Without Reviews, Inmates Can Get Lost In U.S

Annually 10 mil individuals funnel with and also beyond your place's jails and also prisons. Along with on a yearly basis many of them obtain misplaced. Not long ago we have seen a couple high-profile conditions of this kind of inmates — person who received away several years too soon, then one exactly who stayed at several years to help very long. The two had unfortunate effects.

Inside Present cards, Evan Ebel wandered beyond any Colorado jail some several years too soon. 8 weeks later on he / she purportedly phoned the doorbell of He Clements, the top on the Colorado Team of Modifications, he / she picture your ex within the chest muscles and also mortally wounded your ex. Ebel had been picture and also wipe out through police a couple days and nights later on.

Colorado officials declare Ebel's early launch had been any paperwork mistake.

Then there exists the case of Stephen Slevin, a person who had previously been stopped for driving under the influence with Brand-new South america. Imprisonment directors left your ex with one confinement for nearly two years and also seem to have got overlooked in relation to your ex. They had been certainly not introduced before any judge and never found a legal professional. On 1 position he / she taken away her own tooth. The particular nation presently there just decided to pay out your ex $15 mil.

Wikipedia Editor Threatened With Lawsuit For Participating In Discussion Leading To Deletion Of Entry

After weathering earlier attacks on its reliability, Wikipedia is now an essential feature of our online and cultural landscapes. Indeed, it's hard now to imagine a world where you can't quickly check up some fact or other by going online to Wikipedia and typing in a few keywords. But that centrality brings with it its own problems, as a post from Benjamin Mako Hill about legal threats he received thanks to his work as a Wikipedia editor makes clear.

You can read the long and involved tale on his site, but the facts are basically these. A Berlin-based organization called the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) is unhappy because an entry about it had been deleted from Wikipedia. Hill explains why that happened:

Although the Wikipedia article was long and detailed, it sent off some internal Wikipedian-alarm-bells for me. The page read, to me, like an advertisement or something written by the organization being described; it simply did not read -- to me -- like an encyclopedia article written by a neutral third-party.

I looked through the history of the article and found that the article had been created by a user called Icd_berlin who had made no other substantive edits to the encyclopedia. Upon further examination, I found that almost all other significant content contributions were from a series of anonymous editors with IP addresses associated with Berlin. I also found that a couple edits had removed criticism when it had been added to the article. The criticism was removed by an anonymous editor from Berlin.

After discussions among some of Wikipedia's editors, the article was first proposed for deletion, and then duly deleted -- but not before Hill's own Wikipedia page had been edited to accuse him of slander and defamation. Things went quiet for a while, and then another Wikipedia page about ICD appeared:

Several months later a new article was created -- again, by an anonymous user with no other edit history. Although people tend to look closely at previously deleted new pages, this page was created under a different name: "The Institute of Cultural Diplomacy" and was not noticed.

That was problematic, for the following reason:

Deleted Wikipedia articles are only supposed to be recreated after they go through a process called deletion review. Because the article was recreated out of this process, I nominated it for what is called speedy deletion under a policy specifically dealing with recreated articles. It was deleted again. Once again, things were quiet.

But not for long. On 25 February of this year, yet another article about ICD appeared on Wikipedia, once more "out of process", and by a user with almost no previous edit history. The next day, Hill received the following email from Mark Donfried, who is described on ICD's Web site as "Executive Director and Founder of the institute for Cultural Diplomacy":

Please note that the ICD is completely in favor of fostering open dialogue and discussions, even critical ones, however some of your activities are raising serious questions about the motives behind your actions and some even seem to be motives of sabotage, since they resulted in ICD not having any Wikipedia page at all.

We are deeply concerned regarding these actions of yours, which are causing us considerable damages. As the person who initiated these actions with Wikipedia and member of the board of Wikipedia, we would therefore request your answer regarding our questions below within the next 10 days (by March 6th). If we do not receive your response we will unfortunately have to consider taking further legal actions with these regards against you and other anonymous editors.

These events indicate how important it is becoming to have a Wikipedia entry -- preferably a favorable one. Indeed, it's getting to the point where some people think that they actually have a right to one. Although that's a wonderful sign of Wikipedia's power and importance, it also means that it will find itself increasingly under pressure from those who are unhappy at not having an entry, or because of the things the entry says. Maintaining objectivity and a neutral point of view was always hard, but is bound to get harder in the future.

Moreover, it seems likely that Hill finds himself on the receiving end of legal threats because he uses his own name on Wikipedia, rather than operating anonymously as many others do. ICD's current actions almost certainly mean that fewer people will be willing to take that risk, and will instead opt to carry out their work under the cloak of anonymity, or may not want to get involved at all. That last point -- the potential chilling effect -- is the most worrying, as Hill explains:

If I can be scared off by threats like these, anybody can. After all, I have friends at the Wikimedia Foundation, a position at Harvard Law School, and am close friends with many of the world's greatest lawyer-experts on both wikis and cyberlaw. And even I am intimidated into not improving the encyclopedia.

I am concerned by what I believe is the more common case -- where those with skin in the game will fight harder and longer than a random Wikipedian. The fact that it's usually not me on the end of the threat gives me lots of reasons to worry about Wikipedia at a time when its importance and readership continues to grow as its editor-base remains stagnant.

We may come to look back on today's Wikipedia as the project's golden age, before those "with skin in the game" started their assault in earnest, and before Wikipedia editors increasingly gave up trying to ward them off for fear of legal reprisals.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+

Damaging The Internet Is Not Acceptable Collateral Damage In The Copyright Wars

Cory Doctorow has a fantastic opinion piece over in the Guardian in which he talks about how unfortunate it is that people seem to think that it's okay to damage the internet in any and all attempts to stop copyright infringement. The whole thing is absolutely worth reading, so here are a few snippets should whet your appetite.

The internet is important, but the copyright wars treat it as a triviality: like cable TV 2.0; like the second coming of the telephone; like the world's greatest pornography distribution system. Laws such as the Digital Economy Act provide for disconnecting whole families from the internet without due process because someone in the vicinity is accused of watching TV the wrong way. That would be bad enough, if the internet were merely a conduit for delivering entertainment products. But the internet is a lifeline for families, and giving some offshore entertainment companies the right to take it away because they suspect you of doing them wrong is like giving Brita the power to turn off your family's water if they think you've been abusing your filter; like giving KitchenAid the power to take away your home's mains power if they think you've been using your mixer in an unapproved way.

And, of course, like me, Cory makes his money by producing content. But we realize that the internet is much more important to us than stopping any kind of infringement of our content.

Look, I'm in the industry. It's my bread and butter. If you buy my lovely, CC-licensed books, I make money, and that will make me happy. As a matter of fact, my latest UK edition is Pirate Cinema, a young adult science fiction novel about this very subject that won high accolades when it came out in the US last autumn. But I'm not just a writer: I'm also a citizen, and a father and a son. I want to live in a free society more than I want to go on earning my improbable living in the arts. And if the cost of "saving" my industry is the freedom and openness of the internet, then hell, I guess I'll have to resign from the 0.0000000000000000001 percent club.

Thankfully, I don't think it has to be. The point is that when we allow the problem to be framed as "How to we get artists paid?" we end up with solutions to my problems, the problems of the 0.0000000000000000001 percent, and we leave behind the problems of the whole wide world.

The key point he's making there: the vast, vast, vast majority of folks who try to make a living making content will fail. The problem, today, is that many are blaming those failures -- which would have happened in almost any other era as well -- as if it's a problem from the internet. We have this blind spot for all of those failures. When people talk about how much musicians make or how many musicians are employed today, they leave out the parts about all the people who tried under the old system and were unable to make it. When you add those back in, the picture looks very, very different. And all of the amazing things that the internet is enabling is actually making it easier for many to create, to promote, to distribute and to monetize their content than ever before. By a long shot. But much of the "copyright wars" are not really about all that. It's about protecting the old gatekeepers who kept most comers out of the system altogether.

And, for various reasons, politicians often fall for their story.

Anti-piracy campaigns emphasise the risk to society if people get the idea that it's OK to take without asking ("You wouldn't steal a car...") but the risk I worry about is that governments will get the idea that regulatory collateral damage to the internet is an acceptable price for achieving "important" policy goals. How else to explain the government's careless inclusion of small-scale bloggers and friends with their own Facebook groups in the scope of the Leveson press regulation? How else to explain Teresa May's determination, in the draft communications bill, to spy on everything we do on the internet?

