.

So if you're really particular about optimizing your battery's life, you should try to go from around 40 percent to around 80 percent in one go, and then back down whenever possible. A bunch of tiny charges isn't as bad as going from 100 down to zero all the time, but it's not optimal either.

Keep it cool

It's easy to worry about bad charging habits thanks to the training we've had from old rechargeable batteries, but lithium-ion batteries have a worse enemy: heat. Your smartphone's battery will degrade much much faster when it's hot, regardless of whether it's being used or just sitting around doing nothing.

At an average temperature of 32 degrees fahrenheit, a lithium-ion battery will lose six percent of its maximum capacity per year. At 77 degrees, that number jumps to 20 percent, and at 104 degrees it's a whopping 35. Sure, it's not exactly practical (or sane) to keep your phone in the fridge, but it's worth going out of your way to prevent long stays in hot cars and the like.

Avoid wireless charging

Wireless charging is can be incredibly convenient if your phone can do it, but it's not without its disadvantages. The inductive, wireless chargers out there today have this nasty habit of generating a fair bit of waste heat. And while wasted energy is just a bummer in general, that heat will also toast your battery in the process. That's no bueno. It's a little less convenient, but standard plug-in charging is going to keep your battery in better shape, especially if you're some place warm to begin with.

Never go to zero

Obviously, using your battery is going to make it degrade. But it's going to slowly die even if you just leave that iPad in the closet for a bit. There's a trick to minimizing that inevitable aging though: leave it a little bit of juice.

If you're going to be shelving any lithium-ion battery for a long time, try to leave it with at least 40 percent battery power to tide it over. Lithium-ion batteries don't hemmorage power at 30 percent a month like nickel-metal-hydride batteries do; they'll lose maybe five to ten percent of their charge each month.

And when lithium-ion batteries get too low?like, literally zero percent?they get seriously unstable, and dangerous to charge. To prevent explosion-type disasters if you do try to charge one, lithium-ion batteries have built-in self-destruct circuits that will disable (read: destroy) the battery for good, if it reaches rock bottom. And sure, that'll save you from a face full of battery-acid, but it'll also leave you short one battery.

Don't sweat it too much

It's easy to get protective of your battery, but it's also easy to get lazy. And that's fine, because as long as you're not a complete idiot, you'll be OK. Typically, a lithium-ion battery lasts for three to five years, and chances are you're going to want to swap out your gadgets sometime in that window anyway. The slight damage of a technically bad idea like leaving your phone plugged in all night every night, or using wireless charging, might be worth the convenience.

Still, it's pretty easy to keep your battery reasonably healthy just by avoiding particularly egregious torture like letting your phone discharge from full to zero every single day, or leaving it in a hot car all the time. And the next time you make it back home with power to spare, you'll thank yourself for it.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-to-take-care-of-your-smartphone-battery-the-right-w-513217256

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Egypt opposition rallies to demand Morsi's ouster | Morocco World ...

by Jailan ZAYAN

CAIRO, June 30, 2013 (AFP)

Thousands of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi?s opponents protested on Sunday?s first anniversary of his inauguration, determined to oust him as his Islamist supporters vowed to defend his legitimacy to the end.

Jubilant protesters gathered in Cairo?s Tahrir Square ahead of scheduled marches, waving red cards and Egyptian flags as patriotic songs boomed from large speakers.

Marchers were due to set off at 5 pm (1500 GMT) for the Ittihadiya presidential palace, close to a neighbourhood where thousands of Morsi supporters vowed to stage a counter-demonstration.

?The people want the ouster of the regime,? the opposition protesters chanted, the signature slogan of the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought Morsi to power.

?This is the second revolution and Tahrir is the symbol of the revolution,? said carpenter Ibrahim Hammouda, who travelled from the northern city of Damietta for the protest.

Anti-Morsi protests also began in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Menuf, Mahalla and the canal cities of Suez and Port Said as well as in Morsi?s hometown of Zagazig.

Police and troops have deployed at key buildings nationwide, security officials said, and the health ministry said hospitals are on high alert in case of violence.

A senior security official said the Suez Canal, the vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, is under ?maximum security?.

The streets of Cairo were unusually quiet for the first day of Egypt?s working week, with banks and most offices closed.

The grassroots movement Tamarod ? Arabic for rebellion ? claims to have collected millions of signatures to a petition demanding Morsi?s resignation and new elections.

Posters urging people to join anti-Morsi protests have sprung up around Cairo, plastered on walls and stuck on car windows, along with ?June 30? graffiti.

The week ahead of the showdown has seen eight people including an American killed, and scores more injured as rival demonstrators took to the streets.

Morsi, previously a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, is Egypt?s first freely elected president, catapulted to power by the 2011 uprising that ended three decades of authoritarian Mubarak rule.

His opponents accuse him of betraying the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands and of sending the economy into free fall.

Morsi supporters say he inherited many problems from a corrupt regime, and that he should be allowed to complete his term which ends in 2016.

Any attempt to remove him from office, they argue, is a coup against democracy.

Leading opposition figure, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, urged Morsi ?to listen to the people? and quit.

Fervent displays of emotion from both camps highlight the deep divisions in the Arab world?s most populous country.

The army, which led a tumultuous transition after Mubarak?s ouster, has warned it will intervene if there is major unrest.

Since taking office, Morsi has battled with the judiciary, the media and the police. The economy has nosedived, investment dried up, inflation soared and the vital tourism sector battered.

Many Egyptians stocked up on food and withdrew cash ahead of Sunday?s rallies, and long queues at petrol stations brought some parts of Cairo to a standstill.

On Saturday, at least eight deputies resigned from the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, in a boost for Tamarod which says it now has 22 million signatures to its petition.

The figure, which compares with the 13.2 million votes to 12.3 million by which Morsi won election last year, cannot be verified.

Morsi supporters are steadfast in defending his legitimacy.

