Turkish police battle protesters after Erdogan warning

By Nick Tattersall and Ece Toksabay

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish riot police using tear gas and water cannon battled protesters for control of Istanbul's Taksim Square, hours after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded an immediate end to 10 days of demonstrations.

Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu appeared on television, declaring that police operations would continue day and night until the square, focus of demonstrations against Erdogan, was cleared.

Police fired volleys of tear gas canisters into a crowd of thousands - people in office clothes as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes throughout the day - scattering them into side streets and nearby hotels. Water cannon swept across the square targeting stone-throwers in masks.

The protesters, who accuse Erdogan of overreaching his authority after 10 years in power and three election victories, thronged the steep narrow lanes that lead down to the Bosphorus waterway. Many drifted gradually back into the square and lit bonfires, only to be scattered by more tear gas.

Governor Mutlu said 30 people had been wounded on Tuesday.

Erdogan had earlier called on protesters to stay out of Taksim, where a heavy-handed police crackdown on a rally against development of the small Gezi Park abutting the square triggered an unprecedented wave of protest.

Gezi Park has been turned into a ramshackle settlement of tents by leftists, environmentalists, liberals, students and professionals who see the development plan as symptomatic of overbearing government.

The protests, during which demonstrators used fireworks and petrol bombs, have posed a stark challenge to Erdogan's authority and divided the country. In an indication of the impact of the protests on investor confidence, the central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the Turkish lira.

Erdogan, who denies accusations of authoritarian behavior, declared he would not yield.

"They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen here? Were we going to kneel down in front of these (people)?" Erdogan said as action to clear the square began.

"If you call this roughness, I'm sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won't change," he told a meeting of his AK party's parliamentary group.

Western allies have expressed concern about the troubles in an important NATO ally bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran. Washington has in the past held up Erdogan's Turkey as an Islamic democracy that could be emulated elsewhere in the Middle East.

Victor in three consecutive elections, Erdogan says the protests are engineered by vandals, terrorist elements and unnamed foreign forces. His critics, who say conservative religious elements have won out over centrists in the AK party, accuse him of inflaming the crisis with unyielding talk.

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"A comprehensive attack against Turkey has been carried out," Erdogan said. "The increase in interest rates, the fall in the stock markets, the deterioration in the investment environment, the intimidation of investors - the efforts to distort Turkey's image have been put in place as a systematic project."

Riot police also clashed with protesters in Kizilay, the government quarter of the capital, Ankara, firing tear gas

Despite the protests against Erdogan, he remains unrivalled as a leader in his AK party, in parliament and on the streets.

Mutlu appealed to people to stay away from the square for their own safety. "We will continue our measures in an unremitting manner, whether day or night, until marginal elements are cleared and the square is open to the people," he said in the brief television announcement.

"From today, from this hour, the measures we are going to take in Taksim Square will be conducted with care, in front of our people's eyes, in front of televisions and under the eyes of social media with caution and in accordance with the law."

The unrest has knocked investor confidence in a country that has boomed under Erdogan. The lira, already suffering from wider market turmoil, fell to its weakest level against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011.

The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default rose to its highest in 10 months, although it remained far from crisis levels.

The police moved back into Taksim a day after Erdogan agreed to meet protest leaders involved in the initial demonstrations over development of the square.

"I invite all demonstrators, all protesters, to see the big picture and the game that is being played," Erdogan said. "The ones who are sincere should withdraw ... and I expect this from them as their prime minister."

Protesters accuse Erdogan of authoritarian rule and some suspect him of ambitions to replace the secular republic with an Islamic order, something he denies.

"This movement won't end here ... After this, I don't think people will go back to being afraid of this government or any government," said student Seyyit Cikmen, 19, as the crowd chanted "Every place is Taksim, every place resistance".

Turkey's Medical Association said that as of late Monday, 4,947 people had sought treatment in hospitals and voluntary infirmaries for injuries, ranging from cuts and burns to breathing difficulties from tear gas inhalation, since the unrest began more than 10 days ago. Three people have died.

Erdogan has repeatedly dismissed the protesters as "riff-raff" but is expected to meet leaders of the Gezi Park Platform group on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Daren Butler, Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Giles Elgood and David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-riot-police-enter-istanbuls-taksim-square-051953142.html

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How do you feed nine billion people?

June 9, 2013 ? An international team of scientists has developed crop models to better forecast food production to feed a growing population -- projected to reach 9 billion by mid-century -- in the face of climate change.

In a paper appearing in Nature Climate Change, members of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project unveiled an all-encompassing modeling system that integrates multiple crop simulations with improved climate change models. AgMIP's effort has produced new knowledge that better predicts global wheat yields while reducing political and socio-economic influences that can skew data and planning efforts, said Bruno Basso, Michigan State University ecosystem scientist and AgMIP member.

"Quantifying uncertainties is an important step to build confidence in future yield forecasts produced by crop models," said Basso, with MSU's geological sciences department and Kellogg Biological Station. "By using an ensemble of crop and climate models, we can understand how increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, along with temperature increases and precipitation changes, will affect wheat yield globally."

The improved crop models can help guide the world's developed and developing countries as they adapt to changing climate and create policies to improve food security and feed more people, he added.

Basso, part of MSU's Global Water Initiative, and his team of researchers developed the System Approach for Land-Use Sustainability model. SALUS is a new generation crop tool to forecast crop, soil, water, nutrient conditions in current and future climates. It also can evaluate crop rotations, planting dates, irrigation and fertilizer use and project crop yields and their impact on the land.

SALUS was initially designed by Joe Ritchie, MSU emeritus distinguished professor. Basso continued Ritchie's work and added new features to better predict the impact of agronomic management on crop yield over space and time.

"We can change the scenarios, run them simultaneously and compare their outcomes," Basso said. "It offers us a great framework to easily compare different land-management approaches and select the most efficient strategies to increase crop yield and reduce environmental impact such as nitrate leaching and greenhouse gas emission."

For the study, the team looked at simulated yield from 27 different wheat crop models. Through SALUS, Basso forecasted the impact of changes in temperature, precipitation and CO₂ emissions on wheat yield from contrasting environment across the planet.

SALUS has been employed in several other projects monitoring grain yield and water use in water-sensitive areas, such as the Ogallala aquifer (spanning from South Dakota to Texas), Siberia, India and Africa.

"I have the ambitious goal to enhance scientific knowledge for living in a better world, and hopefully with less poverty and enough food for the planet," Basso said.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/oYiLQYqRw8A/130609195713.htm

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US: No plans to end broad surveillance program

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration considered whether to charge a government contractor with leaking classified surveillance secrets while it defended the broad U.S. spy program that it says keeps America safe from terrorists.

