Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Star Wars Cinco De Mayo History lindsay lohan bob newhart chris kelly Mayweather Fight
বুধবার, ১০ জুলাই, ২০১৩
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch steps down; Michael Huseby appointed CEO of Nook Media
Following reports earlier this year that Barnes & Noble may be sliding away from producing its own Nook hardware, the outfit's CEO has just stepped away from his corner office. Announced in a series of shuffles, William Lynch has resigned as chief executive officer and director of the company effective immediately, while Michael P. Huseby has been appointed CEO of the Nook Media division (as well as president of B&N as a whole).
The firm also announced that vice president Allen Lindstrom was being subsequently promoted to CFO, reporting to Huseby. Moreover, Kanuj Malhotra -- VP of corporate development, has been promoted to CFO of Nook Media. Chairman Leonard Riggio thanked Lynch for his leadership during an era where B&N emerged as a real rival to Amazon in the reader / tablet market, while the man himself said that he "appreciated the opportunity to serve as CEO over the last three years." As for his immediate plans? Kicking back on the shores of Ocracoke and reading a book... on a Nook, of course.Source: Barnes & Noble
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/k3yDVvjGLQQ/
sasha baron cohen oscars the artist sacha baron cohen oscars the old curiosity shop jane russell meryl streep martin scorsese
NCAA Football '14 Custom Cover: Johnny Manziel Heisman Mosaic
[% if (has_profile_pic) { %]
[% } %]
[% if (Chorus.Comments.Options.collapsible_comments){ %]
[% } %] [% if (Chorus.Comments.Options.display_replies_count){ %] [% } %] [% if (data.comment.title ) { %] [% } else if (Chorus.Comments.Options.collapsible_comments){ %] [% } %]
[% } %]
[% if (Chorus.Comments.Options.collapsible_comments){ %]
[% } %] [% if (Chorus.Comments.Options.display_replies_count){ %] [% } %] [% if (data.comment.title ) { %] [% } else if (Chorus.Comments.Options.collapsible_comments){ %] [% } %]
[% if (data.comment.body != undefined && data.comment.body != "") { %] [%= jQuery.trim(data.comment.body) %] [% } %]
[% if (data.comment.signature != undefined && Chorus.Context.show_sigs_in_comments === true) { %][%=data.comment.signature %]
[% } %]jennie garth peter facinelli marques colston free agents nfl 2012 milwaukee bucks bear grylls us news law school rankings gael
Biden says China cyber-theft must stop
Vice President Joe Biden gestures while speaking at the opening session of the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. A month after the presidents of the U.S. and China held an unconventional summit at a California resort, their top officials are convening in more staid surroundings in Washington to review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the world powers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Vice President Joe Biden gestures while speaking at the opening session of the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. A month after the presidents of the U.S. and China held an unconventional summit at a California resort, their top officials are convening in more staid surroundings in Washington to review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the world powers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the opening session of the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue,Wednesday, July 10, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. A month after the presidents of the U.S. and China held an unconventional summit at a California resort, their top officials are convening in more staid surroundings in Washington to review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the world powers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang listens as Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the opening session of the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. A month after the presidents of the U.S. and China held an unconventional summit at a California resort, their top officials are convening in more staid surroundings in Washington to review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the world powers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, left, and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, center, listen as Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the opening session of the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Wednesday, July 10, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. A month after the presidents of the U.S. and China held an unconventional summit at a California resort, their top officials are convening in more staid surroundings in Washington to review security and economic issues that reflect growing ties but also deep-seated differences between the world powers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that China's rise is good for the U.S. and the world but its theft of U.S intellectual property must stop, as the two global powers began annual talks to build cooperation and hash out their deep-seated differences.
The Strategic and Economic Dialogue is taking place a month after the U.S. and Chinese presidents held an unconventional summit at a California resort that aimed to set a positive tone in relations but also made plain Washington's growing anxiety about Chinese cyber-theft.
"We both will benefit from an open, secure, reliable Internet. Outright cyber-enabling theft that U.S. companies are experiencing now must be viewed as out of bounds and needs to stop," Biden said in his opening remarks at the State Department.
Heavyweight delegations from the two sides are also expected to discuss barriers to U.S. trade and investment in China, the nuclear program of China's ally North Korea, and a host of other strategic issues, including Iran and Syria's civil war. The first rounds of talks Wednesday were focusing on climate change and energy security.
Secretary of State John Kerry returned for the start of the dialogue from his wife's bedside in Boston, and issued tearful thanks for the outpouring of good wishes for his wife who remains hospitalized. He will return to Boston later Wednesday and will be replaced in the talks by his deputy William Burns, said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
The Chinese side in the talks is led by Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who declared U.S.-China relations had "reached a new starting point" after the June summit of new Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama.
"China will stay committed to reform and opening up," Yang Jiechi said, adding that his nation was also committed to being a responsible player in the international system.
But he made only passing reference to cybersecurity as one of the "global challenges" that the U.S. and China should work together on. On other thorny topics, he said China was ready to discuss human rights with the U.S. and develop military relations that Biden stressed were important for avoiding the risk of confrontation between them in the Pacific.
Beijing has often bristled at Washington's criticism of its suppression of ethnic minorities and political dissent, and has also been reluctant to deepen military ties.
The strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China belies deep economic interdependence between them. The upbeat tone of the Obama and Xi summit went some way to ease mutual suspicion, but it was short on concrete outcomes.
Xi did express common cause with Obama in his opposition to North Korea's nuclear weapons program but that has yet to translate into effective pressure on Pyongyang. Biden said Wednesday the U.S. intends intensify cooperation with China "to denuclearize North Korea."
Another longtime Washington concern in its relations with China ? the low value of China's currency and its impact on the skewed trade balance ? has eased as the yuan has appreciated in value against the dollar. But the U.S. is still prodding Beijing to let the market dictate its exchange rate and expedite economic reforms.
Biden said China needs to free its exchange rate, shift to a consumption-led economy instead of relying on exports, and enforce intellectual property rights. He said the U.S. welcomes China's growth, but it should be based on international rules.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew also urged China to "follow through decisively" on its economic reform commitments, saying it will be critical to China's success and consequential for the wider world.
U.S. businesses and lawmakers want easing of barriers to American trade and investment, a roll back of subsidies for Chinese state-owned enterprises and make progress on negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty. For its part, China is concerned about security screening of its companies as they increasingly look to invest in the U.S.
The Center for Strategic International Studies think tank said the Chinese side will have little room to maneuver as the dialogue comes ahead of a meeting in October of the ruling party's central committee, where Xi's economic reform plans will be rolled out. Still, Beijing will likely want to show some incremental progress on Washington's trade and investment concerns, including protection of intellectual property.