These policy disasters spring from a common error: the assumption that incidental damage to the internet is an acceptable price in the service of your own goals. The only way that makes sense is if you radically discount the value of the internet – hence all the establishment sympathy for contrarian writers who want to tell us all that the internet makes us stupid, or played no role in the Arab spring, or cheapens discourse. Any time you hear someone rubbishing the internet, have a good look around for the some way that person would benefit if the internet was selectively broken in their favour.

There's much, more where that came from. Highly recommended.

Belgium: We Want To Be The Champagne Of Chocolate

There have been attempts in the past to apply intellectual property protection to specific foods and drinks. Champagne sparkling wine is one of the more well-known examples of this and its application has resulted in problems in the past. Not terribly long ago, Lebanon took permission culture to the extreme and claimed they owned food copyrights (which don't exist) on ethnic foods like falafel and hummus, going so far as to plan to sue Israel for selling those same kinds of foods. This seeking to lock up widely known terms is quite depressing, since it's so often only about profiting by way of removing competitors. So depressing, in fact, that it makes me want to have a piece of chocolate to help me feel better.

But if it's Belgian style chocolate I'm looking for, my options may become limited if Belgian chocolate makers get their way. Their industry federation is seeking to have the EU protect the word Belgian, their flag, and their packaging from horrible, awful, foreign competitors, using a lesser-known form of IP, geographical indication.

They want the term "Belgian chocolate" to be their exclusive preserve and also want to crack down on foreign rivals dressing up their products as "Belgian style" or of a "Belgian recipe".

Geographical indication is something of a European thing, mostly, and one which the United States has actually pushed back on. One of the conditions a term must meet in order to be granted a GI is that it cannot be in common use already. Given that this entire story is all coming about as a result of foreign companies producing Belgian chocolate to meet high demand throughout the world seems to negate the entire endeavor on its face. Even more hilarious are the comments coming from these Belgian chocolate producers, who claim this is some matter of principal rather than profit.

"What makes us sad is that very often the copies are not up to the standard of the originals," Jos Linkens, chief executive of Neuhaus, told Reuters in an interview. "If top chocolatiers around the world copied us, perhaps we would be happy. We don't want the image of quality to suffer."

Uh huh. First off, that simply isn't a believable statement, given how much of the Belgian chocolate business growth has occurred in markets like Asia, where suddenly there are more competitors popping up to meet rising demand. This seems like a clear attempt to limit that competition. Secondly, if the quality of the so-called imposters aren't up to snuff, then your chocolate should win out anyway. Thirdly, if this idea that one had to protect certain styles or kinds of food on the basis of their reputation, the entire nation of Italy should have fire-bombed every Pizza Hut in existence long ago. They haven't, because the truth is that if you want good pizza, you go to the people who know what they're doing.

And if you want Belgian chocolate, you go to whoever makes it the best.

Aereo Wins Again: Appeals Court Says Its System Is Not Infringing

As you may recall, Aereo has been in an ongoing legal dispute with the TV networks, who seem to be arguing that anything that disrupts their coveted business model simply must be illegal. While they've won against others, Aereo actually won the first round at the district court level, blocking an attempted injunction. The networks quickly appealed. On appeal, it seemed clear that the judges realized just how insane the situation is. If you don't recall, Aereo sets up a separate individual antenna for each customer, and then streams TV broadcasts to that customer over the internet. This setup makes no technological sense whatsoever. It's inefficient and stupid. But because of the wacky way copyright is interpreted, it's believed to be necessary to avoid being guilty of infringement for doing the same damn thing much more efficiently.

Today, on appeal, the appeals court affirmed the district court ruling, once again blowing a big hole in the networks' arguments. The full ruling (linked above and embedded below) is well worth a read, as it's nice to see the court really try to do its best to truly understand the technology at play, rather than resorting to simplistic and inaccurate analogies, as copyright maximalists often desire. The key to the networks' argument here is that those individual antennas that Aereo sets up are a myth. They claim that it's really one giant antenna. The court disagrees. This issue plays into the big question of whether or not Aereo's service is functionally the same as the (legal) Cablevision remote DVR system, or if it goes too far and is a tool for infringement. The distinguishing factor in that Cablevision case was that Cablevision made a unique copy for every user who requested it (again, stupid and inefficient from a technological standpoint, but this is the life we lead under bad copyright laws). Bizarrely, even Cablevision argued against Aereo here, trying to distinguish its own case (perhaps to handicap a potential competitor).

The court, thankfully, doesn't buy Cablevision's own wacky interpretation, but rather relies on what the court in is case actually said, mainly, that having a unique copy means that it's not doing a "public performance" of the work.

As discussed above, Cablevision’s holding that Cablevision’s transmissions of programs recorded with its RS-DVR system were not public performances rested on two essential facts. First, the RS-DVR system created unique copies of every program a Cablevision customer wished to record. Second, the RS-DVR’s transmission of the recorded program to a particular customer was generated from that unique copy; no other customer could view a transmission created by that copy. Given these two features, the potential audience of every RS-DVR transmission was only a single Cablevision subscriber, namely the subscriber who created the copy. And because the potential audience of the transmission was only one Cablevision subscriber, the transmission was not made “to the public.”

The same two features are present in Aereo’s system. When an Aereo customer elects to watch or record a program using either the “Watch” or “Record” features, Aereo’s system creates a unique copy of that program on a portion of a hard drive assigned only to that Aereo user. And when an Aereo user chooses to watch the recorded program, whether (nearly) live or days after the program has aired, the transmission sent by Aereo and received by that user is generated from that unique copy. No other Aereo user can ever receive a transmission from that copy. Thus, just as in Cablevision, the potential audience of each Aereo transmission is the single user who requested that a program be recorded.

The court rejects the networks' argument that Cablevision was different because Cablevision had a license for its initial transmission, noting that the case has nothing to do with transmission, but is solely based on the question of whether or not this is a public performance under the Copyright Act. As it notes, if there is no public performance, the license question is moot, as Aereo only needs such a license for the public performance.

The court also responds nicely to the bizarre argument of the networks that because Aereo specifically designed its system to be legal within the confines of the Cablevision ruling, that proves it's infringing. As we noted at the time, this argument doesn't help the networks at all. After all, the courts found Cablevision legal, so it makes sense that Aereo would design with that in mind for the purpose of staying on the right side of the law. The networks' basic argument is, directly, that if you try hard to stay within the law, you must be breaking the law. That's crazy, and the court, rightly, rejects it:

Plaintiffs also make much of the undisputed fact that Aereo’s system was designed around the Cablevision holding, because it creates essentially identical copies of the same program for every user who wishes to watch it in order to avoid copyright liability, instead of using a perhaps more efficient design employing shared copies. However, that Aereo was able to design a system based on Cablevision’s holding to provide its users with nearly live television over the internet is an argument that Cablevision was wrongly decided; it does not provide a basis for distinguishing Cablevision. Moreover, Aereo is not the first to design systems to avoid copyright liability. The same is likely true of Cablevision, which created separate user associated copies of each recorded program for its RS-DVR system instead of using more efficient shared copies because transmissions generated from the latter would likely be found to infringe copyright holders’ public performance right under the rationale of Redd Horne.... Nor is Aereo alone in designing its system around Cablevision, as many cloud computing services, such as internet music lockers, discussed further below, appear to have done the same...

In other words, no, designing your system in accordance with the law doesn't mean you're trying to violate the law. As the court later notes, it appears that the networks really want to overrule Cablevision, which is made clear by their claims that Aereo designing within the confines of Cablevision must be infringing. The court notes that even if that's what the networks want, barring a Supreme Court decision in the alternative, they can't change their earlier ruling.

Though presented as efforts to distinguish Cablevision, many of Plaintiffs’ arguments really urge us to overrule Cablevision. One panel of this Court, however, “cannot overrule a prior decision of another panel.” ... We are “bound by the decisions of prior panels until such time as they are overruled either by an en banc panel of our Court or by the Supreme Court.” ... There is an exception when an intervening Supreme Court decision “casts doubt on our controlling precedent,” ... but we are unaware of any such decisions that implicate Cablevision.

There is a dissent from Judge Denny Chin, who argues that because Aereo had to go through the technologically inefficient process it does, that shows why it's infringing.

Aereo's "technology platform" is, however, a sham. The system employs thousands of individual dime-sized antennas, but there is no technologically sound reason to use a multitude of tiny individual antennas rather than one central antenna; indeed, the system is a Rube Goldberg-like contrivance, over-engineered in an attempt to avoid the reach of the Copyright Act and to take advantage of a perceived loophole in the law.

