Local veterans fighting for jobs

On Saturday morning, local veterans gathered in Naples with one goal in mind: to go from deployed to employed.

Michael Hertzmen served for four years with one tour in Korea and another in Iraq.

"I don't have real world experience outside of being in the army," he said.

That is the reason the single father and so many others attended the networking event.

"Events like today let companies seek out individuals with qualities that military instills in their employees," said Hertzmen.

There are 22 million unemployed veterans nationwide.

And 21 percent of them are between the ages of 18 and 24 and served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The same age group of non-veterans is 16 percent.

"It's tough to find a job," he said.

Companies like Harley Davidson attended the event to change that.

"Veterans are super dedicated and passionate individuals. They served our country and put their lives on the line and do things most people wouldn't be able to do," said an attendant.

Harley Davidson was joined by about 40 other employers.

The idea of the event is to give vets an edge.

"It targets a lot more than just a veteran applying for a job advertisement that hundreds of people will be applying to."

And it allows Hertzmen and his baby to pick and choose what works best for their family.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52355007/ns/local_news-fort_myers_fl/

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Why Oracle And Salesforce, Once Bitter Rivals, Are Now On Cloud Nine

Marc Benioff and Larry Ellison, the CEOs of two of the more powerful enterprise companies in the world -- Salesforce.com and Oracle -- are not known to be the chummiest of execs. Before this week's sudden truce -- which will see the two companies integrate their cloud services -- the only clouds that connected the two were dark and foreboding ones, as the two pitted themselves and their companies against each other in brinkmanship-style competition, chasing similar acquisitions and similar strategies to stay within sight of each other.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2wjrbU6NCcI/

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Egypt clerics warn of "civil war", urge calm

By Alastair Macdonald and Tom Perry

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's leading religious authority warned of "civil war" on Friday and called for calm after a member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was killed ahead of mass rallies aimed at forcing the president to quit.

"Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war," the Al-Azhar clerical institution said in a statement reported by state media. It blamed "criminal gangs" who attacked mosques for street violence. Clashes linked to the political tensions have killed five and wounded scores in recent days.

The Brotherhood said all those killed were Mursi supporters, though this could not be independently verified.

The ancient Cairo academy, which traditionally maintains a distance from the political establishment, also urged opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to accept his offer of dialogue rather than pressing on with plans for demonstrations.

Welcoming an offer by Mursi on Wednesday to include the fragmented opposition in committees to review the constitution and promote national reconciliation, senior Al-Azhar scholar Hassan El-Shafei said they should accept "for the benefit of the nation instead of the insistence on confrontation".

Opposition leaders dismissed Mursi's offer as a repeat of suggestions they say have gone nowhere because the Brotherhood refuses to dilute its power.

Their supporters will gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, site of the 2011 revolution, and in other cities on Friday and plan mass rallies on Sunday, when Mursi will complete his first year in office. The Brotherhood will gather supporters after Friday prayers near a mosque in northern Cairo to show their strength.

The movement said one of its members was shot dead and four wounded in an attack on a provincial party office in the Nile Delta city of Zagazig overnight and blamed anti-Mursi activists, which it portrays as an alliance of liberals and loyalists of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

The army has urged both sides to reconcile and has warned that it could step back in to impose order if violence spins out of control - though it insists it will defend the democracy born out of the uprising against Mubarak in early 2011.

Mursi and the Brotherhood accuse loyalists of the old regime of being behind violence and of thwarting their efforts to reform an economy hobbled by corruption. Opponents accuse the Islamists, who have won a series of elections against a diffuse opposition, of seeking to entrench their power and impose Islam.

In a speech on Wednesday, Mursi denounced his critics but admitted some mistakes and offered talks to ease polarisation in politics that he said threatened Egypt's new democratic system.

But opposition leaders said their protests would go ahead.

"Dr. Mohamed Mursi's speech of yesterday only made us more determined in our call for an early presidential vote in order to achieve the goals of the revolution," the liberal opposition coalition said after its leaders met to consider a response.

"We are confident the Egyptian masses will go out in their millions in Egypt's squares and streets on June 30 to confirm their will to get the January 25 revolution back on track."

CROWDS

With the start of Egypt's weekend, people began to gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, site of the uprising of January 25, 2011, and at venues in other towns. The atmosphere was largely festive but there were widespread fears of trouble in the days ahead.

It is hard to gauge how many may turn out but much of the population, even those sympathetic to Islamic ideas, are deeply frustrated by economic slump and many blame the government.

Previous protest movements since the fall of Mubarak have failed to gather momentum, however, among a population anxious for stability and fearful of further economic hardship.

The army, which helped protesters topple Mubarak and is on alert across the country guarding key locations, says it will act if politicians cannot reach consensus. The United States, which continues to fund the military as it did under Mubarak, has urged Egypt's leaders to pull together.

MEDIA

In his speech, Mursi threatened legal action against several named prominent figures. He said some judges and civil servants were obstructing him, and accused liberal media owners of bias.

Hours after he publicly accused one TV channel owner of tax evasion, the businessman, Mohamed al-Amin, found he was under investigation and barred from leaving the country, prompting his lawyer to tell Reuters: "This is dictatorship." Amin's channel notably airs satire modelled on that of U.S. comic Jon Stewart.

Separately, officials ordered the arrest of a talk show host on another channel known for his anti-Islamist diatribes and ordered that station to be shut down for inciting mutiny in the army and for insulting the armed forces and the police.

An anchor on state television resigned dramatically, live on air, in protest at what he said were attempts by the information minister, an Islamist, to control his programme.

Instability in the most populous Arab nation could send shocks well beyond its borders. Signatory to a key, U.S.-backed peace treaty with Israel, Egypt also controls the Suez Canal, a vital link in global transport networks between Europe and Asia.

