samuele mention: April 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Anderson Silva: Who should Jon Jones fight next?

To the surprise of few, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones held onto his championship belt with a first-round TKO of Chael Sonnen on Saturday night. Part of the reason it was no surprise is that finishing fights is what Jones does. He won four of his last five fights by stoppage. He improves with every fight. Against Sonnen, he used Sonnen's strength of wrestling to control him on the way to the TKO.

Can anyone beat this guy? Here are a few contenders.

Alexander Gustafsson: He's one of the few elite, light heavyweight fighters who hasn't faced Jones. Like Jones, he uses his height and length to keep opponents at bay. He's ready for a fight now because he was pulled from a bout with Gegard Mousasi earlier this month because of a cut. Gustafsson is also who Jones wants to face.

"A lot of people think I've been successful because I appear to be larger than my opponents, and with Alexander, that would be no more," Jones said at the post-UFC 159 news conference. "That's who I would like to fight next."

Gustafsson is in:

Congratz @jonnybones Champ! Heal up good now so we

? Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) April 28, 2013

Can do this ;)

? Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) April 28, 2013

Daniel Cormier: The Strikeforce grand prix heavyweight champ had a successful UFC debut against Frank Mir. As a two-time Olympic wrestler with knockout power, he has the skills to stop Jones. UFC president Dana White said Cormier would get an immediate title shot if he were to drop down. The weight drop is the biggest question. Cormier wrestled at 211 lbs., and suffered from kidney failure the last time he tried to get to that weight. It won't be an easy cut for him.

Anderson Silva: White said he received a call from the middleweight champ right after the Jones bout, asking for a superfight with either Jones or Georges St-Pierre. White wouldn't confirm who Silva was asking for, but why would he ask for a bout with GSP right after watching Jones fight? It's the superfight MMA fans want, but Silva has Chris Weidman in July first.

[Photos: Jon Jones pummels Chael Sonnen, suffers gruesome injury]

Time off: This is likely Jones' next contender. During Saturday night's fight, he broke his toe in an ugly fashion. Even with Gustafsson, Silva and Cormier waiting for a fight, Jones needs to heal.

Related UFC video on Yahoo! Sports

What do you want Jones to do next? Speak up on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/alexander-gustafsson-daniel-cormier-anderson-silva-jon-jones-150515611.html

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Today Might Be Virgin Galactic's First Rocket-Powered Test Flight

Earlier this month, Virgin Chairman Richard Branson announced at the launch of Virgin America's new route through Newark that his other flying endeavor would be hitting a huge milestone this month: Its first rocket-powered test flight.

Itay's new PM: Nation will stay 'pro-Europe'

ROME (AP) ? Italy's new premier says his broad coalition will work to heal the nation's finances while encouraging economic growth.

Enrico Letta is laying out his vision Monday of a pro-European Italy focused on spurring investments and job creation. The center-left leader, who has brought media mogul Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives together in a tense coalition, is seeking support as he faces for confidence votes in Parliament.

Appeasing Berlusconi, Letta said Italians won't have to pay an unpopular property tax this June while a system fairer to the less affluent is devised.

Financial markets have already signaled approval of this apparent end of the months-long political deadlock. Letta says he'll soon go to Brussels, Berlin and Paris to reassure EU allies about Italian economic seriousness.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/itays-pm-nation-stay-pro-europe-144349118.html

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Vaja Nuova Pelle Case for iPhone 5 review

I’ve always admired Vaja cases, but I’ve never had the chance to try one with any of my devices. ?I’m an instant-gratification kinda gal, and I couldn’t stand waiting to have a case custom-made for me and the ready-to-ship cases usually were in colors that didn’t appeal to me. ?Recently Vaja Cases contacted Julie about [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/27/vaja-nuova-pelle-case-for-iphone-5-review/

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Majority of SKoreans in NKorean factory to return

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Roughly three quarters of the 175 South Koreans still at a shuttered factory park in North Korea are scheduled to return Saturday after Seoul decided to withdraw them over Pyongyang's rejection of its demand for talks on the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, the government said.

The industrial complex in the border city of Kaesong bustled with more than 53,000 North Korean workers and 800 South Korean managers before Pyongyang pulled its entire work force out and banned South Koreans from entering it earlier this month.

The park, the biggest employer in Kaesong with a population of 200,000 according to North Korean officials, is the most significant casualty in the recent deterioration of ties between the Koreas. Operating with South Korean know-how and technology and with cheap labor from North Korea since 2004, it has weathered past cycles of hostility between the rivals, including two attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

On Thursday, Seoul issued a Friday deadline for North Korea to respond to its call for talks because it was worried about its workers not having access to food and medicine. North Korea hasn't allowed South Korea to send supplies to its managers in Kaesong since the ban.

Just hours after Pyongyang dismissed Seoul's demand for talks as "deceptive," Ryoo Kihl-jae, South Korea's top official on relations with North Korea, said Friday in a televised statement his government decided to pull all the remaining South Koreans in Kaesong.

"We've made the inevitable decision to bring back all the remaining personnel in Kaesong for the protection of our people as their difficulties continue to grow," Unification Minister Ryoo said, urging the North to protect the property of South Korean companies at Kaesong and ensure the safe return of South Koreans home.

His ministry said later Friday in a text message that 127 of the remaining South Koreans in Kaesong would return Saturday. The remaining workers are expected to leave Kaesong on Sunday.

In Friday's statement, a spokesman for the North's powerful National Defense Commission promised the workers' safety if they withdrew, while lashing out at Seoul over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills and the spreading of anti-North Korea leaflets at the border as proof of Seoul's insincerity.

"If they are truly worried about the lives of South Korean personnel in the (complex), they may withdraw all of them to the south side where there are stockpiles of food and raw materials and sound medical conditions," said the statement carried by official media.

"If the South's puppet group looks away from reality and pursues the worsening of the situation, we will be compelled to first take final and decisive grave measures," it said.

Impoverished North Korea has objected to views in South Korea that the Kaesong park is a source of badly needed hard currency. South Korean companies paid salaries to North Korean workers averaging $127 a month, according to South Korea's government. That is less than one-sixteenth of the average salary of South Korean manufacturer workers.

The complex, conceived following the historic 2000 summit between late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, broke ground in 2003. The plan was for South Korean firms to build 500 factories as part of a pledge to help develop North Korea's economy, Pak Chol Su, vice director of the General Bureau for Central Guidance, which manages Kaesong, told the Associated Press in September.