That argument is really troubling, and it's good that the majority overruled it. If that were true, any inefficient or convoluted process required by the law to remain consistent with copyright law would be seen as evidence of infringement. And that's just wacky. You'd effectively create veto power for any new innovation that way.

Anyway, the case is far from over, but so far Aereo is 2 for 2 and the networks have come up empty. Let's hope that trend continues.

Boston Police Are Catfishing Locals To Bust Punk Rock Shows

The last time I bothered to read about anything involving the internet term "catfishing", it was to discuss how Deadspin broke the story of Manti T'eo and his fake, but still quite beloved, dead... Filed Under:
boston, boston police, catfish, fake profiles, home concerts, police, social media

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The last time I bothered to read about anything involving the internet term "catfishing", it was to discuss how Deadspin broke the story of Manti T'eo and his fake, but still quite beloved, dead girlfriend. I'll admit I was unfamiliar with the term before that, but I have since discovered that catfishing, the process by which you fool someone online into thinking you are a persona you've concocted, is more common than I had thought. It has even warranted an entire show on MTV, because that network apparently forgot what the M in their name stands for. And, though I am aware that law enforcement officers will occasionally go undercover to infiltrate criminal networks, I hadn't really ever considered that there might indeed be catfishing police out there in the world.
Further on that point, if I had managed to consider that possibility, I wouldn't have imagined the police would catfish to bust up punk rock shows at the residences of citizens. Yet this is exactly what the police in Boston are attempting. Though they're not doing a very good job of it.

A recently passed nuisance control ordinance has spurred a citywide crackdown on house shows—concerts played in private homes, rather than in clubs. The police, it appears, are taking a particularly modern approach to address the issue: They're posing as music fans online to ferret out intel on where these DIY shows are going to take place. While police departments have been using social media to investigate for years, its use in such seemingly trivial crimes would be rather chilling, if these efforts didn't seem so laughably inept. It's a law enforcement technique seemingly cribbed from MTV's Catfish—but instead of creating a fake persona to ensnare the marks in a romantic internet scam, it's music fandom that's being feigned.

It truly is a brave new world, friends, when adult police can ape young punk rockers online. Or it would be, rather, if the police were generally any good at it. Sadly, or perhaps hilariously, those doing the catfishing appear to think the punk rock scene represents little beyond well-traveled young people stereotypes and lingo from the late-nineties.

Congress Planning To Debate CISPA Behind Closed Doors; No Public Scrutiny Allowed

We've been hearing for a while that when the planned markup occurs next week for CISPA, that the House Intelligence Committee is intending to hold a closed markup, basically hiding the discussion and the possible amendments from the public. There is no good reason for this. The Intelligence Committee will claim, of course, that it needs to do this so that confidential information can be discussed in debating the markup, but that's hogwash. There are numerous concerns with the bill that can and should be addressed publicly. If there are key concerns about classified info getting out, that's easy enough to avoid, since so much that CISPA touches on has nothing to do with classified info -- and whatever comes up can be dealt with appropriately.

The truth is that this is yet another way to try to hide from the public on this issue. Congress doesn't want an open discussion on the many problems with CISPA, so it does what it does best: try to hide things away and rush them through when (hopefully) not enough people are looking. It makes you wonder just what CISPA's supporters are so worried about. Congress is supposed to work for the public, not hide things away from the public. This isn't a situation where they're discussing classified info or plans -- but merely a bill focused on information sharing between the government and private companies. Any markup on CISPA needs to be public.

HOW TO FIND THE BEST DIGITAL CAMERA

It seems that every month, if not every week, different manufacturers are coming up with the latest digital cameras to entice potential clients. And it's just not working for us!

After spending sizeable amount of time at the mall figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, we finally have enough money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, candy colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of super hi-speed SD memory card and not to mention very portable, (that will be the envy of almost everyone we know). We march to the mall armed with our life savings and lotsa pride in ourselves, when we pass by a new display - an eight mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic and stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. And we sigh because the producer of this amazing gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. And so as we always want to have the best, armed with our life savings and a few credit cards, we buy the "best digital camera." But then again, that doesn't last too long, after two months or so, there's another "best digital camera."

And so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?

Deep Dive: Prenda Law Is Dead

Ken White blogs at Popehat. He's a litigator and criminal defense attorney at Brown White & Newhouse LLP in Los Angeles. His views are his alone, not those of his firm.
All of my coverage of Prenda Law is collected here.
Today the Prenda Law enterprise encountered an extinction-level event. Faced with a federal judge's demand that they explain their litigation conduct, Prenda Law's attorney principals -- and one paralegal -- invoked their right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a matter of individual prudence, that may have been the right decision. But for the nationwide Prenda Law enterprise, under whatever name or guise or glamour, it spelled doom.
Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here
The crowd gathered early outside of the courtroom of United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. As before, the spectators included journalists, former Prenda defendants and their lawyers, law clerks and externs, interested citizens, and Electronic Frontier Foundation activists. The little crowd went awkward-party-foul silent when a team of lawyers and nervous- looking men in suits filed into the courtroom. Some of us glanced at the chart that attorney Morgan Pietz created to see if we could match faces. We soon saw that we could. Bets regarding who would show up in response to Judge Wright's Order to Show Cause were won and lost with some good-natured cursing.
A swarm of attorneys quickly checked in with the court clerk and took their places. On one side, attorneys Morgan Pietz and Nicholas Renallo looked calm. They had boxes of materials they wouldn't need, and notes they wouldn't have to consult. On the other side of the room, eight attorneys prepared to answer Judge Wright's questions, mostly for naught. In the gallery, Brett Gibbs -- unhappy witness at the last hearing before Judge Wright -- sat looking sallow and grim. Paul and Peter, the Hansmeier brothers, sat together, looking ridiculously young and out-of-place. Paul Hansmeier's face was beefy-red. John Steele looked conspicuously slick and immaculate in an impeccable suit, like a corporate executive in a bad Robocop sequel. Paul Duffy, Mark Lutz, and Angela Van Den Hemel stared straight ahead.
Not With A Whimper, But A Bang

2k Sports Fixes The MLB2K Baseball Contest It Previously Said Wasn't Broke

If you're a fan of playing baseball the way its inventor intended, meaning on your couch in front of the television with a controller in your hand, you may recall our discussion last year around 2K Sports' famous Perfect Game Challenge. Should you not be familiar with it, that contest revolves around a competition between anyone who was able to pitch a perfect game in the MLB2K series (no hits, no walks, no errors in a complete game shutout by one pitcher) for various large cash prizes. Deadspin's Owen Good discovered an exploit in the system that allowed players to manually replace the starting lineups of the teams they were opposing, essentially rigging it to face the worst possible lineup for their pitching performance, and still have it be counted as a valid perfecto. He also outted at least one specific entrant into the subsequent playoff contest for the challenge that used that system. 2K Sports declined to do anything about it, saying instead:

"The contest was run properly," 2K Sports said. "We look forward to awarding someone a million dollars on May 10 in New York."

Utilizing the black magic called "reductive reasoning", I can only assume that that the company is deciding this year to actively make their annual contest improper. What else would one conclude, given that they have fixed the exploit? As Owen Good once more notes:

Today, I started a game under the Million Dollar Challenge menu option and as soon as I pressed start to go the substitution menu in the loading screen, I lost the official logo. According to the contest's official rules, you may not pause the game, substitute any player on either team, make a mound visit, or delay the game longer than 10 seconds between pitches.

I learned long ago that the greatest power you have when you make a mistake is to own it, fix it, and move on. 2K Sports appears to have skipped a step, which just makes them look proud and petty. Unfortunately for them, both the internet and baseball keep long memories.

UK Music Licensing Agency Says You Can't Use Its Music In Your Podcast Without First Purchasing A License It Doesn't Even Offer

The nightmarishly intertwining world of music licensing is a popular topic here, especially considering the past outlandish actions of various performance rights agencies. On top of this, there's the multitude of different licenses, each one applying specifically to certain formats or outlets. If it's streaming on Youtube, it needs x license and y license. If it's streaming at Spotify, it needs x license and z license. If it's a radio station simulcast at the station's website, license x, y and z are needed, along with license aa. And so on.
Podcasters in the UK are running into licensing problems when attempting to clear music for their broadcasts, as PPL (who covers performance rights for recorded music, like SoundExchange in the US) is causing problems. PPL has a history of questionable over enforcement, and they just can't let up, apparently. Phil Satterly sends in this rather sad story of a long-running Progressive Rock podcast (DRRP Radio) that is going "off the air" thanks to PPL's thoroughly impossible demands.