"Egypt is historically a critical country to this region," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is on a tour of the Middle East, said on Wednesday, highlighting economic problems.

"Our hopes are that all parties ... the demonstration that takes place on Friday or the demonstration that takes place on Sunday, will all engage in peaceful, free expression," he said.

With the government short of cash and seeking funding from allies and the IMF, Kerry said Egypt should curb unrest in order to attract investment and restore vital tourism income. The U.S. ambassador in Cairo has angered opposition activists by saying explicitly that their protests risked being counter-productive.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/one-dead-egypt-simmers-ahead-rallies-064341767.html

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New Mexico has new judge

Posted at: 06/29/2013 11:06 AM
By: Mike Anderson, KOB Eyewitness News 4

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Gov. Susana Martinez has appointed a Clovis attorney to a fill a vacancy on the Ninth Judicial District Court bench.

The appointment of Fred Van Soelen was announced Friday.

He fills the spot left by the retirement of Judge Teddy Hartley.

The governor's office says Van Soelen has practiced law for more than 14 years in New Mexico.

He was the Ninth Judicial Deputy District Attorney in Clovis before taking his current associate position at the Harmon Law Office.

While Van Soelen worked for the Ninth Judicial District, he was also an instructor at Clovis Community College.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3083599.shtml?cat=500

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Dendritic cell therapy improves kidney transplant survival, team finds

June 28, 2013 ? A single systemic dose of special immune cells prevented rejection for almost four months in a preclinical animal model of kidney transplantation, according to experts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings, now available in the online version of the American Journal of Transplantation, could lay the foundation for eventual human trials of the technique.

Organ transplantation has saved many lives, but at the cost of sometimes lifelong requirements for powerful immunosuppressive medication that can have serious side effects, said senior investigator Angus Thomson, Ph.D., D.Sc., distinguished professor of surgery and of immunology, Pitt School of Medicine. Scientists have long sought ways to encourage the organ recipient's immune system to accept or tolerate the donor organ to reduce the need for drugs to stave off rejection.

"This study shows it is possible to prepare the patient's immune system for a donor kidney by administering specially treated immune cells from the donor in advance of the transplant surgery," Dr. Thomson said. "This could be very helpful in the context of planned kidney donations from living relatives, and could one day be adapted to transplantation from deceased donors."

For the project, the research team generated immune cells called dendritic cells (DCs) from the blood of rhesus macaques that would later provide a kidney to recipient monkeys. Dendritic cells are known to be key regulators of the immune system by showing antigens to T-cells to either activate them against the foreign protein or to suppress the T-cell response. The researchers treated the donor DCs in the lab to prevent them from fully maturing and having the capacity to trigger an immune reaction against foreign proteins.

One week before having a kidney transplant, recipient monkeys received a single infusion of treated DCs obtained from their respective donor animals. Another group of monkeys was transplanted without receiving the cells, but both groups were given the same regimen of immunosuppression drugs, a modified protocol for experimental purposes that eventually results in donor organ rejection. The researchers found that the donor kidney was rejected in about 40 days among animals that got only the drugs, but survived for about 113 days in the group that had a prior infusion of treated DCs.

The modified donor DCs sent signals to the recipient immune system to stay quiet and not launch an attack against the donor organ, explained lead author Mohamed Ezzelerab, M.D., research assistant professor, Department of Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine.

"The results indicate that we achieved immune system regulation without side effects of the DCs, but better yet, the monkeys were healthier from a clinical perspective," he said. "They maintained a better weight, had less protein in the urine and fewer signs of kidney damage than the other group. Ultimately, all these factors played a role in prolonging organ survival in the group that received DC therapy."

Co-authors of the paper include other researchers from the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, and the departments of Surgery, Immunology, Medicine and Pathology, Pitt School of Medicine. The project was funded by National Institutes of Health grant AI051698.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/R_OkREoSSY4/130628113214.htm

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Stocks snap three-day winning streak, open lower

stocks

JeeYeon Park CNBC

9 hours ago

The Dow and S&P 500 dropped on Friday as investors were reluctant to jump in following a three-day rally, but major averages still capped the volatile quarter with gains.

Stocks finished lower for the month of June, logging their first monthly drop this year. But all three major averages logged their third winning quarter in four. And so far for the year, the Dow has surged more than 14 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have spiked more than 13 percent each.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 114.89 points to close at 14,909.60, pulling back after logging its third-straight day higher. Still, the Dow posted its strongest first half of the year since 1999.

The S&P 500 fell 6.92 points to finish at 1,606.28. The S&P 500 logged its best first half performance since 1998. The Nasdaq eked out a gain of 1.38 points to end at 3,403.25.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged below 17.

For the quarter, the Dow rose 2.27 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 2.36 percent, and the Nasdaq soared 4.15 percent. Microsoft was the best performer for the quarter on the Dow, while IBM tumbled.

Financials topped the S&P 500 sector gainers in the second quarter, while utilities lagged.

Stocks initially opened in negative territory after Fed Governor Jeremy Stein highlighted the upcoming September policy meeting as a possible time when the central bank may need to consider paring back its QE program, adding that the Fed consider the overall economic improvements since it launched the stimulus instead of giving undue weight to the most recent round of tepid economic data.

(Read More: Buckle Up! Expect More Market Volatility This Year)

Stein's comments contradicted comments from other Fed policymakers who have suggested the central bank will bide its time before scaling back its bond purchases.

Menawhile, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said markets should brace for more volatility as they digest news the Fed will scale back bond buying later this year, but the swings will not derail growth. Lacker said he expects U.S. growth to remain around 2 percent for the "foreseeable future."