There was no mention at the dialogue's opening of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, whom the U.S. had wanted extradited from the semiautonomous Chinese territory of Hong Kong before he flew to Russia.
U.S. officials have said that China's failure to cooperate was damaging to its relationship with the U.S. but the case is not expected to overshadow the talks. Washington has been put on the defensive by Snowden's claims that the U.S. hacked targets in China, including the nation's cellphone companies and two universities.
Associated Pressstevie nicks anchorman capybara duggars peter facinelli bobby rush supreme court justices
শুক্রবার, ৫ জুলাই, ২০১৩
China to adults: Go see your mother or go to jail
Grown children in China must visit their parents or face fines or even jail, according to a new law that went into effect today.
In this May 23, 2013 photo, an elderly man helps his wife on a wheelchair at a park in Beijing. New wording in the law requiring people to visit or keep in touch with their elderly parents or risk being sued came into force Monday, as China faces increasing difficulty in caring for its aging population.
Andy Wong/AP
EnlargeFilial piety is more than just a tradition in China ? now it is a legal obligation.
Skip to next paragraph Peter FordBeijing Bureau Chief
Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.
Recent posts
' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Grown children who do not visit their aged parents often enough could be fined or even jailed according to a law that went into effect here?on Monday.
Exactly what ?enough? means is not specified in the law, which will make it hard to enforce. But the legislation underlines how radically China?s modernization and its ?one child policy? have transformed the country over the past 30 years.
Market reforms have contributed to the break up of the traditional extended family, as more and more young people leave their hometowns to seek work, and population control efforts mean parents have only one child to lean on when they are older.
More than 194 million Chinese are over 60-years-old, according to official figures. By 2030 that figure will have almost doubled.
China?s parliament amended the Law to Protect the Rights and Interests of the Aged last December, in the wake of a spate of reports about neglected old people. Still, the new wording does not make it clear how often adult children are expected to visit their parents, nor how punishments for offenders will be calculated.
The law ?is mainly to stress the right of elderly people to ask for emotional support,? one of the drafters, law professor Xiao Jinming told the Associated Press. ?We want to emphasize that there is such a need.?
The law met with much criticism on the Internet, where social media platforms are largely populated by the sort of young people who do not have brothers and sisters to share the financial and emotional burden of caring for their ageing parents, few of whom have any kind of pension.
For them, the topic is of red-hot relevance. Nearly 17 million people posted comments on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo site. Zhou Simiao spoke for many when she wrote that ?visiting parents is a moral problem rather than a legal one. I can?t return home once a year since I work in Tibet. I can only say to my mum in Liaoning, ?I am sorry mum. Your daughter is an outlaw.??
brazil Dick Van Dyke pro bowl victoria azarenka Royal Rumble 2013 senior bowl norovirus
বৃহস্পতিবার, ৪ জুলাই, ২০১৩
Bem Wireless hopes Kickstarter will help them with their Kickstand
Bem Wireless, known primarily for their wireless speakers, is branching out into mobile projectors. Their new Kickstand folding projector is seeking $100,000 funding through Kickstarter. With only 17 days left in the project, they have yet to collect 10% of that amount in pledges which is kind of a bummer, because this projector looks like [...]
new mexico state kevin rose sessions march madness scores doonesbury padma lakshmi daughtry
What's a royal baby worth? To the British economy, $376 million.
Retailers in Britain are expecting sales to spike when the new heir to the throne is born this month.
A worker at the Mask-arade mask company loads boxes of Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, masks at the company works in Southam, England, last month. Retailers expect to sell $376 billion in food, drink, and merchandise related to the arrival of the newest member of the British royal family later this month.
Martin Cleaver/AP
EnlargeRaj Solomon, proprietor of Piccadilly Cards, a thin sliver of a store flogging souvenirs opposite the Royal Academy of Arts in central London, is expecting a lucrative summer.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
During the Jubilee celebrations last year he could barely keep pace with the demand for Queen Elizabeth II key rings and tea towels. Next month, with the expected birth of Britain?s heir to the throne, it will be coats of arms pacifiers and ?I love my Uncle Harry? bibs. ?Everyone?s waiting for that baby,? says Mr. Solomon happily.
The firstborn of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge is due in July. During that month and until the end of August, British retail sales will get a ?243 million ($376 million) boost, predicts the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). Its report, published last month estimated that Brits will spend an extra ?62 million ($94 million) on alcohol and ?80 million ($121 million) on souvenirs and toys in two months.
Even weeks before the baby?s due date, barely an opportunity has been missed to cash in on his or her imminence.
Butter London, a high-end cosmetics brand, has put out a $20 nail varnish called Pitter Patter. Across the country, hotels and restaurants are offering Royal Baby showers designed to make pregnant women feel like duchesses. The shop at Highgrove, Prince Charles?s home, is selling handmade leather baby shoes at $34 a pair.
?We didn?t experience such excitement when William was born in 1982 and certainly not when Prince Charles was born in 1948,? says Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine. ?I think it?s the great immediacy it all has now, thanks to the Internet.??
Indeed Joshua Barnfield, director of CRR, says he estimates Brits ?will spend three or four times more than at the births of Prince William and Harry.?
Patriotism, consumerism
The Internet, with its speedy dissemination of information and selling power is one reason for the big spending. Another is a resurgence of interest in the royal family following the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. Their low-level glamor and evident happiness has made them ? along with Prince Harry, who has shown a surprising flair for international diplomacy ? the most popular royals in years.
The wedding, and the following summer?s celebrations for Elizabeth?s 60 years on the throne, showed off the spectacular pomp at which Britain still excels.
Months later the 2012 Summer Olympics, followed by the most watched Paralympics in history, heightened the patriotic mood. At a time when post-empire Britain has little to distinguish it from other countries, patriotism and support for the royal family are easily conflated in the popular imagination.
But changing behavior of consumers has also played its part.
?We do a lot of research into consumer behavior and there is an increasing tendency to celebrate things these days,? says Mr. Barnfield. ?If someone had a party to mark a royal baby?s birth in the '70s or '80s people would say, ?Er, why are you doing that???
Pauline Maclaren, professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway College at the University of London, is writing a book on consumers and the branding of the royal family which will be published by California University Press next year.
She says while serious collectors of memorabilia are probably royalists, ?a lot of people are just buying these things for fun. It?s seen as part of being British rather than any more serious support of the monarchy.?
Cashing in?
One company likely to do well out of the birth is Party Pieces, owned by Kate?s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, which has revamped its website, adding a ?baby arrival? range with blue and pink balloons and rattles.