Common Supplies Found at the Medical Store

The medical store is not always an establishment that everyone in a town visits on a regular basis. It is really great that they are there when you need them though. They sell a large amount of equipment, testing supplies, and other medically related items to help people with chronic illnesses live a more comfortable life at home.

The medical store will carry devices like crutches for people who have injured their knees, or ankles. Some of these items will be for sale and some of the merchants will rent them to you for the length of time you need them. You can also buy or rent wheel chairs at these establishments.

The medical store will have blood pressure monitors; they will likely have extra cuffs for blood pressure monitors so the larger person or pediatric patient can have a proper fitting cuff. They should also have diabetic supplies like blood glucose machines, lancets, testing strips, AC1 tests, ketone tests, and other diabetic supplies. Often they will carry the diabetic shoe line and the diabetic socks. The shoes are special ordered after they have been fit to the person's foot exactly to make them more comfortable.

A medical store that has a pharmacist in it will likely be able to make compound medications. The compounding of medications is no longer done at every pharmacy, but the ones in these types of establishments generally do the compounding because more of their customers need this service.

You will be able to get oxygen and breathing supplies at one of these establishments. The portable oxygen suppliers that work off of batteries are more popular than the older style suppliers that were hooked to a large tank. Some insurance programs do not cover the portable oxygen supply machines though. You will likely be able to get nebulizers, air purifiers, vaporizers, and all other machines and devices that help people to breathe easier.

Many of these establishments carry the nursing uniforms that the home health professionals wear. They may also have stethoscopes and other tools that the home health nurses need to have in their bags. A thermometer is generally required and protective gloves along with hand sanitizers.

Most patients that are bed ridden will need a bedside potty chair that can be gotten from these establishments. There are also shower chairs to keep the patient from falling in the shower or tub, and there are special pads made to place in the beds or wheelchairs of this patience so that any accident they may have can easily be cleaned up. Adult sized diapers will be available to patients through these suppliers as well.

These suppliers are more than just a drug store. They are the place to get everything that you might need if you have a catheter in place or if you have a colostomy and need supplies. The staff is friendly and they are well trained in all of the supplies so they can help you find what you need with no trouble.

A medical store is not just a pharmacy although some of them have pharmacists that compound medicines on the premises. The medical store is where you can get all of the health related supplies you need to care for a bedridden patient. You can get more information at medical equipment.

Possible Threats to the Internal Security of India

It is a known fact that a country does not always have to combat enemies from the other side of the border. There are several malevolent groups that operate within the country and these are the elements that pose maximum threat to the country. India is no different and has realized that without a proper internal security measure, the safety of its citizens would be compromised.
The current situation in India is quite fragile. If people were alarmed about the rising rebel groups a decade ago, today's situation is like a ball of gunpowder waiting to explode.
Needless to say, terrorism has emerged as the main challenge for India. Terrorists do not have a definite face. They possess advanced technology and high-end arms and are capable of carrying out cyber crimes as well. Owing to the rising threat level, the Indian home ministry has banned 35 organizations in various Indian states. However, it has not stopped these people from making a move whenever they can despite the ban. They are extremely active and are being joined by other similar groups every day.

Can the Police Respond Instantly to Every Emergency? Part 7 in The Right Response?

The only thing that stops a spree shooter is a bullet. The sooner he gets that bullet, the less innocents and vulnerable children he gets to slaughter.

How long does Emergency Response Take?

The police do a difficult job, often in very difficult circumstances. David Thweatt, Superintendent of the Harrold school district in Texas where teachers are armed, says that a police officer once told him something startling. "Ninety-five percent of the time, we get to the scene late."

Some years ago, police found a methamphetamine lab in a house close to the Harrold school. A deputy had looked inside, seen something and called for backup. Thweatt reports that they made it to the house in 15 minutes, while they had figured it would take 18 to 20 minutes in a typical situation.

The Harrold school is in the middle of a prairie, miles from the nearest police station. If that had been an armed intruder at his school, the response time would have been too slow. So the staff at the school have to be the first responders. "We don't have 5 minutes. We don't have 10 minutes. We would have had 20 minutes of hell"
if attackers had targeted the school.
Instant Response is Impossible

The police recognize reality. Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke observes that while everybody wishes the police could be teleported to your home it's not going to happen. "It will take minutes to get to your home and an attack will be over within seconds."*

Any response takes time, whether armed or not. It is literally impossible for any organization to respond instantaneously to any problem.

Don't Ignore Reality

Those who ignore the facts underlying response by armed police, as do many gun control fanatics, simply ignore reality whenever it conflicts with their opinions. How long does response actually take?
It takes time to get access to a phone. This is only possible if one of the potential victims in a shooting spree is not stopped from getting and using a phone by the murderer. In practice, finding a phone can cause a substantial delay.It takes time to make an emergency call.
it takes time for the emergency call to be answered and for the emergency service operator to find out exactly what's happening.
it takes time for the emergency service to initiate the actual response. Police may be busy with other crimes, so are not necessarily instantly available.
it takes time for responders to travel to the shooter's location - police stations are not usually located right next to the scene of the crime.
With the best will in the world, this all means that if police are there within a handful of minutes, they've done a truly outstanding job. Yet as emergency services all recognize: When seconds count - we're just minutes away.

Give the Police Less Responsibilities

Self Interest and Vote Bank Politics In International Relations

Pakistan & USA (Osama Bin Laden)
Pakistan was not aware that Osama Bin-Laden was in their cantonment.
We had to believe that, with a pinch of salt.
US did not trust fully its ally, in war against terrorism,
But it tolerated, its nuisance.
It conducted a secret raid, in Pakistan,
Killed Osama Bin-Laden and dumped his body in sea,
Pakistan kept its eyes and ears closed,
But protested against US for its local public's consumption,
For violation of its sovereignty.
Pakistan & USA (Hafiz Saeed)

South Korea Says Cyberattack That Paralyzed Computers Was Traced To Chinese IP

A man walks past the Cyber Terror Response Center at National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea has traced a cyberattack that paralyzed more than 30,000 computers on Wednesday to a Chinese Internet protocol address, the Korean Communications Commission said Thursday.

Of course, as soon as the attacks happened, suspicion centered on Pyongyang. North Korea, of late, has been increasingly belligerent, threatening a nuclear attack on the United States and South Korea.

This Chinese IP is a curveball, but The New York Times
reports it's still not clear where the attack came from. It explains:

"Many analysts in Seoul suspect that North Korean hackers honed their skills in China and were operating there. At a hacking conference here last year, Michael Sutton, the head of threat research at Zscaler, a security company, said a handful of hackers from China 'were clearly very skilled, knowledgeable and were in touch with their counterparts and familiar with the scene in North Korea.'

Spring May Have Sprung, But Most Gardens Are Still Slumbering

Want it? You can't have it. At least not yet.

For vegetable lovers, the start of spring can be a cruel tease, hinting of a feast of just-picked peas and spinach and beets, but delivering instead tired iceberg and romaine shipped from distant climes.

"It's zero here right now," Terry Nennich reported Wednesday morning, the first official day of spring, from Grand Rapids, Minn. So much for spring. Not only was it well below freezing, but the ground remained blanketed by 2 feet of snow.

Nennich is a veggie guy, a horticulture research director at the North Central Research and Outreach Center of the University of Minnesota, which stands about 120 miles from the Canadian border. Undaunted by the fact that spring still looks a lot like winter, Nennich takes the bringing of vegetable bounty to the northland as a personal and professional challenge.

United Nations Will Investigate Possible Use Of Chemical Weapons In Syria

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The United Nations is launching an investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the announcement during a media briefing on Thursday.

"I have decided to conduct a United Nations investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria," Ban said according to Reuters. He said the investigation will focus on "the specific incident brought to my attention by the Syrian government."

The use of chemical weapons is a big deal because the United States has declared that its "red line" in the conflict.

"I have made clear the use of chemical weapons is a game changer," President Obama said during a press conference in Israel yesterday.

With Obama In Ramallah, Palestinians Take To The Streets

Palestinians protest as U.S. President Barack Obama and Palestinians Authority President Mahmud Abbas meet in Ramallah on Thursday.
Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images Palestinians protest as U.S. President Barack Obama and Palestinians Authority President Mahmud Abbas meet in Ramallah on Thursday.

NPR's Larry Abramson is covering President Obama's visit to the Middle East. He sends this dispatch from the West Bank.

There were a lot of irritated Palestinians in the streets of Ramallah today. But it's hard to pinpoint the cause. Were they mad at President Obama, at Israel? Or were they angry at themselves?