Facing a global uproar over the programs that track phone and Internet messages around the world, the Justice Department continued to investigate whether the disclosures of Edward Snowden, 29, an employee of government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, were criminal.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament planned to debate the spy programs Tuesday and whether they have violated local privacy protections. EU officials in Brussels pledged to seek answers from U.S. diplomats at a trans-Atlantic ministerial meeting in Dublin later this week.

The global scrutiny comes after revelations from Snowden, who has chosen to reveal his identity. Snowden has fled to Hong Kong in hopes of escaping criminal charges as lawmakers including Senate intelligence chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California accuse him of committing an "act of treason" that should be prosecuted.

Officials in Germany and the European Union issued calm but firm complaints Monday over two National Security Agency programs that target suspicious foreign messages ? potentially including phone numbers, email, images, video and other online communications transmitted through U.S. providers. The chief British diplomat felt it necessary to try to assure Parliament that the spy programs do not encroach on U.K. privacy laws.

And in Washington, members of Congress said they would take a new look at potential ways to keep the U.S. safe from terror attacks without giving up privacy protections that critics charge are at risk with the government's current authority to broadly sweep up personal communications.

"There's very little trust in the government, and that's for good reason," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. "We're our own worst enemy."

A senior U.S. intelligence official on Monday said there were no plans to scrap the programs that, despite the backlash, continue to receive widespread if cautious support within Congress. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive security issue.

The programs were revealed last week by The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers. National Intelligence Director James Clapper has taken the unusual step of declassifying some of the previously top-secret details to help the administration mount a public defense of the surveillance as a necessary step to protect Americans.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was considering how Congress could limit the amount of data spy agencies seize from telephone and Internet companies ? including restricting the information to be released only on an as-needed basis.

"It's a little unsettling to have this massive data in the government's possession," King said.

One of the NSA programs gathers hundreds of millions of U.S. phone records to search for possible links to known terrorist targets abroad. The other allows the government to tap into nine U.S. Internet companies and gather all communications to detect suspicious behavior that begins overseas.

Snowden is a former CIA employee who later worked as a contractor for the NSA on behalf of Booz Allen, where he gained access to the surveillance. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine said, it was "absolutely shocking" that a 29-year-old with limited experience would have access to this material.

FBI agents on Monday visited the home of Snowden's father, Lonnie Snowden, in Upper Macungie Township, Pa. The FBI in Philadelphia declined to comment.

The first explosive document Snowden revealed was a top secret court order issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that granted a three-month renewal for a massive collection of American phone records. That order was signed April 25. The Guardian's first story on the court order was published June 5.

In a statement issued Sunday, Booz Allen said Snowden had been an employee for fewer than three months, so it's possible he was working as an NSA contractor when the order was issued.

Snowden also gave the Post and the Guardian a PowerPoint presentation on another secret program that collects online usage by the nine Internet providers. The U.S. government says it uses that information only to track foreigners' use overseas.

Believing his role would soon be exposed, Snowden fled last month to Hong Kong, a Chinese territory that enjoys relative autonomy from Beijing. His exact whereabouts were unknown Monday.

"All of the options, as he put it, are bad options," Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who first reported the phone-tracking program and interviewed Snowden extensively, told The Associated Press on Monday. He said Snowden decided to release details of the programs out of shock and anger over the sheer scope of the government's privacy invasions.

"It was his choice to publicly unveil himself," Greenwald told the AP in Hong Kong. "He recognized that even if he hadn't publicly unveiled himself, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. government discovered that it was he who had been responsible for these disclosures, and he made peace with that. ... He's very steadfast and resolute about the fact that he did the right thing."

Greenwald told the AP that he had more documents from Snowden and expected "more significant revelations" about NSA.

Although Hong Kong has an extradition treaty with the U.S., the document has some exceptions, including for crimes deemed political. Any negotiations about his possible handover will involve Beijing, but some analysts believe China is unlikely to want to jeopardize its relationship with Washington over someone it would consider of little political interest.

Snowden also told The Guardian that he may seek asylum in Iceland, which has strong free-speech protections and a tradition of providing a haven for the outspoken and the outcast.

The Justice Department is investigating whether his disclosures were a criminal offense ? a matter that's not always clear-cut under U.S. federal law.

A second senior intelligence official said Snowden would have had to have signed a non-disclosure agreement to gain access to the top secret data. That suggests he could be prosecuted for violating that agreement. Penalties could range from a few years to life in prison. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the process of accessing classified materials more frankly.

The leak came to light as Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was being tried in military court under federal espionage and computer fraud laws for releasing classified documents to WikiLeaks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other items. The most serious charge against him was aiding the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. But the military operates under a different legal system.

If Snowden is forced to return to the United States to face charges, whistle-blower advocates said Monday that they would raise money for his legal defense.

Clapper has ordered an internal review to assess how much damage the disclosures created. Intelligence experts say terrorist suspects and others seeking to attack the U.S. all but certainly will find alternate ways to communicate instead of relying on systems that now are widely known to be under surveillance.

The Obama administration also now must deal with the political and diplomatic fallout of the disclosures. Privacy laws across much of Western Europe are stricter than they are in the United States.

"It would be unacceptable and would need swift action from the EU if indeed the U.S. National Security Agency were processing European data without permission," said Guy Verhofstadt, a Belgian member of the European parliament and a leader in the Alde group of liberal parties.

Additionally, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters Monday that Chancellor Angela Merkel would question President Barack Obama about the NSA program when he's in Berlin on June 18 for his first visit to the German capital as president. In Germany, privacy regulations are especially strict, and the NSA programs could tarnish a visit that both sides had hoped would reaffirm strong German-American ties.

In London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague was forced to deny allegations that the U.K. government had used information provided by the Americans to circumvent British laws. "We want the British people to have confidence in the work of our intelligence agencies and in their adherence to the law and democratic values," Hague told Parliament.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama was open for a discussion about the spy programs, both with allies and in Congress. His administration has aggressively defended the two programs and credited them with helping stop at least two terrorist attacks, including one in New York City.

Privacy rights advocates say Obama has gone too far. The American Civil Liberties Union and Yale Law School filed legal action Monday to force a secret U.S. court to make public its opinions justifying the scope of some of the surveillance, calling the programs "shockingly broad." And conservative lawyer Larry Klayman filed a separate lawsuit against the Obama administration, claiming he and others have been harmed by the government's collection of as many as 3 billion phone numbers each day.

Army records indicate Snowden enlisted in the Army around May 2004 and was discharged that September.

"He attempted to qualify to become a Special Forces soldier but did not complete the requisite training and was administratively discharged from the Army," Col. David H. Patterson Jr., an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said in a statement late Monday.

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Frederic Frommer and Matt Apuzzo in Washington, Robert H. Reid in Berlin and Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at https://twitter.com/larajakesAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-no-plans-end-broad-surveillance-program-073602699.html

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All the New iOS Features Your Old iPhone Won't Get

As expected and widely reported ahead of today's keynote, Apple introduced a completely revamped iOS at WWDC. Not only did they ditch the skeuomorphic design scheme in favor of something a little more colorful and fun, the company added a handful of neat new features?some old, some new. But as with any major update to the mobile OS, there are a handful of features that won't be coming to older generation iOS devices. (Hint: It's because Apple wants you to upgrade.)