This has prompted many newspaper headlines suggesting the Middletons are exploiting their grandchild?s bloodline.
But with both Highgrove and the Royal Collection???which pumps profits into the upkeep of the royal palaces and is offering a $20 guardsman onesie ? also selling baby paraphernalia, it would be unfair to lay all the blame for commercializing the birth at the doors of the Middletons.
"The Royal Collection does things in a rather more subtle style than some sellers,? says Mr. Little of Majesty magazine. ?It will, I am sure, produce commemorative china, but using coats of arms rather than the faces of William and Kate.?
But any suggestion that the royal family feels the Middleton family is overstepping the mark he attributes to ?media mischief. There will always be people who wish to remind us of Kate?s middle-class background.?
Partying and commemorative china aside, the royal birth is likely to impact sales in other sectors. Just as dresses, especially maternity dresses, have sold out as Kate Middleton has been snapped wearing them, so sales of whatever buggy the third in line to the throne goes out in are expected to soar.
The betting business, which tends to do well at big national events, has a protracted selling window with a royal birth, thanks to bets placed on names. Alexandra and George are currently in the lead, while bets are also being placed on the baby?s hair color (brown, unsurprisingly, is ahead).
'Free publicity for Britain'
Tourism, too, will get a big boost from overseas visitors curious about the kinds of people who inhabit castles. ?The royal family generates free worldwide publicity for Britain ? you can?t put a value on that,? says Patricia Yates, director of Strategy at VisitBritain, the tourism agency.
Then there is the more general boost that the birth is likely to give the economy, boosting the confidence of consumers and investors.
A government study published this month suggested last summer delivered ?2.5 billion ($3.9 billion) in foreign direct investment resulting from business events launched during the Olympics.
?The economy is already improving,? says Barnfield. "The birth will be another uptick in the right direction."
social darwinism wisconsin recall election april 4 wisconsin primary dallas fort worth airport texas tornados seattle seahawks new uniforms
বুধবার, ৩ জুলাই, ২০১৩
Obama calls on neighbours to stop fuelling Congo conflict
By Drazen Jorgic and Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called on states around the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern region to stop fuelling conflict there and implement a peace deal.
After 11 nations signed the peace agreement, the United Nations started deploying an intervention force, MONUSCO, to neutralise armed groups in the mineral-rich area that has been racked by conflict for years and is desperately underdeveloped.
But a U.N. experts report seen by Reuters last week said military officers from Rwanda and Congo were fuelling violence in the region by supporting rival groups, despite the U.N.-brokered deal signed in February.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied meddling. Earlier accusations that it was backing rebels prompted a halt in some Western aid.
"The countries surrounding the Congo, they've got to make a commitment to stop funding armed groups that are encroaching on territorial integrity and sovereignty of Congo," Obama told a news conference in Tanzania, the last leg of an Africa tour.
"They've signed on a piece of paper, now the question is whether they follow through," he said. "Countries surrounding Congo should recognise that if the Congo stabilises, that will improve the prospects for their goals and their prosperity."
The U.N. report said the M23 rebels continued to recruit fighters in Rwanda, helped by sympathetic Rwandan officers.
It said elements of Congo's military had cooperated with a Rwandan Hutu rebel group against the M23, a Tutsi-dominated rebellion of former Congolese soldiers that has demanded political concessions from President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa.
Obama said he had discussed with President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, which has contributed to the U.N. intervention force, "how we can encourage all the parties concerned to follow through on commitments they've made".
"That means, for example, President Kabila inside Congo, he has to do more and better when it comes to dealing with the DRC's capacity on security issues and delivery of services," the U.S. president said at the joint news conference with Kikwete.
"We are prepared to work with the United Nations, regional organisations and others to help him build capacity," he said, adding that ultimately it was in the "self-interest" of regional countries to act to end the conflict.
"We can't force a solution on to the region. The people's of the region have to stand up and say that enough, it's time to move forward in a different way," Obama added.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-calls-neighbours-stop-fuelling-congo-conflict-093907184.html
spanx solar flares mary j blige gcb patricia heaton arsenic and old lace dionne warwick
Your Top Plays for Today
Your Top Plays for Today: AP's Sports Guide
--SERENA WILLIAMS THE LATEST SHOCK EXIT AT WIMBLEDON
Serena Williams, the overwhelming Wimbledon favorite, is eliminated by Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round.
http://apne.ws/11bWu9B
--F1 RETURNS TO IN-SEASON TESTING AFTER BRITISH GP TIRE FIASCO
In-season testing ? banned years ago as a cost-saving measure ? will return to Formula One after loud complaints from teams about a slew of tire failures at last weekend's British Grand Prix.
http://apne.ws/17AT7IJ
--NHL STARS SET TO PLAY AT 2014 OLYMPICS
Daylong negotiations have moved the NHL closer to allowing its players to appear for the countries at the 2014 Olympics.
http://apne.ws/1b2XJd1
--MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ON CUBAN TV FOR FIRST TIME IN 52 YEARS
American Major League Baseball has returned to Cuban television for the first time in 52 years, but fans disappointed in lack of Cuban players.
http://apne.ws/15bCpzg
--ARSENAL ADD TO STRIKE FORCE WITH SANOGO DEAL
English Premier League club Arsenal has added to its attacking options by signing French youth international Yaya Sanogo on a long-term contract after he was released by Auxerre.
http://apne.ws/17B6XuH
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-plays-today-070246380.html
riley reiff david decastro travis pastrana aj jenkins shea mcclellin nfl draft 2012 whitney mercilus
TSA Is Instagramming the Crazy Stuff It Confiscates at Checkpoints
What is Instagram for if not bragging oh so subtly about the stuff you're doing. It's true for rich kids on fancy vacations
     |
provisional ballot rush limbaugh rush limbaugh karl rove Election 2012 Results polling place comedy central
Ancient predator lacked jaw strength to leverage own fangs, was 'embarrassing'
The extinct and highly unusual predator?Thylacosmilus atrox relied on brute brawn to pin its prey.
The huge canine teeth of Thylacosmilus atrox extended almost into its braincase.
The University of New South Wales
Enlarge?Grandmother, what big teeth you have!? exclaimed Little Red Riding Hood.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
?All the better to eat you up with,? replied the wolf, which had just gobbled up the girl?s relative and strategically donned some of her accessories.
Well, not necessarily. It turns out that big teeth don't always mean a big bite, especially if the animal lacks the strong jaws to wield them.