All week long, different groups staged demonstrations against the Obama visit, here in Palestine's defacto capital city, and elsewhere, including Gaza. Mothers of those in Israeli jails demanded the release of their children. Many shouted that all Palestinians should have the "right of return" to land inside Israel. And all shouted at the Palestinian Authority security forces, accusing them of collaborating with Israel. They marched through the streets of Ramallah toward the center of government, challenged the police phalanx verbally and then ran out of gas and went home. Many with long experience in such things groaned that the turnout was just pathetic.

You Be The Judge: Is The Housing Market Really Improving?

A home for sale in Glenview, Ill. Existing-home sales hit the highest level in more than 3 years in February. But not everyone is convinced that the housing sector's momentum has staying power.
Nam Y. Huh/AP A home for sale in Glenview, Ill. Existing-home sales hit the highest level in more than 3 years in February. But not everyone is convinced that the housing sector's momentum has staying power.Nam Y. Huh/AP
This week, optimists had no trouble finding fresh evidence to suggest that the housing market is recovering.
On Thursday, they learned from a Realtors' report that existing home sales hit the highest level in more than 3 years. And earlier this week, a Commerce Department report showed homebuilding permits have been rising at the quickest pace since June 2008.
But not everyone is convinced that the sector's momentum has staying power. Skeptics point to reasons why the housing sector might falter, just as it has several times over the past six years.
If the optimists and pessimists had to face off in front of a judge, these are the exhibits they might enter as evidence:
The Optimists' Case

Europe's Central Bank Issues Cyprus Ultimatum

People line up at an ATM in Nicosia to withdraw cash on Thursday.

The clock is ticking on Cyprus' fiscal cliff.

The European Central Bank has given the Mediterranean country just four days to come up with its own bailout plan, or a eurozone lifeline to its struggling banks will be severed.

The ultimatum comes after Cypriot lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a highly unpopular proposal put forward by the European Central bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund to give the country's banks half of a $13 billion bailout package if they can raise the other half from a steep levy on the country's personal savings accounts.

Since then, the Cyprus government has been struggling to come up with a "Plan B" that will satisfy international lenders. If Cyprus can't do it by Monday, the ECB will pull the plug on Cypriot banks, which would likely precipitate a collapse of the island's financial institutions and send shock waves through European and world markets.

Here We Go Again: Leno, Fallon, And Why The Late-Night Wars Are So Boring

Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon pose in the press room during the Golden Globe Awards in January.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon pose in the press room during the Golden Globe Awards in January.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
When rumblings began in early March that NBC might be preparing in earnest to replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon, I felt more like Bill Murray than I ever have.
Not the Bill Murray in Ghostbusters
or the Bill Murray in Meatballs or even the Bill Murray in Stripes. No, this was the Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, who wakes up every morning to "I Got You Babe," over and over. And over.
A couple of disclosures seem appropriate.
As an audience member and a critic, my tastes are strongly pro-Fallon, even substantially more than they were pro-Conan O'Brien when we went through this entire hootenanny three years ago. And they are anti-Leno, and especially anti-"Jaywalking." "Jaywalking" is Leno's man-on-the-street segment that's nothing more or less than a zillionaire entertainer dripping contempt on people who do not own a car collection while his studio audience agreeably hoots at how stupid they are. He does not, of course, quiz his audience to see if they would do any better.

Obama's Speech In Israel: 5 Excerpts You Should Read

President Barack Obama waves after speaking on at the Convention Center in Jerusalem, on Thursday.

Speaking to Israeli students at the Jerusalem Convention Center on Thursday, President Obama delivered a rousing speech of inspiration, one brimming with talk of hope and change that echoed the Obama of 2008. While there were touches of specifics on where the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians should head, for the most part Obama stuck with highlighting fundamental similarities between peoples.

At one point, Obama was heckled by a protester. ("We actually arranged for that because it made me feel at home," Obama joked.) But aside from that, Obama was received by enthusiastic applause, even as he delivered a strong critique of Israel's settlement expansion and its failure to prosecute settlers who attack Palestinians.

We listened to the nearly one-hour speech and pulled out five excerpts worth reading. We've already posted on the news of the day.

On Peace Negotiations:

House OKs Bill To Keep Government Funded Through September

Alex Wong/Getty Images
The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that avoids a federal shutdown and keeps the government open through the end of the 2013 fiscal year, which winds up Sept. 30. The Senate approved the same measure Wednesday, so the bill now goes to the president for his signature.
The New York Times
characterizes the measure, which passed the House on a 318-109 vote, this way:

The funding plan for the rest of the year ... locks in across-the-board spending cuts that will usher in the most austere government outlook in decades.

But that doesn't mean an end to the partisan battles. The Washington Post
reports that Republicans and Democrats are still at odds over the budget, just not the 2013 budget:

NRA Represents Only A Fraction Of Gun Owners

Kentucky farmer James Gash is one of millions of American gun owners who don't belong to the National Rifle Association - the powerful lobbying group. Gash talks with host Michel Martin about why the NRA doesn't speak for him.

'Keep Google Reader Running' Petition Hits 100K; Fans Audition Replacements

Google's announcement this week that it would discontinue its Reader after the end of June has left loyal users angry — and scrambling for replacements.

Google's announcement this week that it will kill its Reader product on July 1 prompted moans of despair from those who rely on the free RSS service to monitor headlines. To illustrate the level of dependency they've come to feel, some are comparing the move to Google abandoning search.

The complaints are still rolling in — as of Friday afternoon, a petition at Change.org had gathered more than 100,000 signatures, protesting the move Google announced on its blog Wednesday. Google says that while the service it began in 2005 "has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined."

That decline has been attributed to people relying on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook both to stay current on headlines, and to stay connected with a community of people they're interested in — two strengths that helped Google Reader's fast initial growth.

Many observers see the move to retire Reader as Google prodding its users to engage more fully with Google+, the social network. Some folks will likely do that — but many people are also looking for new RSS readers, and they're comparing notes about possible contenders.

In the discussions, a consensus of criteria emerged, calling for a simple and reliable RSS reader that serves up headlines, stories and news digests in an efficient design, without advertising. And it should work well in both browsers and smartphones' operating systems.

At the website Replace Reader, which uses tweets to tally votes for Google replacements, the Feedly service was in the lead, with NewsBlur in second place.

Not far behind was The Old Reader, which is reportedly based on an older design of Google Reader. Or you can go in the other direction, visually at least, and try out Netvibes, which has a glossy, customizable look. In a similar vein, there's Flipboard, but the smooth design of that service is only available on smartphones and tablets.

Similarly, Taptu offers a sharp, clean user experience, and it offers versions for Nook and Blackberry users, as well. In the future, another option might come from Digg; the link-sharing community says it's building its own reader service.

Many of the RSS services that might replace Reader are free — up to a point. For instance, NewsBlur allows you to subscribe to receive stories from as many as 64 sites for free; if you want more than that, you'll need an upgraded account, which costs about $2 a month.

If you're wondering how you might export your RSS subscriptions to another reader, Google says you can use its Google Takeout service to download. And in the wake of Google's announcement, almost all of the services listed here are posting special "How to import your subscriptions from Reader" instructions.

If you've tried some of these RSS options, let us know what you thought. And if you have a favorite that we didn't include here (there are many of them out there, no offense intended) — share with your friends.

Angry Birds TV, Coming To A Mobile Screen Near You

A scene from the upcoming animated series based on the popular game Angry Birds. The show will be distributed to existing users of the digital game.

Rovio

People of all ages have been passing the time playing Angry Birds on their mobile devices. Now Rovio, the company that created the best-selling app, is offering fans a new cartoon series based on the game, which has so far been downloaded 1.7 billion times.

The concept behind Angry Birds is extremely simple: There are these colorful cartoon birds that are angry because some green pigs are after their eggs. Players of the digital game use slingshots to catapult the birds — who don't fly — to destroy structures hiding the pigs.

"At its heart, it's just fun to play. Basically its just slingshotting birds," says Kirk Hamilton, the features editor for Gawker Media's gaming website. "Anyone can understand it. Little kids can play it, adults can play it, senior citizens can play it — everyone can play it."

Hamilton says that because Angry Birds is so popular around the world, Rovio — which is offering the game through the app — is smart to target fans directly.

"They've already got this distribution network," Hamilton says. "They have this huge embedded audience who all have a way to just give them money already. So they're just giving them more stuff to spend money on."

The 99-cent app is addictive by design. Fans who master one game level go on to the next. Beginning this weekend, players will be able to watch the new three-minute cartoons for free by pushing a button on the app's latest update.