?We will not allow a coup against the president,? senior Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagui told a Cairo rally.

Demonstrator Kamal Ahmed Kamel echoed him, saying: ?It?s not just about Morsi, it?s about legitimacy and the state. We can?t go backwards.?

Morsi?s opponents deny that removing him would be a ?coup?, saying calls for his resignation are aimed at restoring the revolution?s cornerstones of democracy, freedom and social justice.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, Morsi warned the polarisation threatened to ?paralyse? Egypt as he tried to placate protesters with appeals for dialogue and promises of constitutional reform.

US President Barack Obama voiced concern at developments in Egypt.

?Everybody has to denounce violence. We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about how to move their country forward,? Obama said.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/06/96046/egypt-opposition-rallies-to-demand-morsis-ouster-2/

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iPad 5 schematics leak with iPad mini-size sides

Leo

This is a fabulous day for talking about your feelings, especially if you can confide in someone you trust. Be prepared to discuss your innermost and most private emotions, particularly if it will be a huge relief to do so. If you've been bottling up your feelings for a long time it will do you the world of good to get them off your chest at long last.

Source: http://www.topix.com/tech/ipad/2013/06/ipad-5-schematics-leak-with-ipad-mini-size-sides?fromrss=1

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Drew Houston And Bryan Schreier On Dropbox's Future As An Enterprise And Consumer Company

Dropbox founder and CEO Drew Houston and Sequoia Capital partner Bryan Schreier joined us in the TechCrunch TV studio for a special three-part series on how Houston and Schreier work together on recruiting, growing as a CEO, and building the company.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qvN8sPUGoPs/

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Cancer risks double when two carcinogens present at 'safe' levels, epigenetics study finds

June 28, 2013 ? Science knows that arsenic and estrogen can cause cancer. At certain very low levels, the chemicals offer little to no threats to human health.

However, new research conducted by Texas Tech University scientists has found that low doses of both chemicals together -- even at levels low enough to be considered "safe" for humans if they were on their own -- can cause cancer in prostate cells.

The combination of the two chemicals was almost twice as likely to create cancer in prostate cells, the research found. The study published online in the peer-reviewed journal The Prostate.

Kamaleshwar Singh, an assistant professor at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech said the findings could have an impact on health regulations regarding the "safe" doses of these chemicals and others. Most regulations are set by testing one chemical at a time on cells. Very few if any have looked at multiple chemicals at the same time.

"The majority of cancers are caused by environmental influences," Singh said. "Only about 5 to 10 percent of cancers are due to genetic predisposition. Science has looked at these chemicals, such as arsenic, and tested them in a lab to find the amounts that may cause cancer. But that's just a single chemical in a single test. In the real world, we are getting exposed to many chemicals at once."

Singh said he became interested in studying two chemicals at once after looking at arsenic's carcinogenic properties in a previous paper.

Because cigarette smoke and well water in some areas, including India, Mexico and even Lubbock county, can contain arsenic, Singh and his doctoral student, Justin Treas, wondered how the carcinogenic properties might change when paired with the presence of another carcinogenic chemical.

The two focused on estrogen because of the chemical's abundance. Many plastics, such as food can liners and bisphenol A (BPA), release small amounts of chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body.

"Co-exposure was creating a greater impact," Singh said. "That was one of the important findings of our study. The next thing we wanted to know is how these two chemicals are creating a greater effect."

Unlike stronger chemicals that do major damage to the DNA in a cell, such as benzene, arsenic and estrogen aren't major mutagens Singh said. Instead, their presence tends to stop certain genes from expressing. The process is called DNA hypermethylation.

In the experiment, human prostate cells were treated about once a week for six months with arsenic, estrogen and a combination of the two. Many of the tests involved levels of arsenic, estrogen or both at levels considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Treas said the two chemicals stopped the MLH1 gene, which is responsible for sending the signal to start the self-destruct sequence when a cell is damaged. Because the self-destruct couldn't activate, the cells became cancerous after exposure.

"With the lower dose not killing the cell, it's causing damages that go under the cell's radar," Treas said. "We found when you have two compounds together, lower doses could be more serious problem."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/4KxfKkjkKvo/130628130713.htm

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UK to create over 50,000 jobs in Afghanistan By Pajhwok Report Jun 28, 2013 KAB...

UK to create over 50,000 jobs in Afghanistan
By Pajhwok Report
Jun 28, 2013

KABUL (PAN): The British government on Friday announced its plan to create more than 50,000 new jobs for Afghan men and women by 2015 in business, agriculture and textile sectors.

The fresh commitment to creating jobs built on the 20,000 employment opportunities created since 2011, the Department for International Development (DFID) said in its annual operational plan for Afghanistan.

Identifying elimination of violence against women and girls a new strategic priority, DFID said it would look at incorporating anti-violence initiatives into existing and future programs.

The department would also look at how it could work better with civil society organizations and the international community to make a lasting difference to the lives of those experiencing violence.

?UK support in Afghanistan has already brought major improvements over the last 10 years. We have been clear that we will continue to stand alongside Afghans as they shape their country beyond military drawdown, with development funding already committed to 2017,? said International Development Secretary Justine Greening.

The secretary added: ?Along with work to help create jobs and drive economic growth, I am determined we will do more to help eliminate violence against girls and women. Girls and women have a vital role to play in shaping the future of their country...?

Greening went on to ask the government of Afghanistan to maintain momentum on vital reforms, including credible elections, tackling corruption and protecting and upholding women?s rights.

In the past decade, the UK has provided more than ?1bn in development assistance in Afghanistan. With support from the international community, the country has made significant progress.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/ISAF/posts/10151726708648454

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Pitch-Perfect: Why Our Shoulders Are Key To Throwing

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Pitch-Perfect: Why Our Shoulders Are Key To Throwing
Being able to throw stones with power and precision must have been fun for humans' early ancestors. It was essential, too, since we lack the the fangs and claws of other predators. A recent study suggests the ability to fire rocket fastballs depends on shoulder anatomy that chimps don't share.

