Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/gDmAoPeQ1Ec/130804080954.htm
Nik Wallenda Doc Rivers Under the Dome Naked and Afraid Demi Lovato Patrice Bergeron Adrien Broner
সোমবার, ৫ আগস্ট, ২০১৩
Nasa's Hubble finds 'smoking gun' after gamma-ray burst
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Probing the location of a recent short-duration gamma-ray burst in near-infrared light, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope found the fading fireball produced in the aftermath of the blast. The afterglow reveals for the first time a new kind of stellar blast called a kilonova.
In South Africa, an Initiation Rite Goes Wrong
? Invalid email address.
? You can't enter more than 20 emails.
? Seperate multiple addresses with Commas.
? Must enter an email address.
? You must enter the verification code below to send.
? Invalid entry: Please type the verification code again.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324694904578599862578566352.html?mod=europe_home
russell brand conundrum Alex Minsky christina aguilera NBA Who Won The Voice Miley Cyrus Twerking
Oil companies frack in waters off California
Companies prospecting for oil off California's coast have used hydraulic fracturing on at least a dozen occasions to force open cracks beneath the seabed, and now regulators are investigating whether the practice should require a separate permit and be subject to stricter environmental review.
While debate has raged in the U.S. over fracking on land, prompting efforts to ban or severely restrict it, offshore fracking has occurred with little attention in sensitive coastal waters where for decades new oil leases have been prohibited.
Hundreds of pages of federal documents released by the government to The Associated Press and advocacy groups through the Freedom of Information Act show regulators have permitted fracking in the Pacific Ocean at least 12 times since the late 1990s, and have recently approved a new project.
The targets are the vast oil fields in the Santa Barbara Channel, site of a 1969 spill that spewed more than 3 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, spoiled miles of beaches and killed thousands of birds and other wildlife. The disaster prompted a moratorium on new drill leases and inspired federal clean water laws and the modern environmental movement.
Companies are doing the offshore fracking?which involves pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of salt water, sand and chemicals into undersea shale and sand formations?to stimulate old existing wells into new oil production.
Federal regulators thus far have exempted the chemical fluids used in offshore fracking from the nation's clean water laws, allowing companies to release fracking fluid into the sea without filing a separate environmental impact report or statement looking at the possible effects. That exemption was affirmed this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the internal emails reviewed by the AP.
Fracking fluids can comprise hundreds of chemicals?some known and others that aren't since they are protected as trade secrets. Some of these chemicals are toxins to fish larvae and crustaceans, bottom dwellers most at risk from drilling activities, according to government health disclosure documents detailing some of the fluids used off California's shore.
Marine scientists, petroleum engineers and regulatory officials interviewed by the AP could point to no studies that have been performed on the effects of fracking fluids on the marine environment. Research regarding traditional offshore oil exploration has found that drilling fluids can cause reproductive harm to some marine creatures.
"This is a significant data gap, and we need to know what the impacts are before offshore fracking becomes widespread," said Samantha Joye, a marine scientist at the University of Georgia who studies the effects of oil spills in the ocean environment.
The EPA and the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement or BSEE, conduct some routine inspections during fracking projects, but any spills or leaks are largely left to the oil companies to report.
In a statement to the AP, the EPA defended its oversight of offshore fracking, saying its system ensures the practice does not pollute the environment in a way that would endanger human health. Oil companies must obtain permits for wastewater and storm water discharges from production platforms that "ensure all fluids used in the drilling and production process will not adversely impact water quality," the statement said.
Oil companies also maintain that much of the fracking fluid is treated before being discharged into the sea. Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association, said fracking in general is safe and has "never been associated with any risk or harm to the environment" in over six decades in California.
California coastal regulators said they were unaware until recently that offshore fracking was even occurring, and are now asking oil companies proposing new offshore drilling projects if they will be fracking.
Because the area of concern is located more than three miles (about 5 kilometers) off the state's shoreline, federal regulators have jurisdiction over these offshore exploration efforts. However, the state can reject a permit in federal waters if the work endangers water quality.
"It wasn't on our radar before, and now it is," said Alison Dettmer, a deputy director at the California Coastal Commission.
Government documents including permits and internal emails from the BSEE reveal that fracking off the shores of California is more widespread than previously known. While new oil leases are banned, companies can still drill from 23 grandfathered-in platforms in waters where endangered blue and humpback whales and other marine mammals often congregate.
In March, a privately held oil and gas company received permission from the agency to frack some 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the Ventura County coast. The job by DCOR LLC involves using the existing wellbore of an old well to drill a new well. Three so-called "mini-fracks" will be done in an attempt to release oil locked within sand and rocks in the Upper Repetto formation.
Only a month before the application was approved, however, an official with the BSEE voiced concerns about the company's proposed frack and whether the operation would discharge chemicals into the ocean.
"We have an operator proposing to use 'hydraulic stimulation' (which has not been done very often here) and I'm trying to run through the list of potential concerns," Kenneth Seeley, the BSEE's regional environmental officer for the Pacific, wrote in a Feb. 12 email to colleagues. "The operator says their produced water is Superclean! but the way they responded to my questions kind of made me think this was worth following up on."
BSEE officials approved DCOR's application on March 7. The agency told the AP that DCOR's job would use far less fracking fluid than an onshore operation.
"For comparison, well stimulation offshore typically uses 2 percent of the liquids and 7 percent of the sand that is used routinely for onshore hydraulic fracturing," the BSEE said in a statement.
Oil industry estimates show that at least half of the chemical-laced water used in fracking remains in the environment after an operation. Environmental groups say as much as 80 percent of the fluids can be left behind. The rest gets pumped back up to the oil platform, and is piped or barged back to shore for treatment. Companies can also pump the fluids into an old well reservoir to discard it.
DCOR, which did not respond to requests for comment, is not the first company to try to tap more oil from California's offshore reserves, nor is the project the most extensive offshore frack here in recent years.
In January 2010, oil and gas company Venoco Inc. set out to improve the production of one of its old wells with what federal drilling records show was the largest offshore fracking operation attempted in federal waters off California's coast. The target: the Monterey Shale, a vast formation that extends from California's Central Valley farmlands to offshore and could ultimately comprise two-thirds of the nation's shale oil reserves.
Six different fracks were completed during the project, during which engineers funneled a mix of about 300,000 pounds of fracking fluids, sand and seawater 4,500 feet beneath the seabed, according to BSEE documents.
Venoco's attempt only mildly increased production, according to the documents. Venoco declined to comment.
Despite greenlighting offshore fracking projects for years, federal and state regulators now are trying to learn more about the extent of fracking in the Pacific even as officials and marine scientists scramble to weigh the environmental effects.
In January, Jaron Ming, the Pacific regional director of the BSEE, told employees in an email that there had been heightened interest in offshore fracking from within the agency and the public.