"If you take a fan's perspective, it makes sense for us to also distribute our content to people who are playing our games," says Andrew Stalbow, executive vice president of Rovio's strategic partnerships.

Three years after the game's launch, there are now Angry Birds plush toys, an Angry Birds theme park in Finland, Angry Birds lunchboxes, T-shirts and more. The company makes most of its money on these things, and also from advertisers on its games and YouTube channel, which has more than a billion views.

Rovio partnered with Lucasfilm to come up with an Angry Birds-Star Wars cartoon and game. There was an Angry Birds tie-in for the 20th Century Fox movie Rio. And Rovio has other deals with National Geographic and even NASA.

The Angry Birds show, like the game that inspired it, focuses on the long-standing battle between a group of colorful birds and the greedy pigs who have stolen their eggs.

Rovio The Angry Birds show, like the game that inspired it, focuses on the long-standing battle between a group of colorful birds and the greedy pigs who have stolen their eggs.

Rovio

A Year's Worth Of 'Amazing Stories To Tell'

Stalbow says the new episodes will be rolled out each week for 52 weeks. He says the animated series has storylines similar to the old Tom and Jerry cartoons, and that Rovio hopes to create a "Looney Tunes of the mobile generation."

"They're very unique birds," Stalbow says of the characters, "each with very special powers, each of which get very upset and aggravated by the very rascal-ish pigs who've stolen their eggs. There's a whole infrastructure to the pigs' world. They live on an island that has amazing stories to tell."

The new Angry Birds series will also be shown on international TV channels in Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Finland, France, Germany, Norway and Brazil, and through Comcast's Xfinity service in the U.S.

But mostly, Rovio is betting on new media and sidestepping the traditional distribution deals with major Hollywood players. By not working with broadcasters or cable partners, the company will be able to collect more of the revenue generated from its franchise.

Hamilton says Angry Birds has already thrown the video-game industry for a loop by offering tiny free games and getting rich, while multimillion-dollar game companies are in trouble.

"The fact that Rovio changed the game so much for video games, maybe they can do the same for TV distribution," Hamilton says. "Who knows?"

Stalbow notes that normally, entertainment franchises start with a TV show or movie, then make consumer products based on them, and then create a game as an afterthought. In this case, the big entertainment franchise started with a game.

"I'd say it's a business model inspired by somebody like Disney," Stalbow says.

In three years, Angry Birds is set to be a feature-length film. Where will the brand go next? How long will the birds be angry? When will the pigs stop stealing their eggs?

Stalbow says there are generations of bad blood between the birds and the pigs, so there are probably many more stories to tell.

Is All The Talk About Cyberwarfare Just Hype?

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the danger of a devastating cyberattack is the No. 1 threat facing the U.S. He made the assessment Tuesday on Capitol Hill before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats.
Susan Walsh/AP Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the danger of a devastating cyberattack is the No. 1 threat facing the U.S. He made the assessment Tuesday on Capitol Hill before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats.Susan Walsh/AP
U.S. government pronouncements about the danger of a major cyberattack can be confusing. The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, and the head of the U.S. military's Cyber Command, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, delivered mixed messages this week while testifying on Capitol Hill.
Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the prospect of a computer attack on the nation's critical infrastructure is now the top security threat facing the country, surpassing terrorism.
"It's hard to overestimate its significance," Clapper said.
In a separate appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Alexander issued a similar warning.
"All our systems today — our power systems, our water systems, our governments, our industry — depend on computers, depend on computerized switches, depend on these networks," Alexander said. "All are at risk. If an adversary were to get in, they could essentially destroy those components."
Asked by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham whether such an intrusion would cause as much or more damage than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Alexander answered, "That's correct. I think it would."
The Clapper and Alexander testimonies, however, were worded carefully. Clapper, in an assessment representing the views of the entire U.S. intelligence community, characterized the chance of a major cyberattack against U.S. infrastructure in the next two years as "remote."
"The level of technical expertise and operational sophistication required for such an attack will be out of reach for most actors during this time frame," the assessment stated. "Advanced cyber actors — such as Russia and China — are unlikely to launch such a devastating attack against the United States outside of a military conflict or crisis that they believe threatens their vital interests."
Alexander was similarly reassuring in his written testimony.

Maker Of 3-D Printer Guns Now Has Federal Firearms License

This AR-15 rifle's lower receiver (in soft green color) was produced with a 3-D printer. The 3-D printing industry has criticized the use of the technology for gun part making.
Courtesy of Defense Distributed Dev Blog This AR-15 rifle's lower receiver (in soft green color) was produced with a 3-D printer. The 3-D printing industry has criticized the use of the technology for gun part making.Courtesy of Defense Distributed Dev Blog
(get you ffl)
Defense Distributed, an organization best known for advocating open-sourced 3-D printing of guns, says its founder, Cody Wilson, is now a federally licensed gun manufacturer and dealer.
Wilson sent the application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in October. According to Ars Technica, the process, which usually can take as little as 60 days, took about six months for Wilson.

Can 'Smart Gun' Technology Help Prevent Violence?

This 9 mm semi-automatic handgun is configured with transducers in its handle that can detect the grasp of an authorized user.
New Jersey Institute of Technology/AP This 9 mm semi-automatic handgun is configured with transducers in its handle that can detect the grasp of an authorized user.New Jersey Institute of Technology/AP
For years, many have dreamed of so-called smart guns, weapons that know their rightful owner and won't fire in the wrong hands. Think James Bond's gun in Skyfall
.
A few major gun makers experimented with smart guns in the 1990s, but none came to market. Since then, it's been the domain of entrepreneurs and inventors.
Developers And Technologists
Jonathan Mossberg's company developed what he calls the iGun. It fires only if it recognizes a ring on a finger. The ring has a black square made of onyx and contains codes that identify the owner.
"It's totally inert. There's no batteries, nothing. Totally waterproof," Mossberg says.
Robert McNamara's TriggerSmart prototypes use radio frequency ID, the kind of technology stores use to track merchandise.
The gun looks for the RFID tag in a ring, bracelet, or, if this isn't too science fiction for you, it's embedded under your skin.

CEO Of Electronic Arts, World's Third-Largest Gaming Company, Resigns

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, seen here speaking at the E3 Expo in 2010, is stepping down, the company announced Monday.
Michal Czerwonka/Getty Images Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, seen here speaking at the E3 Expo in 2010, is stepping down, the company announced Monday.Michal Czerwonka/Getty Images
Electronic Arts, the world's third-largest video game company, announced Monday that CEO John Riccitiello would be stepping down.
Riccitiello, whose rocky six-year tenure saw a 60 percent drop in EA's stock price, according to the Wall Street Journal,
said in his resignation letter that he leaves feeling that EA "has never been in a better position as a company."
He said his resignation, however, ultimately comes down to accountability for the company's financial situation:

Internet Pioneers Win First-Ever Queen Elizabeth Prize For Engineering

The winners of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering were announced Monday in London. Five Internet pioneers — Marc Andreessen, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, and Louis Pouzin — will share the honor and the one million pound prize. The new U.K.-based award aims to be a "Nobel Prize" for engineering. Robert Siegel talks to Lord Browne of Madingley about the winners.
Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
And I'm Robert Siegel.
Engineers build the world as we know it. They invent the devices with which we approach the world. And today, five of them were jointly awarded the first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Robert Kahn, Vinton Cerf, Louis Pouzin, Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreesen were acknowledged for their work creating the Internet. Vinton Cerf accepted his award via the Internet at today's news conference in London.
VINTON CERF: Since we turned the system on on January 1, 1983, 30 years ago, it has exploded in terms of its applications, not the least because of the work of Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreesen and their colleagues. Finally, I have to tell you that this is like waking up from a really exciting dream and discovering the geeks are winning.

Australia's Heron Island: A Canary In The Coal Mine For Coral Reefs?

Heron Island is located on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, about 25 miles off the northeast coast of Australia.
Ted Mead/Getty Images
NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris traveled to Australia's Great Barrier Reef to find out how the coral reefs are coping with increased water temperature and increasing ocean acidity, brought about by our burning of fossil fuels. Day 1: Richard gets a hefty dose of bad news.
I've seen the future, and it isn't pretty.
That's a tough sentence to write because the setting for this unhappy discovery is spectacular. Heron Island sits in tropical turquoise waters about 25 miles off the northeast coast of Australia. It's an island on the far southern end of the Great Barrier Reef — one of our planet's most dramatic natural features, akin to the tropical rain forests, only submerged.