(Read More:Fed Out in Force as Markets Stabilize)

On the economic front, business activity index in the Midwest fell in June to 51.6 from 58.7 in May, according to the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. A Reuters survey of economists on average expected a median reading of 56.0 in June versus the May figure of 58.7.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment improved in late June, with the final reading on the overall index at 84.1, above the preliminary reading of 82.7, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the final June reading of 82.8.

Japan's benchmark stock index hit a three-week high on the heels of positive economic reports that include much stronger than expected industrial output and retail sales numbers.

"We had better job market numbers, better production numbers, and even consumer prices are picking up. So data-wise, today is a pretty good day for Japan," said Takuji Okubo, principal and chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors.

Traders will closely watch gold prices, as the precious metal dipped below a key level of $1,200 per ounce. Analysts warned that miners could be severely affected if prices remain this low.

(Read More: Three Reasons Gold Will Go to $800)

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Turkey probes social network 'insults'

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? Turkish authorities are investigating people who allegedly insulted state officials or incited riots on social media, the deputy prime minister said Thursday, in a sign the government is intent on meting out punishment over the massive protests that swept the country in June.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced tough international criticism over his government's heavy-handed crackdown on the unprecedented demonstrations. But in a possible attempt to soften the blow to the country's democratic reputation, his deputy also said the government would propose further checks on the country's historically powerful military.

The Aksam newspaper said police had provided to Istanbul prosecutors a list of 35 names of people who had allegedly insulted Erdogan or other officials on Twitter or Facebook. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag acknowledged the probe, but would not confirm the list. It was not clear exactly what the posts said.

Meanwhile, Facebook expressed concerned about Turkish proposals that would require Internet companies to provide user information to authorities.

Erdogan earlier this month branded Twitter a social "menace" for spreading lies after many people turned to the social networking site and Facebook for information. Many Turkish media outlets provided little coverage in the early stages of the demonstrations, likely intimidated into self-censorship by the government's previously tough approach to journalists.

Nearly three weeks of protests were sparked by a violent police crackdown on peaceful activists on May 31, with thousands expressing discontent over what they say are Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian ways. Erdogan who has shepherded Turkey to an economic boom and raised the country's international profile, rejects the charge and cites his broad support base.

The government has dismissed protesters' general calls for a more pluralistic society and has blamed the protests on a foreign-led conspiracy involving bankers and the media meant to stop Turkey on its tracks. It has also vowed to go after them.

Bozdag took aim at the social media users under investigation, claiming that there were many "profanities and insults conducted electronically" that were against the law. Turkish law bars insults to public figures.

"Crimes determined as such by the law don't change if they are carried out through Facebook, Twitter or through other electronic means," Bozdag said. "No one has the right to commit crimes under the rule of law."

On Wednesday, Turkey's transport and communications minister complained that Twitter was not cooperating with authorities and said the company has been asked to appoint a Turkey-based official to deal with requests.

Binali Yildirim suggested Facebook was more cooperative, but the company released a statement saying it had not provided user data to Turkish authorities in relation to the protests and was concerned about proposals that would require Internet companies to share information.

"We will be meeting with representatives of the Turkish government when they visit Silicon Valley this week, and we intend to communicate our strong concerns about these proposals directly at that time," Facebook said.

Human rights groups say dozens of people have been arrested and face trial for their involvement in the protests, which resulted in at least four deaths and thousands of injuries ? including 11 who lost eyes or their eyesight from tear gas canisters fired by police.

But even as the government took a hard line on social media, it appeared to be trying to make some amends. Though the European Union decided to revive long-dormant EU membership talks with Turkey this week, it said it would delay them until later this year, citing the government's heavy-handed crackdown on the protests.

Bozdag said Parliament will consider a government-proposed proposal that would amend a regulation that the army has cited in the past as grounds for takeovers or interference in politics. It stipulates that it is the military's duty "to watch over and protect the Turkish Republic."

The Turkish military has frequently intervened in politics in the past, and has staged three coups.

Though new democratic proposal came out of the blue, Erdogan has been at odds with the military for much of his 10 years in office. He has enacted reforms over the years that have curbed the powers of the military, winning him praise for strengthening democracy.

Earlier, this week, the government had also said it was considering a set of measures that would grant greater religious rights to the country's Alevi Muslim community ? who have faced discrimination in Turkey.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-probes-social-network-insults-132613351.html

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Yep, Windows 8.1 RT looks just like regular Windows 8.1, performance hasn't changed

When we got hands-on with the Windows 8.1 preview earlier this week, it was on a Surface Pro -- i.e., an x86 system running full Windows. Until today, though, we hadn't had a chance to try the software on a device running Windows RT. Well, fortunately for us, Microsoft has a row full of freshly updated Surface RT units on display here at Build, so we took the opportunity poke around a little. As you'd expect, Windows RT 8.1 has all the trappings of the full Windows version, including an always-there Start button and new apps like Food & Drink and Health & Fitness. What's sort of interesting is that you can boot to the desktop here as well, just as you would on Windows 8.1. (We say "interesting" because, well, how urgently do you need the desktop on RT anyway?) The desktop also still comes with Office apps pinned to the Taskbar, in case you were wondering.

Performance seems much the same as before, particularly because we were handling last year's Surface RT, which still ships with a Tegra 3 SoC. Browsing and loading tabs in IE11 feels snappy but then again, IE11 was supposed to be a tick faster than IE10. Overall, navigating the OS can still feel slightly sluggish, but the build we tried is at least stable. Other than that, it looks like we'll have to wait for some new ARM chips before we can revisit performance in Windows RT. We'll also be back to take a look at the forthcoming RT Outlook app, which we haven't seen yet. Until then, don't expect us to write another 4,000 words on the subject.

Gallery: Windows 8.1 RT Preview hands-on

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/windows-8-1-rt-hands-on/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Manila plans air, naval bases at Subic with access for U.S., officials say

By Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine military has revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base that American forces could use to counter China's creeping presence in the disputed South China Sea, senior navy officials said.