The statements on Kaesong this week follow what had been something of a lull after a weeks-long tirade of warlike North Korean rhetoric that included threats of nuclear war and missile strikes. Tension rose as Seoul responded with its own tough language to Pyongyang's outburst, which was unusually violent, even by the standards of the already hostile relationship between the Koreas.

"This is a war of pride between the Koreas, but they are conducting it while leaving some room for talks," Lee Hochul, a political science professor at Incheon National University in South Korea, said, adding neither side is mentioning a permanent shutdown of the industrial complex.

Meanwhile, North Korea said Saturday it will soon put a detained American on trial for allegedly trying to overthrow the government, further complicating its already tense relations with the United States. Earlier in Washington, Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill calling for the punishment of companies, banks and governments that engage in illicit dealings with North Korea. Pyongyang has already come under a series of U.N. and U.S. sanctions for its three nuclear tests since 2006, including the latest in February.

In South Korea, regular U.S.-South Korean military drills, which Pyongyang complained bitterly about, are set to end Tuesday.

"Even at this moment, South Korea is ramping up the intensity of coastal landing drills with the United States in the east, driving the already tense situation to a point of explosion," North Korea said in its statement, complaining about alleged South Korean military plans in the event the North held the Kaesong managers hostage.

AP writer Youkyung Lee contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/majority-skoreans-nkorean-factory-return-035959799.html

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F. Scott Fitzgerald's handwritten ledger online

In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo, Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection at the University of South Carolina, points at items in a ledger owned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Columbia, S.C. The university has digitized the ledger and put it online for scholars. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo, Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection at the University of South Carolina, talks about a ledger owned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Columbia, S.C. The university has digitized the ledger and put it online for scholars. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? An intriguing peek into the daily scribbles and life of author F. Scott Fitzgerald is now available online, just weeks before the opening of the movie "The Great Gatsby."

Researchers from the University of South Carolina's Thomas Cooper Library put a digital version of the famed author's handwritten financial ledger on their website last week, making it available for the first time for all readers, students and scholars.

"This is a record of everything Fitzgerald wrote, and what he did with it, in his own hand," said Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection.

During a recent visit to the library's below-ground rare-book vault, Sudduth took the original 200-page book out of its clamshell protective cover. The ledger's yellowed pages ? with Fitzgerald's elegant, measured cursive strokes ? are a throwback to life before computer spreadsheets. The ledger shows Fitzgerald's tally of earnings from his works, the most famous of which is the novel "The Great Gatsby." The ledger lists his many short stories, books, and adaptations for stage and screen.

With the May 10 release of a new "Gatsby" movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sudduth says library officials expect an upswing in interest in its Fitzgerald collection. The ledger will be on display at the library for about a month starting May 6, Sudduth said.

The library's Fitzgerald collection is considered the world's most comprehensive, with more than 3,000 publications, manuscripts, letters, book editions, screenplays and memorabilia. It also includes Fitzgerald's walking stick, briefcase and an engraved silver flask his wife gave him in 1918.

Some parts of the collection already are online. With the ledger's move to the website and the timing of the movie, Sudduth said, officials hope to call more attention to the collection.

In the ledger, Fitzgerald lists in carefully laid out columns his various pieces of writing, the location they were printed, and the income they produced. Fitzgerald's comments are sprinkled throughout. One describes the year 1919 ? when his first novel was accepted for publication and Zelda Sayre agreed to marry him, as ? "The most important year of life. Every emotion and my life work decided. Miserable and ecstatic but a great success."

By the time Fitzgerald started the ledger, Sudduth said, "he probably knew what he was doing. He left a space for his remarks, and then the final disposition."

With a laugh, she noted: "We know he didn't spell very well. And his arithmetic wasn't much better,"

But the overall document, she said, "shows that he was far more on top of his affairs than people thought," given a reputation in later life as a heavy drinker.

"He was keeping a record of his work for the future," Suddeth said. "He kept it, he updated it."

For the past 30 years, researchers have had to rely on a limited print facsimile of the ledger, which didn't catch the varied inks and scripts in Fitzgerald's hand.

Park Bucker, a USC associate English professor, said he's excited to discuss the new ledger with his students.

"It may be a unique artifact among American authors," Bucker said. "This is going to be an amazing thing for students to pore over and dip into. He created his own database. We do it on computers now, but he did it for himself,"

Bucker also said students are fascinated by seeing something a well-known author penned in his own hand.

"Students always remark how much they love his handwriting," he said. "They think his handwriting is just beautiful, and handwriting isn't valued today."

Bucker pointed out that the ledger shows Fitzgerald made most of his income from short stories and that he was able to earn a living from his literary work. "It was the rarest of things, an author who made a living," Bucker said.

In 1925, the ledger shows Fitzgerald earned less than $2,000 for the "Gatsby" book ? the same amount he received for a single short story published in The Saturday Evening Post.

In later years, Fitzgerald added more earnings from "The Great Gatsby." He sold the foreign motion picture rights for $16,666, as noted in the ledger. In another section, he lists about $5,000 in earnings from "Gatsby" when it ran as a play in New York, Chicago and elsewhere.

USC Professor Matthew Bruccoli began to acquire items for the Fitzgerald collection in the 1950s. He received some, including the ledger, from the author's only child, daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald, also known as Scottie. Bruccoli wanted the collection to be used as a teaching and research tool, and he gave it to the university in 1994.

Bruccoli has since died, but the collection has continued to grow. It is now is valued at more than $4 million, Sudduth said.

____

The ledger online:

http://library.sc.edu/digital/collections/fitzledger.html

___

Susanne M. Schafer can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/susannemarieap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-28-Fitzgerald%20Ledger/id-e818d33efeb24923bd4fbfe5da7cbb5c

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof

By Phil Stewart and David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad had probably used chemical weapons on a small scale in the country's civil war, but insisted that President Barack Obama needed definitive proof before he would take action.

The disclosure created a quandary for Obama, who has set the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" that Assad must not cross. It triggered calls from some hawkish Washington lawmakers for a U.S. military response, which the president has resisted.

In a shift from a White House assessment just days earlier, U.S. officials said the intelligence community believed with "varying degrees of confidence" that the chemical nerve agent sarin was used by Assad's forces against rebel fighters. But it noted that "the chain of custody is not clear."

While Obama has declared that the deployment of chemical weapons would be a game-changer and has threatened unspecified consequences if it happened, his administration is moving carefully - saying it is mindful of the lessons of the start of the Iraq war more than a decade ago.

Then, the George W. Bush administration used inaccurate intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq in pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that turned out not to exist.

"Given the stakes involved and what we have learned from our own recent experiences, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient - only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making," Miguel Rodriguez, White House director of the office of legislative affairs, said in a letter to lawmakers.