"For that reason, I am asking you to pay close attention to any (drilling applications) that we receive and let me know if you believe any of them would be considered a 'frac job.'"
That same month, BSEE estimated in internal emails that only two such jobs had occurred off California in the past two decades. But weeks later, as the agency worked to respond to public requests about fracking offshore, emails show it had found 12 such instances of offshore fracking.
BSEE said it cannot be sure just how often fracking has been allowed without going through every single well file.
Brian Segee, a staff attorney at the Environmental Defense Center, said the uncertainty makes him skeptical about the actual number of offshore fracks. The Santa Barbara-based environmental law firm, which formed in the wake of the 1969 oil spill, is calling for a moratorium on future fracking in the Pacific until the potential environmental effects are studied.
Most fracking efforts off California have yielded mixed results. The first time Venoco fracked offshore in the 1990s, it had limited success. Chevron's one try failed. Out of Nuevo Energy's nine attempts, only one was considered very successful, according to company and BSEE records.
The practice has been more fruitful in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, where it's more common and the porous nature of the geologic formation makes it easier to extract oil, according to regulators and oil industry experts. Still, oil companies surveyed by federal regulators said they haven't ruled out fracking projects in the Pacific in the future.
As fracking technology evolves and companies seek to wring production from old offshore wells, drilling experts caution that strict safety precautions and planning are needed.
Working in the open ocean, "you have to be a lot more careful to avoid any spillage," said Mukul Sharma, a professor of petroleum engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.
David Pritchard, a Texas petroleum engineer who has been working in offshore drilling for 45 years, said offshore fracking "no doubt adds complexity and risk."
One concern is that the high pressure fracking mixture in some jobs might break the rock seal around an old well bore, allowing oil to escape, added another expert, Tulane University petroleum engineering professor Eric Smith.
"I'd say it (offshore fracking) is safe," Smith said, "but nothing's a sure thing in this world."
Explore further: Study finds fracking chemicals didn't spread
Source: http://phys.org/news294757073.html
Register To Vote Obama 2016 Who Is Winning The Election 2012 Election Coverage 2012 Linda McMahon Voting Results 2012 pbs
Tweet of the Day: Steve Nash taking in some Canada Basketball
Steve Nash took on a daunting task last year when he agreed to become general manager of Canada?s Senior Men?s basketball team, a club that hasn?t had Olympic podium success since the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Germany.
Steve Nash at a press conference for Canada Basketball in 2012.
Besides running Canada?s basketball operations, Nash also focuses the majority of his time at improving his game by training in facilities all over North America during the offseason.
So how does the 2-time MVP manage to monitor all of Canada?s top players?
He?s getting a start by watching a team practice in Toronto alongside Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk.
Me and @KellyOlynyk watching @CanBball national team practice. pic.twitter.com/txl0Q0BOy5
? Steve Nash (@SteveNash) August 3, 2013
Since joining the program, Nash hired Jay Triano as head coach and brought in a longtime friend, Rowan Barrett, to be assistant GM.
The team is currently working towards competing at the FIBA Americas Championships in Caracas, Venezuela later this month.
Basketball above the US border has been on the rise of late. The most gratifying moment for Canadian fans came at this year?s NBA draft, when Toronto native Anthony Bennett was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making history as the first ever Canadian player selected with the number one pick.
After being named GM last May, he quickly showed his excitement to begin.
?I?m thrilled to be able to take on this challenge, we have lots of work to do and I?m excited to get started.?
There?s no doubt, Canada Basketball is on the rise. Currently with 11 players in the NBA, the country is exceeding all expectations. And then, there?s this kid named Andrew Wiggins, who may be all it takes to make Canada the next powerhouse in world basketball competition.
| Share the Love | Breaking News |
Both Sides in GOP?s Civil War Over Obamacare Want to Put Insurance Companies Back in Charge
By Ethan Rome
Executive Director, Health Care for America Now!
The Republicans are calling each other names in a raging internecine battle over how best to blow up Obamacare and put consumers and small businesses at the mercy of the insurance companies. In an unusual week when the Republicans are at each other?s throats, they?re still on the same side in the fight that matters: They?re for the insurance industry, not us. 
The Republican debate is about whether it?s a bad idea to shut down the government and disrupt the economy unless Democrats agree to defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This isn?t legitimate legislative dealmaking ? it?s extortion.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said forcing an entire government to shut down over Obamacare is a ?bridge too far.? Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) calls the idea ?silly.? Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called it the ?dumbest idea? he?s ever heard. Burr even conceded that when the fight ends and the government re-opens, ?Barack Obama is [still] going to be president.? But upstart GOP senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas are slinging insults at these senators and accusing them of being political lightweights and cowards for accepting the world as it is.
?What I can tell you is there are a lot of Republicans in Washington who are scared,? Cruz said. ?They are scared of being beaten up politically.? This tough talk comes from a guy who didn?t come to Washington for any other reason than to stoke the tea party wing of the GOP and advance his own political goals.
The whole fuss started when Cruz and extremist senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah persuaded several other Republicans to announce that they will not support continued federal spending after Oct. 1 unless Obamacare is defunded. Fortunately, some senators took some time to think it through and then withdrew their endorsements of the letter.
Obviously, Republican senators like Cruz, Rubio and Lee feel no need to govern responsibly. They seem not to like being outdone by House Republicans, who plan on Friday to vote for the 40th time to repeal the Obamacare. That sets a pretty high bar for pointlessness, and the Senate?s Republican hardliners are trying hard to catch up.
The absurd political posturing reflects a pitched battle over GOP tactics, not goals. The Republicans still are unified in their aim to repeal Obamacare and return America to the days when insurance companies could deny our care based on health status, age and gender and jack up our rates at will.
The Republican feud is also partially about presidential politics. You can?t win the GOP primary if you?re not so far to the right you?re essentially against civilization, unless you?re a plutocrat like Mitt Romney and can afford to carpet bomb every state with TV commercials. Everyone else is required to be seriously unhinged. To mobilize the GOP faithful in 2016, some conservatives believe, you have to be the real thing ? an extremist politician who?s out-of-step with most Americans for the primary and an unabashed ?mainstream? conservative for the November election. You certainly can?t be a captive of GOP ?liberals? like Karl Rove.
The feud certainly is colorful, and it?s great fun to be in the audience for the show, but it?s just a passing phase. When the Republicans are done calling each other names, they?ll work together to enable the insurance industry to inflict the worst consumer abuses on every senior, family and small business.
What the Republicans won?t do is devote any energy to collaborating with Democrats on legislation to create jobs and help the economic recovery. After all, what good would it do to make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans? That?s not why right-wing extremists came to Washington. They?ve got bigger plans ? for themselves.