The hulking, toothy predators that roamed the earth millions of years ago have long been figures of lore for sinking their horrible teeth into the animals unlucky enough to keep company with them. One of the animals in the sabre-tooth lineage, a South American version called Thylacosmilus atrox, had two massive teeth, each with roots stretching back to its braincase and that protruded from its mouth like angry warnings to run away, fast. The catch is, this extinct animal, a species whose closest living relatives are the Australian and American marsupials, had a bite no more powerful than that of a modern domestic cat.
Scientists have found that the worryingly toothy animal actually lacked the sheer jaw power to leverage its own teeth. Instead, the ancient mammal had to rely on its brawn to snag its food, pinning its prey with its muscled arms before administering a precise, strategic bite that depended entirely on its neck muscle force.?
?Thylacosmilus looked and behaved like nothing alive today,? said University of New South Wales?palaeontologist Stephen Wroe, the leader of the research team. ?Frankly, the jaw muscles of?Thylacosmilus?were embarrassing."
To make those findings, published in PLOS ONE, scientists built three-dimensional computer models that played out how three feared animals chased and killed their prey: Thylacosmilus, its cousin, the classic North American sabre-toothed ?tiger? (Smilodon fatalis), and the modern leopard.
The models showed that that both of the extinct species had extremely weak jaws relative to the modern leopard, with those of the odd Thylacosmilus being the weakest. That means that Smilodon fatalis, a true member of the cat family, was similarly dependent on sheer brawn, rather than wickedly punishing jaws, to kill its food.
Lest it be too much of an embarrassment to legend, where Thylacosmilus did have an advantage was in its skull, which was uniquely adapted to absorb the stress of plunging its fangs into hapless animals.
?Grandmother, what a big neck and well-adapted skull you have,? said Thylacosmilus?s prey, allegedly.
Opening ceremony London 2012 Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics NBC Olympics schedule
Ex-agent apologizes at Bulger trial for killing
BOSTON (AP) ? A former FBI agent who admitted taking payoffs from James "Whitey" Bulger appeared to choke back tears as he offered a dramatic apology to the family of one of the reputed gangster's alleged murder victims.
"Not a day in my life has gone by that I haven't thought about this. Not a day in my life has gone by that I haven't prayed that God gives you blessing and comfort for the pain that you suffered," John Morris, his voice cracking, told a widow and her three sons Monday during cross-examination by a defense lawyer at Bulger's racketeering trial.
The 83-year-old Bulger is charged with participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and '80s while he allegedly led the notorious Winter Hill Gang.
Morris testified that he told fellow FBI agent John Connolly that Edward "Brian" Halloran had given authorities information about a murder Bulger's gang was suspected of committing. At the time, both Morris and Connolly ? his subordinate ? had corrupt relationships with Bulger, who he said was a longtime FBI informant at the same time he was committing a litany of crimes.
Prosecutors say Halloran and Michael Donahue ? an innocent bystander who had offered Halloran a ride home ? were killed in 1982 after Connolly leaked the information to Bulger. Bulger is accused of opening fire on the car as the two men left a Boston restaurant.
Morris' voice cracked as he looked at Donahue's widow, Patricia, and his three grown sons seated in the courtroom. Morris apologized for "things that I may have done and things that I didn't do."
Patricia Donahue said she believes Morris was sincere, but his apology came "way, way too late."
"Those words didn't mean anything to me," she said. "While he's getting his (FBI) promotions, I'm mourning my husband."
Morris testified earlier that he played "no direct role" in the two killings. He said he believed Halloran was in protective custody and was about to enter the federal witness protection program when he talked to Connolly about him.
"It was spontaneous," he said. "I didn't plan it. It just happened. I wish it hadn't."
Bulger attorney Hank Brennan asked Morris if he knew he was "signing Mr. Halloran's death warrant" by telling Connolly he was cooperating against Bulger.
"I thought he was safe," Morris said.
Morris admitted taking $7,000 in payoffs, two cases of wine and other gifts from Bulger and the gang. He was given immunity from prosecution for his testimony during hearings in the 1990s and later for his testimony against Connolly in two separate trials in Massachusetts and Florida.
Connolly was convicted of racketeering and second-degree murder for leaking information to Bulger and the gang. It was a tip from Connolly that prompted Bulger to flee Boston in 1994. He was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives until he was finally captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011.
Bulger has pleaded not guilty and denies being an informant for the FBI.
In other testimony Monday, prosecutors called a former drug dealer who said he went into business with Bulger in 1980.
Joseph Tower, who received immunity from prosecution, said he was a musician and a cocaine and marijuana dealer when he first met Bulger. He said he was approached by a Bulger associate who offered to protect him and his customers from harassment by others trying to cut into his business.
Tower, who said the business was selling about a kilo of cocaine every week, called Bulger the "protection" in the organization and said Bulger regularly collected his share of the profits.
Bulger laughed audibly several times as Tower testified energetically about how Bulger's name instilled fear in people.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-agent-apologizes-bulger-trial-killing-073844867.html
American Music Awards 2012 oregon ducks oregon ducks rob gronkowski Coughing eddie murphy Stephanie Bongiovi
শনিবার, ২৯ জুন, ২০১৩
Could Russia take in 'idealist' Snowden?
Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who Russian officials say is spending his sixth day hiding somewhere in Moscow's cavernous Sheremetyevo airport, has still not been heard from or even spotted by journalists who've been eagerly combing the transit zone for a glimpse of him.
But his presence has not passed unnoticed in Moscow political circles, where a growing number of voices are suggesting that he should be brought in from the cold and offered asylum in Russia.
While a skeptic may perceive a cynical streak behind the unfolding public discussion ? a desire to exploit Mr. Snowden's situation for propaganda points against the US ? it might also be argued that some of the Western concepts being introduced into mainstream Russia political discourse, pretty much for the first time, may be hard to put back in the box later.
RECOMMENDED: Do you know anything about Russia? A quiz.
One prominent theme is the jarring notion that the old cold war paradigm ? the US-led "free world" versus the Soviet "evil empire" ? is being been stood on its head, and the US now looks like a ponderous, bureaucratic police state, while modern Russia has morphed into a beacon of hope for Western freedom-seekers.
"[Julian] Assange, [Bradley] Manning and Snowden are not spies who sold classified information for money. They acted on their beliefs. They are new dissidents, fighters against the system," the head of the State Duma's international affairs committee, Alexei Pushkov, tweeted Wednesday.
Mr. Pushkov, who excels at skewering Western "double standards," has maintained a steady stream of similar comments on his Twitter feed in recent days.
"The idealist Snowden was apparently convinced it would all turn out like a Hollywood movie: he will expose abuses and democracy will prevail. But life, and the US, are tougher," he tweeted Friday.
