বুধবার, ১০ জুলাই, ২০১৩

Africa to Benefit from Pursuit of Tax Dodgers Full story ? http://allafrica.c...

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Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch steps down; Michael Huseby appointed CEO of Nook Media

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.

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Source: Barnes & Noble

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/k3yDVvjGLQQ/

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NCAA Football '14 Custom Cover: Johnny Manziel Heisman Mosaic

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Source: http://www.goodbullhunting.com/2013/7/9/4509226/ncaa-football-14-custom-cover-johnny-manziel-heisman-mosaic

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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 Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-07-10-US-China/id-76427a028fdf4a429e6b0e6b3582fd6a

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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.

By Peter Ford,?Staff writer / July 1, 2013

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

Enlarge

Filial piety is more than just a tradition in China ? now it is a legal obligation.

Skip to next paragraph Peter Ford

Beijing 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.

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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.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/NfBhw3w3s0s/China-to-adults-Go-see-your-mother-or-go-to-jail

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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 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/07/03/bem-wireless-hopes-kickstarter-will-help-them-with-their-kickstand/

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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.

By Mian Ridge,?Correspondent / July 2, 2013

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

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Raj 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.

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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."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/04pLwEsVyEY/What-s-a-royal-baby-worth-To-the-British-economy-376-million

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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

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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

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TSA Is Instagramming the Crazy Stuff It Confiscates at Checkpoints

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, and apparently, it's true for the Transportation Safety Administration, which has been posting images of the absurd stuff passengers are trying to carry on planes every day.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LaTR4jWYAgc/tsa-is-instagramming-the-crazy-stuff-it-confiscates-at-651017621

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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.

By Elizabeth Barber,?Contributor / July 1, 2013

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.

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?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.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/gUDMShrSf-M/Ancient-predator-lacked-jaw-strength-to-leverage-own-fangs-was-embarrassing

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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

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