***
Ethan Rome served as deputy campaign manager in HCAN?s 2009 successful campaign to win comprehensive health care reform. He has been a grassroots organizer, political activist, and strategic communicator for progressive issue and electoral campaigns for more than 20 years. From 2002until 2009, Mr. Rome directed public affairs for the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He managed national communications and media relations for International President Gerald W. McEntee and the union?s priority organizing, legislative and political campaigns. Prior to joining AFSCME in 1999, Rome was chief policy and political adviser to the speaker of the Connecticut House.
***
Follow Ethan Rome on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@HCAN
***
This piece is republished from The Huffington Post.
Posted August 3, 2013 at 8:00 am, in Allied Approaches, From Ethan Rome
Colorado shooting suspect Finding Nemo 2 Provigil dez bryant Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord
Tony Clement gets into fight online with union
Report an error
OTTAWA - Many Canadians relaxed on what is an August long weekend for most, but instead of taking it easy in his Ontario cottage country riding, Treasury Board president Tony Clement got into an online spat with a public-sector union Saturday.
When Ontario's tourism minister took to Twitter to promote a news story about his plea to the federal government to settle with striking foreign service officers who have shut down some visa processing, Clement responded through the same social networking site.
"Where's your plea to the union?" Clement shot back, adding that he'd made a fair offer to strikers.
That's when the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) jumped in.
"If your offer is so fair, why have you refused to present it to an arbitrator without paralyzing preconditions?" PAFSO President Tim Edwards said via Twitter.
By then, Clement was fully engaged in a virtual sparring match over strikers' grievance that they're paid less than others who do similar work.
"Tim, let's sit down to resolve," Clement said. "My 'conditions' are reasonable, fair to everyone and allow us to do proper research on issues."
Saying he'd "heard that tune before," Edwards said he'd wait for a ruling on his accusation of bad-faith bargaining by the feds.
"I regret your intransigence," Clement tweeted, while also challenging postal worker Toni MacAfee.
She chastised Clement as a "bad employer" when he said foreign service officers are well paid and hold highly sought after jobs.
"What you just said is what all bad unionists say," he said in response, before the online chatter died down.
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/03/tony-clement-gets-into-fight-online-with-union
jamie lynn sigler mega millions jackpot black panther party frank martin pink slime eagle cam trayvon martin case
রবিবার, ৪ আগস্ট, ২০১৩
In New York mayor race, lesbian candidate struggles to win women's vote
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - At Cubbyhole, a popular New York lesbian bar, for every two revelers who praised City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, in her race to become the city's first woman and first openly gay mayor, one complained about her style and political policies.
"Just because she's a lesbian, it doesn't mean I'll vote for her," said Veronica Gonzales, 32, who works for a non-profit organization. "She is not socially liberal enough, and she has this air about her like she is above it all - like she is above us."
While fellow candidate Anthony Weiner's extramarital sexual transgressions have dominated the headlines, a perplexing reality of the race for mayor of the nation's largest city is Quinn's failure to lock up the votes of women and gays, even though she herself is both.
Quinn is the only woman in the race, and the only openly gay candidate, yet she scored only 30 percent support from women in a survey by Quinnipiac University published on July 29. Polls do not break down voting preferences by sexual orientation.
The presumed front-runner of the six candidates vying to succeed Michael Bloomberg has failed to crack the 40 percent level of overall support, the percentage needed to win the Democratic primary on September 10 and avoid a runoff between the top two finishers.
In a runoff with black candidate William Thompson, Quinn would lose 50 percent to 40 percent, the Quinnipiac poll found.
Despite its progressive reputation, New York City has elected few women to citywide office. The best known was Elizabeth Holtzman, who held the top financial post of comptroller from 1990 to 1993. The most recent was Betsy Gotbaum, public advocate until 2009, although Quinn as speaker of the city council is considered the most powerful official after the mayor.
VOTERS AMBIVALENT
In New York's Greenwich Village, with its significant gay and lesbian population, support for Quinn was mixed.
Gonzales plans to vote for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who she said is "more straightforward about his agenda."
The ambivalence has contributed to a sense that Quinn is unable to close out the race, and one of the other candidates could overtake her, even as support wanes for Weiner.
"Right now, all signs point to a runoff, and with voters not connecting with anyone in particular, it's going to be a fluid race," said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll. "It is very important for Quinn to sharpen her message so that she starts to get into a better shape to do better down the road."
Voters critical of Quinn most often mention her style, which some view as brash and calculating. Quinn's backing of a temporary change in the city's term-limits law, which allowed Bloomberg and other lawmakers to run for a third term, has also been used against her.
De Blasio has positioned himself as a liberal alternative to Quinn on issues such as funding for universal pre-kindergarten programs and preventing hospital closings.
"She needs to do better in the long run with women voters," Miringoff said. "If she is going to be successful she needs to create a greater appeal among women voters. And to do that, she needs to put her campaign in an historical context."
In recent weeks, Quinn, long an outspoken proponent of gay marriage, has sought to portray her candidacy as an historic opportunity for New York women.
This week, the Quinn campaign rolled out endorsements from the National Organization of Women and feminist political activist Gloria Steinem.
At the annual Gay Pride parade in Greenwich Village, Quinn marched alongside Edie Windsor, the New Yorker whose U.S. Supreme Court case paved the way for gay couples to receive federal benefits this year, leading more than 1,000 backers.
Quinn's campaign said it planned targeted advertisements on Facebook asking women to "Make history with Chris Quinn," and targeting women voters through house parties and phone banks.
Mike Morey, Quinn's spokesman, noted that she had fought to save education jobs, keep firehouses open and expand access to pre-kindergarten during difficult fiscal times.
"She will continue making the case through Election Day that she is the only candidate who has a real record of results delivering for the middle class," Morey said.
Back at the Cubbyhole, as a performer clad in black leather shorts and a red wig danced in the background, Jaimie Ho, 35, a structural engineer, said she was not sold on Quinn.
Ho remembered seeing Quinn at the pride parade: "She didn't seem accessible. She had a ton of body guards around her."
"I like her background. I like the work she has done in the City Council," continued Ho. "But I ask myself: Is it fair to vote for her simply because she is gay? There needs to be more substance."
(Reporting by Francesca Trianni; Editing by Greg McCune and Gunna Dickson)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Reuters/domesticNews/~3/zsH4kFliH7w/story01.htm
Presidential Polls California Propositions Electoral College chuck pagano A Gay Lesbian daylight savings time 2012 Where To Vote
DNR-Executed WI Fawn Now Has Facebook Page
The Devolving Face Of Wisconsin Politics
Why, thank you, righty commenters:
"Jimbo, I'll give you credit; you are like the mosquitoes in Alaska, you never go away."And on my Purple WI blog:
"I can't believe I am saying this, but I actually have to agree with Jimmy on the [proposed, new $200 million] DOT building. If the current place is functional, why do we need a new one? PS: As usual, the rest of his article is complete liberal garbage."