Cyprus Proposes Exempting Smaller Deposits From Tax

The government of Cyprus is trying to ease fears over a proposed tax on bank deposits. Newly proposed legislation would exempt savers with smaller accounts. It's part of a bailout plan for that Mediterranean country, negotiated with the E.U. and IMF over the weekend.

Ex-Weapons Inspector In Iraq Hoped 'There Would Not Be A War'

On the tenth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, Renee Montagne talks to Hans Blix, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector, who's mission in Iraq was ended by the invasion. The invasion's aim was to rid Iraq of its stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. But it turns out there were none.

Baghdad, A Decade Later

In this Wednesday, March 13, 2013 photo, traffic drives through Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, Iraq. Ten years after the start of the war, bullet holes still pockmark buildings, and towers wrecked by U.S. missiles and tank shells have not fully been rebuilt.
Hadi Mizban/AP In this Wednesday, March 13, 2013 photo, traffic drives through Tahrir Square in central Baghdad, Iraq. Ten years after the start of the war, bullet holes still pockmark buildings, and towers wrecked by U.S. missiles and tank shells have not fully been rebuilt.Hadi Mizban/AP
Ten years after the U.S.-led war in Iraq, NPR is looking at where the country stands now. NPR's Kelly McEvers recently visited Baghdad and offered this take on how the Iraqi capital feels today.
I think the single word that would best describe Baghdad these days is traffic. It can take hours just to get from one place to another. And I guess that's both good and bad.

E.U. Tax Proposal On Cypriot Bank Deposits Riles Russia

There has been angry reaction in Russia and Cyprus to the E.U.'s proposal to seize nearly 10 percent of large deposits in Cypriot banks, and roughly 7 percent of smaller deposits. That would force Russian oligarchs and ordinary citizens to bear much of the cost of the bank bailout in Cyprus.

Has The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Been Downgraded?

With President Clinton presiding, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, right, signed an interim peace accord at the White House in 1993. Twenty years later, President Obama is heading to the region with peace efforts in the deep freeze.
Ron Edmonds /AP With President Clinton presiding, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, right, signed an interim peace accord at the White House in 1993. Twenty years later, President Obama is heading to the region with peace efforts in the deep freeze.Ron Edmonds /AP
Every American president since Harry Truman has wrestled with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to no avail. Yet they keep trying based on the notion that the Middle East will never be calm until there's peace between these protagonists.
But as President Obama heads to Israel and the West Bank, expectations could hardly be lower. What's more, this long-standing feud, often seen as the Holy Grail of American diplomacy, no longer seems to hold the same urgency, according to many analysts.
The U.S. goal remains a two-state solution that provides security for Israel and a state for the Palestinians. And a new round of fighting could reverberate throughout the Middle East.

Dueling Claims In Syria After Unconfirmed Reports About Chemical Weapons

While state-controlled media in Syria are claiming that opposition forces are responsible for what may have been a chemical weapon attack Tuesday in the city of Aleppo, rebel spokesman Qassim Saadeddine is telling Reuters that the opposition was "not behind this attack."

As often happens when news such as this breaks, it's not possible at this point to confirm just what — if anything — has happened. Syrian state media are claiming that at least 15 people were killed in Aleppo by some sort of rocket. The watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is telling Reuters that as many as 26 people were killed.

American officials have said that President Bashar Assad's regime has prepared chemical weapons for use, and President Obama has warned the Syrian leader that "if you [Assad] make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."

We'll watch for developments.

Update at 12:15 p.m. ET. No Evidence The Weapons Have Been Used, White House Says:

The Associated Press reports that "the Obama administration has no evidence to back up a claim by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime that the U.S.-backed Syrian rebels used chemical weapons, the White House said Tuesday. A U.S. official went further and said there was no evidence either side had used such weapons Tuesday in an attack in northern Syria, disputing a competing claim by rebels that it was regime forces who fired the chemical weapon."

Pope Francis Thrills Crowd Ahead Of Installation

Pope Francis thrilled tens of thousands of people on Tuesday gathered for his installation Mass, taking a long round-about through St. Peter's Square and getting out of his jeep to bless a disabled man — a gesture from a man whose papacy is becoming defined by concern for the disadvantaged.
The blue and white flags from Francis' native Argentina fluttered above the crowd that included princes, sheiks, rabbis and presidents. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly a mile (two kilometers) along the route to try to control the masses and allow official delegations through.
Italian media estimated some 1 million might attend, but the numbers at the start of the Mass appeared to be fewer.
For nearly a half-hour, Francis toured the square in an open-air jeep, waving, shouting "Ciao!" to well-wishers and occasionally kissing babies handed up to him as if he had been doing this for years. At one point, as he neared a group of people in wheelchairs, he signaled for the jeep to stop, hopped off, and went to bless a man held up to the barricade by an aide.
"As an Argentine, he was our cardinal. It's a great joy for us," said Edoardo Fernandez Mendia, from the Argentine Pampas who was in the crowd. Recalling another great moment in Argentine history, when soccer great Diego Maradona scored an improbable goal in the 1986 World Cup, he said: "And for the second time, the Hand of God came to Argentina."

New radar is a milestone for the future of the navy

THE instalment of a new radar scheme industrial for the Stag Navy's new Typewrite 23 frigates is a 'significant milestone' for BAE Systems, the accompany has said.

As previously rumored in The News, the new scheme has been installed on HMS Iron Duke, and can trail 800 objects at the comparable time, from those situation of sport balls to aircraft carriers statesman than 100 miles gone.

The Artisan radar scheme was formed by BAE Systems Shipping Services arm, based both within Town Naval Dishonourable and at Broad Oak, Hilsea.

Swiftly and easily installed, the radiolocation is made out of the comparable lightweight element glassware fabric materials plant in Direction 1 racing cars.

Boston School Committee approves new student-assignment system

The Boston Schooltime Commission, in a momentous voting Wed, scrapped a refine duty counsel formulated low court-ordered desegregation near a person century ago and embraced a new group that seeks to earmark much students to aid schools closer to base.

Play in turn 2014, the city will do departed with ternary attitude naming zones that the Schooltime Department has operated since 1989, apiece of which offers almost two dozen refine choices.

Low the new contract, a computer formula faculty generate a list of at slightest six schools from which parents testament be fit to prefer supported on a show of factors, such as length from education, cultivate content, and MCAS performance. At littlest cardinal of the period choices instrument be of transmission or lofty level.

The committee also eliminated the so-called walk-zone liking for students - within near a mile of a refine. Much a insurance can aid students who smouldering nearer a high-performing cultivate to the hurt of others who do not hump specified a building nearby.

The think passed 6 to 1, with John Barros voting no.

New Pope Francis

Pope Francis visits ancient basilica in Rome on first full day as pontiff

In his foremost period as dominant pontiff and someone of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Poet Francis visited the ancient Romanist basilica sacred to the Virgin Mother, slipping in a face entry and praying for a half an time.

The 8 a.m. constraint (3 a.m. Northeastern) at the Basilica of St. Madonna Starring, Italy's maximal basilica, was not a attack. Proceedings after his hurried election on the endorse day of deliberations exclusive the apostolic conclave, Francis asked his gent cardinals if they would move until afterwards Thursday to give to the Sistine Service with him for a specific, personal General.
"I want to say a supplication in anterior of St. Mother Student, to impose the icon of the beatified mother," Francis said, according to Twelve Timothy Dolan of New York.

Francis then prefab his intention enlighten to the experience. As he stood on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, overlooking a soaked and encouragement sea of trusty, he said in his spirant Argentine-accented European that he would pray to the Vocaliser "that she may catch over all of Leadership."

Dolan said Francis's request was distinguishing of the holiness and trait that distinguishes the late archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Part Bergoglio. His modesty has emerged in the hours after his election as the gas the religion is most hot to emphasize.

Dolan talked at length some how Francis eschewed a motorcade for a minibus after state elected ("And as the parting bus pulls up, venture who gets off?" Dolan said, "It's Pope Francis. I shot he told the wood, 'that's ok, I'll honorable go with the boys' "), and how he asked the cardinals to neglect a post-election prayer because he didn't require to protect the throngs of well-wishers in St. Peter's Angulate ready in the downfall.

During the pre-conclave meetings that led to the election, Bergoglio gave one of the shortest speeches, according to the Romance La Stampa publisher.

Dolan said that Francis also spoken his intention to disposition on to his predecessor, old saint Saint XVI, in the pontifical season abode exterior of Leadership. The breakfast present make the historic, and for many unsmooth, disagreement of two-white clad pontiffs, one acrobatic, one old.