A somewhat different tack was taken by the head of the Kremlin's in-house human rights commission, Mikhail Fedotov, who told journalists that Snowden "deserves protection" and should file a request for refuge in Russia.
"If Mr. Snowden files such a request, then it can be considered by the president," Fedotov told the independent Interfax agency on Thursday.
"This situation is utterly clear to me from the point of view of human rights protection: a person, disclosing secrets concealed by special services, if these secrets are a threat to the society, a threat to millions people ? which refers to the total surveillance of the Internet ? such a person does deserve political asylum in this or that country," Fedotov said.
The official line, expressed by President Vladimir Putin, is that Russia will not hand Snowden over to the US but that he should move on, the sooner the better.
Before he goes, however, Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, has struck a special committee and invited him in to testify about the impact of NSA spying on Russian citizens.
Sen. Ruslan Gattarov, head of the Federation Council's working group to investigate Snowden's claims, says his main concern is not to investigate the NSA.
He insists the committee's key interest is to explore the alleged abuse-of-trust by giant Internet companies ? such as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, and others with huge slices of the Russian market ? which Snowden's revelations suggest have handed over user data to the NSA.
"We don't want to get involved in secret service conspiracies. Whatever the NSA was doing is not particularly our concern," Mr. Gattarov says.
"We want to know how it happens that big global Internet companies, which operate in Russia, too, find it possible to leak user data to a third party. The public has been assured by these companies that our personal correspondence, our bank accounts, our Internet habits are all perfectly secure. But what we're learning from Mr. Snowden's exposures strongly suggest otherwise."
"So, we want to talk with him. As soon as he settles his status, we invite him to come to the Federation Council and discuss with us any evidence that is relevant to this probe," he adds.
Sergei Markov, a frequent adviser to President Putin, says the growing public debate over what to do about Snowden really is something new, and it puts the Kremlin in a difficult spot.
"Russia really would prefer if Snowden went somewhere else, but it is quite possible that we'd take him in if he asked for asylum here. It would create difficulties with the US, but Russia would lose a lot of credibility if it were to turn him down," Mr. Markov says.
"Of course, Snowden probably doesn't want refuge in Russia. He belongs to international civil society, the so-called 'warriors of freedom,' who probably dislike Russia as much as they do the US. He'd probably see Russian asylum as the total failure of his mission. But in Russian society, there is a real, very healthy discussion going on about this. People are reexamining their beliefs. For example, human rights advocates who normally just criticize the Kremlin are being forced to answer the question: Are you more pro-American, or more pro-human rights?" he says.
"If you're more pro-human rights, it means you should support Snowden even if it means offending the US."
RECOMMENDED: Do you know anything about Russia? A quiz.
Related stories
Read this story at csmonitor.com
Become a part of the Monitor community
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-debates-letting-snowden-cold-160350294.html
National Sibling Day march madness Masters Leaderboard 2013 How Animals Eat Their Food Aereo Masters 2013 Lone Star College
শুক্রবার, ২৮ জুন, ২০১৩
WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Obama gets lessons on Goree
GOREE ISLAND, Senegal (AP) ? President Barack Obama says he learned some lessons on a visit to Goree Island, where he toured a slave house and gazed out at the Atlantic Ocean through what's known as the Door of No Return. It's the point on this Senegalese island from which Africans were said to have been shipped to the Americas and into slavery.
The son of a Kenyan man, Obama said the tour helped him, and the family members who accompanied him, to "fully appreciate the magnitude of the slave trade." He was joined by first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, and a niece, Leslie Robinson.
The president said Thursday's trip also reminded him of the importance of standing up for human rights worldwide.
"This is a testament to when we're not vigilant in defense of human rights what can happen," Obama said after the tour. "Obviously, for an African-American, an African-American president, to be able to visit this site, I think, gives me even greater motivation in terms of human rights around the world."
Obama spent about a half-hour touring the salmon-colored slave house, including seeing the small holding rooms that separately held male and female Africans before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas. He spent about a minute peering through the Door of No Return, and went back for a second long look after his family had a chance to peek out too.
Later, at a state dinner with Senegal's president, Macky Sall, Obama said he and Mrs. Obama "will never forget" the Goree Island visit.
___
What's a motorcade called when it travels on water? Try a floatercade.
Obama arrived on the island aboard La Signare, a 73-foot, blue-and-white launch decorated with Senegal's green, yellow and red flag and a banner that said "Welcome President Obama."
There were six boats in all, including smaller boats for Secret Service agents and other security officials, White House staff and the media.
U.S. reporters traveling with the president dubbed the flotilla a "floatercade."
___
Tourists who come to Goree Island usually spend most of their time trying to avoid trinket-sellers and peddlers who swarm visitors from the moment they set foot off the ferry, plying them with beaded necklaces and offers of guided tours.
But the city went to great pains to clean up in anticipation of Obama's visit. Sandy lanes were swept clean of trash. The beach appeared to have been raked. Even the peddlers seemed to have been part of the cleanup effort too.
Instead of the usual mob, only a few hawkers greeted a ferry that docked the day before Obama arrived.
___
Before arriving on the island, Obama, who is a lawyer, told a meeting in Dakar of judges from the region that he disappointed his late grandmother by going into politics.
She wanted him to be a judge.
Still, even though he let her down her by becoming a politician, he said she would be happy to know "that a group of judges are willing to meet with me even if I'm not one myself."
___
As Africans awaited news about the health of ailing former South African President Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama urged a group of middle school students to draw on his strength as they grow up to possibly become leaders in their own right. Mandela, 94, who fought against his country's former system of white-minority rule and was imprisoned for 27 years, is in critical condition in a South African hospital.
Mrs. Obama urged the students to make their lives worthy of the sacrifices of people like Mandela.
"I want you to think about this. If President Mandela could hold tight to his vision for his country's future during the 27 years he spent in prison, then surely you all can hold tight to your hopes for your own future," she told the students at Martin Luther King Middle School in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
"If President Mandela could endure being confined to a tiny cell, being forced to perform back-breaking labor, being separated from the people he loved most in the world, then surely, all of us, we can keep showing up and doing our best ? showing up for school each day, studying as hard as you possibly can," she said. "Surely, you can seize the kind of opportunities Mandela fought for for all of us. Surely, you can honor his legacy by leaving a proud legacy of your own."