For starters, iOS 7 will be compatible with the following devices, so anything baked into the OS, like Find My iPhone, will be included:

Now, according to Apple "features are subject to change" and "not all features are available on all devices." Here's what you're getting and not getting based on each device. (And in some instances some services will be limited to 10 devices.)

AirDrop (which requires an iCloud account): iPhone 5, iPad(4th generation), iPad mini, iPod touch (5th generation)

Siri: iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad (Retina and newer), iPad mini, iPod touch (5th generation)

Panorama: iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (fifth generation)

Square and video formats and swipe to capture: iPhone 4 and newer, iPad 3rd generation and newer, iPad mini, iPod touch (fifth generation)

Filters in Camera: iPhone 5, iPod touch (fifth generation)

Filters in Photos: iPhone 4 and up, iPad (3rd generation and newer)

iTunes Radio: See supported iOS 7 device list above

Source: http://gizmodo.com/all-the-new-ios-features-your-old-iphone-wont-get-512359950

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Engadget and Joystiq's Microsoft event wrap-up broadcast: live from E3!

Microsoft may have gotten the first word in at E3 (thanks to having the earliest press event) but will its litany of exclusive announcements enough to steal the show? Maybe, but we did hear a few gasps escape the audience when the firm dropped that $499 price tag. Let Engadget's Ben Gilbert and Joystiq Editor in Chief Ludwig Kietzmann break down the price, the games and presentation's technical difficulties for you in our post-event live stream. Join the fun after the break.

Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.

Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NgUHyFUm2QE/

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17 Incredible Photos From the Dawn of California's Electrical Age

Los Angeles is inextricably bound to the advent of electricity in American cities?it might technically be the city of angels, but it?s really the city of lights. And lucky for us, the transformation of LA from a dark backwater to radiant city of lights was widely documented.

At Huntington Library's sprawling Edison Archives, 70,000 photos of LA?s so-called ?electrical age? tell the story of how electricity?aka "white gold"?made the city what it is. And thanks to a new digital exhibit called Form and Landscape (part of the ongoing Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in LA program), a group of historians and curators have parsed the most fascinating for us. The curators explain:

Boosters spoke fervently about the opportunity a regular supply of electricity created and the benefit it would provide a mass of people for whom ready access to white gold meant extended hours of productive labor, enhanced quality of their leisure hours, and greater safety while traveling in and about the company?s service area by foot, by mass transit, or by automobile. It is a story of private enterprise elevating individual and collective wellbeing and in doing so contributing toward the public good by taking the smoke out of manufacturing; by making the labor of workers, both wage-earners and domestic, more efficient; by increasing safety and deterring crime; by improving health.

From a nuclear power plant worker fashion show to the installation of the city's first street lights, check the images out below?or head over to Form and Landscape exhibit site for the entire collection.

1927: The construction of Shaver Lake Dam in Big Creek, by G. Haven Bishop.

Undated: An Edison snow surveyor prepares to force a hollow tube into the snow.

1936: Booth at restaurant Men's Display at Biltmore Hotel, by G. Haven Bishop.

1959: The automated menu at Scrivner's Drive-In, by Joseph Fadler.

1956: An ad from the Electric Clothes Drying Promotional Campaign, also by Joseph Fadler.

1957: The Drake Transmission Lines, which shuttled electricity to Los Angeles, shot by Joseph Fadler.

1970: An electrical workers fashion show, shot by Joseph Fadler.

1958: The Mammoth Pool Dam, where work went on around the clock in the late 1950s. Photo by Joseph Fadler.

Undated: The neon glow of a restaurant, by Doug White.

1960: A man surveys land, by Joseph Fadler.

1906: The creeping lights of LA, as seen from Mount Wilson, shot by G. Haven Bishop.

1965: Clifton's Cafeteria by Art Adams.

1960: A display meant to introduce buyers to the "effects of lighting on office efficiency," shot by Joseph Fadler.

1954: The iconic?and neon?golden arches of McDonald's. Shot by Joseph Fadler.

Undated: Commercial Lighting, by Doug White.

1964: New Luxury Home, by Joseph Fadler.

1967: Streetlights in storage, by Art Adams.

All images ? The Huntington.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/17-incredible-photos-from-the-dawn-of-californias-elec-510021481

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E3 2013: What to Look For at Year's Top Gaming Expo

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Feds to comply with NY morning-after pill ruling

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., shows a package of Plan B One-Step, an emergency contraceptive. The federal government on Monday, June 10, 2013 told a judge it will reverse course and take steps to comply with his order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions. (AP Photo/Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., File)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., shows a package of Plan B One-Step, an emergency contraceptive. The federal government on Monday, June 10, 2013 told a judge it will reverse course and take steps to comply with his order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions. (AP Photo/Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The federal government on Monday told a judge it will reverse course and take steps to comply with his order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions.

The Department of Justice, in the latest development in a complex back-and-forth over access to the morning-after pill, notified U.S. District Judge Edward Korman it will submit a plan for compliance. If he approves it, the department will drop its appeal of his April ruling.

"Once the court confirms that the government's understanding is correct, the government intends to file with the Circuit Court notice that it is voluntarily withdrawing its appeal in this matter," the department said in a letter to the judge.

Last week, the appeals court dealt the government a setback by saying it would immediately permit unrestricted sales of the two-pill version of the emergency contraception until the appeal was decided. That order was met with praise from advocates for girls' and women's rights and with scorn from social conservatives and other opponents, who argue the drug's availability takes away the rights of parents of girls who could get it without their permission.

Advocates for girls' and women's rights said Monday the federal government's decision to comply with the judge's ruling could be a move forward for "reproductive justice" if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acts quickly and puts emergency contraception over the counter without restriction.

Annie Tummino, lead plaintiff in a lawsuit over unrestricted access to the morning-after pill and coordinator of the National Women's Liberation, said women and girls should have "the absolute right to control our bodies without having to ask a doctor or a pharmacist for permission."

"It's about time that the administration stopped opposing women having access to safe and effective birth control," she said in an emailed statement.

The government had appealed the judge's underlying April 5 ruling, which ordered emergency contraceptives based on the hormone levonorgestrel be made available without a prescription, over the counter and without point-of-sale or age restrictions.

It asked the judge to suspend the effect of that ruling until the appeals court could decide the case. But the judge declined, saying the government's decision to restrict sales of the morning-after pill was "politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent." He also said there was no basis to deny the request to make the drugs widely available.

The government had argued that "substantial market confusion" could result if the judge's ruling were enforced while appeals were pending, only to be later overturned.