The proposed bases in the Philippines, a close U.S. ally, coincides with a resurgence of U.S. warships, planes and personnel in the region as Washington turns its attention to a newly assertive China and shifts its foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia.

The bases would allow the Philippines to station warships and fighter jets just 124 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal, a contentious area of the South China Sea now controlled by China after a tense standoff last year.

The Philippine navy, whose resources and battle capabilities are no match for China's growing naval might, has yet to formally present its 10-billion-peso ($230 million) base development plan to President Benigno Aquino.

But senior officials say they believe it has a strong chance of winning approval as Aquino seeks to upgrade the country's decrepit forces.

The Philippine Congress last year approved $1.8 billion for military modernization, with the bulk going to acquisition of ships, aircraft and equipment such as radar. The military had raised the plan in the past, but is now pushing it with more urgency following a series of naval stand-offs with China.

"The chances of this plan taking off under President Aquino are high because his administration has been very supportive in terms of equipment upgrade," said a senior military officer who asked not to be identified.

"The people around him understood our needs and more importantly, what our country is facing at this time."

Subic, a deep-water port sheltered by jungle-clad mountains 80 km (50 miles) north of Manila, has been a special economic zone since U.S. forces were evicted in 1992, ending 94 years of American military presence in the Philippines and shutting the largest U.S. military installation in Southeast Asia.

Since then, American warships and planes have been allowed to visit the Philippines for maintenance and refueling.

U.S. military "rotations" through the Philippines have become more frequent as Beijing grows more assertive in the South China Sea, a vast expanse of mineral-rich waters and vital sea lanes claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines - one of Asia's biggest security flashpoints.

A 30-hectare (74-acre) area has been identified for the bases, which would station fighter jets and the Philippines' biggest warships that patrol the disputed sea, including two Hamilton-class cutter ships it acquired for free from the United States.

The plan has taken on added urgency since a tense two-month standoff last year between Chinese and Philippine ships at the Scarborough Shoal, which is only about 124 nautical miles off the Philippine coast. Chinese ships now control the shoal, often chasing away Filipino fishermen.

U.S. and Philippine navy ships begin war games near the shoal on Thursday.

The South China Sea dispute will again loom large over regional diplomacy next week when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joins his counterparts from Southeast Asian nations and China among other countries for an annual meeting in Brunei.

The Philippines plans to raise the issue of Chinese ships' "encroachment" near another disputed coral reef where Manila recently beefed up its small military presence, diplomatic sources told Reuters. China in turn has accused the Philippines of "illegal occupation" of the reef, which is a strategic gateway to an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas.

RISE IN U.S. NAVY VISITS

When asked about the Subic plan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged its neighbors to push for peace.

"China urges the Philippines and regional countries to meet one another halfway, make joint efforts to maintain mutual trust between countries, make positive efforts towards regional peace and security and play a constructive role," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

There is no plan to allow the United States to rebuild its old bases, a sensitive issue in the Philippines where a nationalist backlash against the U.S. military helped lead to the 1992 closure of Subic and Clark Air Base.

New Philippine air and naval bases, however, would give visiting U.S. warships more security to launch operations in the South China Sea and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. A Visiting Forces Agreement, ratified by the Philippine Senate in 1999, allows U.S. forces full access to Philippine bases.

Roberto Garcia, chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which oversees the Subic Bay Freeport, confirmed the plan to build the new bases, saying he had shelved plans in the area for a theme park to make way for it.

"I don't see any problem if the government wants to build an air and naval base in the Freeport area," Garcia said, noting the increase in the number of U.S. military port calls to Subic.

This year alone, 72 U.S. warships and submarines visited Subic, compared with 88 for all of 2012, 54 in 2011 and 51 in 2010, according to official data.

The Philippine military also wants to revive an airstrip that once handled some of the largest military aircraft in the U.S. arsenal. The former Cubi Point Naval Air Station, carved out of a mountain adjoining Subic, served FedEx Corp cargo plans after the U.S. forces withdrew.

But FedEx ceased operations at the airstrip, now called Subic Bay International Airport, in 2009. Two senior air force officers told Reuters the military had proposed to Aquino to convert parts of the airstrip into an air base.

Another Philippine navy officer said the arrival in a few weeks of a second Hamilton-class cutter from the United States would put pressure on the navy to find a suitable port for large warships.

Since 2002, U.S. forces helping fight al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in the southern Philippines have shared several bases with Philippine troops. U.S. Navy surveillance planes are allocated spaces in a local air force base at Clark.

"We've seen a lot of similar 'joint use' arrangement. The U.S. does not want bases, only access," a Philippine navy captain familiar with the Subic proposal told Reuters.

"We will share our bases with them and I am sure the U.S. would love them."

(Additional reporting by Greg Torode in HONG KONG and Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING; Editing by Jason Szep, Stuart Grudgings and Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/manila-plans-air-naval-bases-subic-access-u-085401760.html

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Video: The Ray Lewis, Aaron Hernandez comparison

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Portuguese unions hold major anti-austerity strike

LISBON, Portugal (AP) ? A national 24-hour strike against austerity measures by Portuguese labor unions on Thursday brought public transport to a virtual standstill and depleted staffing levels at government offices, state-owned companies and public hospitals.

Most services operated by the national train company CP, the Lisbon subway and city bus companies ? all of them state-run ? were cancelled, forcing commuters to use their own vehicles and congesting traffic in the capital Lisbon and Porto, the second-largest city.

Airport management company ANA reported that 22 flights were cancelled by 10 a.m. (1000 GMT), 17 of them at Lisbon airport.