James Rowen's Biography
James Rowen, a writer and consultant, worked for newspapers, and as the senior Mayoral staffer, in Madison and Milwaukee, WI. This blog began on 2/2/ 2007. Source: http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2013/08/dnr-executed-wi-fawn-now-has-facebook.html
a thousand words my sisters keeper kirby sarah palin cbi the shins atomic clock
Defcon for Democrats
Rep. Thomas B. "Tom" Cotton is favored to steal an Arkansas Senate seat from the Democrats
Photo By Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call
Sen. Michael Bennet?s timing was almost perfect. At 1 p.m., he was supposed to meet with reporters in the Escher-esque Maryland Avenue house that Democratic senators use for political work. Bennet, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was tasked with explaining how his party would ?hold the majority.? A few hours earlier, Associated Press reporters in Arkansas broke news that Republican Rep. Tom Cotton would run against Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor.
Pryor?s resume: son of a senator turned fairly unremarkable senator in a state Barack Obama lost by 24 points. Cotton?s r?sum?: 34-year-old Harvard Law?educated veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Club for Growth had been on the air in Arkansas since February with ads condemning ?Obama?s senator? and with polls showing Cotton (who?d been elected just months earlier) up by 8 points in a hypothetical race.
This was what Bennet had to deal with when he took his seat in front of the press corps. To his left, an LED screen displayed the map of 2014 Senate races, under the ominous slogan ?Hand We Were Dealt.? To hold onto the Senate, Bennet?s party could only afford to lose five races. It took nine minutes for Bennet to address Arkansas.
?There are a number of Washington groups that were instrumental in recruiting Tom Cotton into this race,? he said in his calming monotone, somewhere on the tone scale between family doctor and late-night public radio host. ?I think they?re going to regret somebody so ideological, [who was] just elected last year and thinks he deserves a promotion.? Later that day, Cotton would ?likely? oppose a student loan compromise ?because he doesn?t think students deserve support when they go to college.?
Pretty thin, but what else could he say? Anyone with a map handy can see how fragile the Democrats? eight-seat Senate majority actually is. (In two months, when Newark Mayor Cory Booker most likely becomes a Democratic senator from New Jersey, it?ll be a 10-vote margin. For now it?s eight.) In the 2008 Democratic rout, the party managed to scare off challengers in West Virginia, South Dakota, Montana, and Arkansas, to defeat a scandalized incumbent in Alaska, and to upset Republican incumbents in Oregon, Minnesota, and North Carolina.
The map will never look like that again. In West Virginia, South Dakota, and Montana, which haven?t voted for a Democratic president since 1996, 1964, and 1964, long-time Democratic incumbents are retiring. In the first two, Republicans have already recruited Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and former Gov. Mike Rounds, candidates with moderate profiles and avert-your-eyes poll leads. Democrats haven?t recruited anyone, though according to Bennet they?re still doing so ?aggressively.? In Montana, Democrats expected to run former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, until he surprised everyone and said ?no.? That decision inspired a Nate Silver post about how ?Senate control in 2014 increasingly looks like a tossup,? which in turn inspired a wave of that most renewable resource: Democratic panic.
Let?s categorize the forms of panic. Using the defense readiness condition preferred by the armed forces, here they are.
Defcon 5: This is a happier place than the one Democrats currently live in. At the briefing, Bennet insisted that control of the Senate would come down to six states: Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alaska, Kentucky, and Georgia. Four Democrats, four Republicans, all in ?red America.? He moved right passed Montana and West Virginia, where the local Democratic parties lost ground in 2012 but held onto a decent bench of candidates.
So: What if they come off the bench? Democrats failed to bring Montana?s state auditor into the race, and they?ve failed more dramatically to recruit West Virginia Democratic players. State Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis didn?t just opt out; she added that her party had ?no leadership and no vision.? And it sort of doesn?t, being one of the last redoubts of white conservative Democrats. On a reporting trip to that state in 2010, I saw sign after sign, white letters on black paper, telling voters that [name of Democrat in the area] = OBAMA. It almost worked!
In a dream scenario, the Democrats manage to pull candidates into these races. Guy Cecil, the DSCC?s political director, kept reminding reporters at the briefing that now?North Dakota Sen. Heidi Keitkamp wasn?t even recruited until 11 months before her election. This is true, but human cloning is still illegal.
Defcon 4: That?s where Democrats are now. The smart money in Washington is for a hung Senate?maybe the party loses West Virginia, South Dakota, Arkansas, Montana, and Alaska. But Democrats aren?t actually down in the polls in Alaska.
That state, which hadn?t previously elected a Democratic senator since Mike Gravel (yes, him), is a test case of whether Democrats can help a lousy candidate navigate the Republican primary to face the DSCC on the killing field. Begich is four points ahead of Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who?s running, but he?d be 12 points ahead of Sarah Palin if she ran, and he?d be doing even better if failed (and Palin-endorsed) 2010 GOP candidate Joe Miller won the primary. Knowing this, Begich has aggressively trolled Palin, and gotten the predictable angry response in the form of Facebook posts.
This is a playbook Democrats haven?t snapped shut yet. In 2012, Guy Cecil helped shape Sen. Claire McCaskill?s strategy of elevating Todd Akin by attacking him as the ?most conservative? candidate in TV ads that, obviously, thrilled conservatives. In 2014, they could try that in Georgia, where two of the most right-wing members of the House are trying to make the runoff. ?They?ve never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity,? said Bennet. Would the DSCC help them in that effort? ?If we did, I wouldn?t tell you.?
Defcon 3: This is where the recruiting fails, Sen. Mitch McConnell discredits everyone running against him, and control of the Senate comes down to saving North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu. Both of them ran ahead of Barack Obama in 2008, but both benefited from higher turnout with the black voters who made up, respectively, 29 percent and 19 percent of the electorate. In 2010, when that turnout fell, Democrats were vaporized in both states.
If things get desperate, Democratic survival will depend on getting that turnout up?maybe not to presidential levels, but 2 to 3 points higher than 2010. White conservative voters will turn out anyway. ?I?m sure Republicans will suggest Barack Obama is on the ballot in 2014,? said Bennet. ?He?s not on the ballot.?
Defcon 2: It?s fantasy for now, but what would happen to the Democrats if the rest of their open seats got competitive? Their current map includes open seats in Michigan and Iowa, newly won seats in Colorado and New Mexico, and seats in purple territory like New Hampshire, Oregon, and Minnesota. None of these races are competitive right now. ?We?re going to win Michigan,? Bennet predicted, deriding Republicans for trying to coax another candidate into the race months after the Democrats settled on theirs. (Yes, the Democrats are in the exact same position in West Virginia, but don?t point that out, thanks.) If one or a few of these seats opens up, real panic begins.