One senior U.S. defense official told reporters, "We have seen very bad movies before," where intelligence was perceived to have driven policy decisions that later, in the cold light of day, were proven wrong.

The term "varying degrees of confidence" used to describe the assessment of possible chemical weapons use in Syria usually suggests debate within the U.S. intelligence community about the conclusion, the defense official noted.

The White House said the evaluation that Syria probably used chemical weapons was based in part on "physiological" samples. But a White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, repeatedly declined to say what that evidence was. Nor is it clear who supplied it.

Chemical weapons experts say sarin, a nerve agent, can be detected in human tissue, blood, urine and hair samples, or in nearby soil or even leaves. But the chemical can dissipate within days or weeks, depending on ambient heat, wind and other factors.

Iraq is said to have used sarin 25 years ago in an attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja during the Iran-Iraq war. More recently, the agent was used in the 1994 attack by a religious cult on riders of the Tokyo subway system.

In Syria, U.S. officials said the scale of the use of sarin appeared limited. Nobody is "seeing any mass casualties" from the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, one U.S. intelligence official noted.

The United States has resisted being dragged militarily into Syria's conflict and is providing only non-lethal aid to rebels trying to overthrow Assad. Washington is worried that weapons supplied to the rebels could end up in the hands of al Qaeda-linked fighters.

But acknowledgement of the U.S. intelligence assessment appeared to move the United States closer - at least rhetorically - to some sort of action in Syria, military or otherwise.

A White House official told reporters that "all options are on the table in terms of our response" and said the United States, which has been criticized for not doing enough to halt the bloodshed, would consult with its allies.

The official said the U.S. military was preparing for a range of "different contingencies," but declined to give specifics. Options available to Obama could include everything from air strikes to commando raids to setting up a Libya-style "no-fly" zone, either unilaterally or in cooperation with allies.

SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT

But Obama appeared intent on deflecting pressure for swift action by stressing the need for a comprehensive U.N. investigation on the ground in Syria - something Assad has blocked from going forward.

Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, in an interview with Reuters, dismissed Western and Israeli claims that government forces had used chemical weapons and said it was a "big lie" that Syria was preventing the U.N. probe.

Assad has clung to power despite repeated U.S. calls for him to step down. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the revolt against his family's decades-long autocratic rule. A military stalemate has set in, but Assad has still been able to rely on support from Russia and Iran.

"The reality is that as a country we can't declare red lines and then do nothing when they are crossed. Eventually we have to do something," said Ariel Ratner, a former Middle East adviser in the State Department and now a fellow at the Truman National Security Project.

The Obama administration's sudden disclosure caught many off guard. It came just two days after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other U.S. officials appeared to play down an Israeli assessment that there had been repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria.

France and Britain have also concluded that evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria's conflict.

"The intelligence community has been assessing information for some time on this issue and the decision to reach this conclusion was made within the past 24 hours," Hagel said.

The White House said it wanted to provide a "prompt response" to a query on Wednesday from lawmakers about whether Syria had used chemical weapons. The legislators' letter to Obama cited the assessments by Israel, France and Britain.

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, one of the leading advocates of deeper U.S. involvement in the Syrian conflict, said the intelligence assessment demanded a response.

"The president of the United States said that if Bashar Assad used chemical weapons, it would be a game-changer, that it would cross a red line," he said. "I think it's pretty obvious that red line has been crossed."

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, voiced concern that the public acknowledgement of the U.S. intelligence assessment could embolden Assad and may prompt him to calculate "he has nothing more to lose."

"Syria has the ability to kill tens of thousands with its chemical weapons. The world must come together to prevent this by unified action," she said.

In Brussels, the NATO alliance was "concerned by reports of the possible use of chemical weapons," an official said.

"As NATO has said in the past, any use of these weapons would be completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international law, and if any side uses these weapons we would expect a reaction from the international community," the official said.

Patriot missile interceptors that NATO has sent to Turkey, a member of the alliance which borders Syria, would "help ensure the protection of Turkey against any missile attack, whether the missiles carry chemical weapons or not," the official added.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Roberta Rampton, Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Warren Strobel and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-suspects-syria-used-chemical-weapons-wants-proof-034431157.html

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Five Reasons Christians Support Same-Sex Marriage | Love, Life ...

We live in a time where many have reverted back to the elementary school playground, during recess time when you played Up-and-Over to see how fast you could jump over long, thick steel parallel bars that were planted on the ground, near the monkey bars.

The object of the game was for you to run and jump over the bars faster than your opponent, and tag the next person to do the same. The fastest team wins.

On the Playground

In that same playground, you had children who were without opinion, and had no real desire to lead, so they followed. You also had children who were boisterous and confident whether their opinion was going to lead others astray or not. A few of those little leaders became bullies when they left children no choice to have their own opposition against following their every command. The bully was the dictator, and if you are anything like me you were prepared to fight ? willing to become the bully?s opponent to escape their dictatorship.

The subject of bullying is alive and well in adult societies all over the world. I remember when I was young it was taboo to disclose what your political party affiliation was, or who you voted for. Today it is taboo to disclose your affiliation with God. Prayer in school has been replaced by clubs, and teachers who instead promote politics and involve children in the political party process, even using student government to teach about how they should feel concerning agendas, without parental supervision. The question remains for many people, how do you live your life faithful to your beliefs as a Christian?

And, for many, the question has been abandoned and compromise has set in. The Five Reason Christians Support Same-Sex Marriage is written to start a conversation and to help those who are Christian to self-examine whether we are compromising who we are (because no one should do that), or if we are in fact acting out of our true beliefs.

#1: Fear

????????? That you will alienate your friends who have a different belief system than you do.

There are many subjects that you and your friends may not have the same view on, and if this subject makes you lose friends you must question how self-sustaining your friendship was to begin with. If you believe that it will weaken your platform then you have to weigh whether it is a topic relevant to discuss or not, but you should never fear speaking about what your bible says.

It seems that we now live in a world where, like my playground analogy adults are bullied to keep silent if their views disagree with the promoted agenda. And, political bullies have began to use any tactic possible to alienate others who disagree with their positions regarding pieces of legislation.

The bible is clear that there is no fear in love. Hate and love are not the opposite of each other, that is actually something that the world teaches. Love and fear are actually opposites. God is NOT a co-existent being. This should answer the homophobia question. If you are around homosexuals, and you love them, you do not fear them, however you can still disagree with their lifestyle choice when you have to vote on it in the polls. Their lifestyle should not intimidate or quiet you no more than someone who is a fornicator.