Source: NPR
Posted on: Thursday, Jun 27, 2013, 8:51am
Views: 8

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128809/Pitch_Perfect__Why_Our_Shoulders_Are_Key_To_Throwing

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Twitter Sees a Surge in Government Information Requests

NO KIDDING: Twitter CEO Costolo, a former improvisational comedian, believes his company is obligated to ?reach everyone on the planet.? Image: Courtesy of Joi Ito, via WikiMedia Commons

• 

  Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

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Twitter sees itself as the digital incarnation of the town square, eliminating time and distance as barriers to unfiltered communication among citizens. In this role as the world?s unofficial open idea exchange (in 140 characters or less, of course), the company is finding that governments, law enforcement agencies and even its own Twitterverse are increasingly holding it accountable for how people use its microblogging service.

The social network appears to be taking this newfound responsibility seriously. During a Webcast conversation on Wednesday with Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Jonathan Rauch, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo discussed how his company responds to this growing scrutiny. He also talked about Twitter?s attempts to help users filter the fire hose of information they face each day as well as the pros and cons of pseudonymous tweeters.

Although he declined to comment specifically on the U.S. National Security Agency?s PRISM digital surveillance program, Costolo articulated Twitter?s stance on cooperating with government and law enforcement requests. ?When we receive a valid, specific request in the countries [where] we operate, we will honor it,? he said. ?Those that are not legal and valid, we will push back on.? Twitter is conspicuously absent from the list of tech companies?including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo?accused of complying with the NSA?s requests for user data.

Twitter?s computer servers?like those of many Web sites?automatically record information generated by users. This may include a user?s IP address, location, mobile carrier and the device used to access the Twitter account. The company says it deletes this data or removes any common account identifiers?such as username, full IP address or e-mail address?after 18 months.

In the past year Twitter has begun to publish a biannual transparency report highlighting trends in government requests it has received for user information and content removal. (Google publishes a similar report). ?We would like more companies to do this,? Costolo said. ?Our users have a right to know when their information has been requested so they can fight the request if they wish.?

The Twitter report also indicates how the company responded to those government requests, which have increased steadily in the past year. Twitter received 849 such requests during the first half of 2012 and 1,009 during the second half?the lion?s share coming from the U.S. government. The latest report will be published in a few weeks. ?When you don?t have any idea what information is being requested, you can only imagine what the government wants,? Costolo said. ?More organizations should participate in these transparency reports because they help people understand exactly what is going on. Then you can disagree or agree with the specifics rather than assumptions.?

Mobile devices offer people a means of ubiquitous online communication?they also give companies a way to track those people using the devices? geolocation capabilities. This raises questions about privacy that have been little more than an afterthought to this point, Costolo noted. Still, he pointed out that there?s no need to be fatalistic about the future of privacy, given that Twitter and many other social networking sites require users to opt in for features such as geolocation that broadcast a user?s whereabouts whenever they log on.

One of Twitter?s main goals, not surprisingly, is improving its ability to curate important events so the most relevant information is easy to find. ?Right now you get the reverse chronological order of the tweets, but it would be nice to see a graphic of spikes in the conversation,? Costolo said. ?It would be nice to be able to scroll back to [a] particular moment.? He likened this capability to a digital video recorder for social media that would help Twitter users more quickly get to the substance of a conversation.

Twitter has experimented with ways to filter out some of the background noise that obscures more relevant reporting and reactions to important events. ?We tried a couple of things during the [London 2012] Olympics, such as curating tweets from the more important sources [such as broadcasters and analysts], but it felt like you were in a very quiet studio,? he said. ?You lost that roar of the crowd that makes [Twitter] the public town square. We became more of an aggregator.?

Twitter is also looking at ways to preserve user anonymity without facilitating troll-like behavior where pseudonymous account-holders use their tweets to harass other users. Anonymity is especially important when Twitter is used as a tool for social change, with protests in Turkey being the latest example, said Costolo, who did not comment further on the situation in that country. The ability to use a pseudonym is crucial to enabling open political discourse, he added. ?You can use our platform to say what you believe.? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Twitter as a way to spread lies about his government, which has asked Twitter to reveal the identities of users who posted ?messages deemed insulting to the government or prime minister or which flouted people's personal rights,? according to Reuters.

Anonymity does create headaches for Twitter beyond governments demanding user identities, Costolo acknowledged. Pseudonymous tweeters are a problem when they engage in cyber bullying and can be particularly vicious in what they say about celebrities and other public figures. He added, ?We have to do a better job of filtering out egregious and repeated harassment.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/ScientificAmerican-News/~3/fxFVofqfZ1E/article.cfm

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Target cuts ties with Deen; drugmaker distances

NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen's multimillion-dollar merchandise and media empire continues to unravel following revelations that she used racial slurs in the past.

Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk on Thursday became the latest companies to distance themselves from the Southern celebrity chef.

Home Depot, which sold Paula Deen-branded cookware and kitchen products only online, said it pulled the merchandise off its website on Wednesday. And Target said that it will phase out its Paula Deen-branded cookware and other items in stores and on its website.

"Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory," said Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk said it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now." Deen, who specializes in Southern comfort food, had been promoting the company's drug Victoza since last year when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes.

These are the latest blows dealt to Deen since comments she made in a court deposition became public. Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew her contract. On Monday, pork producer Smithfield Foods dropped her as a spokeswoman. Then, on Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, said it too was cutting ties with Deen following a tearful "Today" show interview in which she said she's not a racist.

On the same day, Caesars Entertainment announced that Paula Deen's name is being stripped from four buffet restaurants owned by the company. Caesars said that its decision to rebrand its restaurants in Joliet, Ill.; Tunica, Miss.; Cherokee, N.C.; and Elizabeth, Ind., was a mutual one with Deen.