Some health centers around the country stayed shut, Portuguese media reported, while hospitals rescheduled operations and medical appointments. Few private companies reported walkouts, however.

The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers and the General Workers' Union, which together represent about 1 million workers in this country of 10.6 million people, want the center-right government to ease off its spending cuts and take more steps to create jobs and growth. Thursday's walkout was only their fourth joint protest in 25 years.

Public sector pay cuts and hikes in taxes on sales and private and corporate income have contributed to the economy's downward spiral, with the jobless rate growing to 17.8 percent and a third straight year of recession forecast in 2013.

But Portugal is locked into its deficit-reducing austerity program, which creditors demanded in return for a 78 billion euros ($102 billion) bailout two years ago.

Unions are angered by the government's latest plans, which include increasing the working time of state employees to 40 hours a week from 35; increasing their monthly pension deductions while lowering their pension entitlements; and laying off some 50,000 government workers out of the total of about 583,000.

The government made no immediate comment on the strike's turnout, though Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told Parliament on Wednesday that Portugal "needs fewer strikes and more work and discipline."

The economic slowdown, with the bailout creditors predicting a contraction of 2.3 percent this year after the economy shrank 3.2 percent in 2012, has made it harder for the government to reduce its debt load.

The budget deficit stood at 6.4 percent of annual GDP in 2012 ? higher than the 5 percent target for that year though much lower than the 10.1 percent recorded in 2010.

Given the difficulties in generating growth, the bailout creditors ? Portugal's European partners and the International Monetary Fund ? have shifted the country's deficit target for this year to 5.5 percent from 4.5 percent.

At the same time, they have insisted that the government continue with its cost-cutting drive.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/portuguese-unions-hold-major-anti-austerity-strike-105439422.html

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Language intervention levels playing field for English language learners

June 25, 2013 ? A new approach to teaching pre-kindergarten could take a bite out of the achievement gap and level the playing field for America's growing population of English language learners, according to a recently published study by researchers at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of education and human development.

"We are excited that we have helped teachers develop ways of teaching that result in such remarkable gains among children," David K. Dickinson, professor of education and one of the project's leaders, said. "Our teachers are committed to continuing using the approaches that are working, which means that many more children will benefit from being in their classrooms."

The Enhanced Language and Literacy Success Project, a four-year intervention and research effort performed in collaboration with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, proved that a language-rich pre-K curriculum paired with coaching, feedback and professional development for teachers, can improve student outcomes significantly.

An article about the research was recently published by the journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

"Research shows that children from low income families are behind when they start kindergarten and it's really difficult for them to catch up," said Sandra Jo Wilson, associate director of the Peabody Research Institute.

Wilson, one of the project leaders, managed the analysis of data for the study.

"Our study demonstrates that it is possible for children from diverse languages and backgrounds to enter kindergarten with literacy skills at or near national norms," she said.

The researchers evaluated the outcomes of 700 students and 13 teachers in seven Nashville pre-K programs. About half of the students were English language learners and nearly all came from low-income households.

"The element of providing feedback to teachers turned out to be a key to the curriculum's success," Dickinson said. Dickinson co-authored the curriculum, helped guide the delivery of the intervention and did some of the teacher professional development. "Teachers were asking for their reports and wanted to see how they were doing -- they were very responsive to what the coaches had to say."

Deborah Wells Rowe, associate professor of education at Peabody and an expert on early childhood writing, worked with the teachers to incorporate writing into their lessons.

The Enhanced Language and Literacy Success Project is supported by U.S. Department of Education grant No. S359B080078.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/AzBKUGZ52l4/130625172212.htm

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Miesha Tate Nude: Coming to ESPN the Magazine!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/miesha-tate-nude-coming-to-espn-the-magazine/

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UK science spending to remain 'flat'

26 June 2013 Last updated at 08:19 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Publicly funded science in the UK will have to get by with another period of fixed spending.

Chancellor George Osborne says he intends to keep the country's R&D budget at its current level through to the next election.

This figure, which amounts to about ?4.6bn per year, has been held flat since 2011.

The Chancellor made the announcement as part of the government's Spending Review delivered to Parliament.

He did, however, promise to increase capital expenditure - the money going into the laboratory infrastructure. This will almost double from the current ?0.6bn.

"Scientific discovery is first and foremost an expression of the relentless human search to know more about our world, but it's also an enormous strength for a modern economy," Mr Osborne told MPs.

Continue reading the main story

Science CSR at a glance

• Day-to-day science spend to remain at ?4.6bn
• Capital investment to rise from ?0.6bn to ?1.1bn
• Capital increase to rise with inflation to 2020-21
• Additional ?185m for Technology Strategy Board
• Commitment to funding high-priority projects
• e.g. Skylon spaceplane and Met Office supercomputer

"From synthetic biology to graphene - Britain is very good at it and we're going to keep it that way.

"I am committing today to maintain the resource budget for science at ?4.6bn, to increase the capital budget to ?1.1bn and to maintain that real increase to the end of the decade.

"Investment in science is an investment in our future. So, yes, from the next generation of jet engines to cutting edge supercomputers, we say, 'keep inventing, keep delivering'. This country will back you all the way."

The capital expenditure announcement was warmly welcomed by the scientific community. Capital investment took a heavy hit after the last election but was then largely restored through a series of subsequent announcements.

Mr Osborne says he now wants to see the science capital budget grow in line with inflation each year to 2020-21. This would provide stability for long-term planning. The Spending Review document, released by the Treasury, talks about committing to funding "high-priority projects", including the Sabre air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine and a new supercomputer for the Met Office.

Continue reading the main story

Chancellor eyes space technology

Mr Osborne says he wants to invest in the next phase of the Sabre project.

This is a revolutionary design for an air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine. It would be fitted to a space vehicle that could take off and land like a plane, substantially reducing the cost of getting into orbit.