I disagree with fornication, I believe it is sin. It does not mean that I have never fornicated however it just means that I understand from a biblical standpoint that it is considered sin, and not God?s desire or best for my life.

Lastly, when you allow yourself to be bullied or when you allow yourself to feel shame as a result of your review of your own sin, you make the debate about you. Same-sex marriage is not about you, what you did last night, your sins or anyone else?s sin for that matter. Same-sex marriage is unbiblical and marriage is a term that is spiritual only. There is nothing equal about same-sex marriage; nothing.

The moment you realize that you can put your confidence in God, you can stand on his word, and you can believe something without the approval of others, you will be able to use your voice with love, and vote in the direction that may empower others to do the same.

Rodney King says, ?Can?t we all just get along?? I say, ?Can we be mature enough to disagree?? This is not about you! God is the one who said that same-sex marriage is unbiblical and that homosexuality is sin not you, so why are you allowing others to burden you with this bullying tactic? Remove yourself, and stand for God.

#2. Misconceptions about Christian Voting Rights

???????? I?m supposed to keep the bible and the polls separate.

Who told you that? If you are a Christian which simply means a follower of Christ, and you believe what he says then you understand that YOU are the church, and that the separation of church and state has been diluted and misrepresented by people who do not want you to vote based on your beliefs. It is really important that you choose to ask God who you should vote for, and what you should believe about certain matters. He will tell you, and it will not be contrary to himself.

?????? What I personally believe has no relevant impact on someone else

If this is true then why do we need to vote in the first place because this would mean that what someone else personally believes has no relevant impact on you! And, what someone else believes does have an impact on you. For example, my fight is to ensure that pedophilia is not legalized. There are a group of PhD professionals, some pedophiles, who believe that sex with children should be legalized, and that pedophiles are harmless so they should be able to foster children, adopt and teach them in schools.

As far as same-sex marriage (not homosexuality), the impact is great for the definition and foundation of marriage which is founded on biblical principles. Marriage does only mean a man and a woman ? period. There are groups aiming to abolish marriage altogether. So, the plan is the vote to legalize same-sex marriage and then put another bill on the table to abolish the definition, structure and marriage recognition altogether.

Here is what Masha Gessen had to say about it:

?It?s a no-brainer that (homosexual activists) should have the right to marry, but I also think equally that it?s a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist. ?(F)ighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there ? because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie.

The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don?t think it should exist. And I don?t like taking part in creating fictions about my life. That?s sort of not what I had in mind when I came out thirty years ago.

I have three kids who have five parents, more or less, and I don?t see why they shouldn?t have five parents legally? I met my new partner, and she had just had a baby, and that baby?s biological father is my brother, and my daughter?s biological father is a man who lives in Russia, and my adopted son also considers him his father. So the five parents break down into two groups of three? And really, I would like to live in a legal system that is capable of reflecting that reality, and I don?t think that?s compatible with the institution of marriage.?

(Source:?http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/why-get-married/4058506)

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Marriage will always remain a spiritual covenant however, the message has become so diluted by the fight to end marriage and create a free sex society where everything goes, including but not limited to fornication, child sexual abuse, incest, polygamy, bestiality and pedophilia.

#3. No Doctrinal Understanding

Doctrine is a system of beliefs. When you say that you are a Christian, you are not necessarily saying what you believe. Christianity is viewed as an organized religion but someone who is a ?follower of Christ?, which is the definition of Christian, understands that a relationship must be established.

In this relationship you began to study Him, just like you study your own friends or family members. You know what they like or dislike. Your spouse is the best example of this kind of relationship because of the intimacy that is presented. I could teach on this all day but to keep this segment short think of it this way:

Mormons (who call themselves Christians) believe that GOD came down from heaven and had literal sex with Mary who was about 12 years old, and impregnated her with his super-sperm to make Jesus. Catholics (who call themselves Christians) don?t even pray to Jesus, they pray to Mary.

You May Also Like: Is Same-Sex Marriage Paving the Way for Child Sexual Abuse?

It is not enough to claim that you are a Christian because your other option is Satan. The truth is, many people I believe claim affiliation to Christianity even if they have no evidence of his presence in their life because they are clear that they believe in a GOD as opposed to Satan, but they won?t take the time to learn who God is, how he functions and his doctrine so that they can align themselves with his heart, and his will.

In other words, their natural choice is God, but it has not become a spiritual recognition; no salvation. In other cases, a person is saved meaning that they have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, but they have not made him Lord, and do not have any understanding of their identity in Christ, because they don?t know the identity of God.

Do you remember the WWJD wristbands, key necklaces, and all the other marketing materials that went viral to make people think twice before they sinned? Unsaved people were wearing these bracelets as a gesture to think twice about being kind but the truth is, many people saved and unsaved asked a question that they never went to the word to find the answer to. So, this question became a trend, a joke many times during stories where someone was about to fight or at least felt like fighting ? but from this question they never learned how to handle anger, or how to resolve personal conflicts.

A lack of doctrinal knowledge is also why pastors are able to successfully misuse their authority, and why atheists can misinterpret the bible and convince you that it is flawed or somehow unreliable. Here is a secret: When you learn to identify God?s voice, your voice, and the voice of the Enemy, you will stand firm in how you live your life, and how to apply what you believe in confidence.

#4: Acceptance

Everyone has a desire to be accepted in their failures, their successes and for their own personal convictions. As much as Satan teaches that people should do what they want, or ?Do what thou wilt? as the motto for the Satanic religious text Thelema boasts, the majority of people still want to be accepted even in their rebellion. The truth is, doing what you want does not guarantee that you?ll be satisfied with yourself or how others choose to treat or ?accept? you.

I took the liberty to look up the word ?Acceptance? and I found some enlightening definitions that describe what we do when we accept Same-sex Marriage or some other issue that is unbiblical and threatens our spiritual observations in this country.

According to various websites acceptance means:

?????? Your belief in something or agreement
????? The process of approving something
????? Agreeing to terms and conditions

By definition acceptant means that you are receiving willingly, being receptive and accepting something wholly. The synonym for this word is but not limited to: adequate

In an effort once again, (because this was mentioned earlier) to accept same-sex marriage as a normalized expression of love, and natural progression of one?s committed relationship with their same-sex partner, you are making your fears about the consequences for not accepting this infiltration your priority, thereby making the focus more about you than God.

You did not choose to make homosexuality or same-sex marriage an abomination (which is something that God hates) or sin. You did not create the heavens and the earth and the weight of same-sex marriage is not on your shoulder, so I encourage you, to stop bullying yourself into acceptance because of fear that there will be unrest.