The stakes are high for Deen, who Forbes magazine ranked as the fourth highest-earning celebrity chef last year, bringing in $17 million. She's behind Gordon Ramsay, Rachel Ray and Wolfgang Puck, according to Forbes.

Deen's empire, which spans from TV shows to furniture and cookware, generates total annual revenue of nearly $100 million, estimates Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group.

But Flickinger says that the controversy has cost her as much as half of that business. He also estimates that she could lose up to 80 percent by next year as suppliers extricate themselves from their agreements.

"The accelerating domino effect is commercially disastrous for Paula Deen's empire," he said.

It's a dramatic fall from a woman who overcame her humble Southern roots and personal hardships to build a merchandising and media empire.

Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., was grappling with a failed marriage, the death of her parents and a prolonged battle with agoraphobia when she started her home-based catering business called The Bag Lady in June 1989, according to her company website.

Then a mother of two teenage boys, Jamie and Bobby, and on the verge of homelessness, she used her last $200 to start the catering business. She describes the business as delivering "lunch-and-love-in-a-bag." Five years later, she opened her first restaurant called The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Ga. Her first cookbook, "The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook," came out in 1998.

Soon after, she had her first TV appearance on QVC. But it was when "Paula's Home Cooking," began airing on the Food Network in 2002 that she started to hit stardom, according to her site. Deen now has two shows airing on the Food Network: In addition to "Paula's Home Cooking," there's "Paula's Best Dishes," which made its debut in 2008.

Deen's empire has continued to grow over the years as her brand has blossomed.

In addition to her The Lady and Sons restaurant, Deen owns with her brother, Bubba, a seafood restaurant in Savannah called Uncle Bubba's Oyster House. Deen is the author of 14 cookbooks that have sold more than 8 million copies and her bimonthly magazine "Cooking with Paula Deen" has a circulation of nearly 1 million, according to her website. And Deen's product lines span from a full line of cookware to assorted food items to furniture.

Not every company Deen does business with has severed ties with the celebrity chef. Among other stores that sell her products, Kohl's Corp. declined to comment, while Macy's Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. said they're evaluating the situation. QVC, meanwhile, said it's reviewing its deal with Deen.

And book-buyers are so far standing by Deen. As of Thursday afternoon, "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Recipes, All Lightened Up," remained No. 1 on Amazon.com. The book is scheduled for October. Another Deen book, "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible," is now at No. 5, up from No. 13 earlier in the day. Several other Deen books were out of stock.

___

AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report from New York.

Follow Anne D'Innocenzio on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/target-cuts-ties-deen-drugmaker-distances-155508712.html

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Hero of Many review (iPad) | ArcadeLife : Life vs Video Games

10 word description: Epic journey through a dangerous world. 26 levels. Physical puzzles.

10 word review:?Emotionally engaging, extremely atmospheric. Seamless genre blend, great touch control.

You will like this if you enjoy:?Surreal adventures guiding a nameless, almost shapeless protagonist through a series of increasingly strange and challenging dreamlike worlds. Imagine a blend of Spore, Galcon and Solar 2 in a Limbo style. Now add some Super Sprint racing with stealth and RTS combat elements. Or maybe just Pac-Man based in a primordial swamp. That comes close to describing this game.

The good news:?The graphical style, while not unique, perfectly suits both the mysterious, organic theme and the ever evolving gameplay. The gameplay itself ? an intoxicating mix of elements from various genres ? initially impresses and continues to expand and surprise as you progress through the levels. The atmospheric and dynamic soundtrack demands earphones. It?s a great experience, but never at the expense of being a brilliant game ? continually giving you more things to do and increasingly impressive ways to do them.

The bad news:?None of this bad news matters, but I need to mention it as I know there are people who get upset when a game has no scoring system, 3-star level ratings, Game Center or a tutorial. Also, if you like a game to hold your hand every step of the way, you may feel just a little bit out of your depth here.

Arcadelife verdict:?Hero of Many is a stunning iPad game. It wouldn?t feel out of place on Steam (PC) or as a console download, although the perfect touch system would always be the most intuitive way to control the game. Exploring is the key, exploring and discovering. The absence of a tutorial or any kind of explanation adds to the atmosphere of alienation and enhances the satisfaction that comes with each new discovery.

The general objective of each level is to travel from the entrance to the exit ? which is sometimes the same place ? avoiding or overcoming? enemies and obstacles, solving physical puzzles and navigating the twists and turns of the labyrinthine environments. There is no map. There are no hints. There is no help. The game succeeds because none of that is necessary. Not only is it unnecessary, but the journey of discovery depends to a large extent on the unfamiliarity of the game world. Following a series of waypoints and instructions would significantly undermine the fun of finding out, breaking the sense of wonder as each new game element is introduced.

It?s a personal journey, an emotional story without words. There is no score, no rating apart from the fact that you know you?re getting deeper and deeper into a surreal and dangerous alien realm. This is not a game for Game Center leaderboard chasers or those who assess their gaming progress by the number of stars on the level select screen. This is a game for the rest of us, the ones who play video games because they?re fun.

Arcadelife rating

Presentation ? 9.5/10
Visuals ? 9.5/10
Controls ? 10/10
Content ? 9/10
Fun ? 9/10
Final rating ? 9.5/10

FANTASTIC VOYAGE

Rating categories explained here.

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.0.1

Hero of Many website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
4th gen iPad (iOS 6.1.3)

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Source: http://arcadelife.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/hero-of-many-review-ipad/

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Murray up for match against Serena

LONDON (AP) ? Andy Murray says he would fancy a match against 16-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams.

After being challenged by a fan on Twitter to take on Williams, Murray said in his column for BBC Sport that such a matchup could create interest among tennis fans.

Murray, who is bidding to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, said "I've never hit with her but she's obviously an incredible player and I think people would be interested to see the men play against the women to see how the styles match up."