Defcon 1: Total chaos, otherwise normal citizens cracking each others? skulls open to feast on the goo inside. This was where Democrats found themselves in the final stretch of 2010, when even Sen. Barbara Boxer temporarily looked like she could go down. They?re not there yet. They might lose the Senate in far kinder circumstances.
Weiner: '100 percent not' sexting anyone right now
NEW YORK ? Anthony Weiner said he is ?one hundred percent not? having any type of online relationship right now and insisted again that his days of sexting are well behind him.
The Democratic mayoral hopeful told NBC New York that he has not sent lewd messages or pictures to women he met online for about a year and said he wants to move on and talk about other subjects.
"I just think at a certain point, OK, I think people know these embarrassing things about me,? Weiner said. ?I think at a certain point now we have to have a conversation that goes to, alright, what else should people know?"
The interview was Weiner's latest as he struggles to regain momentum in his bid succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg, ahead of the Sept. 10 primary. The former lawmaker?s poll numbers have plummeted in recent days after admitting that he continued to send sexual messages to at least three women he met online after a sexting scandal forced him out of Congress in 2011.
Weiner said Friday he had kept no records of the messages he sent women, telling NBC New York that he ?deleted everything.? And he said he had felt guilty while engaging in those relationships.
"I didn't like when I was doing it, it was wrong to do, it was wrong to my wife, wrong period," Weiner said, referring to his wife, longtime Hillary Clinton adviser Huma Abedin.
Yet, as he has in recent weeks, Weiner acknowledged that other women could come forward with lurid details of online exchanges ? though he said he hoped that wouldn?t happen.
?I certainly don't like talking about this stuff," Weiner told NBC.
The ex-lawmaker dismissed reports that Clinton, the former secretary of state and likely 2016 Democratic presidential contender, is angry with him. He said he had not spoken to any of the Clintons recently.
?I have no reason to believe she's annoyed," Weiner said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weiner-says-he-is--100-percent-not--sexting-anyone-right-now-201504062.html
recent earthquakes fbi most wanted list stuttering james van der beek dyngus day indonesia quake stephen strasburg
Time Warner-CBS showdown: Cable blackout of CBS shows continues
Time Warner-CBS showdown: Time Warner cable dropped CBS stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Denver, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago. Some Time Warner subscribers also lost Showtime,TMC, Flix and Smithsonian
Time Warner Cable's blackout of CBS continued Saturday, and neither side indicated a resolution of their dispute over fees is imminent.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Time Warner dropped CBS Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston,? and several other cities, leaving three million customers without the network's programs. The issue is fees that the cable company pays CBS to air its programs.
Each has accused the other of making unreasonable demands. On Saturday the two sides even seemed to disagree on the status of negotiations. A Time Warner spokeswoman said Saturday that negotiations are ongoing. CBS said it expects talks to resume soon, but the decision rests with Time Warner.
Without a deal, Time Warner customers were missing Tiger Woods' attempt at his 8th win at Firestone Country Club near Akron, Ohio, in this weekend's Bridgestone Invitational. Woods held an 8-stroke lead through seven holes on Saturday. CBS fans also won't see programs such as "Under the Dome" or "60 Minutes."
Time Warner cut off the CBS shows as well as cable networks Showtime, TMC, Flix and Smithsonian. The cable company's customers are caught in the middle, and the stakes will only go higher. CBS will air the PGA's final major tournament starting Thursday, and its preseason National Football League coverage begins on local stations next week.
Late Friday night, Time Warner posted a message to subscribers on its website from CEO Glenn Britt saying that CBS has been "uncompromising" by making demands that are inconsistent with deals made with hundreds of other broadcasters. If Time Warner gives in to CBS' demands, he said, then other programmers will ask for more as well.
"Cable TV bills would skyrocket. You'd be mad. We'd be mad. It won't end well for anyone," Britt wrote.
One industry analyst estimates that CBS got 75 cents to $1 per Time Warner subscriber in the contract that recently expired.
CBS said this is the first time it's been dropped by a cable system, and it has successfully negotiated deals with Comcast, Cablevision, Charter, DirecTV, AT&T, Verizon and other companies.
"CBS programs are among the most popular in the industry, and yet there are many cable networks - with considerably less viewership - that receive more money for their programming from Time Warner Cable than we do," CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said in July memo to employees.
The fight could be a long one with CBS trying to gain revenue from retransmission fees to buffer against cyclical swings in advertising revenue and Time Warner caught in a competitive environment that limits price increases to pay for rising programming costs.
Research firm SNL Kagan estimates retransmission fees paid to programmers will reach $3 billion industry-wide this year and double to $6 billion by 2018.
Earning revenue from pay TV subscribers is crucial to CBS's growth prospects, analysts say. Even though CBS sends its signal out over the airwaves for free to anyone with an antenna, about 85 percent of its viewers watch TV through a pay TV provider.
Time Warner Cable is fighting to hold the line on costs as it struggles to keep subscribers. It lost 191,000 cable TV subscribers in the most recent quarter, ending with 11.7 million at the end of June.
Still, both companies posted healthy quarterly earnings this week. Time Warner Cable grew its net income 6 percent to $481 million, or $1.64 per share, as revenue rose 3 percent to $5.6 billion. CBS grew net income 11 percent to $472 million, or 76 cents per share. CBS's revenue also grew 11 percent to $3.7 billion thanks in large part to the fees that are in dispute with Time Warner Cable.
The CBS stations that went dark are WCBS and WLNY in New York; KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles; KTVT and KTXA in Dallas; WBZ and WSBK in Boston; KDKA, WPCW-CW in Pittsburgh; KCNC in Denver; WKBD-CW in Detroit and WBBM in Chicago.
About 2.5 million Time Warner Cable customers lost access to Showtime, the premium channel that carries shows such as "Dexter."
Time Warner said it would temporarily replace lost programming with shows from Starz Kids and Family.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
the night they drove old dixie down levon robbie robertson the curious case of benjamin button secret service prostitute rich ross april 20
Facebook soaring stock closes above $38 IPO price
MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Facebook's resurgent stock has closed above its IPO price for the first time since the online social networking leader made its debut on Wall Street more than 14 months ago.
The shares gained 56 cents to finish Friday's session at $38.05. That's the stock's highest closing price since ending its first day of trading at $38.23 in May of last year.
Facebook Inc. priced its initial public offering at $38 per share amid lofty expectations that investors would be clamoring to buy a stake in one of the world's best-known websites. Instead, trading glitches marred the company's stock market debut and then worries about Facebook's growth prospects triggered a sell-off that dropped the stock as low as $17.55.