It is not discrimination or a hate crime to say that you believe that same-sex marriage is a sin. It is not uncommon for you to be called homophobic or other names because of your views, if anything accept that and continue to be love.

People who are homosexual, but know your heart will have to understand that you all can maturely disagree and still love one another in whatever capacity you find your connection (family, friend etc).

I defined acceptance so that you would understand how God views your silence. Indecision is a decision, silence speaks louder than words in many cases, and your acceptance promotes sin. We live in a time where the world wants to convince you that sin does not exist. Will you accept this because it makes you feel alone, or will you accept that you were born to walk as a supernatural being who is supposed to do greater works than Jesus, and that you are set aside for such works? You are alone sometimes, but when you are confident, fulfilled, walking in and conscious of your purpose you do not feel lonely.

5. Secret Sin

You struggle with sin of some kind, even a form of sexual perversion as identified in Leviticus 18, which may include same-sex attractions or fornication and you feel that you?re a hypocrite for enforcing something that you are unable to follow.

Pornography is a sin that causes impotence, and many pastors have run after the call on their lives abandoning their duties as husbands first to be pastors. They end up far from God without meaning to do so, and instead of choosing the hard thing which is to sit down, they continue walking in their sin but preaching to the choir. Well, the spirit flows from the head down and the secret sins of the pastor I have found seem to seep into the four walls of his sheep; into his ministry.

The above is an example. It is hard to preach about something that you have not overcome. Before I began to talk about healing from child sexual abuse, and the feelings of abandonment and lack of love I feel from my siblings, I had to confront them, offer an opportunity for us to heal and find a place where we were able to establish healthy connections or peacefully and permanently disconnect.

Perhaps you are struggling with same-sex attractions. You feel that the spirit of sexual perversion has been trying to overtake you. As a believer, you should know that God can absolutely deliver you, and heal you from those thoughts. It is important that you cast down imaginations, no matter what your secret sin.

I called these ?secret sins? because that is how you feel about your sin but it?s not a secret because truthfully it is no one?s business but your own, unless you continue to walk in your sin and serve in a leadership role that can affect others. God will often protect you, because he loves you but eventually you will be exposed if you decide not to repent and turn away from the sin.

I want you to understand that your secret sin does not change God?s view of same-sex marriage. It is important that we all live a repented life. It is important if you?re serious about living for God to get out of environments that promote the hype of Christianity, and that we began to demand what is holy. The only way to demand that is to seek God for leadership who will not conform for media and marketing opportunities.

I do not care if I ever have a mega church. It?s not an aspiration but I will tell you this, you?ll get the same God-given message in the middle of Africa where we meet in the middle of the jungle or in my living room. God does not change, but we should. His word should become alive when we read it, and alive in us when we take it in.

There is a difference between a socio-political view,? and a scriptural-spiritual view but somehow with all the information addictions through media and social network platforms which serve as news sources, people are disconnecting from their spiritual gifts including discernment, knowledge and wisdom.

In conclusion, the purpose of this article is to empower Christians to stop comparing themselves to the word to qualify you as a spokesperson. If you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, your faith qualifies you. While Jesus discourages arguments over him, and we are mandated to love, we are given permission to hate sin. We can also speak firmly, with confidence and say that same-sex marriage is a bill that attempts to redefine a biblical covenant.

The other purpose of this article is to clarify that while I do not believe in gay conversion therapy, I do believe that God is an absolute healer. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior understanding that he died on the cross for your healing and the bible says that by His stripes we were healed, it is already sealed. The main ingredient to your manifestation is faith.

Additionally, I have a lot of acquaintances, family, and connections who are homosexual. My allegiance to my core biblical views do not in any way prohibit me from loving you, no more than having a friend that I disagree with on a separate subject matter unrelated to homosexuality.

I aim to tone down the bullying, increase the confidence of Christian people, and create an atmosphere where people are able to stand firm on their beliefs without personal attacks and criticisms.

Ressurrection writes on subjects surrounding homelessness, and sexual perversion including child sexual abuse. She is available for radio, television and speaking engagements by contacting her office at: 202.717.7377 (RESS)

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Source: http://ressurrection.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/five-reasons-christians-support-same-sex-marriage/

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Obama: Can't permit Syria chemical weapons use

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says the U.S. will investigate Syria's potential chemical weapons use on its own and with the United Nations. He says the world can't stand by and permit the use of chemical weapons.

Obama's remarks were his first since the U.S. disclosed Thursday that intelligence agencies believe Syria has used sarin gas. That acknowledgement increased the pressure on the administration to intervene in Syria's two-year civil war. Obama has previously said chemical weapons use would cross a "red line" and prompt a major U.S. response.

Obama spoke in the Oval Office before meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-26-Obama-Syria/id-37bd697a2b794cf8ab40329fa5d1f691

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Bush's Legacy: Squandered Opportunity

I was standing in the driveway, shooting jumpshots, when the world forever changed. One of my roommates called to me though an open window, "Get in here! We're under attack!" The date was September 11, 2001.

I had just graduated from a Wisconsin college a few months earlier and lived nearby. Like many, I thought George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" meant he and Al Gore were eerily similar. Because of this, I skipped the long drive to Columbus, Ohio to vote in the 2000 election. Bush narrowly won Ohio.

In the aftermath of the attacks, people of all backgrounds came together, united as Americans. We collectively rallied together, turned to the newly elected Bush, eager for strong leadership.

Strong leadership we got. In 2002, when discussing the possibility of enemies using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons, Bush offered, " we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." The enemy he referred to was not those responsible for the 2001 attacks; rather, he spoke of Iraq. With almost limitless political capital, the United States invaded Iraq in March of 2003.

Ultimately, Iraq did not have any nuclear weapons and posed little threat. The invasion and occupation of Iraq cost billions of dollars, but there was a far more significant price: the needless loss of thousands of lives.

Bush continued to misspend his political capital. The tax cuts he ushered through disproportionately favored the wealthiest Americans. The resulting lowered tax receipts are a large part of the reason for our enormous deficit and the current sequester. Likewise, the deregulation of Wall Street factored into the near economic collapse of 2008.

I learned my lesson. I've been certain to vote in every election ever since.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bushs-legacy-squandered-opportunity-211900540.html

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'Open' Season in High Tech - NYTimes.com

Things must be getting really competitive in high technology. So many big competitive companies are striving to show how good they are at sharing.

In particular, they share the word ?open.? In the world of cloud computing, we now have OpenFlow switching specification; the OpenStack cloud platform; Open Compute, dedicated to efficient computing infrastructure; the Open Virtualization Alliance, to create software that makes one computer server do the work of many; and OpenDaylight, to generate similar magic on computer networks.