There have been several high profile matches between stars from the men and women's game. The most famous was held in 1973, with Billie Jean King humbling Bobby Riggs in straight sets.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/murray-match-against-serena-123019475.html

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Texas Senator Gains Fame for Antiabortion Filibuster (WSJ)

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OWN to air 'All My Children,' 'One Life to Live'

NEW YORK (AP) ? "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" are returning to TV.

Oprah Winfrey's OWN network says it's acquired the first 40 episodes of the daytime dramas' revival on The Online Network. They'll air Monday through Thursday for a 10-week period beginning July 15.

In a statement Wednesday, OWN President Erik Logan said: "These shows have proven to be very popular with a significant, loyal fan base."

When the two soaps were canceled by ABC in 2011, fans begged Winfrey to give them a second life on OWN.

She responded by releasing a video message on her website saying she couldn't save the shows because "there just are not enough people who are home in the daytime to watch them."

___

Online:

http://www.theonlinenetwork.com

http://www.oprah.com/own

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/own-air-children-one-life-live-185211283.html

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New theory: Emotions arise through the integration of perceptual and cognitive information

June 25, 2013 ? A life without feelings -- unimaginable. Although emotions are so important, philosophers are still discussing what they actually are. Prof. Dr. Albert Newen and Dr. Luca Barlassina of the Institute of Philosophy II at the Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum have drawn up a new theory. According to this, emotions are not just special cases of perception or thought but a separate kind of mental state which arises through the integration of feelings of bodily processes and cognitive contents.

They describe the model in the journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.

Earlier theories of emotion

Around the turn of the 20th Century, the psychologists William James and Karl Lange proposed that emotions are nothing other than perceptions of bodily states. According to the James-Lange theory, we do not tremble because we are scared, but rather we are scared because we tremble. "This theory does not, however, consider the cognitive content of many emotions," says Albert Newen. If a student is anxious about an exam, then he is experiencing this anxiety because he thinks, for example, that the exam is important and that he will have a blackout. The so-called "cognitive theory of emotions" therefore says that emotions are essentially an assessment of the situation based on reason: this dog is dangerous because he is baring his teeth. "This theory is also unsatisfactory," says Newen, "because it forgets the feelings as a central component of the emotion." A person can realistically judge that a dog is dangerous and at the same time have no fear because he is an expert in handling dangerous dogs. So the cognitive assessment does not necessarily determine the emotion.

Integrative embodiment theory of emotions

Bochum's philosophers call their new model the "integrative embodiment theory of emotions." The emotional level is -- as postulated by William James -- the central starting point. An emotion only comes into existence, however, when the perception of bodily states is integrated with other aspects. The brain has to combine at least two components here: the perception of our own bodily states in a given situation, for example trembling, and the intentional object, such as the dog, which triggers the fear. Moreover, in "cognitive" emotions, typical thought content can also play a role, for example, with regard to a bull terrier: "bull terriers are particularly strong and dangerous." The result is a separate kind of mental state, namely an emotion that we conceive as a complex pattern of distinctive characteristics.

Emotions for things that do not even exist

According to Newen and Barlassina, the new theory is also superior to Jesse Prinz's most sophisticated theory of emotions so far, because this does not take into account that an emotion can also be directed at an object that is not present or does not even exist. A case study: Karl goes with his girlfriend Antje to a new bar. Because Karl has already been served by the barkeeper Fritz, Antje waits alone at the bar. Karl hears that she is insulted, but does not see by whom. He assumes it is Fritz. In the meantime, however, Fritz has left the room and John, an employee, is at the bar. He passes the insult and then leaves immediately. When Karl comes to the bar to vent his anger at the insult, Fritz is back. Karl is angry with Fritz although the cause of his bodily states associated with the feeling of anger was the utterance by John. The cause, John, and the object of the anger, namely Fritz, do not coincide. The object of anger is also known as the intentional object of anger, because it does not have to exist. People can even experience emotions about things that aren't real, for example, fear of vampires. While all feeling theories of emotion overlook the intentional object as an essential part of the emotion, the cognitive theories do tend to forget the feeling dimension of the emotion. Only the integrative embodiment theory takes all these components into account as constitutive of the emotion.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/8d45QfySl4k/130625073819.htm

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Pats player Hernandez taken from home in handcuffs

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs Wednesday morning, more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez's house.

It wasn't clear what charges were being filed against Hernandez. Less than two hours after his arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut him from the team.

Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17. Officials ruled the death a homicide but did not say how Lloyd died.

Lloyd's relatives said he was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, that the two men were friends and that the men were out together on the last night of Lloyd's life.

Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back as he was led from his North Attleborough home Wednesday morning. He casually spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

Hernandez was arrested on a state police warrant at about 8:45 a.m. and was being booked at the North Attleborough police station, state police said on the agency's Twitter account. State police said they wouldn't discuss the charge against Hernandez until it's presented in Attleboro District Court later Wednesday.

The Associated Press emailed a message to his attorney, Michael Fee, who hasn't discussed the investigation beyond acknowledging media reports about it. A message also was left with the Bristol County district attorney's office.

At about 10:20 a.m., the Patriots announced they had released Hernandez and expressed sympathy to Lloyd's family and friends.

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

Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, declined to comment at her Boston home Wednesday morning.

"Nothing to say, please. Thank you," she said, before shutting the door.

State police have searched in and around Hernandez's sprawling home in North Attleborough several times. At least three search warrants have been issued in connection with the investigation.