A constant fusty and religious Jesuit in Latin America's most socially liberal commonwealth, Francis is an near Solomonesque prize by the princes of the religion.

The 76-year-old hails from a state and a chaste where the erstwhile effectual sound of the church is progressively dropping flavorless, losing connective - as it is in Aggregation - to a tide of many soft and practical faiths and to fast-rising secularism. He gives voice to a faith whose building of spheric gravity is increasingly loose southland.

Apple releases two new iPhone ads days before Galaxy S4 launch

Apple has just free two new ads for the iPhone that also spend to container a option of the getting-on-for-a-million apps gettable from its iTunes outlet.
The ads move the comparable word-association format which original appeared in trinity ads rolled out in Feb (Existing, Together and Film), featuring the iPad and iPad Mini.
The new 30-second slots, called Vivid and See, feigning off few of the iPhone's capabilities with defraud snippets of various homemade apps much as iBooks, iPhoto and Record (featuring Starbucks) unitedly with others including the formidable Solar Path (3D solar method representation), Mike V: Skateboard Party (line), MyScript Machine (handwriting reckoner) and Cleartune (guitar wireless).

Indeed, the apps are as untold a conception of these ads as the devices themselves, with Apple lancinate to lightness the difference of software easy from its burgeoning iOS app fund. At the inalterable reckoning, the outlet boasted much than 775,000 apps, kindred to the come offered by Google's Golem fund, Google Change. At the signal of this period it was announced that the iOS app outlet has seen much than 40 billion downloads since its displace quintet period ago.

Your Facebokk Likes My Impart author than you belie equivalent

Expressions of substance on the party textile can accurately forebode personality traits, sexed orientation, and tidings, researchers say
Facebook users' Likes on the multiethnic web may be unintentionally informative their personality traits, sexual orientation, and tidings, according to a rumination published today.
By studying the Likes of 58,000 Facebook users on the mixer material, researchers at the Lincoln of Metropolis say they were competent to resolve users' IQ, sexuality, sexual class, political and devout beliefs, and smooth thought use, with an truth charge of author than 80 pct

Google Glaze shows off its apps at SXSW

In gain to Gmail, Google Glaze has apps from The New Dynasty Present, Evernote, Skitch, and Line.
Google is viewing off its wearable school again, this period with an app-filled show at Southeastern by Southwestern Interactive.
The informing, which Engadget captured in Austin today, showed apps from The New Royalty Times, Evernote, Skitch, and Path.
Of education, there was also a Gmail app. When an e-mail arrives, Google Containerful wearers can use expression statement to get Google's e-mail function to redeem the sender's ikon and issue credit to the glasses' obturate. Users can then swear the app what to correspond position.
The New Dynasty Times program leave speak an article in the state of an somebody, headline, byline, and the come of hours ago the article was posted. A tap on Google Provide module punctual the glasses to then interpret you the article. A breaking broadcast boast that automatically refreshes is also in the entireness, according to the report.

Solon Americans opting to cut cloth on conventional TV

A new info by Nielsen shows that 5 1000000 grouping in the U.S. no person observe tralatitious telly -- but that doesn't normal they aren't moving recording from remaining devices.

Patch the vast eld of U.S. residents own televisions and timepiece them regularly, much and more people are opting to sky their cablegram plans and use otherwise devices for diversion.
A new informing by Nielsen finds that those grouping who eff elected to go "Cipher TV" mortal much than multiple since 2007. Currently, more than 5 1000000 fill don't jazz show telly in their bag, patch in 2007 virtuous 2 meg didn't.
Despite these drawing sounding big, cord-cutters are still honorable 5 proportion of the U.S. collection. And, as Nielsen wrote in a journal office today, "Nought TV doesn't poor cipher video." Spell several fill no soul catch TV on broadcasting sets, they are comfort moving on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Also, more of these users own TVs but instead of having video or follower plans, they upright check DVDs or recreate games.

Conclave to elect a new POPE :Interactıv video

Locomote internal our "realistic Sistine Chapel" as the BBC's Philippa Apostle explains what happens in the conclave, the centuries-old cognition of electing a new POPE which begins on Tuesday.

Time spin-off highlights risks facing magazines

Associated Press:

From Sports Illustrated to People to its namesake magazine, Time Inc., was always an innovator. But now when the troubled magazine industry is facing its greatest challenge, the company Henry Luce founded is struggling to find its way in a digital world.

Time Warner Inc.'s decision to shed its Time Inc. magazine unit last week underscores the challenges facing an industry that remains wedded to glossy paper even as the use of tablet computers, e-readers and smartphones explodes.

Although the new devices might seem to present an array of opportunity for Time Inc.'s 95 magazine titles, many publishers have found the digital transition troublesome. Digital editions of magazines represented just 2.4 percent of all U.S. circulation in the last half of 2012, or about 7.9 million copies, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.

Although that number more than doubled from a year earlier, it's hardly gangbusters growth, considering that the number of tablets in the U.S. also more than doubled last year to 64.8 million, according to research firm IHS.

The fact that so few tablet owners are buying magazines on their devices is a concern because both ad and circulation revenue from print editions have fallen more than 20 percent since their peak near the middle of the last decade. And, according to forecasts, there's no recovery in sight.

"We have to get much better at capturing those (digital) readers," said Mary Berner, president of The Association of Magazine Media.

Before publishers can accomplish that, they need to address a number of problems, experts say. First, the range of free content on the Web has given some readers the impression that it's not necessary to pay for the digital versions of magazine stories. Also, there's no industry standard for pricing. Publishers aren't in agreement over whether to include free access to digital copies as part of a print subscription.

Automobile Insurance Tips from a Personal Injury Lawyer

--Motor insurance is for protection, but not just for your vehicle. It also serves the goal of protecting other motorists, passengers and their vehicles, too. Before buying a new auto insurance plan, be sure it's got all the protection details you must have. The following tips will give you some insight that can help you make the most informed decision on your insurance coverage purchase.

If your claim really small, let's say under $10,000, it could be a good idea to try and settle it without the assistance of attorneys. In this situation, it's usually a much better way to try to reach an agreement with the insurance adjuster straight.

I-70 NOW OPEN

***CDOT is reporting that I-70 between Burlington and Airpark Rd. is now open.

That section of highway had been closed since yesterday afternoon after snow and wind made the highway snowpacted and dangerous.

Highway-94 between Enoch Rd. and Rush, and Highway-96 between US-287-Kansas border remained closed this morning*****

Woman stabbed In Hatfield

****A Hatfield woman was flown to the hospital early Sunday morning after being slashed or stabbed in the neck according to police.

Police confirmed a resident of Wheatfield Circle was seriously injured about 1 a.m. when a man cut her. Police said they were looking for the man in connection with the crime but few details have been released. Neither the woman nor the man's names have been released. Police said they expect to make more information available later this morning.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus shows up with super screen

10-inch tablet with 4G and high-res display

....All aboard the Samsung tablet train, as details about another potential slate from the Korean firm slide onto the web.

Apparently specs for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Plus have surfaced, revealing a high-resolution 10-inch display which is similar to the Samsung made Nexus 10.

This info comes courtesy of Bluetooth SIG which filed details on the tablet seemingly confirming 4G connectivity and bearing the model ID GT-P8220.

Facebook to revamp News Feed today

*Facebook is to unveil a 'new look' today - a relaunch of News Feed, the scrolling list of posts which is the 'front page' for the site.

Facebook is to unveil a 'new look' today - a relaunch of News Feed, the scrolling list of posts which is the 'front page' for the site. 

Tech siteTechCrunch has predicted a more picture-heavy look, with separate feeds for music and other interests - and more adverts. 

Others have predicted a new look for Facebook's mobile apps.

The revamp is to be unveiled at an event in California scheduled for 10AM PST, 6pm GMT, with an invitation which says, "Come see a new look for News Feed."

The revamp is likely to be controversial - even tiny changes to Facebook cause storms of protest, often conducted on Facebook itself. 

The last 'revamp' of News Feed in September 2011 added adverts directly into the feed. 

"I suspect they will try and clean it all up," says Stuart Miles of UK technology site Pocket-Lint. "It's all a bit clogged at the moment."

Gartner analyst Brian Blau predicted that the changes would be targeted at the mobile versions of Facebook, aimed to make the iPhone and Android versions more similar to the PC.

"Maybe this is a way to bring some of that together," he said.

Developers and 'inside sources' speaking to tech site TechCrunch claimed that the revamp would feature bigger pictures on the page, and several separate News Feeds. 

Users will be able to hop between separate feeds for Music and Phototgraphs, the site claims - making it easier for advertisers to target niche audiences.