Sabre's key heat-exchanger technology has just passed an important review audited by the European Space Agency. Mr Osborne's investment would go towards the building of a demonstration engine and final design plans.

Although Sabre's technology is linked to a space plane, it would likely have many other applications, such as in existing gas turbine jet engines and in desalination plants

The "flat cash" settlement on day-to-day research will frustrate many scientific leaders, but many expressed the recognition that in difficult times the outcome could have been far worse.

Prof Sir Peter Knight, president of the Institute of Physics, said: "The announcement that the current science budget will be maintained at ?4.6bn is a welcome recognition of the importance of science as an engine for future growth, but it needs to be noted that inflation has already substantially eroded the value of funding for science in the UK, by 2-3% per annum since 2010's flat cash settlement."

Public science spending in Britain currently runs at about 0.65% of GDP, compared with an average of 0.8% for the G8 nations.

China is aiming to spend 2.5% of its GDP on research by 2020, South Korea is targeting 5% by 2022 and Brazil 2.5% by the same year.

Compared to the OECD group of developed nations, Britain's science spend is 7th in absolute terms but only 25th in percentage terms.

The UK government's science budget is largely handled by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which will see its overall budget reduced by 6%.

Mr Osborne confirmed in his Commons speech that responsibility and funding lines for the Medical Research Council would not be moved to the Department of Health as had been mooted.

Sir Paul Nurse, the current president of the Royal Society, said: "Last year, the chancellor came to the Royal Society and gave a speech that put science and innovation at the heart of long term sustainable economic growth. He was asked to provide the money to back that up and today he has done that.

"There is a growing consensus across parliament and in the business community that spending on science is an investment in the future. The government has protected its contribution and we now need to find ways to encourage greater commitment from industry, which is still under investing in research.

"In recent years science has suffered, as maintaining investment means a real terms cut due to inflation, but in the context of cuts elsewhere, science has been relatively protected. Today's announcement should be seen as a foundation for a long term strategy of increased investment."

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23065763#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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BlackBerry releases Secure Work Space for iOS and Android

Paranoid corporate types living in fear of bring-your-own-device employees can soon relax: BlackBerry has just launched its Secure Work Space app, right on schedule. It'll allow organizations to manage and secure Google and Apple devices through BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10, which forms the mobile backbone of many a company's internal network. By using it, personnel without BlackBerry devices like the Z10 or Q10 will gain a way to check their company's calendars, email and organizers without fear of snooping. At the same time, IT types will be able to securely see, manage and update all Android and Apple devices network-wide. For its part, the Waterloo outfit should gain another source of revenue through the software (which consists of a suite of apps and BES 10.1 update), even with companies that haven't invested in its devices. For more info about the software or to grab a trial, check the source.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Blackberry

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Via: Reuters

Source: Blackberry

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/blackberry-launches-secure-work-space-for-ios-and-android/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Brian Shaw gets first crack at head coaching job

DENVER (AP) ? At long last, Brian Shaw is getting his first chance to coach an NBA team.

The former guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phil Jackson pupil has agreed to succeed George Karl as coach of the Denver Nuggets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday night because the deal hadn't been officially announced.

Still, it was the buzz of the basketball world.

"I think the Nuggets are going to benefit from his tenure," Jackson tweeted.

"So great to see Brian Shaw rewarded with this long overdue opportunity," Pacers coach Frank Vogel told The AP in a text. "Congrats to Brian and the Nuggets. Denver just got one of the best head coaches this league will see for years to come."

The Denver Post first announced the agreement with Shaw, the Indiana Pacers assistant who told the newspaper he's been "prepared by the best of the best" for his first NBA head coaching job, adding "I feel like I've waited and paid my dues."

Shaw is a longtime assistant who has interviewed about a dozen times for head coaching positions but kept coming up short until Monday.

He beat out Lionel Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach.

The Nuggets called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon, where team president Josh Kroenke and newly hired general manager Tim Connelly will introduce their new coach.

Shaw replaces Karl, who was ousted June 6 just weeks after winning the league's Coach of the Year award.

Shaw inherits a young team loaded with talent that won a franchise-record 57 games but lost Danilo Gallinari to a knee injury down the stretch and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years.

Gallinari recently underwent surgery and is expected back in December.

The Nuggets have been a state of flux all summer after they were knocked off by the Golden State Warriors in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

First, Masai Ujiri, who engineered the win-win trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, left the Nuggets' front office for the GM job in Toronto. Ujiri was the league's Executive of the Year.

Less than a week later, Kroenke fired Karl.

Ujiri's right-hand man, Pete D'Allesandro, then took the Sacramento Kings' GM job and took Denver executive Mike Bratz with him.

Also, the Nuggets' top perimeter defender, Andre Iguodala, decided to opt out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent, although he could return to Denver on a five-year deal while the most he could get elsewhere is a four-year contract.

Shaw, 47, owns five NBA championship rings as a player and assistant coach. A first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics in 1988, Shaw played for eight teams in his 14 NBA seasons.

As Vogel's top assistant, Shaw drew praise for his work with rising star Paul George last season. The Pacers forward was an All-Star and helped lead Indiana to the Eastern Conference finals, where they took the eventual champion Miami Heat to seven games.

Although he has deep roots with the triangle offense that Jackson featured with the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers, Shaw told the Denver Post he won't use that system with the Nuggets, who thrived in a fast-paced, free-flowing system under Karl.

Shaw played at St. Mary's and UC Santa Barbara before an NBA career that lasted from 1988 to 2003. He was a member of the Lakers' three championship teams in the early 2000s and Jackson hired him as an assistant after he retired.