Reporters have been camped for days outside the home on the Rhode Island line, not far from the stadium where the Patriots play. They reported Tuesday that Hernandez got a visit from Boston defense attorney James Sultan.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., out of the University of Florida in 2010. Last summer, the team gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston and Howard Ulman contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pats-player-hernandez-taken-home-handcuffs-131332109.html

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Google Launches Google+ Photos App For Chromebook Pixel, Coming Soon To Other Chrome OS Devices

Google has launched a Google+ photos app for the Chromebook Pixel, something it actually previewed way back at the Pixel launch, and screens showed up in February, but it has taken until now to get the Google+ to wide release. The app plugs into your Google+ account, and will automatically upload photos on any SD card plugged into the device back to your Drive account, in either full resolution (with a limited cap) or Google's standard 2048px wide format (unlimited) depending on what the user chooses.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wakr58OeNDQ/

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US: No word yet from Taliban on peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The United States and Afghanistan are still waiting to hear from the Taliban about opening peace talks, but remain willing to go ahead with negotiations despite a stir the militant group caused in opening a new office in Qatar, the main American envoy trying to spearhead the process said Monday.

Following meetings with Qatari officials in Doha on Sunday and with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other officials in Kabul on Monday, James Dobbins said the Taliban appeared to have made a miscalculation when it opened the office last week under the flag and name they used when in power in Afghanistan.

The office's creation was intended as a step toward starting talks that Dobbins said would initially be between the Taliban and the Americans, then bring in Karzai's government. But the Taliban's flourish in opening it with a ceremony shown live on TV prompted quick condemnation from Karzai. He said the flag and calling the bureau an office of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" made it akin to an embassy and conferred legitimacy on the Taliban that they should not have.

Amid pressure from the U.S. and Afghans, the Qatari government moved quickly to have the offending sign and flag taken down.

"There was a combination of misunderstandings and a desire on the Taliban's part to score a propaganda advance, and they seem to have overplayed their hand and as a result probably lost rather than gained ground," Dobbins told a group of reporters.

In a statement illustrating the challenges ahead, however, the Taliban said Monday that reports that their office had agreed to remove the sign and flag were "baseless and fabricated" ? though both are down at the site.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group's stance hadn't changed on the use of both. He did not say whether they planned on trying to put them back up.

After the Taliban office's opening, Karzai lashed out, saying that international assurances made to him had been broken. He suspended bilateral talks with the U.S. on what presence American and coalition forces would keep in Afghanistan after 2014.

After meeting with Karzai, Dobbins said the security agreement did not come up in their discussions together, but that their talks were "quite positive."

"We reviewed where we are on the reconciliation front ? basically waiting to see whether the Taliban want to talk. It was quite upbeat, no real issues of controversy emerged."

He noted that the U.S. had reacted to the Taliban's move even before Karzai had made his public statement.

"We were outraged ourselves, because it was inconsistent with the assurances we'd been given and the assurances we'd given and we didn't need any prompting to determine that," he said. "We thought the Afghan reaction was both entirely predictable, and entirely justified."

Karzai's office said in a statement that he had emphasized to Dobbins that Afghanistan still wants the peace process, and that it should be led by Afghans. Dobbins said the arrangement has always been that the U.S. and Taliban would meet and then "within a few days" the Afghan sides would begin meeting.

Dobbins said it was still not clear whether the Taliban was prepared to participate at all, but said the signals have been that they are.

"Clearly they were serious enough to get to the point that we are... so it doesn't seem like an entirely spurious effort on their part," he said. "But whether they're prepared to participate under what we thought were the agreed arrangements, we just don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

Despite setting up the peace office, the Taliban has not renounced violence, and the Afghan Ministry of Defense said fighting continued in several regions of the country.

Three Afghan soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in the southern Helmand province, the ministry said, while claiming to have killed 17 Taliban fighters in three separate operations around the country.

In Kabul, police fired on protesters who set fire to a vehicle while chanting "death to Karzai," and "death to the occupiers."

The protests centered on government plans to develop a subdivision in the capital on land long occupied by squatters. Demonstrators blocked two main roads out of the city, and said they would continue their protests until the government gave them somewhere else to live.

Police Gen. Mohammad Zahir said his forces were only deployed after Japanese experts working on the construction project called saying that "armed criminals" were threatening to kidnap them.

He said police came under fire and then shot back, and that two policemen and eight protesters were injured.

____

Rahim Faiez contributed to this story

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-no-word-yet-taliban-peace-talks-165918000.html

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Sridutt Nimmagadda: America's Failing Education Corroborated By ...

America?s Failing Education Corroborated By Inadequacy of Teacher?Performance

By Sridutt Nimmagadda (senior staff writer for the Libertarian Party of Washington)?
Published June 18, 2013 on LPWA?s website

The National Council on Teacher Quality?s report on over 1,000 educational programs in the country corroborates a grim conclusion: while educational programs in the United States are over-saturating the job market with teachers and educators, the teacher-training programs are not adequately preparing educators for actual work in the classroom.

The report, equally lionized and rejected by members in academic and public policy circles, finds ?they [in reference to education industries] have become an industry of mediocrity, churning out first-year teachers with classroom management skills and content knowledge inadequate to thrive in classrooms,? according to the report?s authors.

The inadequacy of teacher skill-sets also has a deep financial toll: teacher preparation programs, according to the report, are not giving aspiring teachers an adequate return on investment both time and moneywise.

This report is only fanning the flames of the debate over America?s failing educational system. Federal policies and spiked spending on educational programs such as?No Child Left Behind?have left American students, parents, and educators baffled over the aim of America?s educational system.?If education is about student learning, as the argument goes, then why are we so worried about quantifying students by test scores and passing arbitrary standards set forth by the United States government??The push for test scores and standards performance over actual substance in the classroom is another cause (or deep implication) of the American educational crisis. Teachers are being taught to help kids pass tests, not learn.

There is also an institutional basis for failure in the American education system, and it is that when our teachers perform poorly, it is hard to get rid of them and replace them with more qualified teachers. This is a serious problem when teachers are underperforming so terribly. ?There?s plenty of research out there that shows that teacher quality is the single most important factor,? says Delaware Governor Jack Markell. But Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute gravely asserts that ?you just need to have a pulse and you can get into some of these education schools?.if policymakers took this report seriously, they?d be shutting down hundreds of programs.?