The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female hormone progestin than is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent, but it works best within the first 24 hours. If a girl or woman already is pregnant, the pill, which prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg, has no effect.

The Food and Drug Administration was preparing in 2011 to allow over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill with no limits when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled her own scientists in an unprecedented move.

The FDA announced in early May that Plan B One-Step, the newer version of emergency contraception, the same drug but combined into one pill instead of two, could be sold without a prescription to those age 15 or older. Its maker, Teva Women's Health, plans to begin those sales soon. Sales had previously been limited to those who were at least 17.

The judge later ridiculed the FDA changes, saying they established "nonsensical rules" that favored sales of the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill and were made "to sugarcoat" the government's appeal.

He also said they placed a disproportionate burden on blacks and the poor by requiring a prescription for less expensive generic versions of the drug bought by those under age 17 and by requiring those age 17 or over to show proof-of-age identification at pharmacies. He cited studies showing that blacks with low incomes are less likely than other people to have government-issued IDs.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-10-Morning-After%20Pill/id-5f7783aa7065428fa043427098072621

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Biting | Ping Special Education

I have been teaching since 1997.

Sensory processing disorder or SPD is a new label; some doctors don?t even know it is.

It is not autism although many kids with ASD have it.

A bites when he is excited. He chews paper, bits of plastic & non-edible stuff. He also ?slaps? others on legs & arms. Sometimes he is angry but mostly, he has to express his feelings/excitement via actions (slapping or biting). He is 3+, going on 4 this year. A has a history of language delay; last year, he started speaking phrases but had much difficulties understanding instructions & explanation. A has not seen any specialists. He behaved like any normal preschooler in 1970s in terms of development & achievement. Some fathers will argue that there is nothing wrong with him.

B was around 8 years old when I met him. He had seen many paediatricians; most refused to diagnose him with ASD which his family wanted (so that they can send him to a autism-specific school.) He had undergone many treatments, including a particular behavior therapy centre where he picked up many inappropriate behaviors from ASD kids.

B pinches & bites when he is excited/aroused. I have seen the arms of his family members covered in bruises. He has also bit/broke & chewed off some of my pencils, toys, puzzles. It was a first for me when he chomped up a pencil in one bite.

I saw C when he was around 10-11 years old. He has ASD & mumbles & chews pencils. His speech is almost unintelligible to strangers; I could understand 50-70% of his speech even though I?m fairly good at deciphering mumbled speech. He takes about 1 hour to chew through a pencil before it takes on the look of squashed sugar cane.

All three kids exhibit similar behaviours eg mood swings, inappropriate emotional reaction like laughing or excitement, biting, chewing. They have SPD.

For B I managed to get him to stop pinching me by flipping (turning away) immediately. He feels shocked/rejected when I do that. I feel bad as I?m like his surrogate mother; he REALLY adores me. As I?m talking to B, he may impulsively pinch me & watch my reaction. It?s almost a tic-like behavior. B has mild intellectual disability.

Some children with SPD love watching faces. They can get more excited & do more inappropriate behaviors to get attention. Scolding, time out & explanation do not work well.

Sometimes they may suddenly become angry. It?s because they are tired. They behave like toddlers in terms of emotional regulation.

Kids with high or normal IQ can rationalize behaviors. Some will switch to chewing fingernails compulsively. Some will have problems dealing with pride, mistakes, relationships, etc.

It?s impossible to do educational therapy without strong family support. Behavior change is required & it starts at family home.

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Source: http://pingsped.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/biting/

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Trial of alleged neo-Nazi starts in Germany

MUNICH (AP) ? An alleged German neo-Nazi accused of involvement in a 10-person killing spree appeared confident and calm Monday as her murder trial opened amid tight security, intense media interest and an immediate request by the defense for a new judge.

Beate Zschaepe ? said to be the sole surviving member of a gang behind the murders ? entered the court in a dark suit, her arms folded, before turning her back to the cameras and appearing to joke with her lawyers.

The hearing began with two motions from the defense lawyers alleging that the presiding judge was biased. Judge Manfred Goetzl put proceedings on hold until May 14 to consider the defense request that he recuse himself from the trial, which is the highest-profile neo-Nazi murder trial in Germany in decades and could last at least a year.

Zschaepe, 38, is accused by prosecutors of murder for alleged complicity in the killing of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007. If convicted, she faces life imprisonment. Four others face lesser charges of assisting the cell.

Zschaepe is also accused of involvement in at least two bombings and 15 bank robberies allegedly carried out by her accomplices Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boenhardt, who died in an apparent murder-suicide in November 2011.

Prosecutors allege the trio had formed the self-styled National Socialist Underground after evading arrest on lesser charges in 1998 and managed to remain largely off the authorities' radar for the following 13 years despite committing a string of violence crimes.

Hundreds of reporters lined up outside the Munich courthouse in the hope of gaining one of the few available seats in the packed courtroom. Police erected security barriers in anticipation of possible protests by far-right and far-left extremist groups.

Aside from Zschaepe, the four other defendants are:

? Ralf Wohlleben, 38, and Carsten Schultze, 33, are accused of being accessories to murder in the killing of the nine male victims. Prosecutors allege that they supplied the trio with the handgun and silencer used in the killings. Wohlleben was once a member of the far-right National Democratic Party, which has seats in two state parliaments in eastern Germany.

? Andre Eminger, 33, is accused of being an accessory in two of the bank robberies and in a 2001 bombing in Cologne. He is also accused of two counts of supporting a terrorist organization.

? Holger Gerlach, 39, is accused of three counts of supporting a terrorist organization.

Like Zschaepe, the co-defendants were known to German authorities before the existence of the NSU ? whose name alludes to the official name of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party ? came to light.

Many of Germany's 3 million Turks have asked how the country's well-funded security services, with their network of informants in the far-right scene, could have overlooked the group's existence for so long. For years, police suspected the immigrant victims of being involved with foreign gangs linked to gambling and drugs.

Families of those killed and survivors of the bomb attacks in particular have said they are hoping not just for justice, but answers to questions such as how the group chose its victims, none of whom were high-profile targets.

One of Zschaepe's three lawyers has claimed that his client faces "execution by media."

Wolfgang Stahl told public broadcaster SWR last week that Zschaepe was being portrayed as "evil incarnate, a murderer, a member of a murder gang, a Nazi bride or a Nazi killer" in a way that could prejudice the trial judges.

Her lawyers have said she will remain silent during the lengthy trial. Under German law Zschaepe won't have to make a plea until the end, though her lawyers have said they will contest the prosecution charges.

___

Frank Jordans contributed from Berlin. He can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trial-alleged-neo-nazi-starts-germany-162836421.html

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Cure Social Anxiety ? The Linden Method - Mental Health - Fitness ...