___
Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi in Senegal and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jpaceDC
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-notebook-obama-gets-lessons-goree-204027642.html
crystal harris Texas A Texas A&m cotton bowl Fiscal cliff deal kathy griffin jadeveon clowney
WSJ outs Apple's iTunes Radio terms, says many are 'more generous' than Pandora's
According to a document obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Apple will pay 0.13 cents and 15 percent of advertising revenue to major labels for every song played on iTunes Radio in its first year, climbing to .14 cents and 19 percent in year two. In comparison, Pandora currently pays 0.12 cents per song, and WSJ added that Apple is offering publishers more than double Pandora's rate for royalties. There are some exclusions to Apple's offering, however: it won't need to pay for songs streamed for 20 seconds or less, those that are already in your iTunes library or certain promoted tracks. For its part, Pandora said that comparing the two is unfair, since varying features between the services could trigger royalty payments differently. It also addressed recent controversy about those royalties in a detailed blog post (see the More Coverage link after the break). In addition, insiders say that Apple's primary aim is to encourage listeners to buy more tracks on iTunes, in turn boosting hardware sales. Still, the new service will no doubt reap the benefits of Apples new iAd mobile advertising platform, so it's likely that Cupertino will have its cake and eat it, too.
Source: WSJ Digits
april 4 wisconsin primary dallas fort worth airport texas tornados seattle seahawks new uniforms wisconsin recall wisconsin recall
Kim Kardashian Is A 'Natural' With North West
Friends of the reality starlet open up about the reality star as a mother, as Kim breaks her Twitter silence for the first time since giving birth.
By Jocelyn Vena
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
Photo: Getty Images
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709758/kim-kardashian-north-west.jhtml
david beckham Bill Hader tim mcgraw WWE Extreme Rules 2013 powerball winner powerball winner Eurovision
How the Dow Jones industrial average did Thursday
Encouraging news about the U.S. economy sent the stock market to its third straight gain Thursday.
Consumer spending rose last month as incomes increased, claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and the number of pending home sales jumped in May to the highest level in more than six years. Investors were also encouraged after the yield on the 10-year Treasury note stabilized below 2.50 percent after surging earlier in the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114.35 points, or 0.8 percent, to 15,204.49.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 9.94 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,613.20.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 25.64 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,401.86.
For the week so far:
The Dow is up 225.09 points, or 1.5 percent.
The S&P 500 is up 20.77 points, or 1.3 percent.
The Nasdaq composite is up 44.61 points, or 1.3 percent.
For the year so far:
The Dow is up 1,920.35 points, or 14.7 percent.
The S&P 500 is up 187.01 points, or 13.1 percent.
The Nasdaq composite is up 382.35 points, or 12.7 percent.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dow-jones-industrial-average-did-215644889.html
wal mart happy thanksgiving Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade 2012 Turkey Cooking Times Butterball mashed potatoes Apple Black Friday
Actor James Gandolfini's funeral on Thursday
En esta imagen sin fecha difundida por HBO, el actor James Gandolfini en su papel de Tony Soprano, el jefe de una familia de mafiosos en Nueva Jersey en la serie "Los Soprano". El funeral de Gandolfini ser? el jueves 27 de junio del 2013 en la Catedral de San Juan el Divino en Nueva York. Gandolfini muri? el 19 de junio del 2013 en Italia. Ten?a 51 a?os. (AP Foto/HBO, Barry Wetcher, Archivo)
NEW YORK (AP) ? A funeral service for actor James Gandolfini is scheduled to take place in one of New York City's largest churches.
The ceremony at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday. It comes after a private wake for the former star of "The Sopranos" on Wednesday in New Jersey.
The 51-year-old actor died of a heart attack last week while vacationing in Italy with his son.
Broadway theaters paid tribute by dimming their lights briefly Wednesday night. Gandolfini was nominated for a Tony Award in 2009 as an actor in "God of Carnage."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/actor-james-gandolfinis-funeral-thursday-061748888.html
affirmative action helicon zac efron and taylor swift new madrid fault real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham
TokBox Launches OpenTok For Customer Service And New Tools For Managing WebRTC Calls
TokBox today launched OpenTok for Customer Service and a number of new WebRTC-based services for OpenTok that will bring advanced audio and video chat capabilities to developers that aren’t natively supported by the increasingly popular real-time file sharing and audio and video chat protocol. TokBox’s OpenTok can now, for example, dynamically shape audio and video traffic to maximize the experience of everybody on the call. WebRTC has some of these capabilities by defaults, but as TokBox CEO Ian Small told me, OpenTok now keeps an eye on network conditions for every stream that’s going out and when a connection gets too bad, it will automatically drop the video from the call and switch to audio-only. This is surprisingly hard to do for developers, Small noted, but because OpenTok handles all of this in the cloud, the developers don’t have to do anything to support this. With today’s update, Tokbox is also introducing its Cloud Raptor SDK. Essentially, this gives developers the ability to get a real-time feed of events when people join calls, signals change or when connections are interrupted. Developers can then take this stream of information and use it to manage the business logic of their apps or enforce certain policies. Right now, for example, you can’t easily track how long a WebRTC call actually was unless you do it all on the client side, which is not exactly secure and prone to errors. With Cloud Raptor, however, developers can get a clear picture of all of this data. It’s important to note that this is just about event data. Developers can’t listen in to calls or see what’s happening in a video chat. OpenTok For Customer Service The third piece of today’s update – and one that’s different from most of TobBox’s recent updates – is the launch of OpenTok For Customer Service. This service bundles together a number of pre-configured WebRTC-based tools that allow developers to quickly implement face-to-face video chats for customer service applications. This, Small told me, could be integrated into existing call center solutions, especially because OpenTok allows developers to create solutions for adding additional parties to a call when you need to bring an expert into a sales call, for example. Small believes this solution will be especially interesting for call centers, but also for schedule booking systems and similar services. Developers, of course, could also take this solution and use itSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/KIMx216FqZU/
Cnn Live Logan airport Miranda rights Police Scanner boston herald mit nfl schedule
Snowden's limbo in purported airport hideout
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin says that fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has been in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since flying in from Hong Kong ? meaning that he has not officially entered the country. If true, it's effectively a life of airport limbo for Snowden, whose American passport has been revoked by U.S. authorities.
Here's a look at the place and how it operates.
WHAT IT'S LIKE
The area where Snowden is purportedly staying serves both connecting passengers traveling via Moscow to onward destinations and passengers departing from Moscow who have passed border and security checks. An Associated Press reporter entered the area Wednesday by flying from Kiev, Ukraine.
The huge area unites three terminals: the modern, recently built D and E, and the older, less comfortable F, which dates to the Soviet era. The transit and departure zone is essentially a long corridor, with boarding gates on one side and gleaming duty free shops, luxury clothing boutiques and souvenir stores selling Russian Matryoshka dolls on the other. About a dozen restaurants owned by local and foreign chains serve various tastes.