The council also found the following disturbing trends:

• 3 out of 4 teacher- training programs do not train teachers to teach reading in a manner that is based on the latest research.
• Less than 11% of programs train teachers to teach to the Common Core Standards.
• Most teachers involved in the study only have a year of teaching experience.

Serious education reform must be considered at the federal, state, and local level. But until the government and its policy makers can understand the root of the problem, which is teacher preparation and non-alignment of academic standards, our posterity will continue to suffer from a lack of instruction and a weakening workforce.

?The mission of the Libertarian Party of Washington is to advance liberty by electing Libertarians and passing legislation that will reduce the size and scope of intrusive government.?

Source: http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2013/06/sridutt-nimmagadda-americas-failing-education-corroborated-by-inadequacy-of-teacher-performance/

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WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.

The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum. "This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States."

The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden helped The Guardian and The Washington Post disclose U.S. surveillance programs that collects vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweeping up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden has been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong.

During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice spokesperson said.

A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.

The Justice Department said it would "pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

The White House would only say that President Barack Obama had been briefed on the developments by his national security advisers.

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow.

Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.

"It's almost hopeless unless we find some ways to lean on them," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.

The Russian media report said Snowden intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela.

U.S. lawmakers scoffed. "The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed unlikely. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.

Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.

"I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principal at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.

Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous.

"You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information.

"I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents.

Ros-Lehtinen and King spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."

___

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-snowden-going-ecuador-seek-asylum-170935684.html

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South Africa: Mandela still in critical condition

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela's condition in a Pretoria hospital remained critical for a second straight day Monday, said South Africa's president who described the stricken anti-apartheid hero as being "asleep" when he visited Mandela the previous evening

President Jacob Zuma told at least 60 foreign and South African journalists that doctors are doing everything possible to ensure the 94-year-old's wellbeing and comfort on his 17th day in the hospital. The president repeated some of the content of a presidential statement issued on Sunday and refused to give any details about Mandela's condition, saying: "I'm not a doctor."

"Madiba is critical in the hospital, and this is the father of democracy. This is the man who fought and sacrificed his life to stay in prison, the longest-serving prisoner in South Africa. He is one of those who has contributed to democracy," Zuma said, using Mandela's clan name. "All of us in the country should accept the fact that Madiba is now old. As he ages, his health will ... trouble him and I think what we need to do as a country is to pray for him."

Zuma, who in the past has given an overly sunny view of Mandela's health, briefly described his visit to the hospital in the capital and seeing Mandela.

"It was late, he was already asleep," Zuma said. "And we then had a bit of a discussion with the doctors as well as his wife, Graca Machel, and we left."

Asked why none of Mandela's doctors had been made available for a news briefing, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said an arrangement had been made in consultation with Mandela's family whereby information would be provided through a "single source in an authoritative way."

"We've come to that arrangement on the basis that we need to respect the privacy of the family, we need to adhere to doctor-patient confidentiality," he said.

"You can be assured that what we are saying is based on agreement with the doctors," Maharaj said. Doctors approve the text of announcements on Mandela's health, and believe some media reporting has transgressed professional ethics, he said.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president after the end of apartheid in 1994, was hospitalized on June 8 for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. This is his fourth hospitalization since December.

Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and was released 23 years ago, in 1990. He then played a leading role in steering the divided country from the apartheid era to an all-race democracy, becoming South Africa's first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

As a result of his sacrifice and peacemaking efforts, he is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-mandela-still-critical-condition-082546750.html

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'Gay Cure' Ministry Exodus International to Close Down | KTLA 5

The Florida-based ministry announced it was closing its doors and apologized in a statement to members of the gay community.

Exodus International started in Anaheim 37 years ago as a small ministry to help those struggling to reconcile their homosexuality with the Bible?s teachings. It grew into the leading practitioner of the controversial ?gay cure? movement, with 260 ministries around North America.

While Exodus claimed to have purged thousands of people of sexual urges that tormented them, its leaders recently began expressing doubts about the mission. Last year, its president, Alan Chambers, renounced the idea that homosexuality could be ?cured.?

This week, the organization abruptly announced it was closing down. Chambers offered a dramatic, public mea culpa, refuting decades of Exodus? teaching and apologizing for the ?shame? and ?trauma? the group had inflicted.

The demise of the gay cure movement underscores the growing acceptance of homosexuality in society, even in the evangelical Christian community. Polls show increasing support for gay marriage, and leading conservatives, including Dick Cheney and Rob Portman, have expressed support for gay rights. A May Gallup poll showed that 59% of American adults said gay and lesbian relationships are morally acceptable, up 19 percentage points since 2001.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.

Source: http://ktla.com/2013/06/22/gay-cure-ministry-exodus-international-to-close-down/

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Southwest cancels 57 flights after computer glitch

CHICAGO (AP) ? A system-wide computer failure forced Southwest Airlines to ground its entire fleet of airplanes preparing for departures late Friday, and at least 57 flights had to be canceled even after service was fully restored hours later, a company spokeswoman said.

Michelle Agnew told The Associated Press that 43 of the cancellations were flights scheduled for late Friday night departures in the western half of the country. The other 14 were Saturday morning flights scattered across the U.S. because crews were not able to get to airports in time to make the scheduled takeoffs.

An estimated 250 flights ? most of them on the West Coast ? were grounded at least temporarily Friday night. The glitch impaired the airline's ability to do such things as conduct check-ins, print boarding passes and monitor the weight of each aircraft.

Some flights were on the taxiway and diverted back to the terminal after the problem was detected around 8 p.m. PDT Friday, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. Flights already in the air were unaffected.

Shortly after 11 p.m. PDT, Southwest posted on its Twitter page that "systems are operating and we will begin work to get customers where they need to be. Thanks for your patience tonight."