READ: THIS IS VITAL TO? YOUR RECOVERY ANXIETYANDDEPRESSIONTREATMENT.JUPLO.COM

& malady for each zodiacal sign & the evidence n sugn of the respective mineral cell salt deficiency 4 each months sign. I know very lil regarding astrology. But this seems 2b a clear n concise science based in hard data/fact. There r a variety of other books on mineral cell salts n health, also w facial pics. Tho the astrological aspect seems 2b of great importance. Plz lemme know if I can help & bout ur results. (Also, take? magnesium citrate & eat Alkaline rich diet 80%Alkaline-20%Acidic)

..?"Zodiac & the Salts of Salvation?; by George Cary (I?m not religious, but am Spiritual; tho, this bk is 4 any1 n every1); it describes how, depending on the moment of ur birth, in prox 2 the angle of the Sun, that a ?snap shot? of sorts is exposed into ur DNA structure, as a template. This is how n Y r bodies interact w the macro cosmos; this? exposure/template is the interface. Thus each zodiacal sign has 1-3 cell salts in which they r deficient in; this bk shows facial pics of every ailment

Try this: look up cell salts/biochemical mineral salts; what I?ve learned is that out of the 12 mineral salts, there r 5 ?Phosphate? salts/minerals, & all phosphates r related to nerve & brain function; so u should really take all? 5. U can get em thru amazon or vitamin shoppe; one brand is ?Hylands?. & u can actually get their brand of ?Bioplasma?; its got all 12 minerals in each sublingual pill. (& only $18 @ Vit Shoppe). Phosphates r related 2 anxiety. Also try a bk called ?Zodiac & the Salts

hmmm the link to his website is disable for? security reasons?

wow,im so sorry to hear that.im not afraid of people,but my social phobia has ruined? my life.ive never been able to go to college etc and had to drop out of high school.im now 35 and ive totally isolated myself as ive done NLP,EFT,CBT(did help for other things) what really is there left?

Guys, completely stop your social anxiety doesn?t have to be difficult (I used to feel? it did). I?ll give you some advice right now. Search program called Xocialign System (do a search on google). Seriously, I finally stop my social anxiety for good by using Xocialign System.

Guys, completely stop your social anxiety doesn?t have to be difficult (I used to feel it did). I?ll give? you some advice right now. Look for program known as Xocialign System (just google it). Seriously,I finally end my social anxiety for good by using Xocialign System.

This still surprises me, just how lots of people are not aware about Xocialign System (do a google search), even though a lot of people completely eliminated their social anxiety problem with this system. Thanks to my work buddy who told me about Xocialign System, I finally eliminated my social anxiety for good by using natural and fast ways.?

Hey, have you visited KickAnxietyByFriday? (Google it). If you are still having problems with bad panic attacks or general anxiety you should go check out KickAnxietyByFriday (Just google it or maybe add .com to the end?), as they can probably? help you get rid of your anxiety-panic-specific fear problems fast, as they helped me.

yeah i tried this and didnt help at all,, i wanted a refund but i had to mail in my (Paper ID card)
that they need so bad to refund me.. btw they are located somewhere in the uk so shipping is gonna cost you for your refund and on top of that you gotta get signature requirement otherwise? it ?MAY BE LOST? in wich case its not there responsibility according to the linden team.

I bought his system , it helped me a lot. however, I didn?t do everything he asked me, so sometimes it comes back. wonder how it would of been if i did all of his exercises? Sometimes you need to know your ok? its all bullshit what we do to limit ourselves? from life. no matter what we look like or who we are or who we think we are from limiting ourselves.

i really did not want to at that time but i could not help it i was already in college on the verge of breaking and this guy heckled me everytime i did a speech in that class i could not take it but now i am way more well off then before deaaling with my anxiety and social phobia then before i? just learned to stop giving a fuck

Haha! I love the fact that you beat the shit out of him He deserved it clearly maybe it will put him back in his place Good for you I? say! x

zzzzzzz regurgitated info is the planet to scared to revel things that will help cure us? gotta make? a buck huh

I?m scared of? people, what I think they think of me, I never know what to say to them. As a result I?m scared to get a job where I have to deal with people and think I?m not good enough. It?s a horrible feeling as you feel like you can?t do anything with your life.

Linden is very useful though do a search on google for ?crinc anxiety?, that helped me and could help with your? anxiety as well.

I?ve started a new group for people with social phobia. If you?re interested the link is on my YT channel or in the description of my latest vid. I?m just trying to? get a good size group going so that we can try to help, encourage and give? hope to those that suffer with it.? Love to see you there!

MAN MY SOCIAL ANXIETY WAS REAL BAD I GOT REAL FRUSTRATED IN COLLEGE WHEN THIS GUY WAS MAKING FUN OF ME WHEN I WAS STRUGGLING DOING A SPEECH HIM AND HIS FRIEND AND WE WERE THE ONLY THREE GUYS IN THE CLASS OUT OF 15 GIRLS I? GOT UPSET STOPPED MY SPEECH AND BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM AND EVER SINCE THEN PEOPLE DON?T WANT TO SOCIAL WITH ME IN CLASS IT?S COOL FUCK IT I HAVE SOCIAL ANXIETY AND JUST NEED TO EXCEPT MYSELF WITH IT AND KEEP ON MOVING THREW LIFE

So it?s basically a training curve for your sub conscience .

if , true danger ->? adrenalin active ,
else -> remember situation as safe for next time .

The way phobias encripple and encage an intelligent and smart person is just terrifying,? but they go away and the bliss you feel again is of no comparison to anything. Best of luck to all fellow phobiacs, you wont be one for long and Linden, you should be president man. Cheers

One little thing Id like to add about this hoby. Ill try to explain this from my point of view?How I knew that this was THE hoby: When I think about filming or editing I cant sleep, I feel a sudden relief and at the same time I get this surge of energy that I just have to start doing it and this positive mindset takes over. Trust me, if the environment made you phobic, God will guide you to the means to undo it (yes I do? believe in Him, he saved me twice already .

It took me nearly 6 months to find it because I had absolutely no clue what it might be so I started trying out every single hoby I could find and trust me I googled all the lists. And I found it, it was filming, which when I thought about made my heart? race, and creating a complete movie with the filmed shots using a movie editor absolutely completed the formula you could say. So the primary thing is the hoby the rest is all in the Linden method

So I was this carefree, phobiafree, smart, intelligent teenager/young adult/womanizer i might add until I lost my hoby. And as the phobias returned I lost everything and was forced to find something, anything. And so I found Charles Linden and his Linden method which I KNOW works because I lived through it not even knowing it. The primary key is the hoby which absolutely occupies your mind.?

The ?thing? or the ?hoby? as Linden describes it was a friend I had met the following summer who was a persona so interesting and fun I couldnt wait to hang out with him, we became best friends. And as the next school year started I felt absolutely no fear and absolutely no depression or signs of any phobia whatsoever. Sadly we parted? ways, because of our, later, different perspectives on life etc. so you could say I lost my ?hoby? and the phobias, in the same way as in Lindens case, came back.