Hundreds of Russian and foreign tourists await flights here, some stretched out on rows of gray chairs, others sipping hot drinks at coffee shops or looking out through giant windows as silver-blue Aeroflot planes land and take off.
Business ran as usual at the terminals on Wednesday morning. An Asian girl, about 10 years old, slept peacefully on her father's lap. A middle-aged mother and her teenage daughter tried out perfume samples at a duty free store, while nearby a woman in a green dress picked out a pair of designer sunglasses. A pilot was buying lunch at Burger King.
NO TRACE OF SNOWDEN
Putin insisted Tuesday that Snowden has stayed in the transit zone without passing Russian immigration and is free to travel wherever he likes. Snowden, who arrived Sunday on a flight from Hong Kong, registered for a Havana-bound flight Monday en route to Venezuela, but didn't board the plane. His ultimate destination was believed to be asylum in Ecuador. Dozens of Russian and foreign journalists boarded the Havana flight only to photograph Snowden's empty seat 17A during the 12-hour journey.
The U.S. move to annul Snowden's passport might have further complicated his travel plans.
Hordes of journalists armed with laptops and photo and video cameras have camped in and around the airport, looking for Snowden or anyone who may have seen or talked to him. But after talking to passengers, airport personnel, waiters and shop clerks, the press corps has discovered no trace of the elusive leaker.
Russian news agencies, citing unidentified sources, reported that Snowden was staying at a hotel in the transit terminal, but he was nowhere to be seen at the zone's only hotel, called "Air Express." It offers several dozen capsule-style spaces that passengers can rent for a few hours to catch some sleep. Hotel staff refused to say whether Snowden was or has in the past stayed there.
"We only saw lots of journalists, that's for sure," said Maxim, a waiter at the Shokoladnitsa diner not far from Air Express. He declined to give his last name because he wasn't allowed to talk to reporters.
PLACES TO HIDE
The departure and transit area is huge and has dozens of small rooms, some labeled "authorized personnel only," where one could potentially seek refuge with support from airport staff or security personnel. And security forces or police patrolling the area can easily whisk a person out of this area though back doors or corridors.
There are also a few VIP lounge areas, accessible to business-class passengers or people willing to pay some $20 per hour. Snowden was not seen in those areas.
Exiting the area would either require boarding a plane or passing through border control. Both require a valid passport or other identification.
Sheremetyevo's press service declined to comment on Snowden's whereabouts. A policeman at the airport laughed off a question from an AP reporter about Snowden's whereabouts. "Journalists have searched this place for three days and have found nothing. Was he ever here in the first place?" the policeman asked. He spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowdens-limbo-purported-airport-hideout-154331234.html
wal mart happy thanksgiving Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade 2012 Turkey Cooking Times Butterball mashed potatoes Apple Black Friday
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৭ জুন, ২০১৩
Paying by Phone ? Conveniences and Cautions
It seems like every time I get to the register of a chain store, they offer me a new way to pay with my phone. But these new modes of paying have serious pros and cons ? and there may be compelling reasons not to dive into mobile payments just yet, despite their growth.
Mobile Payments Predicted To Go Up 44% in 2013
Research firm Gartner says over $235 million in payments will be made with mobile devices this year. In retail outlets, those pay-by-phone options break down into three main categories: brand specific apps (like the Starbucks app), payment apps (like PayPal or Square Wallet), and NFC ? Near Field Communications (special phones linked to a Google Wallet or Isis account).
NFC ? Near Field Communication
Let?s start with NFC since it?s gotten all the hot press. This technology is built into certain devices, predominantly Android and Blackberry phones. You link the phone either to a Google Wallet account (tied to your bank or credit card), to an NFC credit card account (like Mastercard PayPass), or to an Isis account (tied to your mobile phone billing), then tap a terminal at the checkout to pay. But these tap-and-go contact-less payments will account for only 2% of all mobile payments in 2013 according to Gartner. Stores with NFC terminals are limited, and only a handful of phones have NFC technology built in (and the iPhone is NOT one of those).
Probably the biggest issue is that NFC is a solution in search of a problem: how difficult is it to swipe a credit card? More explicitly, what does NFC payment do for the consumer?s convenience that swiping a credit card can?t? If NFC terminals were everywhere, maybe it would facilitate leaving home without cash or a credit card, but until then, the technology faces significant inertia, and I wouldn?t buy one phone over another just because it has NFC baked in.
Brand-Specific Apps
Many chains have their own apps that let you input your credit card info and ?load? money on the app for in-store payments. By combining the payment functionality with apps that track purchases and reward loyalty, ?regulars? get a significant convenience and can even frequent their favorite joint without a wallet. Do you go for a run every morning and grab a coffee when you finish? Hello Starbucks app on your phone! 
Pre-order/Pre-pay
I particularly like the order ahead and pay by mobile functionality that chains like California Pizza Kitchen App have brought to market. This makes the take-out pizza experience incredibly easy. Order and pay by app, walk in, tell them your name, get your food and walk out in under three minutes. The app even remembers your previous orders so you can replicate them with one click ? genius. Jamba Juice is said to be testing pre-order and pre-pay for their app, and when this is a feature is replicated by more chains, it will bring many loyal customers into the mobile payment world.
Wallet Apps
Paypal and Square wallet are the two biggest players in app-based mobile payments. Stores that offer payment by app either let you key in your mobile phone number and a pin or use location data captured by your phone, in which case the phone will generate a QR code to be scanned at the register. Again, stores need special equipment and merchant accounts. Plus, the major benefits of using Paypal or Square are still limited to people who don?t have a bank account or credit cards and prefer a mobile option.
Money Transfers
While in-store mobile purchases are growing, 71% of all mobile payments are money transfers ? and most often, person-to-person transfers. The clear winner here is Paypal, which lets you email or even text money to anyone?s phone or email address. The recipient needs to have a Paypal account (or sign up for one) but so long as it?s not a business payment, just between individuals, there are no fees.
These types of transfers are ideal for repaying a friend, or sending money to a family member who needs the cash immediately. Some services don?t even need a bank account to work ? good news for the 8% of US households that don?t have bank accounts. Customers can use cash to purchase a PayPal card or Money Pak card in retail outlets, and then use the pin numbers on those cards to deposit money into the Paypal mobile account (but beware: prepaid card purchases can have fees associated).
Text Money From your Online Banking App
Banks like Wells Fargo and Chase now allow you to send money to individuals directly from their phone app. There?s also a brand new mobile phone-based bank called GoBank that, among many other innovative features, lets you send money directly to a friend from your GoBank account.