He won two more titles with L.A. as an assistant coach and when Jackson retired from the Lakers in 2011, Kobe Bryant voiced his support for Shaw becoming Jackson's successor, but he was passed over for that promotion.

___

AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brian-shaw-gets-first-crack-head-coaching-job-020807878.html

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Sridutt Nimmagadda: America's Failing Education Corroborated By ...

America?s Failing Education Corroborated By Inadequacy of Teacher?Performance

By Sridutt Nimmagadda (senior staff writer for the Libertarian Party of Washington)?
Published June 18, 2013 on LPWA?s website

The National Council on Teacher Quality?s report on over 1,000 educational programs in the country corroborates a grim conclusion: while educational programs in the United States are over-saturating the job market with teachers and educators, the teacher-training programs are not adequately preparing educators for actual work in the classroom.

The report, equally lionized and rejected by members in academic and public policy circles, finds ?they [in reference to education industries] have become an industry of mediocrity, churning out first-year teachers with classroom management skills and content knowledge inadequate to thrive in classrooms,? according to the report?s authors.

The inadequacy of teacher skill-sets also has a deep financial toll: teacher preparation programs, according to the report, are not giving aspiring teachers an adequate return on investment both time and moneywise.

This report is only fanning the flames of the debate over America?s failing educational system. Federal policies and spiked spending on educational programs such as?No Child Left Behind?have left American students, parents, and educators baffled over the aim of America?s educational system.?If education is about student learning, as the argument goes, then why are we so worried about quantifying students by test scores and passing arbitrary standards set forth by the United States government??The push for test scores and standards performance over actual substance in the classroom is another cause (or deep implication) of the American educational crisis. Teachers are being taught to help kids pass tests, not learn.

There is also an institutional basis for failure in the American education system, and it is that when our teachers perform poorly, it is hard to get rid of them and replace them with more qualified teachers. This is a serious problem when teachers are underperforming so terribly. ?There?s plenty of research out there that shows that teacher quality is the single most important factor,? says Delaware Governor Jack Markell. But Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute gravely asserts that ?you just need to have a pulse and you can get into some of these education schools?.if policymakers took this report seriously, they?d be shutting down hundreds of programs.?

The council also found the following disturbing trends:

• 3 out of 4 teacher- training programs do not train teachers to teach reading in a manner that is based on the latest research.
• Less than 11% of programs train teachers to teach to the Common Core Standards.
• Most teachers involved in the study only have a year of teaching experience.

Serious education reform must be considered at the federal, state, and local level. But until the government and its policy makers can understand the root of the problem, which is teacher preparation and non-alignment of academic standards, our posterity will continue to suffer from a lack of instruction and a weakening workforce.

?The mission of the Libertarian Party of Washington is to advance liberty by electing Libertarians and passing legislation that will reduce the size and scope of intrusive government.?

Source: http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2013/06/sridutt-nimmagadda-americas-failing-education-corroborated-by-inadequacy-of-teacher-performance/

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Switched On: Touchy subjects

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

In 2002, the first LCD-based iMac succeeded the translucent PowerPC G3-based models that the original Bondi Blue iMac begat. The new generation was much more striking than the one that had placed Apple on the comeback trail. The iMac G4 mounted the display on a balanced arm similar to a Luxo lamp while the motherboard resided in a hemispherical base. This allowed the display to be adjusted to a wide range of heights and angles and each of the two main sections to be "true to itself."

Alas, the design had its limits. It's difficult to imagine today's ample 27-inch iMac displays balancing off such a mount. Furthermore, after the switch to Intel, processor thermals improved to help enable the slim iMac of today. The idea of efforts being true to themselves (at least until nearly compromise-free convergence is possible), however, has stayed a hallmark of Apple. For example, the company would resist adding video to the iPod for years after competitors had the feature.

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablets, Software, Apple, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zBejo421MEw/

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Snowden says US targets included China cell phones

HONG KONG (AP) ? A former National Security Agency contractor says that U.S. hacking targets in China included the nation's mobile-phone companies and two universities hosting extensive Internet traffic hubs in the latest allegations as Washington pushes Hong Kong to extradite the ex-contractor.

The latest charges from Edward Snowden came in a series of reports published over the weekend by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English-language daily. The newspaper, which appears to have access to Snowden, said Saturday he is still in Hong Kong and not in police custody.

On Saturday, the Obama administration warned Hong Kong against dragging out the extradition of Snowden, reflecting concerns over a possible long legal battle before he ever appears in a U.S. courtroom to answer espionage charges for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs.

A formal extradition request would also pit Beijing against Washington at a time China is trying to deflect U.S. accusations that it carries out extensive surveillance on American government and commercial operations.

The U.S. has contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek Snowden's extradition, the National Security Council said Saturday in a statement. The NSC advises the president on national security.

Snowden told the South China Morning Post that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." It added that Snowden said he had documents to support the hacking allegations, but the report did not identify the documents. It said he spoke to the paper in a June 12 interview.

With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China has massive cell-phone companies. China Mobile is the world's largest mobile network carrier, with 735 million subscribers, followed by China Unicom with 258 million users and China Telecom with 172 million users.

Snowden said Tsinghua University in Beijing and Chinese University in Hong Kong, home of some of the country's major Internet traffic hubs, were targets of extensive hacking by U.S. spies this year. He said the NSA was focusing on so-called "network backbones" in China, through which enormous amounts of Internet data passes.

Snowden is believed to be hiding in an unknown location in Hong Kong, where he has been holed up since admitting to providing information to the news media about highly classified NSA surveillance programs. He has not been seen publicly since he checked out of a Hong Kong hotel on June 10.

The newspaper reports came after a one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court, revealing he had been charged with espionage and theft.

The Obama administration on Saturday warned Hong Kong against slow-walking his extradition, with White House national security adviser Tom Donilon saying in an interview with CBS News: "Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case."