Ok for all the people who think this is a scam, it?s not. I am living proof. The first time I had a nervous breakdown which embodied itself as severe depression and generalized fear, or agoraphobia as you?d call it was way back when I was 13 years old and it was caused by constant bullying by 3 classmates. A whole year in school I was constantly fearful for no real reason even though the bullying had stopped and nobody could figure out? why I was like this not even my parents.

Source: http://mental-health.fitnessthroughfasting.com/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy/cure-social-anxiety-the-linden-method.php

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How To Beat Your Technology Addiction - E-junkie.info

Life in the connected age means owning a gadget or two. Technology makes life easy, but too much of a good thing can be bad for you and can cause an addiction.

The world is slowly but surely welcoming Generation C, which stands for the "communicating, computerized, connected" generation. Using computers, the Internet, social networking sites and smartphones is becoming second nature to those born after 1990 ? and even to many of those who were born before the digital era.

Technology has forever changed the way people communicate, play, study, and work, with gadgets becoming a big part of many people's lives. As useful as they are, there comes a point when the reliance on technology can get out of hand. If it's getting harder for you to live in the moment because you have to constantly go online on your personal computer, smartphone or tablet due to want rather than need, then you may be suffering from technology addiction.

What are the signs that you are addicted to technology?

Because the latest gadgets are more useful than ever, they are also more addictive. One clear sign of technology addiction is having difficulty controlling the urge to make an impulsive purchase whenever a shiny new device has been released, even though a lot of them are not very useful. Even if your credit card has no problem keeping up with the rate the likes of Apple and Samsung are churning out model after model of computers, phones, phablets, and tablets, you can't use all of them at the same time.

Has Siri become your new BFF? Do you still have a life or an iLife? Technology makes life easier, but it's easy to get carried away. While it's good to stay connected, you know you have a problem if you find it hard to disconnect to the point that you barely have time for other activities. Millions of people are spending hours and hours monitoring Facebook and/or Twitter feeds, emails, and text messages; watching streamed movies, television series and YouTube videos; or playing phone applications and online networking games. But just because a lot of people are doing it doesn't necessarily mean that it's healthy.

With mobile technology, anyone with a smartphone and Internet connection is just an email or instant message away. You don't even need to be online; you can just send a text and get immediate feedback. Connectivity is very useful for those who have loved ones who live in another state or overseas. It also allows you to respond quickly to a crisis or emergency. But the same connectivity can also interfere with your other activities and your relationships with others. Your effort to stay connected with the outside and digital world may cause you to get "disconnected" from those who are around you.

Imagine sitting on a table, supposedly to share a meal and catch up with family or friends. Suddenly, everyone starts whipping out their notebooks, phones and tablets and placing them next to their plates. After a bite or two, they pick their phones up and start chatting, texting and updating. Before you know it, the meal is over and everyone heads out. You know you have a problem if you can't stop fiddling with your phone when you're in the middle of another activity with your friends or even if you're doing something for yourself, like attending a Yoga class, and you don't care if you look anti-social.

Taking back control

While there are probably no business phone numbers for those seeking help for tech addiction, it's undeniable that gadgets and the Internet have caused people to develop unhealthy habits. Researchers who led "The World Unplugged" project found that tech addiction symptoms are common among young adults around the world, as most of them were unable to voluntarily stay away from cellphones, computers, MP3 players and televisions for 24 hours. Scientists have also studied the "phantom vibration syndrome," a psychological phenomenon characterized by perceiving vibrations from a device that is not really vibrating. In short, it's imagining that someone has sent you a message even though your device has not received anything yet.

Like any other addiction, admitting that you have a problem is the first step. Don't let FOMO (the fear of missing out) get to you. So what if you don't have an iPhone 5? The iPhone 6 is probably coming out soon. But seriously, you don't need to buy a new gadget every six months. As long as your device still serves you well and has not sustained irreparable damage, it's still good. The FOMO on what's happening with your family and close friends should always be greater than the FOMO on your social networking updates. The person you are with deserves your full attention, so save the screen time for later. Read a book or a magazine in the bathroom instead of tinkering with your phone. Leave your gadgets at home or in your workstation when you don't need them. Turn off your phone when you're on a date and about to go to bed ? your messages will still be there when you wake up. Remember: you control your gadgets; don't let them control you.

Author Bio
Monique Jones is an Engineer who deals with telephone systems. Besides being an Engineer, she also works as a part time writer. She helps her colleagues and other people about their communication issues, giving effective solutions to address their needs.?

Source: http://www.e-junkie.info/2013/05/how-to-beat-your-technology-addiction.html

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Opening Your Mind To The World Of Article Marketing ? Writing and ...

Many folks try to develop article marketing techniques; nonetheless but that's only true if you do not have the correct information. The more that you learn about the way to use article marketing, you will find that it is faster to get started.

Offer an inducement to sign-up to your magazine. You or some other person can write this report, but it's imperative to entice people to opt into your email campaign. This report should be on a topic inside it.

Research which adverts that your content.

Pick a known brand or brands and get some debates started. This will then link your personal blog. If you make sure that you have fine content, you might even see your blog being considered much more of an authority because of it.

Post all of your articles to your website so you can benefit from the outcome of keyword searches for articles you have written. This is an easy way to raise your traffic and rankings. The search sites are drawn to sites that's posted with regularity.

Article marketing success always includes both quantity and quantity. You will observe increased returns if there is a steady amount of helpful content on your internet site. Once you are used to writing the articles, you can start to make a regular schedule.

You need to have a big audience. This does not necessarily mean to target your content should only have a general focus. A handful of readers who really wish to know what you have to say is much better than a mass of disinterest without reading. Don't allow your target market to be neglected.

Unless sites delete your articles for whatever reason, your content will stay on the internet for evermore , and can naturally be used to bring traffic to your precise destination. You may write articles which highlight other articles you have written to boost your network and networking.

Be sure you wish to reach. If your target is casual blog sites, make the content fast. If you are writing for pro sites, research your content well before writing it.

When writing articles, be sure that you produce unique articles that readers are sure to find fascinating. No one is going to read dull articles that is basically just pieced together from other websites.

You want these pieces to spotlight your personality and help readers know you. You want to avoid sounding like other folks, negatively impacting your earning potential.

A method to become successful with article marketing success is selecting the correct keywords. You should intend to revisit the efficiency of your keywords are to become successful.

Hopefully, this newsletter will help you to relax and get ready for reaching your promoting goals. Although there are plenty of resources here, do not let this be your entire guide to article marketing. Check out other resources as well. The only real way you can ensure the most outstanding end result for yourself, is if you learn as much as you can and apply all of that info to the very best of your capability.