The stock began soaring last week when Facebook reported better second-quarter earnings than analysts anticipated. The report for the three months ended in June showed that the Menlo Park, Calif., company is selling more ads on smartphones and tablet computers, allaying fears that Facebook wouldn't be able to make money off the growing number of its more than 1.1 billion members who regularly check into the social network on mobile devices.
More than 40 percent of Facebook's ad revenue flowed from mobile devices in the second quarter, up from 30 percent during the first three months of the year.
The accelerating growth on mobile devices is the main reason that Facebook's stock has jumped 44 percent since it announced quarterly results on July 24.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/02/3539357/facebook-soaring-stock-closes.html
2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige google project glass google goggles one tree hill projectglass stock act
New London GOP continues to look for council candidate
New London ? The Republican Town Committee has not yet nominated a candidate for City Council to fill the spot vacated by Gordon Videll.
After Videll, who had received the Republican endorsement, withdrew from the race earlier this week, the RTC?s vacancy committee, consisting of Bill Vogel, Rob Pero, Adam Sprecace and Michael Doyle, met Saturday morning to discuss next steps.
?We?re still in the process of looking for someone who will be a credible candidate,? said Vogel, the chairman of the Republican Town Committee.
If the committee does not pick a candidate by Sept. 3, then Martin T. Olsen, a former three-term councilor and ceremonial mayor, would automatically fill the GOP opening on the ballot according to state laws, said Vogel.
Olsen is petitioning to force a primary.
Earlier this week Videll had expressed that he never intended to fully run for the office, but was holding a spot for a to-be-determined candidate. Videll, whose law office represents the police union president in a lawsuit against the city, said his decision to withdraw was reinforced by David Collins? column in The Day that called into question his candidacy. However, Vogel had said that Videll was not a ?placeholder? for the committee, but a legitimate candidate.
The vacancy committee meets on an ad-hoc basis and does not have another meeting scheduled. The committee would meet again to discuss and evaluate if a candidate expressed strong interest in running, according to Vogel.
?We?re keeping our eyes and ears open,? he said.
?
?
?
?
Source: http://www.theday.com/article/20130803/NWS01/130809910/1069/rss
superman man of steel amy adams tracy mcgrady tracy mcgrady Yeezus leak Derecho Man Of Steel Reviews
Google Play edition HTC One and Galaxy S4 start to see Android 4.3 OTA
The latest version of Jelly Bean seems to be on it's way, giving us a better idea of what "timely" updates are
Scattered reports of users with both the HTC One Google Play edition and the Galaxy S4 Google Play edition phones seeing an OTA update to Android 4.3 are coming in this evening. We've seen the kernel source for both devices uploaded to the web — a legal requirement before any software is delivered — so we've been expecting the updates.
Users should see the same basic experience that Nexus users have been playing with, plus the few minor additions that Samsung and HTC have made with Boomsound and Flipcover support.
There are bound to be a few bugs, but perhaps the most exciting part of the whole thing is that we've got a good idea what "timely" updates means, at least this time around.
If you've got either of the Google Play edition devices, start hammering that button.
More: Android Central forums. Thanks, everyone who sent this in!
     |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/5VYQCnQqdSk/story01.htm
how to tie a tie sweet potato recipes the sound of music celebration church new york auto show 2012 tulsa easter eggs
Setting aside spaces for breastfeeding mothers throughout China
| Watch an animated short about finding ten square metres of space to support nursing mothers, part of the effort to boost breastfeeding rates in China. ?Watch in RealPlayer |
?
By UNICEF China, with Ying Shi
Breastfeeding is the world?s most effective and least costly life-saver. It plays a critical role in reducing child mortality, protecting against infectious diseases and preventing stunting, a form of chronic malnutrition that affects 165 million children globally. Along with providing many health benefits to the child, breastfeeding also aids in the mother?s recovery and has been shown to reduce post-partum depression and to lower the risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
World Breastfeeding Week 2013 takes place 1?7 August and this year focuses on support for mothers, because more mothers breastfeed when they receive support, counselling and education in health centres and in their communities.
A programme in China featuring actress and UNICEF Special Advocate for Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Development Ma Yili sets aside space in public buildings and shops for breastfeeding mothers. ?With this extra 10m2, I won?t have to hide in a car to breastfeed anymore,? says UNICEF microblog follower Kangene.
FUJIAN PROVINCE, China, 31 July 2013 ? The sight of a mother breastfeeding her child is a rare one in China. Xiaoyu Su, from Fujian province, had to fight her family and friends to breastfeed her newborn for the first six months. ?Friends and family spared no effort in persuading me to give my daughter other food,? said Ms. Su. ?If you don?t hold your beliefs strongly, it?s very easy to be influenced by others and give up breastfeeding.?
The issue is steeped in controversy, and the argument against the practice wrapped in layers of traditional beliefs and misconceptions. Add some very aggressive marketing of infant formula ? China has emerged as one of the leading players in this market ? and the lack of public facilities to accommodate breastfeeding mothers, and you have a country with a very small proportion of mothers who understand the advantages of breastfeeding.? Despite broad consensus on the health benefits of breastfeeding among health authorities in China, the exclusive breastfeeding rate for children under 6 months old in China is only around 28 per cent.
| Watch the animated short Breastfeeding. It's natural, premiered at the launch of the new breastfeeding campaign. |
10m2ofLove
In an effort to boost declining breastfeeding rates in China, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women and Children?s Health, Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (NCWCH), jointly launched the 10m2of Love campaign on 30 May.
The innovative campaign aims to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in public buildings and stores, for both employees and patrons.?
?Breastmilk is the most suitable food for babies, containing all nutrients needed. Breastfeeding is crucial for a child?s future development,? says Deputy Director-General of NCWCH Jin Xi.
?Breastmilk is nature?s true super food for babies. No artificial substitute compares,? says Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF China Representative. ?Yet, it is harder than ever to find time or space to give babies all the benefits associated with exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Many things need to be done, but we decided to start by supporting mothers trying to continue breastfeeding after their return to work.?
Popular Chinese actress Ma Yili, recently appointed UNICEF Special Advocate for Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Development, kicked off the 10m2of Love campaign. She actively shares her own breastfeeding experience with over 50 million followers on Sina and Tencent Weibo (microblogging platforms). ?As a mother myself, I know how important breastfeeding is,? says Ma Yili. ?Yet, overall, the environment around breastfeeding mothers is not very supportive. We will keep repeating the message and supporting would-be mothers and breastfeeding mothers.?
Spreading the word
The main launch was the ceremonial first registration of breastfeeding rooms in public institutions and private enterprises. NCWCH and the All China Women?s Federation registered their first 10m2of Love rooms. Baidu Corporation, IKEA and H&M are among partners in the private sector. The animated short Breastfeeding. It?s natural premiered.