Some Hong Kong lawmakers have called on Beijing to intervene and instruct the Hong Kong government on how to handle the situation before his case goes through the courts, but Beijing has yet to comment. The Hong Kong government has also not commented.

But China's state-run media have used the case to poke back at Washington after the U.S. had spent the past several months pressuring China on its international spying operations..

A commentary published Sunday by Xinhua News Agency said Snowden's disclosures of U.S. spying activities in China have "put Washington in a really awkward situation."

"Washington should come clean about its record first. It owes ... an explanation to China and other countries it has allegedly spied on," it said. "It has to share with the world the range, extent and intent of its clandestine hacking programs."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-says-us-targets-included-china-cell-phones-073119007.html

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Judge blocks audio expert testimony in Trayvon Martin case

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Two voice identification experts who suggested that unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin screamed for help before he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman will not be allowed to testify at his murder trial, the judge in the case has ruled.

The ruling by Judge Debra Nelson was released on Saturday, marking the last major hurdle before opening statements in the high-profile case begin on Monday in Seminole County courthouse in Sanford, Florida.

Prosecutors had sought to call audio experts to testify about a 911 emergency call in which screams for help can be heard in the background during an altercation between Zimmerman and Martin before the shooting.

The screams could be pivotal evidence and help identify who was the aggressor on the night of the February 2012 killing. Zimmerman's family and supporters claim the voice was his, while Martin's parents insist the voice belonged to their son.

Last year, an FBI expert said a voice analysis of the call was inconclusive.

David Weinstein, a Miami lawyer and former prosecutor, called the ruling a victory for Zimmerman's defense team.

"Now there won't be a witness who can 'identify' the voice with certainty as a particular person," he said. "Each side can argue who they believe the voice belongs to and the jurors will have to decide who they hear."

Prosecutors say Zimmerman followed and confronted Martin despite a police dispatcher telling him not to pursue the 17-year-old. Zimmerman, 29, has said the two fought and that he shot Martin because he feared for his life.

An all-female jury will decide whether Zimmerman is guilty of second-degree murder, a charge that carries a potential life sentence. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty.

Nelson said in her 12-page order that the decision does not prevent either side from playing the 911 tape and presenting witnesses familiar with Zimmerman's and Martin's voices from stating their opinions.

Lead defense attorney Mark O'Mara has called the recording "the most significant piece of evidence in the case."

Two state experts, in what they qualify as tentative or probable findings because of the poor quality of the recording, have said that the chilling screams heard in the background came from Martin.

Lawyers for Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, sought to block the testimony on grounds that the methods used by the state's voice recognition experts were based on questionable science.

Audio experts who testified for the defense in a lengthy pre-trial hearing argued that voice recognition techniques cannot identify an individual from screams made under extreme duress.

On Friday, the judge also dismissed a defense motion to bar certain words and phrases from the prosecution's opening statement.

She ruled prosecutors could allege that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, "profiled" Martin but ordered them not to use the term "racial profiling."

(Additional reporting by David Adams; Writing by Kevin Gray; Editing by Eric Beech and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-blocks-audio-expert-testimony-trayvon-martin-case-153333340.html

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Jurors in Trayvon Martin case face almost total seclusion

By David Adams

MIAMI (Reuters) - When the Trayvon Martin murder case goes to trial on Monday in Sanford, Florida, the jury will enter a world of almost total seclusion, separated from their friends and families, as well as laptops and smart phones.

"They are treated like prisoners," said Richard Gabriel, 53, a trial consultant and president of Los Angeles-based Decision Analysis who worked on the 1995 trial of disgraced former NFL star O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in a double-murder case, and Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of killing her daughter in 2011.

The six jurors, backed by four alternates, will decide whether former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 29, should face up to life in prison for killing Martin in a case that sparked a national debate about self-defense, guns and equal justice.

Sequestration happens quite infrequently in trials and only in extraordinary cases that have received intense media coverage. "It seeks to create a more pristine environment for the justice system to proceed," Gabriel said.

"The whole purpose is to isolate you from the world," said Miami lawyer David Weinstein, a former state prosecutor. "They put you in a bubble - complete internet isolation."

Historically, sequestration was used to prevent juries from being influenced by family and friends, said Weinstein, but now is used to insulate them from the omnipresent modern media.

The Zimmerman jurors, cloaked in anonymity and referred to only by numbers in court, will be kept in a hotel, from which they will be transported to and from the court.

Television channels in their hotel rooms will be limited to restrict access to news about the trial, including late-night comedy.

During the Anthony trial, when jurors were sequestered in Orlando for six weeks, members of the panel were limited to taped movies and ate meals together.

Family contacts, including conjugal visits, are usually restricted to weekends. Internet access is limited to essential online bill payments.

In the Zimmerman trial the jury will spend the duration of the trial - an estimated two to four weeks - under the constant watch of the local sheriff's office.

A court spokeswoman said it will not discuss sequestration issues until after the trial is over, with one exception. "I will clear up one frequently asked question," said Michelle Kennedy, the court services administrator. "Jurors will not be required to share rooms with their fellow jurors."

The six members of the jury are all women, as are two of the four alternates.

"It can be both a uniting and a dividing experience. Some juries do a very good job and get on very well," Gabriel said.

The internal dynamics of sequestered juries can be complicated during long trials, such as the Simpson case, which lasted more than eight months.

"There's an internal pressure cooker," Gabriel said. "It depends on whether they get along. Some juries form factions."

The isolation can be so complete that juries are often surprised by the public reaction after it is over.

"The Casey Anthony jury were shocked when they heard how angry people were with the verdict," Gabriel said. "They felt they were following the law."

(Editing by Tom Brown and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jurors-trayvon-martin-case-face-almost-total-seclusion-050528338.html

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