For good measure, there is also the Open Grid Forum, which works on large-scale corporate and scientific computing, and the Open Cloud Consortium, which backs cloud computing for scientific and medical research.

That pattern you may have noticed in the names is no accident. By calling your group ?open? in tech, you intimate that you believe in the free sharing of information to create superior products. It evokes the open source spirit that made the Linux operating system, as well as less-known Internet standards like the Apache Web server, so successful.

Just as important, for public relations purposes, it suggests that companies not in the group should be suspect, as they do not support that sharing, let-everything-be-free sensibility. If they are not outwardly open, they must be closed.

That is a useful message for a big incumbent player trying to combat an upstart that is threatening the incumbent?s business. Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Brocade, which for years made proprietary network switches, supported a recent meeting of OpenFlow. H.P. is also in the Open Virtualization, OpenStack and OpenDaylight groups. Cisco is also in OpenDaylight and the Open Cloud Consortium, while Intel is on the board of Open Compute and belongs to Open Virtualization and OpenDaylight.

There are many other such corporate affiliations throughout these groups. Among these many interests, it should be noted, the Open Cloud Initiative does not accept corporate sponsorship.

It may be, of course, that despite running large legal departments that vigilantly look after their company?s intellectual property, these multibillion-dollar companies have bought into the philosophy of open source ? that all software should be free. If so, the shareholders should probably be told.

Or, more pragmatically, it may be that the big businesses? products and services are threatened by new software-driven companies. In that case, it makes sense to donate some of the less valuable parts, collaborate together and try to swarm the upstarts with something better.

The fact that Amazon.com, the leader in public clouds, is not in any of the ?open? cloud organizations points at who the real competition is. Likewise, VMware, which significantly lowered the value of an individual server by pioneering virtualization, does not belong to Open Virtualization.

The pragmatic reading ? that the incumbents are motivated by expedience more than a desire to share ? is perfectly fine. It is business, leveraging as many people as possible in an open source project to undermine what the competition is doing.

But it would be O.K. if they were open about that, too.

Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/open-season-in-high-tech/

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Suitey Is A Software Powered Real Estate Brokerage For New York ...

At first sight, Suitey looks like nothing more than a run-of-the-mill real estate website. But while sites like Trulia and Zillow merely provide a listing of available properties from a large assortment of brokerages and owners, all the properties on Suitey are being directly offered by Suitey itself.

That?s because Suitey is a fully fledged real estate brokerage, and they believe they?re the first software-powered brokerage that offers a better, more transparent home buying experience.

At their core, Trulia and Zillow are really nothing more than virtualized billboards. They provide a centralized location for brokers and owners to advertise their for-sale properties.

Let?s say you?re looking for a new apartment, and you?ve narrowed down your list to five places. That means you?ll probably have to deal with five different real estate brokers, which from experience can be a total nightmare.

With Suitey, everything is simplified. Once again, let?s say you?re looking for an apartment in Manhattan (for now, Suitey only offers listings in New York City). Once you narrow things down to five options on their website, you can contact a Suitey agent who will set a time to view all the properties with you. In the future, you?ll be able to video chat with the agent directly from the website.

This face-to-face experience with Suitey?s agents is key to the company?s ethos. ?We want to ensure that our agents are people you?d feel comfortable buying a home from,? says David Walker, CEO of Suitey. He tells me that Suitey?s agents are heavily vetted by the company before they are hired in a process that ensures their competence and general likability.

Once you?ve agreed to buy the home, Suitey gives you a one percent discount to sweeten the deal. That may not seem like much, but if you?re buying property for several million dollars, that rebate ends up being a couple thousand dollars you can put towards your deposit.

?I?ve never heard of anything quite like it, and it would interesting to see what happens,? says Laura Goldstein, Managing Editor of AOL Real Estate. ?People have such a bad association with real estate agents, and the customer service approach feels very appealing.?

Suitey was one of the ten companies featured at the Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator?s Demo Day today. You can check out a roundup of startups from our coverage of the event here.

suitey landing page

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/26/suitey-is-a-software-powered-real-estate-brokerage-for-new-york-city-apartments-and-homes/

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Entire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can curtail future galaxy growth

Apr. 25, 2013 ? When galaxies form new stars, they sometimes do so in frantic episodes of activity known as starbursts. These events were commonplace in the early Universe, but are rarer in nearby galaxies.

During these bursts, hundreds of millions of stars are born, and their combined effect can drive a powerful wind that travels out of the galaxy. These winds were known to affect their host galaxy -- but this new research now shows that they have a significantly greater effect than previously thought.

An international team of astronomers observed 20 nearby galaxies, some of which were known to be undergoing a starburst. They found that the winds accompanying these star formation processes were capable of ionising [1] gas up to 650 000 light-years from the galactic centre -- around twenty times further out than the visible size of the galaxy. This is the first direct observational evidence of local starbursts impacting the bulk of the gas around their host galaxy, and has important consequences for how that galaxy continues to evolve and form stars.

"The extended material around galaxies is hard to study, as it's so faint," says team member Vivienne Wild of the University of St. Andrews. "But it's important -- these envelopes of cool gas hold vital clues about how galaxies grow, process mass and energy, and finally die. We're exploring a new frontier in galaxy evolution!"

The team used the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) instrument [2] on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to analyse light from a mixed sample of starburst and control galaxies. They were able to probe these faint envelopes by exploiting even more distant objects -- quasars, the intensely luminous centres of distant galaxies powered by huge black holes. By analysing the light from these quasars after it passed through the foreground galaxies, the team could probe the galaxies themselves.

"Hubble is the only observatory that can carry out the observations necessary for a study like this," says lead author Sanchayeeta Borthakur, of Johns Hopkins University. "We needed a space-based telescope to probe the hot gas, and the only instrument capable of measuring the extended envelopes of galaxies is COS."

The starburst galaxies within the sample were seen to have large amounts of highly ionised gas in their halos -- but the galaxies that were not undergoing a starburst did not. The team found that this ionisation was caused by the energetic winds created alongside newly forming stars.

This has consequences for the future of the galaxies hosting the starbursts. Galaxies grow by accreting gas from the space surrounding them, and converting this gas into stars. As these winds ionise the future fuel reservoir of gas in the galaxy's envelope, the availability of cool gas falls -- regulating any future star formation.