Multimedia in support of China?s efforts to increase breastfeeding rates ? infographics, posters, flyers and short films, including Breastfeeding. It?s natural ? are being distributed through various channels. Through UNICEF China?s digital campaigns, netizens can learn about the benefits of breast milk, exchange tips with other breastfeeding mothers and become an advocate for breastfeeding in their own community.
Since its launch, the hashtag #10m2of Love on Sina Weibo has generated more than 220,000 discussions, with followers enthusiastically posting photos of breastfeeding rooms that they find in public places, and companies proudly endorsing their support for breastfeeding employees.
Long-term plans
In a bid to help more families sustain exclusive breastfeeding and to support breastfeeding mothers who return to work, a long-term national movement to speed the establishment of 10m2of Love breastfeeding rooms is being promoted by UNICEF and NCWCH.
The campaign has also established a web portal on which any organization can register breastfeeding rooms that adhere to a set of simple international standards, for staff or customers. A mobile phone application, now under development, will map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities in China. The app will be launched later this year.
?
Source: http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/china_70055.rhtml
walmart black friday walmart black friday Target Black Friday PacSun apple store bestbuy bestbuy
শনিবার, ৩ আগস্ট, ২০১৩
Quiero ir dos veces a Ibiza: "con" y "sin" novia
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
hope solo tesla model s tesla model s Black Ops 2 Secede ben roethlisberger Diwali
Vine updates Android app with push notifications and more sharing options
It's the freakin' weekend, baby, and Vine has an app update for its most loyal Android users. (Actually, any Android user that has access to v4.0 or higher.) Semantics aside, the outfit's app has just been updated with push notifications and more sharing options... or so says its Twitter account. The Google Play link is still showing a prior description, but we're guessing the new build will percolate through momentarily.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Vine (Twitter), Google Play Store
catamount mike dantoni bulls heat goldman sachs brandon carr knicks coach encyclopedia britannica
Red Sox rally with 6 in 9th to beat Mariners 8-7
BOSTON (AP) ? The Boston Red Sox trailed by five runs when Daniel Nava walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, and the hopes of a second consecutive walkoff win were too remote to consider.
"I don't think anybody saw that coming," Nava said, describing the "tempered excitement" in the dugout as the bases filled and emptied during a six-run ninth inning that gave Boston an 8-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night. "You could see it happening, but it was still too far off."
By the time the Red Sox batted around the order, and Nava came up again, the score was tied, the bases were loaded and there was still only one out. Nava lined a long single over the center fielder to bring the Boston players out of the dugout for the increasingly familiar celebration.
One night after winning in 15 innings for their major league-leading 10th walkoff victory, the Red Sox did it again to sweep Seattle and open a one-game lead in the AL East over the idle Tampa Bay Rays.
"We don't quit. Ever," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We truly believe we have a chance to do something special on a given night or given year. And that happens to be this year."
Henry Blanco hit a grand slam, and Felix Hernandez allowed six hits before leaving after seven innings with a 7-1 lead. Kendrys Morales had four hits and a pair of walks, and Kyle Seager and Brad Miller tripled for the Mariners, who have lost 17 games in the opponent's final at-bat ? including eight walkoff losses.
"We've been through this before," first baseman Justin Smoak said, "too many times."
Hernandez seemed to be cruising to his seventh consecutive victory, but the Red Sox scored one in the eighth against Charlie Furbush and then cut it to 7-3 against closer Tom Wilhelmsen in the ninth. Perez (2-3) came on with the bases loaded and nobody out, giving up Shane Victorino's two-run single and an RBI base hit to Dustin Pedroia that made it 7-6.
David Ortiz struck out, then Jonny Gomes singled off Yoervis Medina to tie it. Stephen Drew, who provided the decisive hit on Wednesday night, walked to load the bases before Nava hit a ball off the garage door in center field as the Red Sox celebrated.
"We were trying to forget what happened yesterday," said Perez, who blew a seventh-inning lead on Wednesday night and took the loss on Thursday even though he was the only one of the three relievers who pitched in the ninth to record an out. "We just couldn't complete three outs. Everything went their way in the ninth."
Steven Wright (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Ryan Dempster. Victorino homered for Boston, which was in danger of falling out of first place, percentage points behind the Rays, in the AL East.
On the day that Jake Peavy arrived in the dugout to bolster the Boston pitching staff for the stretch run, Dempster made a case to lose his spot in the rotation. He gave up seven runs on nine hits and five walks, striking out six in six innings.
It was 2-1 after Jacoby Ellsbury doubled and scored in the third, but Dempster ran into trouble against Blanco ? a .189 hitter ? in the fifth.
With Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk watching from the luxury boxes, the Mariners catcher hit a line drive over the Green Monster just inside the left-field foul pole to give Seattle a 7-1 lead.
Hernandez, who had yet to record a 1-2-3 inning, then set down the Red Sox in order in the fifth and sixth innings.
Notes: Hernandez allowed one run and walked two and struck out eight. He hasn't lost since May 25 and has allowed more than two earned runs just twice in 12 starts since then. ... Blanco's only other homer this season was also a grand slam, against Oakland on June 15. It was the third grand slam of his career. ... Gomes received a standing ovation when he came off the field in the middle of the ninth after throwing one runner out at third and making a catch while crashing into the Green Monster. ... Seattle's Endy Chavez stranded seven runners in his first three at-bats and eight in all. ... The Red Sox have won nine straight home games against the Mariners. ... The Red Sox haven't scored first in their last nine home games. ... The previous nine homers Dempster had allowed were solo shots. ... Hernandez allowed one or fewer runs for the 97th time in his career ? the most in the majors since 2005. ... Boston added Peavy to the 40-man roster on Thursday and recalled right-hander Wright from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club also optioned righty Jose De La Torre to Pawtucket. Brandon Workman was optioned to Pawtucket after Wednesday night's game.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/red-sox-rally-6-9th-beat-mariners-8-024017372.html
oikos kentucky wildcats oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys katie couric barista university of kentucky
Feedback: How to unwind your DNA
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
A PERSON called Sara from an organisation called the Institute of HeartMath seems to know something that the rest of the scientific world doesn't. Geraldine Goon directs us to an article in the online publication Care2 entitled "Can You Change Your DNA?" The answer, Sara seems to think, is: "Yes, you can".
"Institute of HeartMath researchers," she tells us, "found evidence that the physical nature of DNA strands can change with heart-focused intention." Indeed, one individual in their experiment became able to "unwind" two "DNA samples".