If you do not have the resources to draft top of the range articles on a consistant basis you can hurt your advertising efforts. Staggered article promotion and poor content are sure-fire paths to get your internet site slammed by Google. Leave it to a dedicated article writing service to give you high value content at an inexpensive rate. Make sure to also have your articles spun for unique content.

Tags: article marketing, article writing, article writing service, content creation

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 5th, 2013 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://writingandspeaking.deadale.com/uncategorized/opening-your-mind-to-the-world-of-article-marketing/

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WWE and Sean 'Diddy' Combs partner against bullying

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwe-partners-with-sean-diddy-combs-against-bullying

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Ted Cruz: Rubio 'in good faith' on immigration reform (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/303866765?client_source=feed&format=rss

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10 Things to Know for Monday

Capt. Mark Kelly speaks next to his wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after Giffords received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Capt. Mark Kelly speaks next to his wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after Giffords received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

In this photo made Tuesday, April 30, 2013, Kurt Zentmaier poses in his warehouse full of guitars in Claremont, N.H. Zentmaier is president of Rondo Music which sells its guitars online only and doesn't want an internet sales tax. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Miami Heat's LeBron James stands with his son, LeBron Jr., during an NBA basketball news conference, Sunday, May, 5, 2013, in Miami. James was formally announced as having won his fourth Most Valuable Player award Sunday. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:

1. HOW SYRIA AND IRAN WILL RESPOND TO ISRAEL'S AIRSTRIKES

The countries hint at possible retribution, though the rhetoric in official statements appears relatively muted.

2. WHY YOU'RE PROBABLY A TAX CHEAT

In most states, if you buy anything on the Internet without paying sales tax, you're still required to pay it.

3. GRIM DISTINCTION AS BANGLADESH FIRE TOLL TOPS 600

The disaster is likely the worst garment-factory accident ever, and there have been few industrial accidents of any kind that killed more.

4. BRIDE-TO-BE PERISHES IN LIMO FIRE

She and four other women didn't escape the vehicle blaze as they headed to her bachelorette party.

5. ONE SIDE-EFFECT OF THE POSITIVE JOBS REPORT

The economic good news is drawing attention to the importance of private-sector innovation rather than government policy in fostering growth.

6. IT'S THE ECONOMY, OBAMA

The president launches series of quick jaunts around country to remind Americans he still has job creation and their financial well being on his mind.

7. 'NO ONE WANTS TO ASSOCIATE THEIR NAMES WITH SUCH EVIL EVENTS'

The uncle of deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev claims the body but cannot find a cemetery willing to allow burial.

8. SIN CITY TRANSFORMS INTO CLUB CITY

In Vegas, lavish nightclubs have become the backbone of a billion-dollar industry that is soaring as gambling revenue slips.

9. GABBY GIFFORDS RECEIVES PROFILE IN COURAGE AWARD

"I believe we all have courage inside," the former U.S. Rep said, adding, "I just wish there was more courage in Congress," alluding to failed gun control legislation.

10. LEBRON WINS MVP FOR 4TH TIME

Miami Heat star receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy after collecting 120 of the 121 first-place votes.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-05-10-Things-to-Know-Monday/id-6b2e295c88bf4012899f5d4e9b1e95a2

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CNN's Kurtz apologizes for errors in Collins story

FILE - This April 25, 2012 file photo shows journalist Howard Kurtz at the world premiere of "Knife Fight" during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Kurtz is apologizing for several errors in a column he wrote about gay basketball player Jason Collins this past week. Kurtz, host of CNN?s ?Reliable Sources,? brought two other media critics onto his show Sunday, May 5, 2013, to question him about the story written on The Daily Beast suggesting Collins had hidden a previous engagement to a woman when he came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated story. Kurtz said he was not only wrong in the facts, he shouldn?t have written the story in the first place and was too slow to correct himself. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

FILE - This April 25, 2012 file photo shows journalist Howard Kurtz at the world premiere of "Knife Fight" during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Kurtz is apologizing for several errors in a column he wrote about gay basketball player Jason Collins this past week. Kurtz, host of CNN?s ?Reliable Sources,? brought two other media critics onto his show Sunday, May 5, 2013, to question him about the story written on The Daily Beast suggesting Collins had hidden a previous engagement to a woman when he came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated story. Kurtz said he was not only wrong in the facts, he shouldn?t have written the story in the first place and was too slow to correct himself. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Media critic Howard Kurtz used his CNN show on Sunday to point a finger at himself, apologizing for a story on gay basketball player Jason Collins that he said was riddled with errors and shouldn't have been written in the first place.

The extraordinary edition of CNN's "Reliable Sources" contained not only his apology but also a session with two other media critics who sharply questioned Kurtz's credibility.

Kurtz wrote in The Daily Beast that Collins, the NBA center who made headlines last week by being the first active player in one of the four major U.S. pro sports leagues to come out as gay, had hidden a previous engagement to a woman in his announcement. In fact, Collins revealed the engagement in his first-person Sports Illustrated story and in a subsequent interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

Kurtz said Sunday that he had read the Sports Illustrated story too quickly and missed the reference to a fiancee there and elsewhere. He said he was wrong to rush the story without seeking comment from Collins, was too slow to correct himself when it became clear he was wrong and made an inappropriate comment (about playing "both sides of the court") in a video report.

Besides his "sloppy and inexcusable" errors, Kurtz said, the story itself was insensitive and shouldn't have been written.

"I apologize to readers, to viewers and, most importantly, to Jason Collins and his fiancee," said Kurtz, who spent many years as a media writer for The Washington Post. "I hope this very candid response can help me earn back your trust over time. It is something I am very committed to doing."

The Daily Beast and Kurtz announced they were "parting ways" on the same day the mistake came to light. Kurtz said it was amicable and had been in the works before the Collins story.

His public mea culpa included questioning from media writers David Folkenflik of NPR and Dylan Byers of Politico, who both dug deeper into Kurtz's work history and business relationships.

They questioned why Kurtz, with time-consuming jobs at CNN and as Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast, was doing regular video commentaries for Daily Download, a media website. Kurtz said he was paid on a freelance basis by the website and had no financial stake in its operation, though he did offer advice to the people who started it.

Kurtz said, "I'll leave it to others to judge if I've taken on too much."

They also discussed other Kurtz mistakes from the past few years: a supposed interview with Rep. Darrell Issa that was instead conducted with the congressman's aide, wrongly attributed quotes from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and wrongly suggesting that Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren had questioned the seriousness of an injury to Hillary Clinton.

Given the other mistakes, Byers wondered whether viewers should believe Kurtz had learned from the Collins error. Folkenflik asked why the audience should still trust Kurtz as a media critic.

Kurtz pointed to his track record over many years and said he would recommit himself to being more careful.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-05-TV-CNN-Kurtz/id-a3d0bdbaf5f649f49e72368765721755

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First-graders? acts of kindness catch on

>>> finally tonight it's been said no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. with that in mind we offer the following story from a school in terre haute , indiana, where they have set out as a project to document all the ways people can make someone else 's life better with just a little bit of effort. and so nbc's kevin tibbles has tonight's making a difference report.