"Starbursts are important phenomena -- they not only dictate the future evolution of a single galaxy, but also influence the cycle of matter and energy in the Universe as a whole," says team member Timothy Heckman, of Johns Hopkins University. "The envelopes of galaxies are the interface between galaxies and the rest of the Universe -- and we're just beginning to fully explore the processes at work within them."

The team's results will appear in the 1 May 2013 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

Notes

[1] A gas is said to be ionised when its atoms have lost one or more electrons -- in this case by energetic winds exciting galactic gas and knocking electrons out of the atoms within.

[2] Spectrographs are instruments that break light into its constituent colours and measure the intensity of each colour, revealing information about the object emitting the light -- such as its chemical composition, temperature, density, or velocity.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ESA/Hubble Information Centre.

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

Journal Reference:

Sanchayeeta Borthakur, Timothy Heckman, David Strickland, Vivienne Wild, David Schiminovich. THE IMPACT OF STARBURSTS ON THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 768 (1): 18 DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/768/1/18

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/3ypRbNu_Qzk/130425103312.htm

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Solid Advice For People Thinking About Homeschooling | Exciting ...

An excellent education is vital, but this doesn?t have to take place in a traditional school setting. Homeschooling is increasing in popularity every day. The home learning environment can be a brilliant setting for delivering a solid education. If this interests you, you?re sure to appreciate the insights that follow.

Create a meal plan at the start of the week to save time and reduce stress. It is a great idea to bake a big lasagna, divide it into pieces and freeze the portions so you can serve it during the week. Preparing food in advance is a smart plan if you plan to be busy or if you are frequently tired after a day of instruction. Try various cooking plans to find the one that suits your needs and schedule.

TIP! Set up an online blog for your child. Since writing is part of any curriculum, this is a great learning tool for your child.

Remember to take time for family relations, even though you are homeschooling. Set aside time to spend with your partner. Otherwise, homeschooling your child could consume all of your time. No one should feel excluded or neglected because you spend a lot of time with the child you are homeschooling. Some togetherness can really help.

Before making the final decision to homeschool, consider your personal qualifications and make sure you are prepared to take on the roll of teacher. Address and take care of any issues with your child before beginning the program.

TIP! Become familiar with homeschooling laws in your state. There are state regulations that must be complied with when you choose to home school your children.

Make sure that craft supplies are always within reach for your children. While one child is engaged in serious learning, the other can be kept occupied with crafts. This keeps them happy and busy. This is an excellent way to teach and for children to learn.

If you?re teaching a student in high school, then you are aware that the goal is passing the GED exam. You can learn what areas they are weak in by having them take an example GED test ahead of time. This will let you enact remedial education strategies to shore up weaknesses.

TIP! Visit the library often. Reading skills are the cornerstone to any educational process.

Your child?s interests and strengths should serve as a starting point in the development of the curriculum and teaching approaches. Ask what they would prefer to do, and give their imagination freedom to go wild. Having this type of input will make learning more fun for them. You might be amazed at the ideas they have!

Don?t give lectures the same way as a teacher. You are not a professional, so it is not necessary to act like one. Also, these are your kids you are dealing with, and you know how much your kids hate listening to your lectures. You will get better results if you read a book or watch a documentary together. There is a good chance you will do quite a bit of learning as well.

TIP! Unless you can commit to disciplining your child as both a teacher and a student, it will be difficult to set boundaries. Sit down before your school year starts and make a plan for each of your children.

It?s important that you be realistic with yourself when it comes to your weakness, if you plan to homeschool. A lot of parents tend to skip subjects that they do not feel they know very well. This will leave gaps in your child?s education. You can hire a tutor to teach subjects that you don?t feel qualified teaching.

Find other families that are part of the homeschooling community. Homeschooling is very rewarding, but it is not always easy. Other parents can provide you with some great information and support that will help you make it through the tough times. You can provide expertise to them as well, bonding yourselves for a lifetime. On top of that, your children can become friends as well. Homeschooling may be a bit isolating for your child, so a group like this is a great opportunity for him to make friends. Making sure to be part of a homeschool group will go a long way toward benefiting you and the your kids.

TIP! Look into the wide variety of learning options available. Children will learn efficiently in different ways.

Due to the close bond you share with your children, it is inevitable that your homeschooling journey will at times become very tense. Keep day-to-day home concerns out of the classroom. If things get too tense, you?ve got the ability to take a bit of a break. This is helpful for your child as well as you.

Try to split up some of the children?s activities outside of the classroom with your partner, to help make your life a little easier. Your spouse can be in charge of extra-curricular activities. It is imperative that you set aside some time to relax with the other part of the team as well.

TIP! Homeschooling requires extreme patience. This is important.

If you have smaller children around while homeschooling, you need to set some ground rules for them. Set up a little spot for them with special toys, and let them know that they have to leave if they can not stay quiet. Take breaks several times to let them have extra attention and act silly. This will ensure that there are no distractions in the classroom and the area remains quiet for studying.

Just like you would make sure your child had a good breakfast and packed a lunch for a public school day, you need to feed your child a meal or snack before a homeschooling session. You have to keep their energy level up. It will also help them stay focused while you teach.

TIP! Can you homeschool effectively? Teaching any child, especially your own, is never easy. Homeschooling also carries with it a large financial commitment.

Homeschooling support groups are found across the nation. This is a growing trend. You may be surprised at how many other families you can find within your community. You can also find families that homeschool their kids while online. There is so much information to be shared! In addition, your kids can make new friends. A support group makes the entire homeschool process easier.

You should know more about homeschooling now that you have read this information. Armed with this information, you can now make a wise decision regarding your children?s education. Even if you decide to look elsewhere for your child?s education, you can use much of this information to supplement what the public or private schools are offering.

TIP! Older children can help their younger siblings. It some of your children are further ahead academically or are older than your other children, let them help the littler ones study.

Source: http://evoat11.com/solid-advice-for-people-thinking-about-homeschooling-2/

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Brit Convicted of Selling Fake Bomb Detectors, Iraq Still Using Them

An antenna on a black hinge was once a silly, useless gift for anyone trying to find lost golf balls. But British businessman Jim McCormick claimed the device could detect bombs, drugs, even ivory, turning a piece of plastic into a multi-million dollar business -- despite knowing it was ineffective. And for that, a British court ruled, he has blood on his hands.

McCormick, 57, slapped a new label on the $20 "Golfinder" and marketed it as an "Advanced Detecting Equipment," selling them for as much as $5,000 each to Iraqi officials, whom he bribed. He improved the design and sold 6,000 second-generation devices for as much as $40,000 each, amassing a fortune of more than $75 million, according to legal documents.