Agnew said the computer system was "running at full capacity" by early Saturday. Before that, though, officials used a backup system that was much more sluggish.

"Backup systems are in place, not the main system, so it's slower," Hawkins said after service resumed. "But we are able to start launching these flights."

He said cancellations were inevitable because the airline doesn't do redeye flights and by the time the problem was fixed, it was near "the end of our operational day."

The late hour of the disruption meant the computer problem affected far more flights on the West Coast, but Hawkins said at least a few on the East Coast were grounded as well. Southwest, based in Dallas, conducts, on average, 3,400 flights a day.

A spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport said of about 25 inbound and outbound flights remaining Friday, only five departing flights were experiencing delays, of 30 to 80 minutes. At LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT), a total of three flights ? all departures ? were affected.

Four Southwest flights were temporarily held in Seattle, said Christina Faine, a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokeswoman.

One flight to Oakland, Calif., had been due to leave at 9:20 p.m. and departed before 11 p.m. Faine said late Friday night that an airport duty manager, Anthony Barnes, told her the others were expected to depart shortly.

Steve Johnson, a spokesman for Portland, Ore., International Airport, said he was not aware of any planes held up there.

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Robert Seavey in Phoenix and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/southwest-cancels-57-flights-computer-glitch-104716565.html

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Police again search home of Patriots' Hernandez

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? State police officers and dogs are searching the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez as they investigate the killing of a semi-pro football player whose body was found nearby.

Saturday's search of Hernandez's sprawling home in North Attleboro involved several officers.

Police have previously searched in and around the home as they try to figure out who killed Odin Lloyd, whose body was found about a mile from Hernandez's home.

Lloyd's family says the two men were friends and together the night he died. Authorities have ruled Lloyd's death a homicide.

A spokeswoman for the Bristol District Attorney's office declined to comment on the investigation Saturday.

An attorney for Hernandez has said he would not comment on the searches.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-again-search-home-patriots-hernandez-205013835.html

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In new dynamic, Portugal's former colonies bail out old master

Cash-rich Angola and Brazil are buying up Portuguese exports and helping prop up the former colonial master during its financial woes.

By Andr?s Cala,?Correspondent / June 21, 2013

A broker works in the trading room of a Portuguese bank in Lisbon, Wednesday, June 19. Awash with cash and in much better shape than Portugal, oil-rich Angola and emerging giant Brazil are investing heavily here, buying up Portuguese exports and helping prop up the former colonial master during its financial woes.

Francisco Seco/AP

Enlarge

Portugal, Western Europe's poorest country in per capita terms, is now getting from former colonies like Angola and Brazil what amounts to a lifeline for its flat-lining economy.

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Awash with cash and in much better shape than Portugal, oil-rich Angola and emerging giant Brazil are investing heavily here, increasing imports of Portuguese products, and welcoming companies and unemployed professional immigrants from their former colonial master.

It's hard to quantify the real impact of the help Portugal is getting from its former colonies, including four other African nations including Mozambique and Cape Verde. But experts and officials agree that without new flows from old colonies, the current protracted and grueling economic crisis could well be unbearable.

Lisbon in recent years has received a $102 billion bailout from the European Union, the European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund, which imposed a draconian calendar of public cuts that has brought the country to the brink in the ongoing eurocrisis.?

That partly explains why a new post-colonial dynamic is being noticed: Portuguese exports in 2012 soared and now account for nearly 40 percent of the country's economy, from less than 30 percent in 2009. The country turned a trade surplus for the first time in decades, also the result of plummeting imports.

No other European country is so economically dependent on its former colonies as Portugal, says Alex Vines, an expert on Portugal in London's Chatham House.

To be sure, Portugal's main trading partners are still its European partners, which buy more than 70 percent of its goods. But purchases from the former colonies are quickly increasing based on their emerging economic muscle.

Here in Oporto, the country's industrial hub and second biggest urban center, the port has seen its activity increase annually, especially via the export of wine and petrochemicals. And although the crisis is noticeable, experts say it would be a lot more so without its export markets.

One in five bottles of exported Portuguese wine, much of which is sent through Oporto, is consumed in Angola, the single biggest destination. Portugal is the second biggest source of imports for Angola, from bottled water to cars. In turn Angola is the fourth biggest export destination for Portugal.

Angolans and Brazilians have also been buying up real estate, helping to blunt the construction bust and to lift property values. Investors from its former colonies have also bought stakes in some of the country's largest publicly listed companies in the past few years: mostly in banks, telecommunications, cement, and energy.

Equal to roughly 5 percent of the total capitalization of companies trading in the Portuguese stock exchange, the investments by both Angola and Brazil are worth some 5.3 billion euros, says Mr. Vines.

In fact, the prime minister of Portugal, Pedro Passos Coelho, who grew up in Angola before it won its independence, recently advised his country's jobless teachers to move to former colonies to seek work. Between 120,000 to 200,000 Portuguese have indeed moved to Angola, making them the second largest foreign population after Chinese.

"It?s a special relations, a strategic one, even if a little prickly at times," says Vines.

For Brazil, Portugal is just another investment opportunity; but close cultural and political ties are driving economic exchange.?

The financial muscle of its former colonies is now critical for Portugal's economy, which will contract in 2013 for a third straight year, by 2.4 percent. The government says it expects a return to growth in 2014, but European leaders have been saying this steadily for several years when it has not proven true ? and most forecasts agree that is optimistic and unlikely. Meanwhile, unemployment continues to rise and is approaching 18 percent.

And while the help from former colonies goes mostly unnoticed as a result of the unprecedented economic pain, "the reality is that Portugal needs investment because, its economy is uncompetitive," Vines says.

Some of the investment has also been criticized, especially from Angola. The family of the African country's ruler is behind much of the investment, including influential stakes in media companies, strategic banks, and energy companies.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/LzPz6hGgc7g/In-new-dynamic-Portugal-s-former-colonies-bail-out-old-master

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