Send Money via Gmail
Google is also entering the mobile transfer space; they are trying out a product that lets you send money through Gmail, almost like an attachment. Google said in a statement this is only available to users over 18. It?s slowly being rolled out to users in the U.S., and we assume later, internationally.
Person-to-Person Credit Card Payments
PayPal and Square both offer credit card readers that plug into a smart phone and allow anyone to swipe a credit card and accept payment. If you have an account, the readers are free. They make great sense for small business owners, fundraising events, or even collecting money around the office for a baby gift. But the big gotcha here is the roughly 3% that the services charge you to accept money via credit card.
Security
The weakest link in the mobile payment security chain is not the wireless transmission of your data via NFC or the scanning of QR codes from a store?s app. The technology is not the problem; it?s what that technology enables: more corporations may have your credit card and billing info on their servers (hello hacking target). And an even bigger vulnerability: if your phone is stolen, thieves have access to a treasure trove of accounts and payment methods. If you plan to pay with your phone, you?d better have security software enabled, like Lookout for Android or Find My iPhone ? both of which allow you to erase your phone remotely as soon as it?s stolen.
[Related: How To Lock Down Your Cell Phone If It?s Stolen]
Bottom Line: Mobile payments make sense if you don?t have a bank account or credit card, if you frequent a chain that offers mobile payments and reward features, or if you want to transfer money to friends and family in a secure and convenient way. But be sure you know the fees associated with these payments and can remotely erase your phone if it?s stolen.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upgrade-your-life/paying-phone-conveniences-cautions-141559523.html
New pope 2013 good morning america earthquake california earthquake california douglas adams brandon knight brandon knight
বুধবার, ২৬ জুন, ২০১৩
NSA leaker stays free in Russia
By Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman
MOSCOW (Reuters) - China and Russia rejected U.S. accusations they helped a former U.S. spy agency contractor escape prosecution in the United States, deepening a rift between powers whose cooperation may be essential in settling global conflicts including the Syrian war.
Edward Snowden, charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, left Hong Kong for Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday. The U.S. State Department said diplomats and Justice Department officials were holding discussions with Russia, suggesting they were looking for a deal to secure his return to face espionage charges.
An airport source said the 30-year-old American, who has asked for asylum in Ecuador, had flown in on Sunday and had been booked on a flight to Cuba on Monday but had not got on board.
Journalists camped out at the airport have not spotted him inside, or leaving, the transit area, and say a heavy security presence has been relaxed for the past 24 hours. He has not registered at a hotel in the transit zone, hotel sources say.
A receptionist at the Capsule Hotel "Air Express", a complex of 47 basic rooms decorated predominantly with grey carpets and grey walls, said Snowden had turned up on Sunday, looked at the price list but then left.
U.S. officials admonished Beijing and Moscow on Monday for allowing Snowden to escape their clutches but the United States' partners on the U.N. Security Council, already at odds with Washington over the conflict in Syria, hit back indignantly.
"The United States' criticism of China's central government is baseless. China absolutely cannot accept it," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing, also dismissing U.S. criticism of Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, for letting Snowden leave.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied suggestions Moscow had helped Snowden in any way, including by allowing him to fly into Sheremetyevo.
"He chose his itinerary on his own. We learnt about it ... from the media. He has not crossed the Russian border," he said. "We consider the attempts to accuse the Russian side of violating U.S. laws, and practically of involvement in a plot, to be absolutely groundless and unacceptable."
Lavrov's insistence Snowden had not entered Russia implies he has not left the airport transit area, used by passengers flying from one non-Russian airport to another without going through passport control or requiring an entry visa.
The transit area is Russian sovereign territory, but it could be argued that in staying there Snowden had not formally entered the country - a move that could implicate President Vladimir Putin in helping a fugitive.
Interfax news agency quoted a source "in the Russian capital" as saying Snowden could be detained to check the validity of his passport if he crossed the Russian border.
Snowden is travelling on a refugee document of passage provided by Ecuador, the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said.
Putin is not shy of celebrating people who challenge Washington, but has an interest in keeping relations with the United States on track as both sides try to improve security cooperation and arrange a peace conference on Syria.
U.S. DISCUSSES SNOWDEN WITH RUSSIA
Jay Carney, a spokesman for the White House, said it was Washington's assumption that Snowden was still in Russia.
Snowden, whose exposure of the surveillance raised questions about civil liberties in the United States, flew to Moscow after being allowed to leave Hong Kong even though Washington had asked the Chinese territory to detain him.
Snowden, until recently a contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency, had been expected to fly to Havana from Moscow on Monday and eventually go on to Ecuador, according to sources at the Russian airline Aeroflot.
There is no direct flight from Moscow to Quito, which has said it was considering Snowden's asylum request.
Ecuador, like Cuba and Venezuela, is a member of the ALBA bloc, an alliance of leftist governments in Latin America that pride themselves on their "anti-imperialist" credentials. The Quito government has been sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its London embassy for the past year.
The airport source confirmed Snowden was travelling with Sarah Harrison, a legal researcher working for WikiLeaks.
"She (Harrison) came together with Edward Snowden from Hong-Kong on June 23 around 5 p.m.," the source said. "He had a ticket to go to Havana on the 24th, but he did not use it. She also had one, but she didn't use it either."
DEFIANCE
With Snowden's whereabouts a mystery, U.S. President Barack Obama, may face prolonged embarrassment from a young man leading the world's lone superpower on a global game of hide and seek.
Obama told reporters his government was "following all the appropriate legal channels working with various other countries to make sure the rule of law is observed".
But U.S. officials said intelligence agencies were concerned that they did not know how much sensitive material Snowden had in his possession and that he may have taken more documents than initially estimated.
He could publish more documents or they could get into the hands of foreign intelligence. The Kremlin denies knowledge of any contacts between Russian officials and Snowden, despite media speculation the security forces could be questioning him.
Carney said his escape would damage U.S.-China relations and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Snowden's activities could threaten the security of China and the United States.
"People may die as a consequence to what this man did," he told CNN. But to his supporters, Snowden is a whistle blowing hero who exposed the extent of U.S. surveillance activities.
(Additional reporting Gabriela Baczynska and Lidia Kelly in Moscow, Alexandra Valencia in Quito, Mark Felsenthal, Paul Eckert and Mark Hosenball in Washington and Katya Golubkova in Havana, Writing by Elizabeth Piper and Timothy Heritage, editing by)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-presses-russia-mystery-over-snowden-deepens-015914306.html
mike d antoni resigns holes ncaa brackets 2012 odd lamar d antoni fashion star
এতে সদস্যতা:
পোস্টগুলি (Atom)