A British court Tuesday convicted McCormick of three counts of fraud, and now police vow to go after his riches, which include a $7 million British home formerly owned by Nicholas Cage, houses in Florida and Cyprus, and a $1 million yacht.

He faces up to seven years in prison when he is sentenced May 2.

"McCormick is a fraudster who over the last 10 years has made, manufactured, and sold a device that is completely incapable of detecting explosives, drugs, or any other substance," Detective Superintendent Nigel Rock told reporters. "There are no working parts in that device. It is empty."

McCormick's main market was Iraq, where he traveled at the height of the sectarian war and sold $40 million worth of the devices, according to a BBC Newsnight investigation that led to a British government ban on its sale.

Iraqi police officials introduced "Mr. Jim" at press conferences, and officers fanned out across the city, holding the simple-looking antennas, believing they would detect bombs.

But the court ruled Tuesday McCormick knew all along that the devices couldn't even detect a golf ball, and that he put people at risk.

"McCormick for 10 years has sold this device in countries that are wracked with terrorism and wracked with explosions," said Rock. "He has paid no heed to the people who've stood on checkpoints and security posts believing this device worked."

Officials in Iraq have said they provided a false sense of security. In one case, according to the British media, a bomb that exploded in Baghdad crossed through 23 checkpoints where McCormick's fake bomb detector was being used.

"He has no conscience. He is morally bankrupt," Haneen Alwan, an Iraqi woman who needed 59 operations after being injured in a January 2009 bomb blast, told the BBC. Alwan lost a fetus in the attack. "How could he sell them just for money and destroy other people's lives?"

McCormick's claims were extraordinary. He said his company, ATSC, had four laboratories working independently and that an employee "like Q in James Bond" had created the technology. He commissioned low-budget commercials in which a house and car blow up before the screen fills with the words "PREVENT IT." His commercials and literature claimed to detect explosives within 200 feet, even if they were deep underground or inside lead-lined rooms. Data cards inside each device ? supposedly exchanged depending on which substance the device would detect ? were actually useless cards. As one expert witness who testified in the trial put it: the device's antenna "was no more a radio antenna than a 9-inch nail."

The devices were also sold to Pakistan and have been used outside of major American hotel chains in Karachi, as witnessed by this reporter.

"We will now pursue McCormick's wealth," Rock said, "and make sure crime does not pay."

Iraqi General Jihad al-Jabiri, who used to lead the Baghdad bomb squad and helped McCormick win his contract, is now serving a jail term for corruption.

Reporters cornered McCormick outside the courtroom. Asked how he could continue to defend his product, he said simply, "I'm still defending it. I still am."

Meanwhile, Iraqis are still using his device at checkpoints across Baghdad.

As part of the BBC investigation, a whistleblower described how he walked away from the company after confronting McCormick.

"I said, 'If this really doesn't work, I can't be any part of it,'" the whistleblower told the BBC. "He said, 'It does exactly what it's designed to.' I expected him to say detect explosives, ivory, gold. He never said that. He said, 'It makes money.'"

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Depop Is Another Flea Market For iOS But Also Has Sights Firmly Set On Etsy

Snap a photo of the item you want to sell, write a short description, and set a price. Sounds familiar, right? After soft-launching in Italy where it was incubated, Depop gets its official launch today with an iOS app that, at first glance, is the spitting image of other "flea market" mobile apps. However, the company says that its ultimate competitor is probably Ebay, while it also has vintage design and craft-oriented marketplace Etsy firmly in its sights.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uVSnxuKo9TQ/

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HSBC to shed 1,149 UK jobs in new round of cutbacks

By Steve Slater

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC is cutting 1,149 jobs in Britain in another round of redundancies to save money and slim down Europe's biggest bank.

The cuts are part of a three-year revival plan designed by Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver to reduce costs, raise returns and focus on profitable areas.

But Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, said it may ballot its members at the bank to see if they want to strike in protest at the latest job cuts and accused HSBC of "putting profits before people".

Banks across the world are shedding thousands of staff to try to increase profitability, improve technology and cope with tougher regulations brought in after the financial crisis.

In Britain banks have also axed thousands of jobs in response to new rules on how they sell investment products to retail customers, and HSBC said its latest cuts reflected this changing nature of customer behaviour and regulation.

The bank said as a result of these changes its customers will have a single advisor for both their banking and wealth management needs and while 3,166 UK jobs would be affected by the plans the bank expects to redeploy 2,017 staff.

The net loss in jobs adds to 2,200 UK job cuts made a year ago.

The bank employs just over 47,000 staff in Britain, or about 40,000 excluding its investment bank and head office.

The latest cuts will mostly come from wealth management, where HSBC said it is shifting advisors into its consumer retail banking business from June. Some 942 relationship management roles will go, including commercial banking financial advisor positions.

Staff will also be affected in support roles and commercial banking.

Gulliver has cut 34,500 global jobs since taking over in early 2011, or 12 percent of staff, which has slashed annual costs by 2.3 billion pounds.

He is expected to say next month he is targeting another $1 billion of annual savings, which could result in another 5,000 redundancies this year, analysts estimated.

Gulliver has axed jobs across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, excluding Hong Kong. He said he expected to shed 30,000 jobs by taking out bureaucracy and underperforming businesses when he laid out a three-year revival plan in May 2011, but said he also wanted to add 15,000 in faster growing areas.

Although he has surpassed his target to slice $3.5 billion off annual expenses, costs accounted for 62.8 percent of income last year, well above another target to get that ratio below 52 percent.

"END OF THEIR TETHER..."

HSBC said it would support staff who do not currently give financial advice to take the diploma they would need to become a wealth adviser, although Unite said it is a tough qualification that about a quarter of people fail after two attempts.

"HSBC is making staff suffer in the search for ever greater profits. The bank's behaviour is a disgrace," said union officer Dominic Hook.

Hook said it followed other moves to cut pensions, holidays and sick pay. "Staff are at the end of their tether and we will be asking them in due course if they are prepared to take part in a strike ballot to oppose this unprecedented attack by this very profitable bank."

HSBC made a profit of $20.6 billion last year, down 6 percent on 2011.

Chairman Douglas Flint said on Monday that less affluent customers could lose access to basic financial services under the new regulatory regime for giving investment advice in Britain.

More than 80,000 banking jobs have been shed in Britain since the end of 2008. Most have come at Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland which have axed about 32,000 and 25,000 UK jobs respectively.

Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins has warned that as technology improves about 40,000 jobs could go across its operations over the long-term, or about a quarter of staff.

(Editing by Jane Merriman and Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hsbc-cut-1-149-uk-jobs-cost-cutting-113300011--sector.html

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