Sara goes on to quote the researchers' report, which assures us that "the results provide experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that aspects of the DNA molecule can be altered through intentionality". It concludes: "Individuals capable of generating higher ratios of heart coherence were able to alter ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
mothers day gift ideas natalee holloway scotty mccreery megan fox pregnant metta world peace suspension apple earnings report john l smith
After airport exit, what will Edward Snowden do in Russia?
A local social network has offered him a job. Meanwhile, the decision to grant him asylum is still rattling US-Russia relations.?
Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena shows a temporary document to allow Edward Snowden, his client, to cross the border into Russia. Mr. Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he has been stranded for weeks and entered Russia on a one-year grant of asylum.
Russia24/AP
EnlargeFormer National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has been granted a year's political asylum in Russia. He has left Sheremetyevo airport and will remain in an "undisclosed location" for at least a day, according his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena.
Skip to next paragraph Fred WeirCorrespondent
Fred Weir has been the Monitor's Moscow correspondent, covering Russia and the former Soviet Union, since 1998.?
Recent posts
' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Russian news agencies showed pictures of someone who might have been Mr. Snowden climbing into a car at Sheremetyevo airport?Thursday afternoon, though no Western reporters witnessed any part of his passage through passport control and departure from the airport ? where he has spend almost 7 weeks apparently cooped up in a "capsule hotel"?in the legal limbo of the vast transit zone.
On Snowden's immediate agenda is a phone call from his father, which Mr. Kucherena said would be set up today, and some rather heavy contemplation about his future. Kucherena told journalists that the passport-like temporary asylum document he's been issued will enable him to travel freely around Russia, rent accommodation, and even find a job.?
And he even has a job offer to think about already. The Russian-language social network VKontakte, which is similar to Facebook, announced?Thursday?that he could come and work with them ? presumably to help shield the network from NSA snooping.
"We invite Edward to St. Petersburg [where VKontakte is based] and will be delighted if he decides to complete VKontakte's star team of programmers," the organization's founder, Pavel Durov, wrote on his VKontakte page.
Snowden "might be interested in working on protecting the personal data of millions of our users.... Today, Edward Snowden, a person who exposed the crimes of the American special services against citizens of the entire world, has received temporary asylum in Russia. At such moments, you feel pride for our country and sorrow over the course of the USA, a country betraying the principles on which it was built," Mr. Durov added.
He also has an outstanding invitation from the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, to come and testify about how the spying programs he revealed might impact Russian users of big Internet companies like Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook.
WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that's been sponsoring Snowden's flight, posted a lengthy statement?thanking Russia and trumpeting what it called a "victory in the fight against Obama?s war on whistleblowers. This battle has been won, but the war continues."
It also praised Sarah Harrison, the WikiLeaks official who accompanied Snowden on his?June 23?flight from Hong Kong and has remained with him through the 39 days of his stay in Sheremetyevo.?
"Ms. Harrison has remained with Mr. Snowden at all times to protect his safety and security, including during his exit from Hong Kong. They departed from the airport together in a taxi and are headed to a secure, confidential place," it said.
In Washington, news of Snowden's asylum grant in Russia was greeted with dismay.
"We see this as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it," White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists. He suggested that President Obama's plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin before a G20 summit in St. Petersburg that's barely a month off might be in jeopardy.? "We are evaluating the utility of the summit in light of this," news agencies quoted him as saying.
"We made clear both privately and publicly that there was ample legal justification for his expulsion from Russia and return to the United States, that's a discussion we've had with Russia as well as with other countries that might have been considering providing asylum to Mr. Snowden," Mr. Carney added.?
Several United States Senators have also warned that the Snowden case could do irreparable harm to the already-frayed relationship between the US and Russia.
However, Mr. Putin's close aide and reputed foreign policy architect Yury Ushakov told journalists he does not expect any serious fallout from the decision.
"This issue is not important enough to affect political relations," the official RIA-Novosti agency quoted Mr. Ushakov as saying.
Alexei Arbatov, a leading Russian foreign policy expert, says he believes the international ill-will surrounding the Snowden case will blow over.
"The Snowden issue might have domestic complications in the US, meaning that opposition will attack Obama [for mishandling the affair]. But on the international level it's just not sufficient reason to make the US and Russia quarrel seriously. I do not believe that the important economic and political issues on the US-Russia bilateral agenda will suffer because of the very questionable actions of this young man," he says.
Kucherena, the lawyer, told journalists that his client needed at least a day to clear his head, but might be available to talk to media as early as?Friday.
"Of course, he will come. He is aware that mass media is interested in him. But in this case, the situation is such for now," he said, apparently meaning that his client would not be speaking not anytime soon.
He also contradicted reports that Snowden might have shared some of the secrets he reputedly holds in the four laptop computers he carries with him everywhere.
"I can absolutely say that he did definitely not pass on any documents to anybody here at the Sheremetyevo airport. That is, the documents that were published yesterday are documents that he handed over [to The Guardian] while still in Hong Kong," Kucherena said on Rossiya 24 news television channel.
He was referring to a sweeping expos? published Wednesday in the Guardian,?based on documents provided by Snowden about an NSA tool known as XKeyscore,?which allegedly enables the agency to scoop up "nearly everything a user does on the Internet." ? ? ??
Snowden has "given his word and promised to stop the whistleblowing activity aimed at United States" and can be trusted to keep it, Kucherena said.
Kucherena, who has been Snowden's main spokesman during the long stay in Sheremetyevo, told journalists his client would undergo a period of "acclimatization," including studying Russian language, law, customs, and literature. The lawyer also said he would remain involved with Snowden in an advisory capacity.
"[Snowden] is the most wanted person on earth and his security will be a priority," Kucherena said. "He will deal with personal security issues and lodging himself. I will just consult him as his lawyer."
Experts say it's likely that Snowden will be kept under tough restraints by Russia's FSB security service in pursuance of President Vladimir Putin's oft-repeated pledge that he will not be allowed to harm US interests while he remains in Russia. That suggests that he may be as isolated from journalists in his new location as he was during the nearly seven weeks he spent hiding out in Sheremetyevo's transit zone.
His release comes just a day after his father appeared for the first time on Russian TV to thank Mr. Putin "for keeping my son safe" and to hope that Russia will take him in and accept him until such time as he can find safe haven somewhere else.
It also comes on the same day a Russian public opinion poll showed that just over half of Russians regard Snowden as a "hero"?while just 17 percent were "negative" toward his actions. On the other hand, the poll found that only 43 percent supported giving him asylum in Russia, while 29 percent were against it to some degree.?
WikiLeaks quoted Snowden as heading into his new life in Russia defiant and, perhaps, just a little bit jubilant.
"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning. I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations," Snowden is quoted as saying.
tyler bray tyler bray lakers Marcus Lattimore Tyrann Mathieu nfl draft grades Jon Jones Broken Toe
এতে সদস্যতা:
পোস্টগুলি (Atom)