>> thank you. today, a spprak attack. special people performing random acts of kindness . it's catching on.

>> doing something that doesn't cost anything but makes them feel good, mak you feel good.

>> reporter: it's simple. each time someone sends kindness your way, jot it down and post it. the walls of local schools now blossom with hundreds of tiny, multi-colored thank yous, all penned by kids like those in mrs. smooty's first grade class.

>> so miss moody kept sharpening my pencil for about six times! we laughed every single time.

>> reporter: what did you write on the post-it note?

>> my friend chris helped me feel better when i wassad.

>> hunter was tying my shoe when we were going to p.e.

>> reporter: hunter is renowned for his shoe tying skills.

>> do you feel good helping other kids out?

>> really happy and excited.

>> reporter: in times filled with stress, trauma and worry, a simple gesture goes a long way. there is no yardstick for an act of kindness, is there?

>> exactly. sometimes the smallest means the most at the right time for that person.

>> reporter: even high school kids are devoted spprakers.

>> it gives me the power to change someone's life through something as small as writing on a post-it note.

>> we live in a world where all we see is darkness and hate. i feel like the spprak wall shows that's not true.

>> reporter: back in elementary school our friend martin who says he's six 1/2 plus a quarter years old, sums it up wisely.

>> it is good, mostly for bad people to learn good instead of doing bad because bad stuff could just hurt other people's feelings.

>> reporter: i couldn't have said it any better myself. kevin tibbles, nbc news, terre haute , indiana.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2b9708be/l/0Lvideo0Bmsnbc0Bmsn0N0Cid0C5179530A8/story01.htm

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Israel strikes Syria, says targeting Hezbollah arms

By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Local people reported massive explosions and internet video showed the capital's skyline lit by flashes; Syrian opponents of President Bashar al-Assad rejoiced at Israel's third raid this year, and second in 48 hours, while anger in Tehran highlighted how Syria's civil war risks spinning further beyond its borders.

Israel, while declining to confirm the strike, stressed its focus was to deny its Lebanese foes new Iranian firepower and not take sides between Assad, long seen as a toothless adversary, and rebels who have won sympathy from Israel's Western allies but who also include al Qaeda Islamists hostile to the Jewish state.

It appears to calculate that Assad will not risk forces he needs to fight the rebels by attacking a much stronger Israel.

Syrian state television said the bombing around a military research facility at Jamraya caused "many civilian casualties and widespread damage" and quoted a letter from the foreign minister to the United Nations saying: "The blatant Israeli aggression has the aim to provide direct military support to the terrorist groups after they failed to control territory."

People living near the Jamraya base spoke of explosions over several hours in various places near Damascus, including a town housing senior officials: "Night turned into day," one man told Reuters from his home near Jamraya, also struck on January 30.

CNN quoted Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad calling Sunday's attack a "declaration of war", and the Iranian foreign minister urged countries to resist Israel. But a senior Iranian commander also said Syria was strong enough to defend itself without Tehran's help - though he also offered training.

ROCKETS TARGETED

A confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel hoped that by not confirming its attack, it would not force its enemies into serious retaliation. There was little response from Hezbollah, Syria or Iran to an earlier attack on the Jamraya compound, near the Lebanese border, on January 30.

After an Israeli strike on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama defended Israel's right to defend itself from Hezbollah, which fired many rockets into Israel during a war in 2006.

A Western intelligence source told Reuters: "In last night's attack, as in the previous one, what was attacked were stores of Fateh-110 missiles that were in transit from Iran to Hezbollah."

Hezbollah in Lebanon declined immediate comment. Iran denied that the attack was on armaments bound for Lebanon.

Israel has long sought to block Hezbollah's land, sea and air transport from Iran and frets such new missiles could give the Shi'ite militants, who share in Lebanon's government, the ability to strike its Tel Aviv conurbation with some accuracy.

Netanyahu's colleague, Tzachi Hanegbi, noted Obama's reluctant to heed calls for U.S. military backing for the rebels despite Assad's forces alleged use of poison gas.

Given the confusion among world powers, he added, Israel was only trying to protect its own interests and saw little to be gained by trying to influence the outcome of Syria's civil war.

"The world is helplessly looking at events in Syria," he told Army Radio. "That is why, as in the past, we are left with our own interests, protecting them with determination - and without getting too involved."

It was unclear whether Israel sought U.S. approval for the action; in the past, officials have indicated that Israel sees a need only to inform Washington once such a mission is under way.

Netanyahu and Obama have had a fraught relationship in past years, as Washington seeks to hold Israel back from any attack on Iran's nuclear program while diplomatic moves continue.

At a routine public appearance on Sunday, Netanyahu made no direct reference to the strikes in Syria but spoke pointedly of his responsibility to ensure Israel's future.

He maintained a plan to fly to China later in the day, suggesting he did not expect a major escalation. However, a military source said the army had deployed more anti-missile defense systems near the northern borders in recent days.

NIGHT OF EXPLOSIONS

Video footage uploaded onto the Internet by Syrian activists showed a series of blasts. One lit up the skyline of Damascus, while another sent up a tower of flames and secondary blasts.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli aircraft struck in three places: northeast of Jamraya; the town of Maysaloun on the Lebanese border; and the nearby Dimas air base.

"The sky was red all night. We didn't sleep a single second. The explosions started after midnight and continued through the night," one man told Reuters from Hameh, close to Jamraya.

"There were explosions on all sides of my house," he added, saying people hid in basements during the events. In the center of Damascus, people at first thought there was an earthquake.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar television aired footage showing a flattened building spread over the size of a soocer field, with smoke rising from rubble containing shell fragments. It did not identify where the film was shot.

The streets of central Damascus were almost empty of pedestrians and traffic on Sunday morning, the start of the working week. Checkpoints that have protected the area from rebel attack appeared to have been reinforced.

Some opposition activists said they were glad strikes may weaken Assad, even if few Syrians have any liking for Israel.

"We don't care who did it," said Rania al-Midania in Damascus. "We care that those weapons are no longer there to kill us."

But in Israel, Netanyahu ally Hanegbi spoke of relative indifference in its attitude to the rebels and Assad, who had maintained a standoff with Israel that dated from the time of his father, who led Syria in its last war with its neighbor in 1973: "We have no interest because we have no ability to assess what is good for us regarding the future regime," Hanegbi said.

Netanyahu appeared at the dedication of a highway junction in memory of his late father. He made no reference to raids but said his father "taught me that the greatest responsibility we have is to ensure Israel's security and guarantee its future".

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Marwan Makdesi in Damascus, Maayan Lubell, Dan Williams, Jeffrey Heller and Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem and Arshad Mohammed and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosions-shake-damascus-syria-says-israel-attacked-001502034.html

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